Tair squeezed my arm and then tapped in the command to end it. The tank lights dimmed and an alert flashed, echoing in time with NotQuanta’s fists as she pounded the glass.

“What if we—”

“Quanta.” Tair tugged me away from that train of thought before it could chug any farther. I followed him, but I could still hear the other me hitting the walls of her tank. Tair let out a heavy breath. “They’re monsters.”

“They’re me.” Very much me. Maybe more than I was myself at the moment.

“We’re going to have enough trouble getting ourselves out.”

“I know.” I could already see the futures playing out. We were going to need all the focus we could get. I shook my head, letting go.

Later.

Later I’d think it over and worry about what I’d just done. First I needed out.

Out and so far away.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Six

ALTAIR

I pulled Quanta away from the rows of tanks. She shook a little, in a mix of shock and whatever drugs still coursed through her system, but her gray eyes were clear and her complexion had returned to its natural color since the last time I’d seen her.

Some part of me had feared I’d be too late, and I’d lose her before we got started on…

Whatever we chose to start after this.

“We have to go. The bombs and…” Quanta trailed off as her eyes glazed, looking elsewhere. “What else did you set up out there?”

“Smoke pellets.” I handed her the collapsible gas mask I’d clipped to my belt. “I seeded them on the way down. We’ve also got explosives and a handful of short-range EMPs.”

“So we have a path. Kind of.” She winced at something in the ether. “As long as we don’t have to do this loop thirty times.”

“Can you handle that many?” We’d have to do whatever necessary to escape, but I didn’t want her to push her limits again.

“Let’s not find out.” Quanta slipped the mask over her nose and mouth, muffling her words but not the determination behind them. “You ready?”

“One more thing.” I slid off my watch and popped off its back cover to remove the two slender needles inside. “We have to deactivate the tracking in our Helixes.”

“You first,” Quanta said, eyeing them with suspicion.

Fair enough. I jabbed the nanodevice into the ink of my Green Helix. For a crystalline second, pain seared, radiating out from the spot and burning out the subcutaneous tech. When the sensation died away, it felt like a weight had been lifted.

No more pretending now. No more charades.

Quanta lifted the hem of her shirt to reveal the Red Helix tattooed on her hip. “Go for it.”

“It’ll sting a little.” I brought the second needle to hover over her soft skin.