Page 109 - DivineSparkRisingFinal

Nicholas Boothman
Carolina traced the spiral. “You are not the name
you were given. You are the story you now speak.
Choose wisely.”
Henry’s voice was low. “It’s affirmation. The
rebuild. After the wipe, this is where people take
the pen back.”
Carolina nodded. “The pivot point between
being erased and becoming something new.”
They took scans fast, the weight of it sinking in.
Boots above. Voices. Moving fast.
“Move,” Jinji said.
They sealed the wall and sprinted for the back
exit. A latch turned behind them. The door burst
open. Shouts chased them into the alleys.
The Old City twisted into stone corridors barely
wide enough for one body. Spices and dust
thickened the air. Market stalls blurred, hanging
rugs, brass lamps, figs spilling from baskets.
A dead end. Carolina yanked Henry into a side
passage just as boots pounded closer.
“Stairs!” Jinji shouted.
They climbed into blinding light. The rooftops of
Jerusalem. Flat stone and corrugated tin stretched
in a maze across the Old City. Calls to prayer
floated with the shouts of pursuit.
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