POV: Maya Chen
We run.
Ashton pulls me toward the emergency stairs while Victor grabs his gun and starts shooting at the shadows moving through the dark building.
"GO!" Victor yells. "I'll hold them off!"
"But—" I start.
"I've been killing you for a hundred years to save the world," Victor shouts. "Let me save you for real this time!"
Ashton drags me into the stairwell. We run down the stairs, our footsteps echoing. Behind us, I hear gunshots. Screaming. My father is fighting The Architects' army alone.
"We have to help him!" I try to turn back.
"He's buying us time. Don't waste it." Ashton pulls me down faster. We're on the 48th floor. Then the 45th. Then the 40th.
The lights flicker back on. That's when I see them—men in black suits coming up the stairs from below. At least twenty of them. Blocking our escape.
