17
Sentinel
Something is wrong.
Not the alarms.
Not the feeds.
Theabsence.
Sentinel turns slowly, eyes narrowing at the central display. His system should be screaming by now—pressure, response, dominance restored.
Instead—
Stillness.
The girl didn’t break.
Sheendured.
And the hunter hasn’t rushed.
That’s when it hits him.
Carter isn’t reacting.
He’s already inside.
“Seal the inner corridors,” Sentinel snaps.
Too late.
The lights flicker—once.
Not a failure.
Ahandoff.
His jaw tightens.
Impossible.
No one moves through his system without noise.
Without fear.
Without permission.
Then a realization colder than anger settles into his bones.
Scout Fallon didn’t give Carter a location.
She gave himtiming.
Sentinel spins—
And the control room door unlocks.
