ts. She bypassed her apartment entirely. S

ng in the gray afternoon light. She walked into the lobby, slapped a fifty-dollar bill on the counter, and refused to

om

gravel. She shoved the door open, stepped inside, and slammed it

ked straight to the window and yanked the heavy, dust-caked bla

bedside lamp. It cast a sickly, ye

e to the light, inspecting the heavy pendant. Carved into the metal was an intricate, ancient crest-a shield flank

ll, red plastic first-aid kit. She snapped it

ff the needle, pressed the tip against the fleshy

She squeezed the tip, forcing a thick, dark d

directly over the center of the

t roll off. The gold absorbed the blood instantly, sucking

white light erupte

wave of vertigo hit her, making he

o see the sprawling, high-tech underground bunker Kendal had

ngful of air that smelled l

ody remained slumped on the stained bedspread, but her mind was trapped inside a literal box. It was barel

ture of the wall. A sharp sensation of ro

she whispered, h

ebirth alter the timeline? Did she break the ar

s were soft and spongy. But right in the center, e

mentally brushed the grime off the plate. It was a shallow depress

lypse. Kendal had never hoarded food. She had hoarded jewelry. She had sent me

. She was wearing a pair of fou

d her mind on the rusted metal plate inside her spatial vision. With a thought, the earri

Ellery's teeth. The gold hoop began to melt. It liquefied into a gl

through the tiny space. The rotte

hed outward. The ceiling groaned and lifted. The space expanded by at least two feet in every

n her throat. Her eyes w

y dimension that fed on precious metals. Kendal's bunker hadn't started as

hit her again, and her consciousness instantly slamme

ooked at the 1.1 million dolla

he knew exactly what she had to do. She was goin