The narrow corridor was choked with smoke, the air thick with the acrid stench of burning plastic and scorched metal. Each breath tasted like ash, and every step felt heavier as heat radiated from the walls, warping the edges of posters and causing glass displays to crack and melt.
At the far end of the hallway, the flickering orange glow of fire bathed everything in an infernal light. Standing amidst the haze was The Pyromancer, his silhouette broken and flickering like a mirage in the flames. The cracked welding mask he wore glowed faintly from within, two molten embers staring out from behind the fractured visor.
"Nowhere left to run, little rats," he said, his voice distorted through the mask. "The fire’s hungry… and it doesn’t care who it devours."
Lex crouched low behind an overturned metal shelf, her crossbow steady in her hands. Sweat dripped down her brow, stinging her eyes as she glanced back at her team.
Damien was pressed against the blackened wall nearby, his machete glinting faintly in the fiery glow. Sophie was kneeling with her tablet, its flickering screen displaying a damaged sprinkler system schematic. Maya shielded Elliot behind her, her arm wrapped protectively around the trembling boy. Margaret and Anthony lingered toward the back, their hands gripping their makeshift weapons—a crowbar and a baseball bat—like lifelines.
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“Sophie,” Lex said through gritted teeth, her voice barely above a whisper. “Tell me you’ve got something.”
Sophie’s fingers danced across the cracked screen of her tablet, her brow furrowed with concentration. “There’s a sprinkler control panel just ahead, but it’s fried. I might be able to bypass it, but I’ll need time.”
“Time we don’t have,” Damien muttered, sweat streaking down his face.
The Pyromancer tilted his head slightly, his arms spreading wide as the nozzles strapped to his wrists hissed faintly. The fire sputtered at their tips, hungry and alive.
"You hear that? The crackle… the hiss… it’s music, isn’t it? The sound of the end."
With a snap of his wrists, he unleashed twin streams of fire. Flames roared down the corridor in blinding arcs, engulfing the space in waves of molten orange and blinding white.
“Scatter!” Lex shouted.
The team split apart as fire erupted around them. Damien dove behind a pile of collapsed crates, his machete slipping from his grip as sparks sprayed across his back. Maya yanked Elliot behind a scorched display case just as flames roared overhead.
Margaret and Anthony stumbled backward, their faces streaked with sweat and soot.
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Lex reloaded her crossbow, her movements sharp and mechanical as she scanned for an opening. She spotted the Pyromancer through the haze, his movements slow and theatrical as he advanced through the corridor.
Sophie’s voice crackled through the smoke. “Lex! The bypass is almost ready, but I need another minute!”
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“Damien, Maya—keep him distracted!” Lex barked.
Damien nodded and pushed himself up from behind his cover. “Hey, fire freak!” he shouted, waving his arms.
The Pyromancer’s head snapped toward him, and he raised one of his flamethrowers. Damien bolted to the left, narrowly avoiding a concentrated burst of fire that scorched the ground where he had been standing.
On the other side, Maya lunged out from behind cover, throwing a piece of shattered metal debris at the Psycho. It clanged against his shoulder armor, drawing his attention.
"You’re bold. I like bold. Let’s see how bold you are when the flames come closer!"
Another torrent of fire roared from his gauntlets, barely missing Maya as she dove back behind her cover.
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Margaret and Anthony stood pressed against the wall, their faces illuminated by the fiery glow. Margaret’s crowbar shook in her grip as she watched her son huddle behind Maya, clutching his father’s pocketknife.
“They’re not going to make it,” Margaret whispered, her voice trembling.
Anthony’s face was grim, his knuckles white around the baseball bat. “They need time. Sophie needs time.”
Margaret’s eyes glistened as she turned to her husband. “If we don’t do something, none of them are getting out of here.”
Anthony nodded slowly, his face hardening with resolve. “Together, then.”
Lex turned her head and locked eyes with Margaret. The realization hit her like a sledgehammer. “No. Don’t you dare.”
But Margaret was already moving.
“Hey!” Margaret’s voice cut through the smoke, sharp and desperate. She stepped out into the open corridor, waving her crowbar above her head. “Hey, you pyromaniac piece of garbage! Come get me!”
The Pyromancer froze for a moment, his glowing eyes narrowing behind his cracked visor. Then, with a slow turn of his head, he set his sights on Margaret.
"Oh… bravery. How quaint."
Flames erupted from his gauntlets again as he advanced on her.
Anthony followed close behind his wife, charging forward with his baseball bat raised high. “Run!” he shouted to the team. “Take Elliot and run!”
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Margaret hurled a bottle of rubbing alcohol she had scavenged earlier. It shattered at the Pyromancer’s feet, igniting in a burst of blue flame. The Psycho stumbled slightly, his laughter turning into an irritated snarl.
Anthony swung his bat with all his strength, striking one of the fuel tanks strapped to the Pyromancer’s side. Sparks erupted, and a sharp hiss filled the air.
“Now!” Lex shouted.
Maya grabbed Elliot and pulled him down the corridor, followed closely by Damien and Brandon. Sophie clutched her tablet to her chest as she stumbled after them.
The Pyromancer roared, flames bursting chaotically from his damaged gauntlet. His hand shot out, grabbing Anthony by the collar and yanking him upward.
“No!” Margaret screamed as flames erupted from the Psycho’s other arm.
The corridor lit up with a blinding flash of orange light. For a brief moment, their screams pierced through the crackle of flames… and then there was silence.
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Lex shoved Sophie through a narrow maintenance door, followed by Maya, Damien, and Elliot. The heavy metal door slammed shut behind them, muffling the roar of the firestorm outside.
Elliot collapsed onto the cold concrete floor, his small body shaking as he clutched the pocketknife tightly in his hand.
“They’re… they’re gone…” he choked out between sobs.
Maya knelt beside him, wrapping her arms around his trembling shoulders. Tears streamed down her face as she rocked him gently.
Damien leaned against the wall, his head bowed, his shoulders heaving with quiet grief.
Sophie sat on the ground, her tablet trembling in her hands, her face streaked with tears.
Lex stood at the front of the group, her crossbow hanging limply at her side. Her face was pale, her lips pressed into a thin, trembling line.
“They bought us time,” she said softly. “We have to make it count.”
The ground trembled faintly beneath their feet. A low, guttural growl echoed through the walls, vibrating in their chests.
Sophie looked at her tablet, her voice shaking. “It’s coming. The Titan… it’s moving. And it’s huge.”
Lex swallowed hard, forcing herself to focus. “Then we move. Now.”
The group picked themselves up, their faces streaked with tears and ash, and disappeared into the maintenance tunnels as the faint sound of the Titan’s deep growl reverberated behind them.