Pain. That was all Michael could feel. Burning, searing pain spreading through his body like fire.

He barely remembered what happened. One moment, they were running. The next—the Scorpius rex was on him.

Then, the sharp sting. The quills.

He collapsed, his vision spinning. His limbs felt heavy, his breath ragged. His baseball bat slipped from his fingers as darkness crawled in at the edges of his vision.

Somewhere far away, voices shouted. Hands grabbed him. He thought he heard Yaz—panicked, desperate—but he couldn’t focus. The world tilted, and then—nothing.

⸻

“He’s burning up.” Yaz’s voice wavered as she pressed a trembling hand to Michael’s forehead.

Darius looked at the wounds on his side where the quills had struck. “We need to get those out, now.”

Kenji’s hands shook as he grabbed one. “Dude, this is gonna hurt—”

Michael groaned weakly, barely conscious, as Kenji yanked the first quill out.

Yaz’s heart pounded. This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be happening. Michael was supposed to be okay. He was supposed to be joking around, being lazy, flirting with her like an idiot. Not dying.

Brooklyn suddenly gasped. “Wait—the antidote! There’s an antidote in the lab!”

Yaz snapped up. “Where?” Her voice was sharp, frantic.

Brooklyn hesitated. “It’s—it’s past the river, near—”

That was all Yaz needed.

Before anyone could stop her, she ran.

She didn’t think. She didn’t hesitate.

She just ran.

She had to save him.