Kara's fading pulse thundered in her ears as the extractor's countdown beeped relentlessly—2… 1…—its wires sparking inches from her skull, the drone's drill grinding into her side, tearing flesh with a searing agony. The crevice walls crushed her ribs, each breath a razor-sharp stab, while the second drone's tether pinned her arm, its electric jolt frying her nerves, locking her in a paralyzed scream. The hum of OmniCorp's reinforcements swelled, a deafening drill breaking through the stone above, showering her with molten shards that burned her scalp. The air thinned to a suffocating whisper, her vision narrowing to a tunnel of black.
The extractor's needle pierced her temple, a cold invasion spreading ice through her mind, images of her brother flashing—his last smile, then darkness. The first drone's claw adjusted, tilting her head for deeper access, its lens glowing with a predatory red as it began siphoning her memories. Kara's good leg twitched, the broken one a dead weight, and a slab shifted, pinning her pelvis, the pressure threatening to snap her spine. The second drone fired a second tether, wrapping it around her throat, tightening with each pulse, cutting off her air as her face purpled.
The crevice groaned, a new crack splitting the wall beside her, unleashing a jet of superheated gas that scorched her cheek, blistering skin as she twisted futilely. The drill above breached, a flood of enforcers' boots clanking down, their rifles humming with charged rounds, a laser sight locking onto her chest. Marcus's voice, barely audible through the rubble, rasped, "Kara… resist…"—but a cave-in buried him deeper, his silence a knife to her soul. The extractor's siphon accelerated, her thoughts fragmenting, her brother's face dissolving into static.
A faint vibration—her comms—crackled: "Hold… breach…" but the signal cut as an enforcer's boot stomped it, shattering the device. The second drone's tether tightened, snapping a vertebra, her body convulsing as the pain overwhelmed her paralytic haze. The crevice walls shuddered, a massive slab tilting overhead, its shadow swallowing her, poised to crush her skull. The extractor beeped a new cycle—recalibrating for total neural wipe—its needle retracting only to plunge deeper, drawing a bloodcurdling scream that echoed off the stone.
The drill above struck a gas pocket, igniting a fireball that roared down the crevice, singeing her hair as she arched back, the tether choking her to unconsciousness. The enforcers fired, a bullet grazing her ear, the whistle deafening, while the first drone's claw malfunctioned, sparking and jamming the extractor mid-siphon. The slab fell, missing her head by a hair, lodging against the wall, but the pressure intensified, cracking her collarbone. The second drone's tether snapped, recoiling like a whip, lashing her face, and the crevice's final collapse loomed, the walls grinding together.