Sera cocked her head to the side as she watched the people willingly go into the flames. Maybe they thought this was the lesser of two evils?
Whatever their reasons, they came out screaming, their clothing covered in flames, their hair on fire, and nothing left to put the flames out with.
Sera walked past them and kept going. She took the right branch. The men took the left branch before the two groups met up again on the other side of the net. Zubair had split the net to let them through and stitched it back together behind them.
Luci pushed his head under Sera's hand as they moved. She didn't slow. She rubbed his skull once, light and firm, and let go.
They were almost to the outer lock room when they found the last holdouts. A group of six soldiers hid behind a row of metal tables flipped into a barricade, rifles braced, their eyes hot and mean.
These ones still believed the numbers meant a thing.
