Chapter 1
Lucilla
Luci blinked away the sleep clinging to her eyes and leaned into the microscope again.
When she’d arrived at the lab that morning, a stack of specimen slides had already been waiting for her. There were more than a handful, all neatly lined up and demanding analysis and diagnosis.
Outside the walls of Sanctum Medical, New-Chicago and the rest of the world rotted away under the Hollowed virus, but inside, life moved forward for the lucky few sealed within the hospital’s quarantine.
“The mass is composed of uniform spindle-shaped cells resembling normal fibroblasts,” she said, projecting her voice just enough for the dictation device to catch.
This part of the job always wore her down.
It was tedious and repetitive, but at least she didn’t have to write out every note by hand like they used to in the past. “No atypical mitotic figures identified. There are no signs of necrosis, vascular invasion, or infiltration of the adjacent tissue. My findings are consistent with a benign mass.”
She exhaled softly and leaned back from the scope. Pathology had never been her dream, though a small part of her took pride in knowing she was keeping the survivors who had been spared from the Hollowed virus and the infected, healthy.
Still, this wasn’t her passion.
Down the hall and to the left, was the research lab she loved. Smaller, quiet, and wholly hers. There, she could lose herself in studying the virus that had stolen their world, chasing a cure no one else seemed desperate enough to find.
Doing that made Luci feel like she had more purpose than just looking at specimen slides all day.
“If they’d stop giving me such a heavy workload, I think I’d have enough time to figure out a cure,” Luci said, turning to Serenity, who’d been her desk mate for as long as she’d been working in the pathology department.
Serenity only lifted her head for a moment before shushing her and returning to her own work.
The sliding lab door hissed open then, drawing a wave of glances from everyone inside, Luci included. She instinctively straightened her posture as their supervisor stepped inside, his gaze sweeping methodically across the room. When his eyes landed on her, she nearly flinched.
“Luci, Luci, Luci,” Markus said, clicking his tongue as he crossed the lab toward her. That sound always made her want to roll her eyes, and today she didn’t bother to hide it.
“You’re behind. Long night again?” he asked, already knowing the answer. They’d had this conversation too many times before, and it never seemed to change.
“You’ve got the lab logs, so you tell me,” Luci replied, flashing him a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’m making progress, though,” she added quickly, softening her tone as she lifted her fingers, holding them a smidge apart. “Seriously. I’m this close to figuring it out.”
Markus didn’t reply right away, but she could feel the weight of his gaze lingering on her.
Slowly, he raised a hand and tucked a loose curl behind her ear.
It was a gesture so familiar and yet it turned her stomach.
She froze, swallowing the lump in her throat, just as she had every other time he’d done it before.
“Why don’t you come by my apartment tonight?” he offered in a whisper. “You can show me what you’ve been working on. If it looks promising, I’ll bring it up at the next meeting.”
Luci managed only a small shake of her head. No matter how many times she turned him down, Markus never stopped trying and somehow, that exhausted her more than all the daily logging, labeling, and analysis combined.
A soft tap at the lab door saved her. Markus’s hand dropped as Alex appeared on the other side of the glass, pointing to Luci and gesturing that he needed her. She seized the opportunity, offering a quick excuse as she shrugged out of her lab coat and slipped through the door.
She didn’t stop until they were halfway down the hall and safely out of view.
“You’ve really got to stop letting him get away with that,” Alex said, glancing over his shoulder as she caught up.
Luci bumped him lightly with her shoulder, her smile more sincere this time. The small nudge loosened the rigidness in his walk, making him look a little less like a soldier and a little more like the friend who kept her sane.
When the outbreak hit, it had felt like she’d lost everything. Her parents were already dead, and as for Noah and Danielle, she could only assume the worst.
The Hollowed didn’t leave room for hope.
But Alex did. He was the one steady thing left in her life when he wasn’t out on supply runs or keeping watch from the towers.
“And what exactly do you suggest I do?” Luci asked, stepping into the elevator beside him. She wasn’t sure where they were headed, but if someone had sent Alex to fetch her, it had to be important.
Alex chuckled as he leaned against the elevator wall, cradling his oversized assault rifle like it was part of him.
“Pop him in the mouth,” he said. “Then tell him you’ll spill his spray tan secret from those last few supply runs.
” He grinned, but Luci couldn’t quite tell if he was joking and that somehow that made it funnier.
“I’m being serious, Lucilla. Besides, what are they gonna do — exile their brightest doctor? You’re not exactly replaceable.”
Luci smiled to herself as his gaze shifted from hers. He always said things like that. Things that reminded her that he believed in her brilliance.
“They could if they really wanted to,” she murmured, nudging him again. “And you and I both know I wouldn’t last two minutes out there.” Another breath passed before she added, “Can you tell me where we’re going, or is that top secret intel?”
Alex hesitated, then finally met her eyes.
“Doc asked me to grab you before I head out on another run,” he said. “Didn’t say what for, but if you need anything, I’ll add it to my list.”
For as long as the quarantine had lasted, Alex and his team had been the hospital’s lifeline, risking the Hollowed infested world beyond their walls to bring back whatever supplies they couldn’t grow or manufacture inside.
With each run, it had gotten a little easier to watch him go, but Luci still hated the tight knot that formed in her chest every time.
He always came back but she knew that nothing was guaranteed with the dangers that loomed outside.
The infected were only the beginning of her worries.
Beyond the hospital walls, the city itself was a deathtrap.
From what she’d been told, the streets were fractured, buildings leaning like drunken giants as glass rained from windows.
Every errand meant weaving through collapsing structures and fire-scorched streets.
It wasn’t just the monsters that threatened to take Alex from Luci.
The city itself was a crumbling labyrinth, eager to swallow him whole.
“Are you taking Luna?” she asked, thinking of the German Shepherd who was probably napping in his cot.
“Not this time,” Alex said. “It’s just a quick run. We’ll be back before lights out if all goes to plan.” He reached out instinctively, steadying the elevator door as it opened so Luci could step out first.
They made their way down another corridor toward Doc’s office.
“Okay, well…I can’t think of anything off the top of my head,” she said, tapping her lip, “but if you happen to come across that shampoo I like, I can add it to my stock.” She didn’t really need more, but she knew Alex wouldn’t leave without her suggesting something for the list.
He nodded, the corner of his mouth lifting. “I know exactly where to look,” he promised, just as he always did.
Moments later, they stopped outside Doc’s door.
“Hey, um…I’ll probably be in my lab when you get back,” Luci said, hesitating for a heartbeat. “So…pop in before you go to bed, okay?”
“I will,” Alex said, taking a small step back. “I promise.” His voice held a bittersweet note before he turned, striding away down the hall. Luci watched him go, letting her features soften as he rounded the corner.
Only then did she raise her hand and knock.
Doc was an odd but comforting presence around the hospital.
He had worked for the Prometheus Institute longer than Luci had been alive, and he’d been her advisor since the day she’d joined.
For that she was grateful. Unlike the other doctors, whose eyes were dull from years of exhaustion under quarantine, Doc still had a spark in him.
Most of the staff thought he was a bit eccentric with his long gray hair and collection of brightly patterned ties. But to Luci, he was a reminder that even in this decaying world, someone could still be happy.
“Am I in trouble?” Luci asked as she stepped inside and sank into the chair opposite his desk. She couldn’t help herself. He didn’t look as cheerful as usual and worse, he was clutching a stack of paperwork thick enough for her to know bad news was coming.
“Not exactly,” he said, shaking his head. “But I will need you to undergo a bit of lab work. Just routine blood draws. Nothing you haven’t done before.”
The request struck her as odd, but she nodded anyway. “Sure…but, what for? I just had my annual checkup a couple of months ago,” she said, curiosity slipping past her caution.
Doc lowered the stack of paperwork onto his desk with a soft thud and tapped at the top page. Luci recognized that look, she’d seen it on doctor’s faces before. It was the quiet calculation of someone figuring out how to deliver news they’d rather not.
Her stomach tightened. She wasn’t sick, she was sure of that. Which meant that whatever he was about to say might be worse than a diagnosis.
The man sighed before finally lifting his gaze to meet hers. “The council reviewed your request to extend your dismissal from the reproduction program,” he said softly, “and I’m afraid it’s been denied.”
The coffee she’d downed earlier lurched in her stomach, threatening to come back up. For a moment, she couldn’t breathe, it was as if she’d been punched square in her chest.
She’d known this day would come. Extensions could only last so long, and sooner or later, denial was inevitable.
It didn’t matter that she was close to a breakthrough that might change everything.
They didn’t care about the vaccine. They didn’t care about her work or her.
They only cared about her biology and the clock they insisted was ticking.
“Doc, there has to be something we can do, right?” Luci’s words tumbled out, nearly breathless. “Surely I can appeal, or — or something. I mean, they can’t really force me…can they?”
The reproduction program had always felt barbaric. Before, it had been nothing more than a rumor. A whispered new policy meant to ensure the next generation would be the brightest yet. But after the world’s population was gutted by the Hollowed, the whispers became commands.
Prometheus claimed they needed a way to ensure humankind would continue, but in reality they were picking who could conceive and when they could do so. The reproduction program was eugenics wrapped in the language of survival, and now, with so few people left, no one could afford to say no.
“I’m sorry, Luci,” Doc said quietly, reaching for her hand. “I tried everything to delay this, but the decision’s been made. You’ll be paired within a few weeks.”
Luci blinked hard, jaw trembling as she willed the sting of tears to stay put. A few weeks. That wasn’t enough time to prepare herself for this, for the reality that she would be forced to carry a child in a world that was barely holding itself together.
“If there’s anyone you’d like to request, I’ll make sure the council takes it under consideration,” Doc added gently. “I know how disappointing this is for you, so I’ve cleared your responsibilities for the week. If you need to talk, I’m here.”
It was meant to be kind, but the words landed flat.
Luci rose without a word, pulling her hand from his and brushing at the wetness in her eyes before the tears could fall. Leaving without a goodbye was rude, she knew that. But right now, she couldn’t imagine what could possibly be worse than this.