The drill didn't wait for the sun.
It started at 0300 hours. A grinding scream that tore through the silence of the night. Metal biting into rock. Deep. Violent.
Lena was already standing. She hadn't slept. She had been processing. Standing in the corner of the bedroom. Facing the wall. Her eyes open. Reflecting the moonlight.
Ezra sat on the edge of the bed. He held his head in his hands. The sound vibrated in the floorboards. In the walls. In his teeth.
"They started early," Ezra said. He didn't look up. His voice was thick. Exhausted.
"They panicked," Lena said. Her voice was clear. Too clear. No rasp. No breath. "They know the grid is stable. They know they can't control it. So they break it."
She turned. She walked to the window. Her feet didn't make a sound. No heel strike. No
