I burst into a quick jog, turning another corner hoping it will be the last, and skid to a halt when I realize I’m about to collide straight into the woman from upstairs.

I try to catch my breath—wonder if I even have a breath—and straighten my body so that we’re eye level. Mind racing, I press my lips together and hope the first excuse that comes to me is a believable one. “I needed to move around. Endorphins help me think.”

She blinks, and I know she doesn’t believe a word I’ve said. “You need to come with me.” She extends an arm, and her fingers brush against my skin before I manage to take a step back.

There’s movement in her cold stare, like she’s coming to life. Does she want me to fight back? Is this some kind of weird test?

“You said it was my choice, right? To ‘transition’? So why are you looking at me like I’ve done something wrong?” I demand, stalling for a moment, a second, a millisecond.

“We only want to help,” she says with that same vacant stare that’s making me feel like I need to run.

The lights blink near the woman’s feet. If she notices them, she’s certainly not giving any indication. Again they increase in speed, flashing frantically like they’re signaling a warning.

A chill sweeps over me. Something is very, very wrong. “What is this place really?”

That strange, too-wide smile reappears. “Your salvation.”

Both sides of the floor light up red—on and off, on and off—like I might already be too late.

I shove the woman as hard as I can and tear down the hallway like I’m at risk of a second death. I hear her voice before I turn another corner, but it doesn’t sound like she’s calling to me. It sounds like she’s giving someone else an order.

“The human is aware. Send the guards from War.”

My blood runs cold. I’m not in paradise—I’m in some kind of prison.

The lights continue to flash, guiding me left, then right, and straight through another hall. My breathing is rapid, my skin is on fire, and my head still feels like it’s bruised from the inside out, but I don’t stop running.

And then the lights still near one of the wall panels. I force myself to stop, even though everything in me is screaming that you should never stop running in a horror film, and I look farther down the corridor, unsure of where to go.

I open my mouth like I want to shout What do I do? when I hear the sound of the building breaking apart. Smoke and metal explodes in front of me, and a powerful blast wave knocks me to the ground.