"Fall back!" I screamed over the clay ironwind and the scrabble of insect legs. "Too late!" Jax shouted. "They're on the left flank!" "Cover the medics!" I barked. "Push them through the gap, now!" A larva the size of a dog struck the bunker wall and split open like rotten fruit. Black threads crawled out and lunged toward our line. "Move!" I threw my weight into the blast door and slammed it. The door groaned. The field collapsed in a dozen places. I could hear the faint tinny promise from the chip in my ear—Evan's mock cheer cut into the static. Evan: You idiot. You always go loud. "I know I'm loud!" I snapped. "Keep the flank breathing." "Charge left!" Rivera shouted, voice ragged. "Hana, we're— The world folded into orders. Target coordinates, threat class: bio-larvae swarm, tier unknown. My combat suite lit up with data fast enough to blister my vision. [COMBAT SUITE] Target acquisition: impossible. Resource: 12% stimulant. Explosive: 1. Core integrity: critical. I took the stimulant vial, teeth clattering the cap, and swallowed like I was committing a crime. The stinging flood sharpened my hands. My eyes focused. The world narrowed down to two things: the opening past the collapsed trench and the cluster of bodies moving like one stomach. "Cover me!" I yelled. "You're not a demolition team!" Rivera shouted back. "Then make me one!" I crawled to the breach, palms slick. The larvae were climbing the cut wires, hissing like