[MERIDIAN INTEGRITY: 63%]
Stan's jaw tightened until his teeth ached.
At this rate, she wouldn't last another three minutes. If that number ticked below sixty percent, her internal pathways would literally begin to melt.
He didn't panic. Instead, he let his awareness expand past his trembling palms, past the searing heat radiating from Sarah's spine, and into the room itself. He felt the dust suspended in the air, the rumpled sheets beneath them, the heavy, humid atmosphere of Lagos pressing against the glass.
And deeper still, he felt the invisible, foundational fabric of space. It was a law of reality he had come to comprehend, yet could still barely control.
He didn't attempt to build a rigid barrier—that would shatter her. Instead, he imagined cupping his hands. He built a cradle.
The space surrounding the bed folded inward.
