Thirty minutes. That was all they had.
A countdown blinked across Dev's cracked datapad:
EDEN PROTOCOL ENGAGED. FULL SEAL IN: 00:29:46
Above, the city's surface was already shifting—bridges rising, tunnels locking, drone patrols sweeping the sky like vultures. Eden Protocol wasn't just a lockdown. It was a purge.
"Mnemosyne never meant for the Ark's truth to reach daylight," Dev muttered. "They'd rather erase an entire quadrant than let it leak."
Ash led the charge through a collapsing access tunnel, helping survivors stumble forward—half-awake minds still swimming with fractured memories. Some clutched at their heads. Others wept. A few just whispered names of people long dead.
"We need to split," Ash called over the noise. "Smaller groups move faster."
"No," Rowan said firmly. "We stay together. No one gets left behind."
Eira moved alongside her, adjusting the pulse beacon on her belt. "If we can reach the old monorail under Sector 9, we can override the rails. Ride straight into surface level."
"And the drones?" Dev asked.
Rowan's smile was grim. "Leave those to me."
At the monorail platform, steel doors blocked their path. Dev knelt immediately, hands flying across wires and obsolete ports.
Ash raised a rifle as red dots glowed in the distance. "Company incoming."
Drones emerged, sleek and silent. The first shot hit the ground near Rowan—melting concrete with plasma heat.
Rowan stepped forward. Calm.
She drew a baton from her coat—a relic of her Mnemosyne training. It snapped to life in violet arcs.
"I remember everything now," she whispered. "And I know exactly how they fight."
She moved like lightning.
Spinning, ducking, striking. One drone shattered against the wall. Another exploded midair. The others backed off, recalibrating—but Rowan had already vanished into shadow.
Behind her, the door hissed open.
"Monorail's up," Dev shouted. "Let's go!"
Ash herded the survivors aboard. Eira paused, hand extended to Rowan. "Come on!"
Rowan leapt onto the rail car just as the platform behind them caved in. The doors sealed.
The train jolted forward.
They were moving.
For a few minutes, silence.
Then a soft hum filled the car. Screens blinked on overhead.
A message played:
"This is Mnemosyne.
You are carrying stolen memories.
You will not be allowed to leave."
Eira stepped forward.
"I'm not asking permission."
She raised the beacon. A pulse of code surged into the rail's system.
Above them, the emergency exit gates cracked open to the city lights.
They had one last shot at freedom.