The smell of burning mutant flesh was nauseating.
At the two-mile barricade, Commander Jax watched as Briggs tossed a heavy road flare onto the gasoline-soaked carcass of the mutant bear. The flames roared to life, casting harsh orange shadows against the bruised purple sky.
The mercenaries stood in a wide circle around the fire, their assault rifles still tightly gripped in their hands. The usual tough-guy banter was completely gone.
"Armor-piercing rounds barely scratched the bone," Briggs muttered, wiping sweat and soot from his bald head. He looked at Jax, his eyes wide. "Commander... if there are thousands of those things out there..."
"Then we’re dead men if we leave this mountain," Jax finished grimly.
He turned around to face his fifty men. They were hard, ruthless killers who had fought in warzones across the globe. But right now, they just looked terrified.
"Listen up!" Jax barked, his voice cutting through the crackle of the fire. "Every single one of you thought the lady in the blazer was just a paranoid billionaire with too much money. You thought this was a babysitting gig."
He pointed a gloved finger at the burning monster.
"She wasn’t paranoid. She knew exactly what was coming. She bought us out because she needed a wall, and she paid us with a guaranteed ticket to survive the end of the world." Jax’s eyes hardened. "From this second on, nobody calls her crazy. Nobody questions her orders. She is the Boss. We hold this mountain road, or we end up as mutant food. Are we clear?"
"Yes, sir!" the mercenaries shouted in unison. The hesitation was gone. Absolute, unbreakable loyalty had just been forged in the fire.
Inside the Ark, the air smelled like expensive Earl Grey tea.
Catrin sat in the dimly lit security control room on the first floor. A massive wall of monitors displayed every angle of the mountain, the perimeter barricades, and the tree line.
She took a slow sip of her tea, her green eyes locked on the screens.
Eight days. Fourteen hours.
The timeline was rushing forward like a runaway train. She pulled her silk robe tighter around herself, but a sudden, violent shiver wracked her body.
Her hand reached around, instinctively pressing against the center of her back. Right where the mutant’s claws had torn through her spine in her past life. It was a phantom pain, a haunting echo of the cold concrete hallway where Julian had left her to die.
I’m safe, she reminded herself, taking a ragged breath. I’m behind three feet of titanium. I’m safe.
"Boss?"
Catrin snapped her hand away from her back. She turned to see Graves standing in the doorway, holding a data pad.
"What is it, Graves?" she asked, her voice instantly returning to its smooth, flawless calm.
Graves hesitated. He had seen the way she was clutching her back. He had seen the terror flash in her eyes for a split second. But he was smart enough not to mention it.
"Elias got the outer laser grids online," Graves reported, tapping the pad. "The entire perimeter is now a dead zone. Anything that crosses the property line without a whitelisted microchip gets sliced into ribbons."
"Good," Catrin said. She looked at Graves. He looked exhausted, rubbing his scarred face. "Have you eaten today?"
"Just a protein bar. Been busy setting up the camera feeds."
Catrin frowned. "Throw the protein bars in the trash. I’ll get you something proper. Give me a minute."
She closed her eyes briefly and reached into her spatial dimension.
A moment later, she opened them again.
"Go upstairs," she ordered. "There’s a hot Wagyu steak and garlic potatoes waiting for you. Eat a real meal, Graves. That’s an order."
Graves blinked, a look of genuine gratitude washing over his rough face. "Thank you, Briar. You... you should sleep, though. You’ve been awake for thirty hours."
"I’ll sleep when the sky stops glowing," Catrin murmured, turning back to the monitors.
Suddenly, an alarm blared from the console. A red light flashed on the screen labeled Lower Barricade.
Catrin set her teacup down.
On the monitor, a convoy of four sleek black SUVs and two local police cruisers pulled up to Jax’s barricade. The police sirens were blaring, flashing red and blue against the purple twilight.
Catrin leaned forward. She recognized the license plate on the lead SUV.
"Graves," Catrin said sharply. "Turn the audio feed on."
Down at the barricade, Commander Jax and ten of his mercenaries stepped out from behind the heavy steel barriers, their rifles resting easily against their chests.
The door of the lead SUV flew open.
Julian Vance stepped out. He looked like a cornered rat. His tie was loose, his eyes were bloodshot, and he was sweating profusely. Two police officers stepped out of their cruisers, looking incredibly nervous at the sight of the heavily armed mercenaries.
"Open the gate!" Julian screamed, marching toward Jax. "I know she’s up there! Open this gate right now!"
Jax didn’t move an inch. He just looked down at the ruined CEO. "This is private property. Turn around."
"I am Julian Vance!" Julian yelled, his voice cracking hysterically. "My wife bought this mountain! Half of everything she owns belongs to me! You are trespassing on my property! Officers, arrest this man!"
The two cops took a tentative step forward, resting their hands on their holstered pistols. "Sir, we have a court order..."
Jax actually laughed. It was a deep, mocking sound.
"Court order?" Jax chuckled. He racked the bolt of his assault rifle. The sharp, metallic CLACK echoed loudly.
Behind Jax, the ten mercenaries raised their weapons in perfect unison. Ten red laser sights instantly painted Julian and the two police officers.
The cops froze. They slowly raised their hands in the air, backing away from their cruisers. No paycheck was worth this.
"The courts are closed, Vance," Jax said, his voice dropping into a deadly growl. "The banks are frozen. Your money means absolutely nothing up here. The Boss said you might show up crying at the gate."
Julian paled, his eyes darting frantically to the red laser dot resting directly over his heart. "She... she can’t do this! My son is up there! Tell her to come down here!"
"The Boss also said I have full authorization to blow your head off if you don’t get off her mountain," Jax added casually. He raised his hand, counting down on his fingers. "You have five seconds. Five. Four..."
Julian stumbled backward, tripping over his own expensive shoes. He scrambled into the back seat of his SUV, slamming the door.
"Drive! Drive!" Julian screamed at his driver.
The SUVs violently reversed, tires screeching as they practically ran the police cruisers off the road to escape. In less than thirty seconds, the entire convoy had fled back down the mountain, disappearing into the purple fog.
In the control room, Graves let out a low whistle. "Well. That takes care of the ex-husband."
Catrin stared at the monitor. She watched Julian run away like a coward. The absolute, suffocating grip he had held over her in her past life was gone. Broken forever.
She picked up her teacup, her hands completely steady. The phantom pain in her back had vanished.
"Turn the alarm off, Graves," Catrin said softly, a genuine smile touching her lips. "I think I’m finally ready to go to sleep."