Breach

4955 words

Episode 11: Breach The air on the other side of the sealed bulkhead hummed with a low, electric tension, the kind that prickles the skin and makes every breath feel too loud. Mira pressed her palm against the cold, unyielding steel, her fingers trembling from the strain of dragging Lira through the collapsing corridor just moments before. The bulkhead had slammed shut behind them with a finality that echoed in her chest, a guillotine of metal cutting off any hope of retreat. Her breath fogged the surface in shallow bursts, the chill seeping into her bones through the thin fabric of her suit. Lira, slumped against the wall beside her, wheezed softly, her face pale and slick with sweat, the gash on her forehead still oozing a sluggish trickle of red. “Cal,” Mira rasped into her comms, her voice scraping against the static. “Cal, can you hear me? We’re through, but—” She cut off, swallowing hard as a dull thud reverberated from the other side of the bulkhead, a reminder of the chaos they’d barely escaped. No response came, just the hiss of dead air in her earpiece. She slammed her fist against the metal, the impact jarring up her arm. “Damn it, Cal, answer me!” Lira stirred, her eyes fluttering open, glassy and unfocused. “Mira... we can’t... stay here,”...