Kara's fading pulse stuttered as the extractor's neural wipe hit 99%, its needle burrowing into the core of her mind, shredding her last memory—her brother's voice—into a chaotic scream of static. The fireball's flames roared up, engulfing her lower body, the molten heat fusing her skin to the slab, each nerve ending a live wire of agony. The neural clamp descended, its prongs glinting with a cold, mechanical hunger, inches from her skull, while the chasm's walls slammed together, the slab tilting with a groan, its edge poised to crush her head. The enforcers' rifles hummed, a laser sight burning into her forehead, a single shot trembling on the trigger.
The crevice's air thickened to a suffocating haze, ash and steam choking her as the scalding water torrent intensified, splashing her face, boiling her eyes shut. The stun baton's crackle returned, its tip brushing her chest, the electric jolt searing her heart, her body convulsing as her ribs cracked further, blood bubbling from her lips. The second drone, malfunctioning but relentless, fired a final tether, snaring her good arm, yanking it toward the wall, dislocating it with a wet pop, the pain a supernova in her skull. The conduit shard, lost, clattered against the slab, its echo mocking her helplessness.
The extractor's feedback loop surged, a blinding surge of electricity frying her nerves, her vision splitting into fractured hallucinations—Lena's laugh, Marcus's buried form—merging with the real torment of the clamp's prongs piercing her scalp, drawing a bloodcurdling shriek. The fireball's heat melted the slab's edge, a drip of molten rock searing her temple, fusing her hair to the stone, the stench of burning flesh overwhelming. The chasm rumbled, a deeper collapse imminent, and a massive boulder broke free above, hurtling toward her, its shadow swallowing the light as the enforcers shouted, "Fire now!"
Marcus's voice, a ghostly whisper through the rubble, rasped, "Kara… live…"—but a cave-in crushed the sound, burying him in silence. The rifle shot rang out, the bullet grazing her ear, the whistle deafening as it ricocheted, splintering the clamp's prong, sending a shard into her cheek. The tether tightened, snapping her dislocated arm's bone, her scream cut off as the slab's edge kissed her forehead, drawing blood. The extractor's wipe reached 100%, a cold void swallowing her identity, but a spark—her defiance—flickered, jamming the siphon mid-process.
The boulder struck, missing her head by a hair, lodging against the wall, but the pressure intensified, cracking her jaw. The fireball surged, igniting the tether, the flames racing toward her face, while the chasm walls ground together, the slab tilting to crush her skull. The enforcers lunged, one grabbing the clamp to force it deeper, but the drone's explosion rocked the crevice, hurling debris, pinning the enforcer's arm. The walls sealed shut, the slab a heartbeat from her head, the fireball's heat blinding, and the extractor's hum faded—her final pulse a desperate, defiant beat against the encroaching void.