The lights popped when the lightning hit.
For a split second, everything in the chamber turned negative—white faces, black walls, the arch a jagged skeleton of metal—and then the emergency circuits caught and slapped a harsh amber glow over the room.
Tal's ears rang.
He was still under the arch.
Kade's hand was still on his arm.
The machine above him flickered madly between blue and red, text stuttering as if it were trying to invent a new color just for him.
CONFLICT… DATA… RISK… … …
The chant that had started small was a roar now.
"No more kids! No more lists!"
Internal shouted something, but his voice drowned in it.
"What was that," Jesen's mother yelled, half to Tal, half to anyone.
"External strike," one of the technicians gasped. "Shield registered—"
"We are under attack," Internal snapped. "Lock this building down!"
Tal felt Kade's grip tighten.
"Move," the sergeant said in his ear. "Back to the table."
"The arch—"
