The air in Ladder 37 was thick with a palpable relief when Black Star and I finally trudged through the heavy, fortified doors. My legs shook with exhaustion, but I could see the relief washing over everyone’s faces, breaking the tension that had kept them on edge.
Jennifer was there to meet us, her hair now tied back into a messy bun, her eyes ringed with fatigue. But the hint of worry abated as she helped me unload the medical supplies from the bag I carried.
"You're a sight for sore eyes," she murmured, taking the bag from me with a sigh of relief.
"Little ol’ me, Nurse Jenny? I’m flattered," Black Star replied, his tone facetious but with an underlying current of genuine gratitude.
His gaze flickered towards the back of the fire station where Twilight Aster was laid out. "How is she?"
She glanced towards the young Magical Girl, her expression clouding over. "Not good, honestly. She’s still unconscious and her fever's been worsening. I’ve given her some basic first aid, but…” she trailed off, shaking her head. “She needs something stronger, like antibiotics. I'm glad you brought back what you did, but it might not be enough. And there probably isn’t a hospital to take her to anymore.”
The words hung in the air, a grim reminder of the cost of yesterday’s nightmare. The world had changed overnight, and the consequences were staggering. This was a new reality we were all struggling to grapple with.
Black Star was silent for a moment before a nervous smirk slowly crept onto his face. "Well, it's a good thing I have a flair for improvisation, huh?"
His attempt at levity did little to lighten the heavy atmosphere, but the flicker of a smile on Jennifer's lips was a small victory in itself.
I watched as the two exchanged words, my mind wandering off to the locked down shelter where Albert was hiding. If Black Star and I had somehow survived in this chaos, he could too, couldn't he? Despite appearances, Albert was always the resourceful and confident one between us, the one who could find a way out of any bad situation we’d found ourselves in. He’d been the one who immediately sensed that something was wrong yesterday and got us out of the school.
Jacob seemed to catch my line of thought, his weary gaze meeting mine from across the room. He had been worrying about his wife and son in the shelter too. Our shared concern didn’t need words. This whole time, he’d been antsy, torn between staying put and running out to find them.. “Any thoughts on our next move?” he asked after a while, his voice low and grave.
I glanced towards Danny, the captain of Ladder 37. He had been pacing back and forth since we had returned, and his concern was palpable.
"We… we need to establish some sort of contact with the outside world," Danny said, his voice filled with determination. "Maybe there are survivors who've made it out. Maybe there's help coming. We can't sit here and just wait."
"But how?" I asked, anxiety gnawing at my heart. "The internet is down, and so’s our phone service, and we don’t even know who to contact or where to go.”
Black Star shrugged at my words, his casual demeanor belying the tension I saw in his gaze. “Well, I did pick up some chatter on the radio earlier but it was hard to tell what was going on. Lots of panic, not a lot of info."
That revelation stirred the group, eyes wide with sudden hope. It was small, but it was something.
"So, we need to figure out a way to use this information," Danny said, breaking the silence that had descended on us. "There must be something, anything, we can do with that radio."
"Maybe we can try and reach the local police station, the army, or the local MKC headquarters?" Jennifer suggested, her brows furrowed. "If they're still there, they might know something."
"That's... a good start," Danny nodded, looking around at everyone present. "Let’s fiddle around a bit. Henry, Sienna, you two have done more than enough. Rest up and we'll take it from here."
Black Star nodded in agreement, slumping into a nearby chair, his flippant grin finally slipping. I could see the fatigue etched into his face, his body language lacking its usual animated flair.
As I joined him, he leaned back, closing his eyes. "You know, Sienna," he said after a moment, his voice barely above a whisper. "I used to think the dance that Villains and Magical Knights would do was the most over-the-top, ridiculous thing ever."
I glanced at him, a small smile playing on my lips. "And now?"
He shrugged, a sardonic smile on his face. "Now, I'd give anything to have those simple, ridiculous days back."
The corner of my lips turned upwards in a sad smile as I leaned back, tucking my legs under me. The room buzzed around us as Danny and Jacob started tinkering with the radio, Jennifer bent over Twilight Aster with a syringe, injecting her with some kind of medication. It was still early in the day, but the people around me were beginning to hit a stride.
My thoughts were still filled with the image of the last time I saw Albert. His nervous smile, the determined look on his face when he gently held the little girl. The frantic scramble as the underground bunker’s gate slammed shut.
I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath, clutching onto that memory like a lifeline.
We were going to make it. All of us. Because we had to.
The thought, brimming with determination, was my anchor in this chaos. It was a quiet promise I had made to myself, to Albert, to all of us. We were going to survive, and we were going to fight. I was going to get a handle on these new powers and be the Magical Knight I had suddenly become.
No matter how bleak or terrifying the situation, I would hang onto that thought.
A soft click followed by a crackling static brought me out of my thoughts. All eyes were on Danny and Jacob, huddled around the radio. Their faces were lit with a mix of anticipation and nervousness.
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A voice, weak and garbled, started to break through the static. It was hard to make out what they were saying but they seemed to be repeating the same thing over and over again.
"...evac... at coord... nate..."
The rest was lost in a swell of static. The room was filled with stunned silence. Despite the message being incomplete and unclear, it provided a sliver of hope.
Everyone's gaze locked on the radio, waiting for more, but the only sound that filled the room was the soft crackle of static. After what felt like an eternity, the radio fell silent again.
The silence that followed was deafening.
"So, there's still people out there..." Jennifer murmured, her gaze distant, "And they're trying to help. There's hope."
There was hope. The words hung in the air, heavy with implications. There were survivors, people out there fighting just like us. The thought brought a glimmer of optimism in an otherwise bleak situation.
The mention of 'coordinates' and 'evac' suggested there might be a safe place somewhere, or perhaps people trying to organize rescues. But without the full message, it was impossible to know for sure.
Black Star let out a sigh next to me, rubbing his eyes. "Well, it's better than nothing, I suppose."
"Agreed," Danny murmured, his gaze focused on the now silent radio. "But we need more. We need the full message."
For a moment, everyone seemed lost in their thoughts, wrestling with this new piece of information.
Then Jacob broke the silence. "Hang on, let me see if I can try to boost the signal. See if we can pick up more of the message." His voice was firm, determined. "I used to be a radio hobbyist, believe it or not."
"Sounds like a plan," Danny agreed, giving Jacob a supportive nod.
As Jacob set to work on the radio, I looked around at the faces of everyone in the room. There was a glimmer of hope in their eyes now - a glimmer that wasn’t there before. Maybe, just maybe, we could find a way out of this.
After what felt like hours, Jacob finally sat back, wiping his brow. He turned the dial on the radio slowly, the crackle of static filling the room.
And then, miraculously, the voice returned, much clearer this time.
"All units, please proceed with evacuation relief. The Izfet protocol has been initiated. Relief units will rendezvous at Alpha-Charlie... 22...repeat… Alpha-Charlie...22... this is base camp, the Contingency Protocol Izfet has been initiated. All units are cleared to proceed at will."
The words hung in the air, reverberating through the silent room, and for the briefest moment, hope kindled in all our eyes. Black Star’s eyes widened as he listened. I could almost feel the gears in his head turning as he looked at me.
“Alpha-Charlie… 22. MKC base…” He murmured, mostly to himself. “I might know what this is about. AC-22 — that’s a location identifier. That’s where the Kaleidoscope City MKC Headquarters is located.”
The revelation stirred the room. All eyes turned towards Black Star. “Are you sure?” Danny asked, his tone hopeful.
“I used to pick these things up all the time while playing errand boy for my boss. I had to learn a bunch of these codes,” he shrugged, the ghost of a smirk playing on his lips.“ But this… this is big. If MKC is initiating a contingency protocol and broadcasting a signal, it could mean they’ve established a safe zone. That means they have a plan. Something they prepared for a disaster on this scale.”
I couldn’t help the burst of hope that surged through me at his words. A safe zone, a plan, anything was better than sitting around here waiting for the worst to happen. I looked over at Jacob, our gazes meeting. The possibility of seeing our loved ones again filled us both with renewed determination. The city had been overrun by monsters but there was a chance that we could make it to the safe zone. Still, we couldn’t move out with Twilight Aster in such a critical condition.
"So, I guess we should signal for help and just stay put then?" I asked, glancing at Jennifer, who was still by Twilight Aster's side. "We have people injured among us, and we can’t exactly move them safely right now.”
Black Star paused at that, chewing at the edge of his thumb. He wore a thoughtful expression. “Things are also looking pretty bad here, unless we can figure out a way to get her some real medical attention. Something tells me there’s only so much bandaging and basic medication can do for her condition. A headquarters like that...” He paused, his brows furrowed. “They’d have proper medical facilities. But…”
“But…” Black Star looked at Twilight Aster, his gaze lingering for a moment before he continued, “Getting there is easier said than done. It’s not exactly a walk in the park. We’d have to cross through a city full of those… creatures. And she’s in no state to move.”
Silence fell over us again. He was right. As much as we wanted to believe that help was on the way, we were still trapped in a city filled with monsters. And Twilight Aster’s condition was critical.
“We should at least try to communicate with them,” Danny finally said, breaking the silence. “See if they can send help our way. Maybe they can give us information on how to manage Twilight Aster’s condition.”
There was a quiet murmur of agreement around the room. It was a start.
“Alright. I’ll see if I can get this thing to transmit,” Jacob said, turning his attention back to the radio.
As everyone began to move, I felt a hand on my arm. Black Star was looking at me, his usual flippant demeanor replaced with something more serious.
“You alright?” he asked quietly. I knew what he was really asking. Albert. The Shelter. Hope.
“I will be,” I replied, looking down at the ground.
Because that’s all we could do. Hold on. Keep fighting. Keep hoping. For Twilight Aster. For Albert. For everyone still out there.
“That guy you were with back at the bunker. Was he a friend of yours?” Black Star asked, his voice uncharacteristically gentle.
I nodded, biting my lip. "He's my best friend. Albert. He's...he's kind of a goofball but...he's really good in a crisis. Quick on his feet."
"Sounds like a cool guy," Black Star said, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "You think he's okay in there?"
"I don't know," I confessed, the fear creeping into my voice. "I hope so. He's stronger than he looks, you know? I mean, you saw him. Carrying that little girl to safety. He didn't even hesitate."
Black Star was silent for a moment, a thoughtful expression on his face. "You know, I've been thinking," he started, his gaze meeting mine. "If MKC is setting up some sort of safe zone, maybe... maybe they'll be sending out teams to help evacuate other shelters too. Albert and the others in the shelter might have a shot."
His words brought a glimmer of hope. The possibility that Albert could be saved, that there were people out there who could help. It was a lifeline in the bleak disaster we were living in that I desperately latched on to. I nodded, a small smile playing on my lips. "Yeah. Yeah, I hope so."
Suddenly, the radio crackled to life, cutting through the quiet moment. Jacob hurriedly turned the volume up, and a voice filled the room, clear and crisp this time. "All stations, please acknowledge... This is a priority broadcast... Kaleidoscope City’s primary Villain shelter, Refuge Zeta, has been compromised... repeat. A hostile infestation has been confirmed at Refuge Zeta. The shelter has been designated as a Level 5 hazard zone. All units previously assigned to relieve Refuge Zeta, please acknowledge. Evacuation and response units have been redirected.”
The message repeated itself, a grim mantra that cut through the newfound optimism like a cold knife. Jacob looked up, his dark skin shifting to a pallid color. There was a moment of silence, the harsh reality of the situation sinking in. I could see the despair mirrored in his eyes.
"That's...that's where my family is," he said quietly. "Level 5 hazard zone?"
"The shelter..." I managed to choke out.
Refuge Zeta, the place where I had left Albert, had just been abandoned by the authorities and declared a no-man's land.