Michael squeezed my shoulders. "Borges?"
"Argentine writer. He talked about labyrinths as metaphors for knowledge—secret pathways and hidden answers. Sometimes, the monster at the maze's center isn't what you expected."
Michael spoke softly. "And sometimes, the real monsters are the ones who built the labyrinth in the first place."
Marcus abandoned his window check and approached the table. "Whatever happens after this upload completes, we must be prepared to move immediately. Hopefully, with a break in the storm."
A low rumble of thunder rolled across the mountains, announcing itself.
"Ninety-eight percent."
Miles set down his phone and stood. "We're releasing a demon into the world. Maybe not a bad one—but definitely something that can't be put back in its box."
Michael turned to face him. "Better than leaving Asphodel out there unquestioned."
Thunder suddenly cracked directly overhead, no longer a distant threat. We were on the edge of leaving. I called out, "Upload at ninety-nine percent."
Sheets of rain pummeled the roof with such force I could scarcely hear my own thoughts. A flash of lightning turned night to day for a fraction of a second.
Marcus flinched. "One-Mississippi-two—" As the thunder clapped, the lights sputtered and then plunged us into darkness.
Miles's voice cut through the darkness. "Shit!"
My laptop screen remained illuminated. It was the sole source of light in the room. The battery indicator showed 83 percent remaining—enough time.
"Everyone okay?" Michael's voice was calm and authoritative.
"Fine," Marcus answered.
"I stubbed my toe on something, but yeah," Miles added.
A beam of light sliced through the darkness as Michael activated his tactical flashlight. Marcus followed suit, igniting an old kerosene lantern. The golden glow from the lantern painted everything in sepia tones like we'd stepped back in time.
I returned my attention to the screen. The upload bar had frozen at 99.7 percent.
I leaned in close. "No, no, no, come on."
Michael moved behind me. "What's happening?"
"It's stalled. The power surge must have—"
The progress bar suddenly jumped to 100 percent. A green confirmation message flashed across the screen.
"It's done. The upload completed." I exhaled.
Miles punched the air. "Ha! Take that, shadow government!"
"Keep it down." Marcus moved to the window to scan the surroundings.
The storm continued its assault, rain drumming hard against the roof. Lightning forked across the sky, illuminating the entire forest in snapshots of silver-blue clarity.
Michael studied the deluge through a gap in the curtains. "We can't leave in this. Visibility's zero. We'd be sitting ducks on those mountain roads."
I nodded, oddly relieved for the forced delay. "So we keep waiting?"
"We wait, but we stay ready. The moment there's a break in the weather, we move."
The Wi-Fi indicator on my laptop pulsed steadily—a small miracle given the storm's ferocity. I opened Evelyn's protocol file and began the final sequence.
