The Kraken: All the world's a stage

The Kraken: All the world's a stage

They burst out onto 5th Avenue. Sirens screamed past. Drones circled above the rooftops like vultures. Another blast shook the ground , closer this time. A column of smoke spiraled upward from a few blocks away. Gabriel turned his head just in time to see a black SUV split in half by fire . He felt the heat on his skin. Somewhere behind them, a building began to collapse. He shoved Adaya into a narrow alley, the world narrowing to gunmetal and thunder. “Keep your head down.” Her breath came fast. “Who’s doing this?” “The people who think they can run the world better than it runs itself.” They ran , through the rain, through the ash, through the aftershocks of a night that would divide everything that came before from everything after. She didn’t understand, not yet. But she would. He turned toward the roar above them. A helicopter descended, its searchlight cutting through the rain. The pilot leaned out, motioning. “Come on,” Gabriel said, grabbing her wrist again. “We’re out of time.” They sprinted down the street, the wind tearing at their coats. The chopper’s rotors screamed against the storm. Adaya hesitated as the spray hit her face. “Gabriel, where are we going?” He looked back at her, the lightning reflecting in his eye. “To the only place they can’t find us.” He pulled her into the cabin. The door slammed shut. The city disappeared beneath them , a burning labyrinth fading into darkness. As they flew east over the black Atlantic, the storm swallowed everything behind. Far below, waiting in the mist, was a ghost made of steel and power. The Leviathan’s Wake. And on that ship, the truth that Gabriel Cates had spent a long time concealing , would finally surface.