e buzz of collaboration and late-night coding sessions, was gone. All that remained were empty d

her team had been working on before Victor' s axe fell. It was a small, elegant device, a haptic feedback generator for virtual reality, designed

an her fingers over the smooth casing, remembering the excitement of the first successful test, th

t this just h

leaning against the frame as if she owned the place. Her re

ng here?" Ava ask

said, sauntering into the room. Her heels clicked loudly on the

oking down at the prototype in

? This is what you were building

Ava said, her hand instincti

g one. They' re working on haptic feedback too. Of course, their tech is lightyears ahead of... this." She gestured d

of rage, hot and powerful, a feeling she hadn' t experienced

said, her voice

eaming with malice. "You are nothing, Ava. A placeholder. A pawn in a game you don'

k to prevent, Celeste snatched

" Ava gasped,

ing it. "It' s so small.

the far wall. The plastic casing cracked, and

d she launched herself at Celeste. She didn't think; she just reacted.

er heel catching on a stray cable. She went down with a surprised shri

, staring down at Celeste, who lay groaning on the

eces. "No, no, no," she whispered, trying to fit the cra

red, pushing herself up on her elbows. "Y

he pieces. Please, just let me keep the pieces." Her voice broke on a sob. This wasn' t just a prototype

she sent it flying. Then she staggered over to the broken pieces of the prototype and brought her sharp h

ce contorted with rage and

, his face a thunderous mask. He took in the scene in an instant: Celes

mbling toward him. "She attacked me! L

didn' t even glance at the ruined device. He saw

did you do?"

dust. The last ember of hope in her had been extingui

she said, her voice eerily c

air and forcing her head back. His face was

over. You don' t get to decide anything. You attacke

rd, he stomped on it himself, grinding the last recognizabl

st thread holding her together. She didn' t scream. She didn' t cry. She jus

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