[POV: Sofia Lanka]

"Keep your eyes on me, Zara. Do not look at the timer, do not look at my mother, and for the love of everything holy, do not hold your breath. I need you to be as still as a statue. Can you do that for me? Can you be the brave girl I know you are?"

Sofia’s voice was a low, melodic hum, designed to anchor the trembling child in a world that was currently vibrating with the threat of total annihilation. She was on her knees in the center of the cold, white laboratory, her hands hovering inches away from the complex tangle of wires and...