the heavy glass doors of

mering the Brooklyn pavement. Fat, icy drops of rain s

waving her arm fran

icking up waves of dirty water. Every sin

y second felt like an hour.

wet concrete. She kicked them off, grabbed them by the straps,

toward the subway st

h her thin clothes. Her lun

lit intersection, a dark shap

tinct forced her legs to stop. Her b

and ran tow

ater. He was wearing a bespoke wool suit, now ruined

, his mouth open, gasping

nees in the filthy water.

trembling fingers weakly clawed at t

. She recognized the symptoms instantly. She knew exactly what to look for.

d shook two tiny nitrogly

open, and slipped the pills under hi

suddenly convulsed. His limbs jerked violently, and

ed Charlot

on the center of his chest, locked her

compressions. One,

ing her. She gritted her teeth, push

ing glare of headli

ext to the curb. The heavy tires sent a wave of

oor was ki

pped out into the

ed, barefoot woman pressing her weight onto his grandfather

age exploded

He reached down, grabbed the collar of Charlotte's

ound. She flew backward and sla

the pavement. The skin tore open. A

pressed two fingers to the old man's neck, yelling ov

up from the puddle. She c

he sound of the rain, her voice cracki

e. They were sharp, predatory, and filled with absolute distrus

n, the old man on the ground too

a spilling from his lips. The purple hue in hi

d. The compressions ha

ed the storm. Red and blue lights flash

They pushed Daxton aside and loa

ollow them into the

metal door. He turned his hea

ked to the bone, bleeding, hold

elf off the ground, turned her back to the am