The doors of Redway burst open, Felissa pushing past both night shift nurses and the few guards they’d left behind as a precaution. Something she was all eternally grateful for even as she could feel the pit growing in her stomach. How much time did they have? She ignored any questions, b-lining up the stairs.

“Tsk.”

Pain dropped her stopped her short, her body forced against the wall as she tried to right herself.

No. Not now. Not yet.

Her head felt like it would explode at any moment, but she couldn’t worry about that now. Ben was waiting. The Chief was waiting. All her subordinates were waiting. Those who were still left, anyway. A loose collection of rookie mages, soldiers, and the remnants of the taskforce. All of whom she knew wouldn’t last if they waited for that monster to come find them.

C’mon. You can cry later. Right now, you’re needed.

She fought through the headache to move forward, using the wall for support as she finally managed to reach room W-12. One hand gently pushed it open, Felissa trying her best not to startle the sleeping boy as she entered. Or at least, she’d hoped he’d be sleeping. When she came inside, she found Thomas sitting straight up in his bed, his gaze already locked on her.

Felissa froze, the pit in her stomach only rising as she looked at him.

It was happening again, wasn't it? She’d told herself she’d never let any of it get to them. Twice. And yet here she was, face to face with another incident in need of hiding away from. Seeing how calm Thomas seemed about it only made her feel more guilty. How many times now had she broken that promise? She’d even told Ben she’d do whatever it took to keep them out of it, going as far as hiding their names from the records for their protection.

And yet, here she was. Again. But this was different, wasn't it? This wasn’t just another crazy monster on the rampage or a cult at work within the city. Both the Senator and the Mayor were dead, along with their strongest asset to victory. Regrouping was their best course of action at the moment. No. It was their only choice. They had to do this.

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Felissa knew that. She knew. But it didn’t make getting Thomas any easier. She couldn't look him in the eye as she helped him pack.

***

The ride to Checkpoint Beta didn’t help matters.

News of Angelas was quick to spread as per the taskforce’s decision. With the Senator gone, there was no reason to keep what happened away from the wider population, especially given their lack of resources. Felissa herself was set to go before the Secretary of Defense after she’d gotten her family to safety. Not that there was anyone besides Ben and Thomas she needed to safeguard.

Both her parents lived all the way in Pennsylvania so they were no concerns there. And Ben’s only other immediate family was his sister in Maine. She’d been hounding him for answers ever since the news dropped to the rest of the world.

“We urge all residents of Angelas to remain calm,” a reporter was saying. “As of now, officers are hard at work with evacuation details. Back to you, Greg.”

Felissa watched from Ben’s screen as the reporters gave what little they could to reassure the populace. Most wouldn’t make it into the record. The demonic attacks. The tower massacre. The fact that Angelas itself was now under control from a hostile power. As far as the common people knew, it was just another terrorist attack. A group of unknown origin took over a news station and threatened to take the entire city hostage.

An extreme solution, maybe, but it was leagues better than letting people know that demons and monsters existed. Or that they had no idea how to stop them. Without Alice or the Senator, humanity had no real plan of action. And she could tell everyone else knew that too.

Chief Brown only sat back with his wife, stroking his kid’s head for comfort. Ben refused to make eye contact, though he made sure to hold Thomas’s hand for the entire away trip. And she could only imagine what was going through Officer Genry’s mind. He’d been staring out the window for far longer than seemed healthy.

But even that she knew she couldn’t do anything about. She was a Major and a member of the taskforce, but what good would any of that do here? For once in her life, Felissa was completely out of her depth. Everyone was. She sat back against the side of the vehicle, letting the constant rocking distract her mind somewhat. It didn't help much.

But that's all she was able to do. She could only sit back and wait. Hope. And maybe, though she seldom believed it very useful, pray that things weren’t completely over. There were still several miles to go before they’d reach sanctuary.