Maya's POV

The city roared. Not the gentle hum of our town, but a visceral, grinding cacophony that clawed at my eardrums even through the cotton of my sleep. Skyscrapers, steel and glass behemoths, clawed at a perpetually grey sky, their reflective surfaces distorting the faint light into fractured, agonising spears. My feet were lead, sinking into the grimy pavement as I fought against an invisible current, pushing through a faceless sea of people. Each face was a blur, a featureless ...