No shit! Lance thought angrily. They had been running for hours, and now he couldn't use his mind-reading ability. He could still sense the presence of the monsters they encountered, but that was useless against the humans.

"Shit!" he swore.

Lance turned and saw Sophie staring at him. She had a worried expression on her face.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," Lance lied. "I just—"

A loud crash sounded from behind them, followed by screams.

"What was that?" Sophie exclaimed.

The presences of the officers he'd just bumped into had disappeared. Lance looked around nervously, unsure of what to do.

"I don't know," he admitted. "But we need to get out of here."

He started walking toward the stairs, hoping to find another exit.

"Wait!" Sophie cried.

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She dashed after him, grabbing his arm.

"What?" he asked.

"There's something else downstairs!" she shouted.

Lance stared at her blankly. "What?"

"Listen!" she said urgently. "Something is coming up the stairs. Something big!"

Lance looked up and saw the same thing she did—a group of monsters rushing towards them. He raised his gun, but then he noticed something strange.

These creatures weren't like the others he'd seen. These were different. They were bigger, with a more defined body, and there was something about their faces that reminded him of humans.

"What the hell?" he muttered.

The monsters charged at him, growling and snarling.

Lance fired several shots, but they didn't seem to affect them. The monsters kept coming, slamming into him with their fists. Lance fell backward, landing heavily on his back. He struggled to breathe, his lungs burning from the impact.

Sophie grabbed his arm. "Get up!" she screamed.

Lance managed to stand, using the wall to help him back up. He glanced over to see what she was looking at.

A massive creature had appeared from the stairwell. It was easily twice the size of the others, and its muscles bulged under its skin. Its eyes glowed red, and it had a thick, black maw filled with sharp teeth.

"Run!" Sophie yelled.

Lance ran, following Sophie down the hall. They passed through a set of double doors, which led to a large lobby. A small crowd of civilians huddled in the far corner, cowering behind a row of chairs. Lance recognized some of them, but he didn't stop to check on them.

"How big is this fucking station?" Sophie shouted.

"I don't know," Lance admitted. "It seems even larger than it usually is. I'm sure there weren't this many floors yesterday."

And that was all the time they had for discussion.

The monsters were closing in.