Chapter One - Before the Lights Went Out

The words came out colder than he intended, but he saw the road through the glass wall and knew he was right. The asphalt was softening. Car tires were leaving black scars in it. Phoenix wasn't just getting hotter. It was losing structural tolerance, one layer at a time. By the time they reached the second floor, the power was gone for real. Emergency lights came on for two seconds, yellow and weak as dying firelight, then steadied into a dim glow. At the far end of the hall, an elderly woman lay on the carpet while two bystanders tried clumsily to perform CPR. Mara dropped to her knees, checked for a pulse, and looked up with eyes already red. "Heat stroke," she said. "She's seizing." "We can't carry her," someone said, stepping back.