As we descend, I shout louder than the wind, "I don't like this place!" Slim smirks, "Why?!" "It's-" The wind dies down as we get close to the ground, smooth, rocky buildings, black goo in their cracks, they crumble, little by little, "It's demonic vibes- Architecture, even without the black substance-" We land and Thadius passes me, "We have to find Gladius." Slim passes me and I put out my hand, "Wait! I'm serious!" Thadius turns while Slim marches on, "Something's isn't right! Could be disease, something!" Tesyn marches past me, "No little human disease can bring us down." Slim pumps his fist to the sky, "Not true!"

"Markus! Come on!" Slim stretches, "Yeah! Hurry up!" I grab my head, my ears ring. Foreign words pound in my ears, Generator. Purple. Nuclear. Danger! I close my eyes.

SLIM

I smile, "He's coming back!" Thadius looks to him, "How do you know?" Markus grabs at his head and groans. Thadius gets on one knee, "What's wrong?" I wave my hand down, "It's just his gears turning again." He looks up at me, "What's a Hos-pi-tal?" I slump, "Annnnnd we lost him."

Thadius pulls him up off the floor and I pronounce it right, "Hospital?" Markus points at me, “Yeah!-" He grabs his forehead again, "Pen, Paper!" I exhale, "Now you want to play charades?!" Markus points, "Over there!" Thadius and I follow him, he swipes everything, monitor, computer, mouse, keyboard, it all flies off the desk. That was a nice Desktop too. Markus draws the symbol and I point, "Radioactive." Markus knocks on his head- He's learning english? "Anti-radiation tablets." Markus bangs on the table and says it, "Anti-radiation tablets!" I walk out and Markus shouts, "Wait! Where you going?" I stop and look back, "When I get back, we're out of here."

I step out and run to where I stashed- I rub my forehead, then bang on the desk. I yank out the drawers and throw them at the wall. I kick it across the room. I huff and puff as Thadius rushes in, sword drawn, he lowers it. "What's wrong with you?" My vision narrows, "What's wrong?!" I inhale, "We are fucked!" He tilts his head, "Why?" I pause, a letter lays taped under one of the drawers. I pass him and rip it off the drawer,

I'm sorry boys, he found us. I left something in the Heart of the Raid Center, find it. -Tamslin.

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No shit. "What's that?" I crumple it up and pocket it, "Stay here until I'm back. Use fire." "What does that mean?!"

I step out and lean in next to a building's black patches. Great, the demonic patches on the buildings are moving, something's here with us.

A screech comes from the Raid Center, the large, blackened skyscraper in the distance. Shit.

I run down the streets as whispers echo in the shadows. I reach into my coat and twist. I stab into an Imp's heart, it squeals at the pain. I twist and force it off the blade. I twist again and stare the others down. I flip them off, they flip the bird back as I keep moving. The ground rumbles, the vibrations go deeper- I hug the wall and a giant undead creature marches through the intersection. It slowly turns my way- I leap inside the building through a broken window. It reels in close, it's breath comes through, blowing glass shards on me. It reels back and I exhale. A large black spike flies like a rocket through the window. I comb black goop out my hair as the spike molds into a skinny blackened creature. So this is where they make these monsters. Not Ursa, someone just as bad. I sneak out to the giant monster's retreating footsteps.

A couple miles of carefully moving through the city, I make it. The raid Center's gates caved in, They never had a chance. I march into the militia's main building and pause. Among the flesh infested walls, Gladius lays there, his prosthetic arms heavily damaged, rebar through his back, heart ripped out his chest. What am I gonna tell them? I grab a bit of concrete and smash open the panel of his arm. I take a paper out of it.

Slim, if I'm gone, women's bathroom, first floor. I knock on his arm, "I'll make sure they get through this." I run as the whispers come back. I run into the bathroom, what it lacks in urinals, it makes up for with smell, "Wow, is that lavender?" There's a pink heart on the wall. I smile and glide my knife against the paint. I back up, then kick open the previously hidden door. Inside, I grab the sword and the vials of purple, "Love you too, Tams." I jump as a brutish figure slams into the bathroom. I inject myself with purple, my body twitches as I grab hold of the sword. He pulls back his fist, I turn the corner, stab the sword into his chest. He roars as I pull out the sword, then lean my head on it's hilt as the worst headache comes on. My muscles ache, fire underneath my skin. The demon tries to grab me, I push up off the sword's hilt and roll between his legs.

The thing charges after me as pain surges through me, There's no running. I stop and the monster can't stop fast enough, I smirk, my muscles bulge with purple veins, I swing the blade through thick bone, he makes a loud thud against the floor. I shiver and lean on the sword again, Not good. I look at the purple needles as more of them approach, I'll make sure they get through this. I inject another needle.