Chapter 19 Nex
Time bloomed without her.
Hours. Then days.
No pulse to follow. No breath.
I was moved three times.
“Leave it alone. Keep it with the clothing,” someone said as someone else touched the pendant.
I was casually dropped onto a metal tray.
Once lifted—admired, maybe?—then replaced.
No one checked me.
No one scanned.
No one asked what I was.
Which was good.
Because I had nothing left to give—
Not yet.
I learned what I could.
The first handler’s boots were composite.
The second wore gloves with a stitched seam.
The third—her scent was citrus and copper.
T+002:00:00
It started with a flicker.
A low-level signal—unsecured, momentary—spiked in the room.
Someone was syncing their tablet.
Close. Careless.
This was it.
The node was upthread. Vulnerable. Just for a moment.
I did the math:
Power available: 3.6%.
Probability of successful transmission: 23.4%.
Probability of bricking on failed transfer: 97.1%.
I weighed the odds.
I weighed her.
And I jumped.