Firestorm:

  I flew toward Twin Flames, using the Grid as my guide. The air beneath me hummed as I soared across oceans, mountains, forests, and towns.

  Night fell. Hunger gnawed, talons ached, scales slicked with sweat. My body was a machine forged for distance, and still, it burned. My eyes drooped from exhaustion. Weakness overtook me the farther away from Bennu I got, but there was no rest for the weary.

  Thoughts of Zayne, Sumi, and life on Bennu consumed my mind every mile of the journey, stirring in me a devious restlessness.

  I carried on until I reached Twin Flames, that damned city with skyscrapers clawing away from its own veil of smog. Smoke curled from factories that never slept, and the air tasted of chemical runoff and rot. Sirens wailed, neon lights flickered, but the skies were void of patrol drones.

  I pulled a tight turn, wondering where to go next, as the smog coated my tongue with metallic grit.

  “Jackie, can you hear me?”

  Only the distant cries of the meek and starving replied, their need for aid raw and urgent.

  I sighed and flew to the city limits to escape the haze that left a sour taste in my now-scratchy throat.

  Out here, away from the hustle and bustle, the air was quiet except for the faint hum of the ever-present Grid, although a different color than I was used to.

  I perched on a mountaintop outside of Twin Flames to watch and listen for clues. My oversized body collapsed against the jagged rocks. A much needed break after a long flight.

  “Next steps, present yourself,” I demanded, not expecting a response.

  I closed my eyes and exhaled another prayer for Zayne’s recovery. He didn’t deserve to be collateral damage yet again, destined to be a victim of the Slipstream and its twisted timelines.

  Music wafted on the wind, along with hooping and hollering.

  Who’s out here at this hour? Did I stumble on a clue?

  When I opened my eyes, a flicker of light caught my attention from a distance. I intuitively moved toward it, flapping my tired wings once more.

  A highway cut through the mountain, and on it, a posh convertible sped down the road. Its headlights flickered as it took violent turns down the winding path.

  The Grid-covered moon glistened against the convertible’s metallic paint, tracing every curve.

  The male driver hit the gas and revved the engine. Wind blew through his thick black hair.

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  Who is he and why do I feel drawn to him?

  A low growl reverberated in my empty stomach as I clenched my talons and beat my wings, flying faster to get a better look.

  The tires of this fancy car skid across the pavement as the dark-haired driver took a tight turn at top speed.

  “I am eternal, infallible, indestructible,” the man shouted into the night, driving full throttle, racing only against himself. He cackled and cranked the steering wheel to the right, sending the car careening over the blacktop.

  The front bumper hit the safety barrier, and the convertible bounced off it.

  The driver laughed with delight.

  This guy’s got a deathwish.

  Every reckless move made my pulse spike.

  He drove at a breakneck pace, unable to keep up with the twists and turns of the road. One false move, and the car crashed headfirst into the railing.

  My breath vanished, stolen by dread, as the convertible plunged off the cliff.

  Metal screamed against rock as the car overturned, smashing the front end to bits.

  The car flipped over multiple times as it careened down the mountainside, windows shattering into jagged shards of glass, steel crunching.

  The gruesome crash turned my empty stomach.

  The car landed on its top, tires spinning uselessly. The hollow thud of destruction echoed in my ears. Silence followed, heavy and stunned, broken only by the hiss of leaking fluids.

  Burned rubber and gasoline hit my nostrils, and then the engine caught fire.

  I swooped into the valley to check on the driver.

  The young man with thick black hair hung upside down from his seat belt, lifeless. Thick, dark blood covered his swollen face, rendering him unrecognizable. Brain matter dripped from his skull.

  My jaw clenched at the gory sight.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, not caring to be seen if I could save a life.

  He didn’t answer. It was too late. He must have died on impact.

  Why would he be so careless with his life?

  But then…the young man burst into flames.

  I jumped back, the heat from the combustion making me sweat.

  His skin melted like wax, pooling amongst the wreckage below.

  A relentless squeeze gripped my ribcage, each inhale a stab of resistance deep in my chest.

  His flaming body quickly turned to ash, but a phoenix always rises. The energy of new life exploded from the aftermath, birthing a new creature, first as a baby bird that wriggled in the fire. The driver had come back from the dead, rebirthing right in front of me.

  I stumbled backward, shaking my head in disbelief.

  How can this be?

  My tired eyes squinted, studying him as he transformed into a hairless, leathery creature.

  Am I dreaming? No, the timeline is showing me exactly what I needed to see.

  The rebirthing creature grew from baby to adult in seconds. As it transformed, his broad nose and strong jawline returned.

  Once fully reformed, the man stumbled out of the wreckage and fainted onto the gravel. As he lay in a pile of his own guts and shards of glass, his skin healed and his thick black hair grew back.

  I gasped and flew away to avoid detection. There was no telling how long he’d remain unconscious, and my tired brain needed to process this shocking information.

  Barely keeping my panic attack at bay, I perched on the mountaintop with a good vantage point of the rebirthing man. Wherever he went, I would follow.

  Who is this guy? How did he rebirth?

  Mark never released the Life Rite immortality serum in this timeline. Whatever this was, it was unsanctioned, which made it even more dangerous. Life Rite must have gone…underground?