I ran towards the entrance even as the crystal behind me began to light up, a deep, bass hum filling the room. The air itself began to feel thicker, tickling against my skin. It wasn’t an unpleasant sensation, though it was fairly distracting, and I almost slipped on some of our defensive preparations as I reached the security door.

Calling it a security door wasn’t quite accurate. It looked a lot like the blast doors the shelters had only thinner. They closed together from either wall they were placed inside of, and this entrance had been left slightly open. It wasn’t much room to work with, and even with how thin I was, I had to scrunch my shoulders to squeeze through.

On the other side of the door, there was a wide hallway that went completely around the shielding station room. There were a few passages leading off from the hall to other parts of the mall’s top floor, but none were located near this particular entrance. Even from the closest hallway or stairway, I would have plenty of time to see any Anathema coming.

I moved more carefully to the far wall, the floor a horrific slipping hazard with what Selene and I had done to it. Stray clothing and blankets littered the ground, a thin layer of liquid giving what little of the floor did show through a dangerous sheen. My boots made squelching noises with each step, and the stench of alcohol was overpowering. I did my best to ignore it as I positioned myself near the far wall to see down either direction of the long, gently curving hallway. Selene was right next to me, each of her tails wrapped around a magazine, and I found some of the anxiety in me lost its edge.

I wasn’t alone. We could do this.

We had to.

Next to the wall was a bench, and on it were two boxes with my bunny emblem. Lying on top of them was an inhaler along with a piece of greater restoration gum already unwrapped. I set my gun down, quickly popped the gum into my mouth and swallowed it before using the inhaler, breathing in the pain-relief medication.

Selene had suggested the idea, saying that while I didn’t have access to a Combat Stimulants Vault, I could just as easily use the two items from my First Aid Vault before the battle. The pain-relief inhaler would hopefully help to keep me focused if I got hurt, and taking the gum preemptively would heal me if I got injured.

She’d also mentioned that the gum couldn’t be relied on too much, not with how many I’d already taken today, but even a little healing was better than nothing. Hopefully, combined with the enhanced shirt and leggings I’d purchased for twenty points and was wearing underneath my old set of enhanced clothing, it would be enough to give me the protective edge I needed.

A loud, hissing shriek echoed out, and I jumped, picking up my gun and aiming down the hallway to my right as a ghoul came bounding on all fours from around the curve. It screamed again as it saw me, but I didn’t let it shake me. I took my time, letting it draw closer as I centered my reticle and fired.

With only one hand, my accuracy had decreased dramatically, as Selene and I had found out while we were gathering our supplies for the defense. It had taken me five magazines and five bullets to kill the twelve Anathema I’d faced on our way up. Without a second hand to steady my gun, my bullets had gone all over the place at first. After refilling my empty magazines with the spare loose ammo I’d purchased in the shelter, I was down to twenty-three full magazines counting the one in my gun.

Of course, defeating those twelve Anathema did help me grow accustomed to shooting one-handed, and it showed.

Two gunshots echoed out in quick succession, the ghoul stumbling as one shot ripped through its leg. Between the wound and the slick floor, the ghoul lost its balance and slipped, slapping against the floor and losing most of its momentum. It flailed, trying to get its feet, but the loss of speed was a death sentence.

Four more shots, each with a breath between them so I could adjust my aim, and I heard a ding as the System confirmed the kill.

I didn’t have time to celebrate, however, as movement from the left had me whipping my gun around. Two Fomorian Hounds charged forward, and I opened fire. The two were close enough together that I barely had to move my gun to target one from the other. They stumbled and fell just as I hit empty, the slide of my gun clicking backwards.

Only one ding went through my head, and I quickly hit the mag release, lowering myself into a crouch as I held my gun down at a slight angle. Selene was there instantly, a tail slotting in a new magazine with mechanical precision. We’d practiced the motion for almost ten minutes straight and found that while it worked surprisingly well, the biggest drawback was I had to be staying still for us to pull the maneuver off.

Nevertheless, that was more than good enough for what we had planned.

I hit the slide release and raised my gun, but I needn’t have bothered. The hound was struggling to stand, but most of its body seemed to be limp. I only had a moment to consider finishing it off before another Anathema appeared in the hallway. It was covered in the same slick black skin of the other Anathema I’d seen and vaguely resembled a large but emaciated bear. The major difference was that it had no head, just a large, oval shaped hole filled with rows of teeth and a long, barbed tongue.

I fired at it, taking my time between shots as it slowly rumbled forward and blinked in surprise when it went down after my seventh shot. With how large it was, I’d expected it to be tougher. Maybe my shots had gone directly down its throat and into its internal organs?

Shrieks from the right hallway had me turning, and my eyes widened as three ghouls and a hound came barreling around the corner. Without hesitation, I unloaded my gun into them, doing little else than making sure they were in my targeting reticle. I tried to spread my shots between them, switching targets whenever I saw one flinch or stumble from a hit. I ran out of ammo quickly, but Selene was there and had me reloaded a second later.

If the hallway wasn’t so long with no cover, the four Anathema would easily have gotten to me. I’d timed it earlier, running at a sprint and found it took me almost fifteen seconds from either visible end to the door. I was pretty sure my accuracy was terrible with the relatively long distance, but that was fine. Every bullet they took weakened them, the silverbane ammunition ripping them apart at a magical level, and every second they came nearer, my accuracy only increased.

So I continued shooting and very soon reached empty on my third magazine.

Other than a few twitches and useless flailing, none were moving, and I even received a ding as one died off from its injuries.

Which was good, because a scream told me more were coming from the other direction. I turned and-

I paled.

A massive clump of Anathema was moving towards me and was closing quickly. Ghouls, hounds, and one of the bear things. They were so bunched together I couldn’t make out how many there were exactly, but I knew it was too much for me to handle with my Umbra.

I spun to the bench next to me, set my Umbra down, and picked up one of my new purchases. It was a plain looking gun in black with a rectangular, boxy design, its most noticeable feature the long magazine sticking out of its handle. I snapped back to face the mass of Anathema, lined up my reticle, and then gently squeezed the trigger for a second while sweeping the gun left to right.

The Ripple Mark I let out a chattering roar, and fifteen bullets scythed out in fully automatic fire.

The recoil was powerful against my hand, and I was pretty sure the last several bullets went into the ceiling. Still, the front line of the Anathema group fell, their comrades behind them tripping and falling over their wounded and dead, and I took the opportunity to adjust my aim before letting loose another, shorter burst at a section I saw still moving. And then another.

I hit empty and stared in wonder at the unmoving forms.

Six Anathema, all cut down in the span of seconds.

I found myself shaking slightly as a bead of sweat fell from my brow, adrenaline making my heart pitter-patter in my chest. Tilting my gun slightly, I stared at it, a faint trail of smoke whispering from its barrel.

[Mai, focus!]

I snapped out of my shock and quickly crouched, Selene putting in the second extended magazine. Each contained thirty-one nine-millimeter bullets, and the Ripple had come with one when I bought it. I’d purchased another five for two points each, and combined with the Ripple’s price, I’d spent a total of thirty points.

And in the span of seconds, I’d already more than made up for its cost.

I shook my head, looking down either side of the hall. For a second, nothing else came, and I almost let out a sigh of relief when something rounded the corner. I raised my gun, eyes widening as my stomach turned over in equal parts revulsion and horror.

An Anathema looked at me from the far end of the hall, head tilting almost curiously. Its body was nothing more than a ribcage and spine made of black bone, tumorous organs pulsing between the gaps in its ribs. It stood on its elongated spine, like some kind of cobra, and dozens of tiny fingers extended from the spine like centipede legs. It had no arms, just a skull-shaped head with two bulging eyes.

I was only frozen for a second, but that was all it took. The creature opened its mouth and screamed.

It was the sound of someone who was about to die, of somebody watching a knife descend into their heart in slow motion. Despair and desperation bled together in that noise, a wail of hopelessness that begged for a savior it knew would never come. It was murder made incarnate, torment weeping from a thousand open wounds. It was the moment of unavoidable doom screamed from a life watching itself be extinguished.

The sound made me stumble, pain stabbing through my ears and into my brain. Desperately, I raised the Ripple and began firing, pulling the trigger in short, quick motions. My reticle shook along with my body as the sound continued, bullets shattering against the walls and floor of the mall. I tried to focus, to still myself, but I could feel the sound in my very bones. Finally, after my fifth or sixth burst, the creature’s scream suddenly ceased, turning into a gasp.

I almost fell to the ground in shock at the sudden lack of sound, but I kept my eyes on the creature as it fell to the ground, undulating as it sucked in short, desperate breaths. It stopped a second later, and a ding echoed through my head.

“What was that?” I asked Selene through my head, my ears still ringing with pain.

[A Flailed Shrieker, level 16,] Selene hurriedly replied. [It’s a sentry. Hurry, grab your Umbra, we’re moving to phase two. Every Anathema that heard that scream is going to be coming to this exact location.]

I didn’t argue, tucking my Ripple under my armpit and grabbing the Umbra. I was pretty sure I was violating all kinds of gun safety rules, but I wasn’t about to make two trips to get my guns out. Following Selene’s advice, I ran through the doors to our first fallback point. It was down the main path leading to the shielding crystal, giving me a clear line of sight to the entrance. A half wall and hedges lined either side of the path, acting as natural barriers to make the path a funnel for anything coming through.

I reached the spot, crouching down next to a bench with a few lit candles set on it alongside more of my ammunition and some of the other items I’d purchased. I set down my Umbra and after checking my HUD, released the magazine in my Ripple to let Selene reload it. There were only four bullets left, and I wanted the full capacity available for when I needed it. Once that was done, I set the Ripple within easy reach before taking up my Umbra and aiming it at the door.

I was breathing heavily now, and I struggled to regain control of my aim.

[Breathe, Mai, you’re doing great,] Selene said from next to me, her tails grabbing more ammunition from the small stockpile we’d left at the spot.

“How much longer?” I gasped out.

Before Selene could answer me, a timer appeared at the top of my vision, showing four minutes, twenty-two seconds left.

“Oh.”

[Careful. This first minute, most of the Anathema will be in the process of running to us. What we’ve faced were only the ones that were quick or already on the top floor.]

I nodded. It was all as we had planned, but we’d moved to phase two earlier than expected. Was it-

[The Flayed Shrieker was unfortunate,] Selene said, as if reading my mind. [They not only are extremely loud, but their screams are capable of giving a mental impression to Anathema. The exact location it was at was transmitted, meaning most of the Anathema aren’t even going to try breaking down the other doors. They’ll be heading straight for this entrance, and doing so with fervor.]

Anxiety danced pin needles inside my heart. We had been relying on at least some of the Anathema to be slowed down by the other entrances, but if they were all heading straight to this one…

Before I could fully fall down that train of logic, I saw movement through the door. A shape appeared, and a moment later a hound was squeezing itself through. Even though the doors weren’t as thick as a shelter’s, they were still almost two hand lengths wide. It forced the hound to twist, its canine body just big enough to make it awkward. I aimed as it struggled, the door slowing it down enough for me to get my reticle fully centered on its head before I fired.

My shot took off a chunk of its shoulder, and it yelped, flailing as it fell, caught halfway through the door. I adjusted, then fired again. A puff of black vapor exploded from its head, and it fell with a ding. Before I could so much as take a breath, there was a ghoul trying to claw its way in. With the hound in the way, it tried to climb on top, slipping on the body as it tried to squeeze through. I started firing, my first shot hitting its chest and a second sparking off the doors. The third and forth blew through its neck and head respectively, killing it.

And then there were two Anathema stuck halfway through the door. Something pounded against the door, and I heard some hissing and weird, insect-like clicks. A second later, something grabbed the ghoul and hound and started pulling their bodies out. With the corpses being completely limp, it was a struggle, and triumph surged through me.

Every second they spent trying to get the bodies out of the way was another less on the timer. So long as I could continue this loop of killing them inside the door, it would force other Anathema to spend precious time clearing the bodies. The lower level Anathema would be the first ones arriving and therefore the ones crowding the door, slowing down the really dangerous Anathema and preventing them from even getting near me. That, and they wouldn’t be able to get to the door and try breaking through it. Even if the higher level ones grew frustrated and went to break down one of the other doors, it would be too late by then.

I could do this. I just had to keep them out of the room.

Finally, the bodies were pulled out, and then another ghoul was squeezing its way in. This one was smarter, slipping through sideways into the room in two quick, jerky motions. I blinked in surprise as it stumbled in, opening fire and emptying the rest of my magazine as it ran at me. Nine bullets ripped through it, and it fell in a heap against the ground.

In that brief moment, a hound was almost through, and by the time Selene had helped me reload, it was bounding forward. I shot a half dozen times before it fell, and I snapped my gun up as another ghoul was through and heading towards me. I fired until it went limp, then snapped my aim to the door as another Anathema came through, a skinny humanoid with four stick-thin arms ending in curved blades. Its face was jawless, two wide, bloodshot eyes staring at me as a long tongue hung limply from its mouth.

I shot as it ran at me, slashing at the air in front of it as it charged. Two shots landed, hitting its torso and shoulder. The blows threw it off balance, and it fell to the ground as my gun clicked empty. Panicking, I dropped my Umbra after releasing the magazine, picked up the Ripple, and fired a spray of bullets at the spasming Anathema. Bullets tore a line of death through it, and the second I heard the confirmation ding, I was turning back to the entrance as a ghoul and hound pushed their way in.

Death fell upon them in a hail of bullets as I emptied the remainder of my mag into them, a few stray bullets finding their way through the opening in the doors and into the Anathema beyond.

[Switch!]

I quickly dropped the Ripple and picked up my Umbra that Selene had reloaded. A hound was struggling through the doors, and I fired, taking five shots to put it down. With it stuck in the doors, I had a brief moment to breathe. My heart was racing now, my hand slippery on the grip of my gun.

All it had taken was one smart Anathema slipping through, and the others had almost been able to capitalize on it. Barely thirty seconds had passed, and I already almost lost our best defensive position.

I redoubled my focus, squeezing my shaking hand tighter on my Umbra as the body was pulled free. I prepared myself for the next Anathema, and was ready when another of those skinny humanoids with blade arms slid through. It flailed its arms as I opened fire, one of the bullets sparking off a blade before my barrage put it down. It fell, body slapping against the ground after closing over half the distance between me and the door. A flicker of panic flashed through me as I realized it had also taken me ten shots to take the thing down. Between its erratic movements and skinny frame, it had been able to close the distance way too easily and use up too much of my ammunition.

I ground my teeth together as Selene finished helping me reload, snapping my gun up to the entrance as a Formorian Spinethrower wiggled its way in. Its serrated tails spasmed as I fired, two bullets striking the ground near it before a third shattered across its spine covered body. The impact combined with the slick floor made the creature lose traction, and two shots later, a spray of black blood exploded from its body as it went limp.

I didn’t have time to breathe, however, because another hound was pushing its way in. A bead of sweat made me blink as I let loose, one of my bullets going wide only to hit the next hound trying to enter. After my sixth shot, both were dead and there was another Anathema corpse stuck in the door.

That hardly mattered, however, as the next Anathema flew in above the body. The wasp kept its six bat-like wings folded around the pale chitin of its body, diving in and bouncing off the floor before coming to a stop. Its wings unfurled a second later, flapping as it furiously tried to get into the air. It barely had time to hover off the ground before I was on it, firing four shots and-

My shots all missed, and my Umbra clicked empty.

I blinked in surprise as the wasp managed to get back into the air, turning as it locked onto me. I scrambled as it arched its body back before launching a stinger my way.

It flew past me as I threw myself forward, slamming into the ground with a thunk. My chest bounced off the tiled pathway, sending a shock of pain that stole the air from my lungs. I ignored the feeling, sucking in a breath even as I let go of my Umbra and picked up one of my new guns from the bench next to me. I raised the weapon in the wasp's general direction as I struggled to my feet. The motion was enough to get the wasp dodging back into the same evasive pattern as the wasps I’d faced earlier, and I was ready for it, squeezing the trigger as it reached its end point.

The Judgment was a small, all black revolver with a short, snub-nosed barrel and a long, oversized cylinder. As I pulled the trigger, I prepared myself as much as I could for the recoil, but even then it wasn’t enough. The gun roared, bucking against my hand and wrist as I struggled to keep hold of it. I wasn’t surprised by the immense recoil, but even with Selene’s warning, it was all I could do to control it with one hand.

After all, it was shooting a modified shotgun shell.

Pellets blasted from the revolver, spreading out and ripping through the wings of the wasp, causing it to drop like a rock. I reoriented my aim, taking my time as it flapped lopsidedly on the ground. Even though the creature had six wings, they were all placed close together and overlapped somewhat, meaning that the pellet I’d hit with had torn through two wings at once. Without them, the wasp only managed to send itself sprawling in random directions as it writhed.

Before I could contemplate finishing it off, another wasp dove inside, the corpse of the hound stuck fast in the door. I switched targets, aiming the wide targeting circle in my vision at the wasp as it began to rise from where it landed, and squeezed the trigger.

Another roar, and the wasp practically flipped over itself before landing. Its wings fluttered, slowly raising itself above the ground before I put another shot into it. It fell once again, but this time its wings were barely working. It flopped on the ground with even less energy than the first, and I turned my aim back to the door as a new shape slipped in.

It was a Lesser Lashbat, the winged rib cage with a bladed tail. Unlike the wasps, the Lashbat managed to turn itself sideways, opening up its ribcage wide as it slipped through the door. It flipped around, wings flapping as it instantly took to the sky, narrowing the distance between us while rising rapidly.

I let it, heart hammering in my chest as I waited. It dove towards me a second later, and I fired off a quick shot before jumping to the side. The monster slammed into the ground with a crunch, flailing, and I put the last shot from my revolver into it from point-blank range. Blood sprayed across the ground, and the Lashbat stopped moving.

I forced myself to keep moving, tossing the now spent revolver to the side even as Selene flicked her tails to slide my reloaded Umbra to me. The Judgment had been an amazing call on Selene’s part. Costing only five points, the five shot revolver wasn’t especially powerful even against normal Anathema. However, the fact they could be loaded with shotgun shells made them perfect for taking out the fragile airborne targets. Even though it still wasn’t great at killing them, all it took was one pellet shredding through their wings, and they were rendered practically harmless.

Which was why I had bought another two Judgments, even if the last one wasn’t loaded with shotgun shells.

I picked up my Umbra, ejecting the empty magazine and letting Selene slot in a new one. I was shaking now, the stress and adrenaline making my muscles burn. I tried to wipe the sweat from my forehead with my left hand only to remember I didn’t have one anymore. Giddy hysteria tickled at my throat, and I swallowed it down, glancing at the time left as the Fomorian Hound’s corpse was finally pulled free from the doors.

Two minutes, ten seconds.

It had been less than three minutes, and how many Anathema had I killed already? Just judging by the bodies littering the ground around me, the number I’d killed in the door that were then pulled out of the way, and the ones I’d defeated outside, it had to be… almost thirty of them?

I let out a shuddering breath, keeping my aim trained on the door. The steel wires of anxiety twisted tighter around my chest with each passing second, threatening to rip my heart apart. There had been too many near misses, too many mistakes. All it took was one thing going wrong, and then Lily and all those people…

But I had to hold out. I had to, at least until we were sure that when we closed the door, it would buy us enough time to activate the shielding station unmolested. Originally, we estimated about one minute, but with how things were going…

“Selene? Phase three?” I asked, watching the door for the next Anathema.

[It would be ideal if you could hold the door for one more minute. Even activating the trap before we close the door will only buy us so much time. The more bodies they have piled up, the more of a barrier the trap will make for the higher levels that can actually damage the door.]

“I know, but-”

I stopped my sentence halfway as something grabbed the doors.

Large fingers, each as thick as my torso wormed through the opening, grabbing the security door on either side. The fingers were made of the same slick black flesh of the other Anathema I’d seen, and the worn and chipped nails were as pale as bone. The hands were so big, one had to grab through the opening above the other, each large enough to fill the gap on their own. As the fingers flexed around the doors and grabbed hold, they pushed.

Metal groaned, and for a brief moment, nothing happened.

Then the doors shuddered and slowly began to slide open.

I stared in shock for a moment as the opening began to widen, and as it did, I saw the face of the creature responsible appear between the hands. The humanoid face was low to the ground, as if the creature was lying prone or else crawling. The black flesh of its face was peeled back as if it had no skin, giving it an eternally smiling grin of white, pointed teeth. Four giant eyes stared at me, and I could have sworn its grin widened as the doors continued to open further.

[Mai, the Equalizer, now!] Selene screamed in my head. [That’s a Crawling Nightmare! It’s high level and if we don’t stop it from prying the doors open-]

My body jerked into motion, setting my Umbra down and picking up my final new purchase as I sprinted towards the door.

From the very beginning, everything relied on the door. The massive rush of low level Anathema trying to squeeze in kept the higher level ones from getting near and simply tearing the door down. It was why we were waiting as long as possible to close the doors, because the second we did, even the relatively dumb low level Anathema would quickly figure out they couldn’t damage it and move, making room for their stronger kin. The plan had seemed to have worked so far, but…

The doors were already open, so they didn’t have to get one strong enough to tear through them.

Just one strong enough to push them open wider.

I did a small hop over one of the Anathema corpses, dodging around the still writhing wasps and reaching the door as metal continued to squeal, the gap widening. I was only a few feet away from the opening, and the monster’s wide, bloodshot eyes tracked my movement. Raising the heavy gun, I pointed it straight at its forehead and squeezed the trigger as hard as I could until the gun finally fired.

The Equalizer V6 was a big, all black revolver with a hefty frame and long barrel. It looked ridiculous, like something a movie villain would have to exaggerate how scary they were. In my tiny hand, it looked comical.

However, the gun was easily the most powerful weapon I’d purchased, costing twenty-five points. That combined with the lesser rune of recoil reduction I’d had it enchanted with, and I’d spent a total of forty points on the gun as a final, emergency measure against anything big and unexpected.

And I couldn’t have been more glad I did.

The gun didn’t roar, it exploded. The sound was deafening, even louder than the Judgment’s, and the recoil almost ripped the gun out of my hand even with the enchantment. The gun bucked in my hand, twisting against my wrist painfully as my entire arm went up into the air. The shock went up my entire arm, and I stumbled backwards.

The bullet smashed into the Anathema’s head, snapping it back and-

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

And it failed to get past its skull.

I stared, wide-eyed at the creature. I could see where my bullet was stuck in its forehead, between its eyes. It looked like the surrounding area had been dented, but other than that, there was no discernable damage. It looked back at me, it’s smug ever-grinning face seeming to taunt me as it flexed its hands to give another push on the door and-

I moved without thinking, sticking the Equalizer an inch from one of its eyes and fired again.

The eye burst in a spray of blood, and the monster’s mouth opened in a hissing scream. It let go of the doors, trying to swat at me, but because it was so close to the door to get the best leverage, it couldn’t seem to actually push its hands through any further. It writhed some more, massive fingers wiggling before finally settling on the door again.

So I stepped forward and took out another eye.

Black droplets sprayed onto my face as my Equalizer roared out, the Anathema screaming as another of its eyes disappeared. Still, it persisted, and I felt panic well up inside me. I didn’t understand how it was still alive, not after I’d just put two shots straight into whatever its brain was. Regardless, I moved to the next eye and repeated the process, eliciting another choking wail.

Yet it still moved, the doors groaning as they widened further. I couldn’t see what was beyond the nightmare with its huge hands and face in the way, but the opening was much wider now, easily able to let a ghoul or hound walk in, and if it got any further, I knew I was doomed.

I aimed at the last eye, my arm shaking. Even if I couldn’t feel any pain thanks to the inhaler, my muscles felt weak. I bit down on my teeth, willing myself to steady my aim as I squeezed the trigger.

Another explosion of sound and another spatter of blood onto me. The Anathema groaned, hands going limp on the door, but no kill chime sounded. Before I could aim again, the nightmare began to move. The doors were open wide enough that it could place both hands at the lower part of the door, and I watched in horror as it grabbed both sides and gave another push. Its head was between the two hands now as it tried to squeeze its way in.

The doors slid further, and I stepped forward, jamming my gun into the eye socket of its head. It tried to push a hand through at me, but I pulled the trigger before it could reach.

The back of the creature’s head exploded in gore as my final shot took the monster out. I heard the chime sound out as the monster went still, but I had no time to register that because of what I saw outside.

The creature was huge, nearly three feet thick even lying flat against the ground. It was little more than a torso with arms, and a trailing spinal cord acting as some sort of tail. With the doors now opened further, I was able to look over its corpse and into a sea of Anathema. Wasps, hounds, ghouls, and plenty of others I didn’t recognize filled the hallway, and all of them stared at me over the corpse of the nightmare.

I was frozen for a brief moment, a cold chill of dread sweeping through me.

[Mai!] Selene screamed. [Phase three, NOW!]

Then a hound jumped on top of the corpse, and the moment of stillness was broken.

I choked on a scream, stumbling backwards as the hallway beyond exploded into motion, other Anathema scrambling to climb on top of the nightmare’s body and into the room. The hound on top lunged at me, and, in a panic, I threw my now empty Equalizer at it.

With one skinny arm and no experience with sports, it was a terrible throw, and the hound barely had to move at all to avoid the gun entirely. Still, the dodge bought me time. I ran, sprinting towards the bench even as I heard a variety of hisses and clicks behind me. Something sharp flashed across my ankle, and I bit back a scream as one of the wasps I crippled earlier managed to swipe its stinger into me as I passed.

I ignored it, the pain quickly fading to a dull ache as I reached the bench with my guns. Two Judgements, my Umbra, and the Ripple all rested there. I didn’t hesitate, reaching for them.

And I went right past all of them to grab one of the lit candles instead, throwing it onto the ground in front of me.

Before all of this, Selene had helped me set up the trap. It was a lot like the liquor store from earlier, spilling alcohol over the ground to create a huge, flammable spill around the entrance and the hallway outside. Selene had helped me select the correct alcohol like before, targeting the ones with the highest concentrations to make sure the liquid would actually catch fire. More than that, we’d stopped at a few clothing stores and picked up random things to drop on the ground and soak in the alcohol. Selene had told me that even if the alcohol burned fast, adding pieces of loose clothing on the ground would enhance the trap, giving the fire more fuel.

So I watched as the candle landed in the alcohol, and it spread in a wave of flame accompanied by a crackling roar. The bodies of the various Anathema I’d defeated had been resting in the spill, and the fire engulfed them hungrily as it reached the door and ignited the nightmare’s corpse.

Any other Anathema, and it might have been less dramatic, but for the creature that seemed to move by dragging its entire torso across the ground through the alcohol trap?

It burst into flames, and the various Anathema climbing it screamed.

Two ghouls and a hound had made it through and were chasing me when the trap ignited, and they stumbled, jumping around as they tried to escape the flames underneath them. I grabbed the Ripple and let loose a chattering burst into them. They fell as I swept the gun across my sightline, and I let out a curse as I used up an entire magazine holding the trigger a second too long. Still, the Anathema fell, and the fire quickly spread to them.

Through the fire, flying Anathema began diving in, unaffected by the trap. I ejected the magazine of the Ripple before dropping it for Selene, switching to another Judgment. I fired quickly, missing one shot entirely as I jumped back and forth, trying to make myself a harder target.

The shotgun blasts didn’t kill any of the four fliers, but I still managed to hit them, ripping holes in their wings and sending them crashing to the ground. After my fifth shot, I threw the spent Judgment, picking up the Ripple just as burning forms began to clamber inside. Some were only partially covered in fire, and I directed my aim at them first, firing in short bursts. I only needed one or two hits for the potent silverbane ammunition to stumble them, making them slip and fall into the fire.

I went through another magazine, and I felt my heart leap into my throat as forms continued to race over the burning body, seeming to be unbothered by the flames spreading to them. By the time Selene finished reloading me, there were another four forms slipping and stumbling through the flames towards me. Snapping my aim from one target to the next, I took them down, the Ripple clicking empty as a lucky shot snapped the head of a ghoul back, killing it instantly.

[That was the last Ripple magazine!]

“What about the door!?” I screamed in my head, dropping the gun and picking up my Umbra. “Can we close it?”

[The body is in the way, there’s no way it will close now!]

Terror spiked through my heart as I looked at the time remaining.

One minute, twenty seconds.

I tore my attention away from the timer even as everything in me screamed that I wouldn’t be able to make it. I ignored it, because…

Because I had to. Everyone was counting on me.

They would die if I didn’t.

Lily’s laugh echoed in my head, and something in me snapped.

I turned my attention back to the door, raising my Umbra as a wave of cold washed through me. My arm felt weak from shooting so much already, but I pushed through the sensation as I opened fire. My reticle seemed to shrink as I calmly walked to the edge of the fire, pulling the trigger almost as fast as I could at the emerging Anathema. I didn’t bother trying to get the smallest targeting circle, I just lined them up and let loose.

I went through one magazine faster than I thought possible with the semi-automatic gun. And then another. And another. Selene was struggling to keep up with my pace as I poured shots through the opening, not even waiting for a figure to emerge. I knew they were coming, that they would fill the gap, and so I answered with a rain of lead.

I fired, hit empty, had Selene reload, and then did it again and again. I didn’t bother trying to keep track of time or ammunition, focusing only on killing the Anathema.

And for a moment… it worked. The tide was pushed back, corpses piling up that they had to push or pull out of the way to climb on top of the burning nightmare only to take bullets and add their own body to the pile. Smoke rose in the air as the fire trap burned, and I was pretty sure only Selene’s tampering with the fire alarms at the security booth earlier prevented the sprinklers from going off.

I hit empty on another magazine, and I reached down to let Selene slot in another.

[Four reloads left!]

I swallowed down the bile in my throat, forcing myself to stop preemptively firing. I’d gone through a majority of my magazines in what felt like an instant, but it had slowed down the tide. Now they were coming in slower, one at a time, and I placed my shots as carefully as I could.

It wasn’t enough.

After another magazine they seemed to realize it was safe to rush in again, and four Anathema surged inside. Instead of trying to rush me through the minefield of burning corpses, they spread out, heading into the garden on either side of me and disappearing from my sight behind the half walls and taller hedges lining the path. My heart leapt into my throat as I retreated back to the bench, doing my best to continue firing as more burning Anathema climbed in. My eyes flicked to the time even as I reached the bench, setting down my Umbra for a brief moment to jam my last Judgment into my sweatshirt pocket before picking the Umbra up again.

Thirty-two seconds.

[It’s time!] Selene shouted, seeming to agree with me as I started sprinting to the crystal.

I was about three-quarters of the way there, right where the hedges lining the path ended, when two hounds jumped out from either side. Flames licked from spots on their charred flesh, and they looked at me with their wide, unblinking eyes as I came skidding to a stop. I did a heel turn, turning back and-

Something sharp slammed into my abdomen just above my left hip, and I let out a gasp as heat and pain flashed through me. I looked down to see a serrated spine stuck out of me. Raising my head, I saw the hedgehog-like Fomorian Spinethrower scampering towards me, another one of its tentacle tails pulling another projectile from its back.

[Mai-]

I didn’t have time to listen to Selene, not with the clicking noises of the hounds’ claws closing in from behind me. So I did the only thing I could.

I turned, running straight at a bench near the half wall and the taller hedge behind it. I leaped, pushing myself off the bench onto the wall and then threw myself over the hedge into the area beyond.

At least, I tried to. I’d never been athletic, so when I tried to vault the hedge it turned more into a roll through the top of the plants. I crashed through, landing hard on the ground beyond. The gun in my pocket dug into my side painfully while the spine sticking out of me shifted inside my guts. Even with the pain-relief medicine, I let out a short cry of pain as I stumbled to my feet, raising my Umbra.

I needn’t have bothered, because I was surrounded by the walls of the hedge maze. It was one of the things I’d noted when we first scouting the area, that it provided a good barrier to the side of the main path. The only problem was I hadn’t memorized the layout.

Thankfully, the mini-map on my HUD had.

“Selene, navigation,” I thought to her, trying to hold in my gasping breaths as she landed next to me.

Glowing arrows appeared underneath me, an overlay put up by my HUD as Selene manipulated it, and I took off. Each step now brought a stabbing pain from the spine in my side, and my heavy breaths quickly turned into something more ragged. I twisted through the maze, trying to ignore how the spine shifted with each movement as Selene led me to the exit closest to the shielding station and-

A bone blade stabbed through the wall to my right, missing me by only inches. I twisted, aiming my Umbra and fired through the hedge blind even as I forced myself to continue. A second later, a serrated tail stabbed through at ankle height, and I did a hop over it. When I landed, the spine inside me shifted again, and I bit down on my lip as the sharp pain brought tears to my eyes.

I continued through the maze, twisting through it and expecting to see an Anathema facing me at every turn. To my surprise, I never encountered one, only more probing strikes as they stabbed through the maze wall. After only a dozen or so seconds, I escaped from the maze, and I instantly oriented myself to the steps leading to the shielding station’s raised area. It was only a dozen or so feet away, and I sprinted for it.

Out of the corner of my eye, there was a blur of motion, and I turned with my gun raised to shoot-

Something big hit me straight on, and the bones in my chest cracked. The air in my lungs exploded from me as I was thrown backwards and onto the ground, the impact sending a wave of agony through my entire body that made my Umbra slip from my grasp. I let out a choking gasp as I tried to push myself up, eyes widening at the creature looming in front of me.

It was about five feet tall and vaguely ape like, but its mouthless head was sunken into its chest. Every inch of its body was rippling black muscle, and its yellow on black eyes burned as it lumbered towards me. It moved on all fours, its massive arms helping to propel itself forward. It moved at a casual pace, as if it was enjoying the moment..

I desperately used my feet to push myself away, searching for my Umbra only to see it a few feet from me. I would never be able to reach it in time, so I dug my hand into my sweatshirt pocket and pulled free the Judgment, aiming it at the Anathema. It seemed entirely unfazed by the tiny little gun, and I took a ragged, steadying breath before I pulled the trigger.

If it had been loaded with a shotgun shell, I was pretty sure the pellets wouldn’t have done much to the hulking creature in front of me, but this Judgment, unlike my previous two, was colored in silver metal to remind me it was loaded with ammunition of the same size but of completely different function.

Namely, it was loaded with five .45 Colt rounds.

I didn’t bother seeing how effective one shot would be. Instead, I emptied all five rounds into the monster as fast as I could pull the trigger. The recoil rose my aim with each shot, the final one blasting a chunk from its head and sending gore spraying into the air.

The Anathema fell, its body slamming into the ground face first, and I groaned, letting go of the gun as I pushed myself to my feet.

I immediately felt something was wrong. It was hard to tell exactly what with the pain medication, but there was a familiar tightness to my chest. Every breath came to me only after a struggle, and even through the meds, every breath caused a clawing pain. If I wasn’t mistaken, at least one of my ribs was bruised if not broken, and it was making each breath an ordeal just to get the smallest amount of air.

[Mai!] Selene shouted, hopping up to me while using her tails to slide my Umbra to my feet. [Five seconds!]

I bent down, letting a cry of pain as the motion sent agony through my chest along with a cracking feeling. Tears filled my vision as I picked up my Umbra, slowly straightening myself as I took short, shallow breaths and forced myself to move. I didn’t see any Anathema around me as I climbed the stairs, pushing myself to hurry. It was only then I realized I hadn’t been keeping track of my health bar this entire time, so I took a quick look.

26%

Swallowing down the pounding anxiety, I stepped up onto the crystal’s platform. The area immediately around the crystal was surprisingly clear, and I took in a sharp breath as it seemed to glow. The air felt thicker, an odd, resonant humming sound coming from the crystal. Just in front of it was the control pedestal, a holographic display open above it.

When I saw it, I felt my heart soar, and without a second of hesitation I sprinted.

I ran, ignoring the pain from both my ribs and the spine in my side. I moved as fast as I could, focusing only on the pedestal-

[Above you!]

I whipped my head up in time to see a Lashbat diving on me, but too late to do anything other than raise the stump of my left arm in front of my face. The Anathema’s tail whipped into it, the blade ripping through my sweatshirt and protective shirt underneath to slash open my bicep. I cried out as it took a chunk of flesh out of me, blood spraying in an arc as it glided past and back into the air. Heat blossomed along my arm, and I bit down harder on my teeth, resuming my run to the pedestal and ignoring the circling creature.

I reached the pedestal a moment later, saw that there was a simple prompt on the holographic display that I quickly skimmed.

Warning! Tampering with the mana generator has been detected. Are you sure you wish to initiate the Reality Reinforcement Shield? Please consult all data before-

Before I could finish, a sharp, invasive pain exploded through my chest, and I let out a gasp, stumbling backwards as I looked down.

A pale serrated blade the length of my forearm stuck out from between my right ribs. I stared at the protruding piece of bone, my mind going blank as I suddenly couldn’t breathe. All the strength in my body seemed to disappear, and I fell, dropping my gun as I landed on my knees, hands reaching up to touch the giant piece of bone even as a fuzziness seemed to descend on my brain.

What… how…

My thoughts were jumbled pieces, and I tried to suck in a breath only to feel liquid fire erupt in my lung. I coughed, specks of red spraying on my hands as I took in a gurgling breath. It wasn’t enough air, and I choked, trying to gasp in more as darkness encroached on the edge of my vision.

[Mai! You need to press the button! I don’t have authorization!]

Selene was shouting at me, but I couldn’t make sense of it. My chest hurt, and everything felt wrong. I couldn’t breathe and-

[Think of Lily! You need to save her!]

Lily.

Memories flashed through my head. Seeing her at school, abandoned after practice by the people she’d stayed to mentor in track. Giving her one of the drinks I’d been sent to collect and talking for the first time. Lily coming to me during lunch the next day. And then again another day.

And another.

I remembered when I told her I had no clue about anything related to pop culture, and she immediately invited me to her house to fix that.

I remembered watching movie after movie, entirely engrossed by the films.

I remembered her showing me her favorite games for the first time and laughing as I made a silly mistake.

I remembered loving that carefree, joy-filled laugh and letting myself join in with her.

I liked her laugh.

And I wanted to hear it again.

I cried out, a choking, gurgling sound as I willed myself to stand. My legs felt like mush, but I pushed anyway, throwing every ounce of strength I could into them. Slowly, I began to raise myself back to my feet, sparks of violet and black electricity snapping over my body. I staggered forward. One step. Then another. And another.

And then the pedestal was back in front of me. I reached my hand out-

And I pressed “yes.”

The thickness in the air along with the humming stopped, and the world seemed to freeze for a moment.

Then the crystal burst into blinding light, a wave of blue, ethereal motes exploding outward and washing over the room. I looked from the console to see dozens of Anathema along the main path leading to the crystal shudder, some of them stumbling while others simply fell on the ground and spasmed. For a second, even with my shallow, hiccupping breaths, I could breathe again.

As fast as it came, the feeling disappeared, and I gasped as the air in the room returned to normal. There was still a lingering hint of the intensity, but it felt as if it had settled, somehow. I watched in horror as slowly, the Anathema began regaining their senses too, and as they stood up and shook off whatever that was, all their eyes turned to me.

“Selene?” I thought to her, stumbling backwards until I felt the crystal at my back. I leaned against it, letting it prop me up. The world felt fuzzy, the only distinct sensation being the pain shooting through me like lightning with each of my movements.

[I’m here,] she said softly, and I looked down to see her at my feet. I tried to give her a smile even as I sucked in wet, gasping breaths, and her tails lowered as she bowed her head.

“Did we do it?”

[...Yes. You did it, Mai. The shielding station is online.]

Tears spilled from my eyes, relief washing through me even as the aches and pains of my body seemed to grow, fire turning into an inferno. Around me, I saw Anathema cautiously stepping up onto the central platform from the main pathway, staring at me and fanning out in a circle around us. I wasn’t sure what they were waiting for or why they seemed so cautious, but I didn’t care.

I didn’t even have the strength to stand anymore.

I slid down the crystal, sitting against the ground. Glancing around, I saw my Umbra lying a few feet away, and when I reached my hand for it, Selene was there, sliding the gun the rest of the way into my palm.

“Thank you,” I thought, taking in a coughing gasp. “Thank you for everything, Selene.”

[Mai-]

“Thank you for giving me the power to fight,” I continued, picking up the gun as the Anathema circled closer. “Thank you for giving me courage. For being patient with me. For putting up with me. For going along with my stupid plans.”

The hounds and ghouls were slowly closing their circle around us, giving the crystal behind me wary glances.

“But most of all, thank you for being my friend, even if it was a burden.”

Selene stared at me, her entire body shaking.

[No,] she whispered. [I didn’t give you any of those things. The power, the courage, the empathy. It was all you. It always was. Not me, not anyone else. You.]

My lip trembled, and I gave a jerky nod to Selene for the kind lie as I raised my Umbra at the Anathema. Everything felt cold, and even my vision was beginning to blur as shadows grew in the corners of my eyes. It felt like a fog had settled on my brain, making everything more distant. Even just moving my body took all the effort I could muster… but that was okay.

It was all settled. The shield was on, and Lily would live. All my classmates and everyone else in the shelter would be safe. Brian would get to go see his family again when this was all over, and Lily would be taken care of. Selene would survive, and she would hopefully find someone or something better to help.

I’d done it.

So why did I still feel so scared?

I trembled against the crystal, tears falling freely as the abominations around me began to step forward. Memories of the Fomorian Hound’s lamprey mouth flashed through my mind, and as I looked at the various fangs, claws, spines, and serrated tails, I remembered losing my arm, feeling the bone being crushed, and…

I made my decision.

I stopped aiming at the Anathema and pressed my Umbra’s barrel underneath my chin.

“Tell Lily I’m sorry I wasn’t a better friend.”

And then I pulled the tr-

The reinforced glass dome above me shattered.

I stared up in shock as four shapes fell from the sky and landed around me in a semicircle, the ground beneath them cracking as dust exploded from their impacts. I stared, barely conscious as my mind tried to process what I was seeing. The glass falling from the ceiling froze, glittering in the air like snowflakes as the four figures began to rise.

No, not figures.

Magical Girls.

I only had a brief flash of their intricate outfits before they landed and magic circles bloomed to life underneath them. Green, red, blue, and gold mandalas burst forth, glowing with a power that made the air quiver with electricity, similar to what the shielding station had felt like as it powered up and activated.

The first figure to rise was surrounded by a red circle with intricate lines and shapes carving a sharp design that reminded me of lightning. She was small and wore a short, white and black dress with an overwhelming amount of red accents and patterns that dominated the color scheme including a short red cape. The skirt puffed out around her thighs, red and black checkered thigh-high socks covering her legs and leading down to complicated red sandals with small heels. Her blonde hair was tied into two pigtails with red ribbons tied into bows, and as she rose, she lifted what looked like a red rubber mallet with a large, cylindrical head. The air around her crackled, the circle around her spinning faster as she pointed the mallet at the Anathema and-

“Greater Chain Lightning,” a squeaky voice growled, and the world exploded in scarlet.

Lightning the color of blood flashed out, hitting one of the hounds and instantly exploding through it before chaining to every nearby Anathema and repeating the process. A webwork of light flashed in front of my eyes, engulfing every single Anathema around us in a roar of thunder that made my ears pop. The flash blinded me, and I blinked my eyes as the light quickly faded to reveal… nothing.

Where the dozens of Anathema around us once stood, there was nothing but ash. Even along the path to the main door, every Anathema that had been stalking forward was simply… gone. I stared in shock as the girl in red twirled her hammer before giving a satisfied nod.

Then the next figure rose. This time it was a tall young man with dark skin, and he was covered in golden armor over dark clothing. He looked like a knight that had come straight out of a fantasy game, but instead of wearing plate armor, his armor was made of scales. His shoulder pieces were shaped like dragon heads, and the rest of the armor followed a similar theme, pointed and fierce looking with spikes all done in to form vaguely draconic features. His hair was shaved close to his scalp, and I only caught a glimpse of his chiseled features before he was twisting his body, raising a golden bow shaped like two wings.

The Guardian pulled back on the bow string, the golden mandala beneath him spinning faster with images of dragons in flight, and an arrow made of golden light appeared.

“Dragon Rain,” his deep voice rumbled, and then he let loose.

Instead of one arrow, a dozen beams of light shot forth, taking sharp angles around the room as they went for the dark shapes of airborne Anathema. The beams pierced through them, following them even when they tried to run or evade, and every Anathema that was hit exploded into golden fire. Dozens of fiery comets fell from the sky, and the Guardian nodded to himself in satisfaction.

The third figure rose, a green magic circle beneath her with patterns that reminded me of trees and nature. Unlike the others, she was facing me, and I stared up at her through my flickering vision. She wore brown, tight-fitting leather armor over simple green clothes with an emerald cloak draped around her shoulders. She carried a glaive in her hand, the pole made of dark wood and ending in a single-edged blade that shone like liquid metal. Her long blond hair hung freely, but it failed to disguise her pointed ears and the smooth, ephemeral beauty of her face.

She looked like the picturesque example of an elven ranger, strong, beautiful, and utterly composed, as if nothing could so much as touch her. Eyes the color of pine needles stared down at me with a complete and utter serenity, flicking over my features in rapid succession.

“Naiad, what’s her status?” she asked, her voice calm as a summer breeze.

I shivered as the fourth figure crouched next to me, a blue circle following beneath her with the pattern of dozens of wavering, intersecting lines like whirlpools. She was in her late teens and had a slender, delicate build. Her skin was a pale blue, a white toga-style dress wrapped around her with extensive aqua colored embroidery. The dress was short, showing off the leather sandals laced all the way up to her thighs. The most noticeable thing, however, was the way her aqua hair moved, flowing like gentle waves with each of her movements.

She looked up at me, blue eyes with whirlpool-shaped pupils going wide as she held her hands over me. A gentle blue light began glowing from her palms, making her eyes widen only further. I blinked, shadows dancing across my vision as I tried to say something only to let out a gurgling cough.

Everything that was happening… didn’t make sense. The odd, distant feeling from before was only growing, turning my vision into a tunnel as my thoughts slowed to a crawl. Even though I was seeing all these things, I couldn’t help but feel like none of it really mattered.

I only felt cold. It had replaced most of the pain, and with the cold came a deep, beckoning exhaustion. It felt… peaceful. And I was tired.

So tired…

I just wanted to close my eyes, and-

“Critical!” the blue girl screamed, and the elf girl’s eyes widened.

She spun, the emerald magical circle beneath her expanding as she twirled her glaive above her head before slamming it down onto the ground. Beyond her, I could vaguely see the shapes of more Anathema beginning to pile into the room. They were blurry, and I could barely make them out, but there had to be dozens of them.

And then the elf girl cast.

“Glade of Glaives.”

The words made the air ripple, and power burst from her. All along the edges of the room, emerald magical circles appeared, pine trees exploding from the ground inside them. In a few short breaths, the trees formed a complete encirclement around us. The needles gleamed a metallic color, and it took me a moment to realize that every single one was shaped like a glaive’s blade.

No…

They weren’t just shaped like them, they were blades.

The Anathema in the room looked around for a moment as the perimeter continued to thicken with more trees. A hound took a step forward only for a tree branch to burst from the ground and impale it, the end of the branch ending in a metallic glaive.

All around the room, the scene began to repeat itself, Anathema being skewered the second they moved inside the artificial glade. Near the entrance, I saw one of the trees seem to shoot their “glaive needles” into anything trying to enter. Each one shot out with the force of a bullet, whip-cracking through the air before exploding through Anathema like pieces of shrapnel.

The magical circle around the elf girl disappeared as she turned around, looking back to me. Numbly, I noticed the blue girl whispering things under her breath, the glowing light in her hand flashing.

“What do you need?” the elf ranger asked calmly.

“Lesser Healing Balm. Numb Nerves. Extreme Clot. Rejuvenating Waters. Sympathetic Organ. Give Vitality. Breath of Air.”

Each of her words carried a weight to them, and the more she chanted, the more the pain in my body began to fade. Still, it felt like my mind was fuzzy, and I wasn’t really sure what was going on. I looked around, trying to choke out words, liquid hot on the back of my throat.

“Shh, shh, shh, it’s okay,” the blue girl said, her voice wobbling. “Just lie still. I’ve got you. Don’t you worry.”

“Naiad?” the elf asked, and I saw Naiad lips tremble.

“She’s already over her healing limit,” her voice cracked. “I need to do full-dive surgery, but even then she’s in shock and… her lung, and all the blood…I don’t…”

Tears spilled from her face, and the elf walked up to her, putting a hand on her shoulder and squeezing.

“You can do this. You’ve healed worse before.”

“That was other Guardians! In their Astral Shift with plenty of Vitality to help them! Even if I tried, it would mean I can’t help you three-” the girl began before the elf shook her head.

“The three of us can hold them off, even with the horde coming. Believe in us, Naiad, just like I believe that you can save her.”

The blue girl stared up at her for another moment before nodding, taking in a deep, stuttering breath.

“Okay,” she whispered, closing her eyes as the blue circle beneath her lit up with intensity.

“Fountain of Youth.”

The ground beneath me suddenly began to melt, turning into a shallow pool of water that glowed with a soft light. Gently, the blue girl pushed me down into the pool while using a hand to keep my head above it. Instantly, the cold that had been biting into me began to recede, and even the fog over my thoughts began to lift. The darkness at the edge of my vision lifted marginally, and I gasped, sucking in a breath as I tried to say-

“Don’t speak,” the girl said gently, her voice cracking as she put a hand on my forehead. “You’ve done your part, so let us do ours. I’ll save you… I promise.”

She took in one last deep breath before looking me in the eyes and giving a shaky smile.

“Rejuvenating Slumber,” she whispered.

And then the darkness took me.