The math from last night sat on the substation table like evidence at a trial nobody would win. Arden had written it in her ledger at 4 AM when the final tallies came in and sleep had become a concept she remembered but couldn't access.
One hundred eighty-seven homes targeted.
Twenty defended by Margaret. Zero casualties.
Three defended by team. Three families saved.
Ninety-one survived via video protocol.
Seventy-three families killed.
Plus Callum already in the ground.
Plus Amara already gone.
Plus Arden's ability to smell, which the Codebook had taken two nights ago when she'd asked where the dead zones were and received an answer that cost her the capacity to distinguish coffee from gasoline or blood from water.
