Suddenly, the man was no longer a man, his skin greying into the same pallor as the female monster next to him.

[Disguise Self lv. 3 identified!]

The words appeared in Lance's mind, and his heart skipped a beat. He'd already seen this ability activate with Sophie, but seeing it happen in a battle was something else altogether.

He glanced over at Sophie, who was staring at the man--no, not a man anymore, the monster--with wide eyes.

"Kill it!" Lance shouted, drawing his gun.

Sophie nodded and raised her hands. A bright blue aura surrounded her body, and she pointed her palms at the monster.

Light burst forth from her hands, and the monster screamed in agony.

Sophie lowered her hands and released the light, but it continued to burn the monster for a few seconds after.

Then the light faded away.

"Nice shot," Lance complimented her.

He didn't get a notification. That kill had been all Sophie.

"Yeah, I thought so too," Lance agreed.

Sophie smiled at him, and they moved to ensure the other corpses were as dead as they seemed.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

There was one more door standing between them and the stairwells leading up to the surface. Lance tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge.

"Locked from the outside?" he asked.

Sophie nodded and grabbed the handle, turning it gently. With a click, the door opened easily and they quickly rushed through, making sure none of the creatures followed them.

They ran up the staircase, and Lance held his breath. "Where are we?"

"We're in the basement," Sophie answered, breathing heavily. "I think that's where the rest of the police are."

Lance glanced over his shoulder. He could hear the monsters crashing through the building above them. Hopefully they would find others soon.

When they reached the top level, they hurried along a hallway, looking for signs of life.

"This way," Sophie said, pointing at a door.

They ran towards it, but then stopped at the sight of a dead body on the ground.

"Oh my God…" Sophie gasped.

The corpse wore a police uniform, and Lance recognized him immediately.

"Officer Watkins," he whispered.

"It… It can't be..." Sophie trailed off.

The officer's name had already been seared onto Lance's memory, years ago in junior high school. He was such a nice man, always polite to everyone... And now, it was as if the man had never existed.

Lance looked away, not wanting to acknowledge the dead cop that had once been his mentor. His heart broke for this man, whose entire life was erased, replaced with cold reality. This was something that should never have happened.

Forcing himself back to the task at hand, he scanned for enemies. They must have gotten to him from the side. Had the man sensed a threat and tried to lock the doors behind him? If that was true, then Lance could only imagine how many others had fallen to these beasts. How much of a loss did the station represent? Were there other officers still alive somewhere?

Looking around the room, Lance was relieved to see that some semblance of order remained, even though the enemy controlled it completely. Bodies were scattered everywhere, yet Lance realized that a large percentage of the deaths were monsters. That was a good sign, given how dire their situation had become, though Lance would've preferred it if he had proof of even a single normal human surviving.

In front of him, the door slowly creaked open, and Lance watched as two more humans peeked out cautiously, weapons trained on him.