● BEAT 1 OF 13
Hardened into a pocket of frozen time. Outside the glass, a shine of light hung suspended, trapping my father’s desperate expression in a …
● YANG~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“I was frozen. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe.”
● BEAT 2 OF 13
Every second I spent reaching for him felt like it was being physically drained from my own lifespan….
● YANG~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“I felt it. Every second. Every breath. I couldn’t stop.”
● BEAT 3 OF 13
Fractured images of my father flickered across the display, one glitch after another. My own voice came back in my ears a half-beat late, …
● YANG~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“I felt it. Every second. Every breath. I couldn’t stop.”
● BEAT 4 OF 13
His mouth moved. The speakers spat static. Something huge tore across the feed—laughing, distorted—and the image buckled under it.
● YANG~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“The noise filled my head. I couldn’t hear anything else.”● BEAT 5 OF 13
The signal screamed, folded in on itself, and vanished. “Dad—!” Snow flooded the wall. I stood there with my hand still pressed to the …
● YANG~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“I screamed. I couldn’t help it. The sound came out of me.”● BEAT 6 OF 13
The taste of metal coated my tongue. Now!” I roared. Behind me, three crew members lunged for the manual lever.
● YANG~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“I roared. The sound came from somewhere deep inside me.”● BEAT 7 OF 13
The heavy door at the end of the bridge groaned, opening just a sliver—long enough to see the vacuum-frost on the other side—before the …
● YANG~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“I felt it. Every second. Every breath. I couldn’t stop.”● BEAT 8 OF 13
“Get in there and delete that fire protocol before I erase your chip, you ingrown minions. I want his mother’s codes. Get me her magic….
● YANG~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“I felt it. Every second. Every breath. I couldn’t stop.”● BEAT 9 OF 13
One technician fell back, clutching a broken wrist. The door was dead. Behind me, the bridge systems reset.
● YANG~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“I felt it. Every second. Every breath. I couldn’t stop.”● BEAT 10 OF 13
Corridors snapped back into place. My father’s frozen image flickered once and vanished. He was gone.
● YANG~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“I was frozen. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe.”● BEAT 11 OF 13
“Open it,” I shouted, spinning back toward the consoles. “Open the door—now!” The word “now” came out wrong….
● YANG~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“I felt it. Every second. Every breath. I couldn’t stop.”● BEAT 12 OF 13
Pain flared and vanished under the heat flooding my chest—hot and reckless, the part of me that wanted to break anything that refused to …
● YANG~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“I felt it. Every second. Every breath. I couldn’t stop.”● BEAT 13 OF 13
My fist shuttered, aiming—a piston of titanium glove and fury ready to shatter the console as anger blurted, “I’ll…”
● YANG~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“I felt it. Every second. Every breath. I couldn’t stop.”