Chapter Four: The White Ward

Something deep inside him awakened. His heartbeat dropped to twenty beats per minute. His blood cooled, and newly formed proteins bound the toxins in his body. Like a spider surviving pesticide, he staggered from the ward. At 7:29:58, firefighters sealed the last cylinder inside a containment vessel. All seven targeted children—and the infant omitted from the prediction—survived. The attacker spoke only once in interrogation. “Skyweb sees who will die. It also sees who you will choose to save.” Then she bit open a capsule hidden in a crown and fell unconscious. When Lu Chen woke, Lin Wan sat beside his bed holding the torn photograph. “If a picture tells you to save seven next time, will you look for an eighth?” “Yes.”