The breathing beneath Kegaku matched every charge entering his back.
Four bolts rose from the pressure bed. The iron frame lifted with him still strapped across it, exposing a narrow chamber under the floor.
Jade kept both hands on the tank hose while Omina pushed her green hilt into the opening.
"Raise the bed evenly because his pulse carries her pressure now."
Omina built one green bar beneath each corner. The frame rose another foot without bending the pipe connected to the tank.
A woman lay below Kegaku with her hands buried wrist-deep inside two pump cylinders. A tube entered the scar in her throat. The third pipe had opened against her ribs, forcing Kegaku's charge through both bodies before it reached the floor.
Her eyes opened when his heart completed another beat.
"Put the condemned body beneath the blade before he spreads again."
Kegaku pulled against the chest strap. The holes around his neck leaked onto the iron bed.
