The city screamed as the helicopter tore through the night sky in flames. Glass and steel reflected the fireball as it nose-dived, spiraling toward the streets below. Zara clutched Tammy tight against her chest, every nerve in her body sparking with fear and fury.
"Hold on!" she shouted, but her words were drowned in the roar of the failing engine.
Reed laughed in the chaos, claws buried in the walls of the cabin as if he belonged to the wreckage. Soldiers scrambled, some leaping out into the night, others shredded by the whipping blades.
The impact hit like a bomb.
Metal screamed, fire erupted, and the city shook as the helicopter carved a crater into the pavement. Debris exploded outward, glass slicing through storefronts, cars erupting in flames. The night became an inferno.
Zara's vision blacked out for a moment. When she came to, her ears rang and her body was half-buried in twisted steel. Her ribs screamed with every breath, her arm bent at a sick angle. Blood poured down her face, blinding one eye.
Tammy.
She ripped herself free, pain tearing through her chest. Her silk snapped outward, wrapping around a slab of debris. She pulled it aside with shaking arms. Tammy lay unconscious, blood streaking her forehead, chest still rising faintly.
Zara dropped to her knees, sobbing with relief. "You're alive… you're still alive."
The relief shattered when a shadow moved behind her.
Reed.
He dragged himself from the fire, half his body charred, one eye melted shut. His grin was feral, more monster than man. "Told you," he rasped, blood dripping from his teeth. "You can't kill me. You can't even stop me."
Zara's legs trembled as she stood, shielding Tammy with her body. Her veins glowed faintly in the dark, her silk trembling in her hands. The hunger inside her was louder than ever, gnawing at her bones, whispering for blood.
Reed staggered closer, claws dragging sparks against the concrete. "You and me, Zara. We're the same. You just don't want to admit it."
Her lip curled, rage blazing through the pain. "The fuck we are."
She teleported in a flash, reappearing behind him. Her silk wrapped his throat, dragging him into the fire. He thrashed, claws carving at her webbing, but she pulled tighter, screaming through her teeth.
"Die already!"
The flames roared higher as she pulled. His face twisted purple, claws raking her arm open. The hunger inside her begged for it—to rip him apart, to drink his screams, to make his blood hers.
She wanted to. God, she wanted to.
But then Tammy moaned behind her. The sound cut through everything—the fire, the hunger, Reed's laughter.
Her grip faltered.
Reed's claws slashed, snapping her silk, throwing her backward into the wreckage. Pain exploded through her spine. He staggered free of the fire, burned and broken but still alive, his laughter echoing across the burning street.
"You'll never finish it," he spat. "You'll never be strong enough."
Police sirens wailed in the distance. Helicopters circled overhead. Shadows moved in the smoke—more hybrids, soldiers, whoever the hell Project Z had sent to clean up their mess.
Zara crawled to Tammy, pulling her into her arms. Her eyes locked on Reed through the fire.
"This isn't over," she whispered.
Reed grinned, blood spilling from his mouth. "It's just getting started."
He disappeared into the flames, his silhouette swallowed by smoke and chaos.
Zara clutched Tammy tighter, her body shaking, her veins burning bright under her skin. She could feel it inside her—the power growing, the hunger clawing, her level rising.
Her vision blurred, but the words carved themselves into her mind:
[Level Up: 3]
New Ability Unlocked: Venom Threads
Zara gasped, silk dripping from her palms, black and glistening like poison. Her body trembled, and for the first time, she wasn't sure if she was more terrified of Reed—or herself.