Now

Adahn held a hand over the door panel. The subtle glowing lines on their power armor began to pulse and flow in that direction. They brightened as they reached the glove.

From Cal’s visual perspective the Threnosh was just standing there. While he waited he reached out into the surrounding area, including inside the security station with his telepathy. What he found was worse than nothing. He picked up static and a sort of discordant series of sounds. He couldn’t describe it. He was now certain that they were going to encounter corrupted.

Perhaps the monsters were waiting near the entrance? Even when it had been supposedly sealed since the days the city fell. Or maybe the monsters would wait until they were further within the facility?

“Rodinian, secure our backs.”

The Threnosh nodded and immediately started pulling out traps from the various blocky compartments built into their power armor. They placed them all over the street area surrounding the door.

“It is ready with your command,” Adahn said.

Cal readied his telekinesis to smash anything that might’ve been waiting on the other side. “Do it.”

The door slid open and revealed nothing.

Cal took a deep breath. His stress level was higher than it had been in a long time.

The inside of the facility was lit with natural-looking day light. An exact copy of the outside environment.

“Unseen, scout the route to the command room. Be careful.”

“Acknowledged.” Unseen shimmered and vanished from sight.

This particular aspect of Unseen’s power armor abilities was tied to a combination of hardware and software. Through an interaction that the researchers didn’t fully understand Unseen was able to bend light around their body, essentially rendering themselves invisible. The effect somehow extended to movement trackers and thermal sensors, among others.

Even when Unseen moved down the corridor the visual sensors in Cal’s helmet couldn’t keep track of them. He had to rely on the small, white dot projected on his face-plate to track their progress.

“It’s like the Predator, but even better,” Cal murmured.

“Designation: Honor. I have a request,” Adahn said.

“What?”

“May I detour to the fabrication chamber?”

“Why?”

“The recent battles have demonstrated my lack of offensive capability,” Adahn hefted their recoilless rifle, “this is not sufficient enough to ‘pull my weight’, as you have stated in the past.”

“So… you think you can get the fabrication machines to make you more weapons? How? I thought that all of the weapons available in this city were old fashioned chemical combustion powered. That’s why your people had to rely on drones as weapon platforms. Your bodies couldn’t handle the recoil even with those old-style exoskeletons.”

“Yes, certainly the appearance of the spires and the invasive organisms, along with the trueskins greatly accelerated weapon development. I am confident that my trueskin is capable of integrating even older technology.”

“I’m willing to give you the shot, but maybe once we get the defenses turned on. We can’t waste any time. The corrupted might be massing for another attack.”

“It will not take up much time. I estimate that the entire process of rearming myself will take between five and seven minutes. I can initialize, then program the fabricators remotely. My external weapon harness will be ready by the time we reach the chamber.”

Cal thought quickly. He subvocalized a text message to Unseen.

“Alright, get started,” Cal said to Adahn. “Rodinian, I want you to lay traps behind us as we move. I’ll leave the composition and location decisions to you.”

“Priority objective?”

“Kill, then slow. In that order. Oh and don’t forget to input their locations into the tactical map.”

“I have done so and will continue,” Rodinian said.

“Right, of course, good job.”

Cal reached out into the facility with his telepathy. Static. It was worrying, but worth a shot. He just needed to be vigilant. He kept all of his senses on high alert as he took the lead.

The facility’s corridors were from an earlier era. It was the first time that Cal had been in a place that was constructed from a design philosophy that predated the spires. To be honest, it all looked the same. Metallic surfaces that emitted light in a fashion that perfectly mimicked the outside environment.

The fabrication chamber was located on the other side of the large facility, but at least it was on the ground level. The corridors were laid out in a perfect grid. This made it difficult for Rodinian, since there weren’t any obvious choke points for them to place their traps.

Cal detected slight vibrations as they neared the fabrication chamber. It seemed that Adahn was right about getting production started.

Cal took up a position next to the door and readied his telekinesis. He waited for Adahn to reach the door panel before giving them the signal to open it.

The door slid open to the sound of machinery at work. Nothing more.

Cal stepped into the large chamber and scanned it for any potential threats. He didn’t see nor sense anything. He beckoned the rest of his team.

The fabrication chamber was large. Cal placed it at about the same size as a football field, except square. Their were many fabrication machines of several types placed in an orderly fashion. There was a logical flow to the place.

Automated combat turrets and drones were assembled in a modular fashion. Then they would move to the weapon installation section. Where there were different stations for different weapons. Lastly, they would go to the ammunition section where they would be loaded before exiting through a large set of double doors on the opposite end of the chamber from where he was standing.

“I took the liberty of starting the production process. There were several turrets and drones in the process of being assembled when this place was shut down,” Adahn said.

“Good call. How about your gear? Is it ready?”

“Yes, I simply have to attach it to my trueskin and load the ammunition. Then perform a quick diagnostic simulation.”

“Do that, but quickly. I want to get the defense system up and running ASAP.”

“Designation: Honor, I believe I can create more traps using the munitions stations.” Rodinian said.

“Do it.”

Cal moved away from the door and out of range of the explosive trap Rodinian had left. He kept an anxious eye on Unseen’s passage deeper into the facility toward the command room while he waited. The Threnosh’s white dot was alone, but as it had been repeatedly proved, he couldn’t rely on the tactical map’s accuracy with one hundred percent certainty.

One minute passed before Cal realized that Unseen’s dot wasn’t moving anymore.

----------------------------------------

Unseen walked quickly through the facility’s corridors. They had supreme confidence in their power armor’s invisibility. The only reason they weren’t running was that even their soft-soled boots would’ve made noise on the metallic floors. They weren’t detecting any hostiles on the tactical map, but that wasn’t a guarantee that there weren’t any.

Although the map was drawing information from the sensors inside the facility now that Adahn had returned power to this section of the city, Unseen didn’t forget how the corrupted had somehow masked their presence on several occasions.

They kept a tight grip on their recoilless rifle, but they knew that their best defense was to remain undetected and wait for Honor and the rest of the team to catch up.

A text message flashed across their face-plate. They stopped.

A quick detour.

Unseen was not pleased, but it was not their place to question orders. They acknowledged the message and continued onward.

They had to descend several floors to reach the command level. The facility was from the time before the spires and the lifts were mechanical, not the anti-gravity type of modern construction. They were concerned about the noise. If there were hostiles nearby then they were almost certainly heard.

Unseen set the lift to go the bottom level. They then climbed up the hatch to the roof and waited for their level to pass. It was a prescient decision.

As they reached the opening they saw movement at the end of the long corridor. They stepped off the top of the lift as it moved down. They were quick and quiet as they darted into a side corridor. They didn’t hear any steps headed their direction, but they checked the readout on the face-plate anyways to double check that their invisibility was still engaged.

Assured, they carefully, peeked around the corner.

There, in plain sight under the natural light was a corrupted.

Unseen pulled back away from the corner and readied their recoilless rifle.

The hostile was in the way.

Unseen subvocalized a message to Honor. The detour had been ill-timed. They hoped that their team could make it to their location with all haste.

Movement out of the corner of their left eye. The same out of the corner of their right.

Hostiles in all directions and they were advancing on Unseen’s position.

They felt their heart beat faster in their chest. They reminded themselves that they had trained for this. They had faced a variety of monsters in similar situations.

The monsters couldn’t see them.

They consulted the tactical map for their next move.

There was a door into another room within reach, but opening it would certainly draw attention.

That’s exactly what Unseen did.

----------------------------------------

“Hurry it up!” Cal barked. “Unseen’s got eyes on corrupted on the command level.” The text message had been terse and the white dot representing Unseen was still motionless. He still didn’t see any red dots around them.

“I am ready,” Rodinian said.

“Apologies. It took longer than I had calculated to sync the new— old equipment to my trueskin.” Adahn had somehow integrated an old, Threnosh-made exoskeleton to their power armor. This served as a platform for several mechanical arms to which a variety of weaponry was attached.

Cal saw what resembled two automatic rifles, a pair of long, sharp blades and what looked like a military-grade stun baton, judging by its size and the arcs of electricity that jumped between its wicked-looking prongs.

“Okay, you sure you’ve got all that under control?”

“Yes, control and targeting systems are within acceptable parameters.”

“Can you shoot behind you, by any chance?”

“That is correct.”

“Alright, you’re bringing up the rear.”

Cal led the group to a different lift than the one Unseen had used. According to their information they were drawing the corrupted to them, which had created an opening.

Cal ran just fast enough so that the Threnosh could keep up. Their power armors weren’t the kind that significantly enhanced their physical capabilities. They were roughly on the same level as a regular human being. Although the new exoskeleton pushed Adahn up a few notches.

Cal reached over the low gate into the open lift and sent it down to the lowest level.

“Were we not supposed to be on?” Rodinian said.

Cal shook his head. “I’ll handle that part. Just step in as if the lift is still there. I’ll go first.”

He stepped into the open space and lowered himself down with his telekinetic power. The Threnosh, ever trusting, followed without hesitation. Rodinian first, then Adahn.

Cal waited for the lift to go down a few more levels before he floated them down to the command level. His telepathic scans were still returning static. He wasn’t used to having an incomplete picture of the battlefield. He didn’t like it. He hit the floor ready to lash out. Luckily, the immediate area was clear.

He noticed the corrupted a split-second later, almost as if a veil had been lifted from his eyes.

The monsters were down all three corridors and there were many. Their grotesque musculature bulged and burst out of taut skin that wasn’t meant to contain them. There was rage in their eyes. Together, they created a cacophony of noise that echoed.

“Contact,” Cal said. “Rodinian, get as many traps as you can that way,” he pointed down the central corridor. “Adahn, you’ve got the right.” A quick count put the least amount of corrupted down that particular corridor. “Hold as long as you can. If you need to fall back, follow me. I’ll clear this corridor.”

Cal didn’t wait for the acknowledgment. He took off down the left like a bullet. He had to hold back for fear of damaging potentially vital systems. This meant that things were going to get really disgusting.

He hit the charging corrupted at about forty-five miles an hour. Bodies broke and exploded like water balloons. So much for trying to keep the smell off of his armor.

Super strength meant that he didn’t need any weapons for this level of monster. He was the weapon. There was nothing pretty about what he did. No technique. He simply punched, kicked and rammed into the corrupted.

A loud series of explosions shook the level. They even managed to temporarily overwhelm the automatic audio safety measures in his helmet.

“Oops. I forgot to tell them about avoiding collateral damage,” Cal groaned.

The momentary distraction cost him an arm… of his armor. A corrupted bit into the outer plate of his gauntlet and tore it free. He drove the plate into and through the monster’s head with a sharp push of his telekinesis.

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Cal was clear of corrupted. He looked back down the way he came, about fifty yards. He saw Adahn firing with three guns. The loud bursts from the two older weapons reminded him of guns from back home. He had gotten used to the quiet of the recoilless rifles. The sounds were deafening in the confined space, but it brought a smile to his face.

“Status report,” Cal said into the comms.

“Traps effective, but more are coming. There is not enough distance to safely deploy explosive traps. I have deployed a temporary restraint trap,” Rodinian said.

“Alright, both of you come to me.” Cal then sent a text message to Unseen.

The reply was immediate.

I am inside the command center. No hostiles.

Cal consulted the tactical map. He noted the white dot that represented Unseen near the center of the level and surprise, surprise the corrupted were now visible as red dots and there were a lot of them.

A thought struck him as he studied the layout of the level. It was a neat grid of straight corridors intersecting each other and the various rooms and chambers. Perfectly symmetrical. It reminded him of something.

Cal laughed.

“What is happening, Designation: Honor?” Rodinian said as they ran up to Cal. Adahn followed after. Their two guns were swiveled to point backward and were blazing away at their pursuers.

“We’re going to play Pac-man,” Cal grinned.

The view on the tactical map overlay projected on his face-plate really did look just like the game. There were a few differences, he and his team were white dots. The corrupted were red dots, not pixelated ghosts and there were considerably more of them, like over a hundred more.

Cal turned left. He hoped that there weren’t any more corrupted on the level that weren’t showing up on the map. Even then the ones currently after them were continually blocking off the potential paths to the command center. They were slowly being herded into a corner.

“Too bad there aren’t any super dots in the corners,” Cal muttered. This was real life and not a game after all.

Adahn’s guns had fallen silent a little bit ago. Rodinian was down to a couple of traps. They could fabricate more, but that required several minutes and stopping.

Cal’s original plan was to get around the corrupted and hole up in the command center, while Adahn got the city section’s automated defense system back on. Sure, he could’ve wiped them all out, but he was concerned that doing so might trigger some kind of boss fight. He didn’t want to do that without being prepared. With two key locations, the energy station and the security station, to defend there was a good chance that two bosses would be spawned.

There was the chance, a probability that completing the Quest and getting the defense back online would trigger bosses anyways. In that case they’d have the automatic defense to help them out in the event that a boss or two appeared.

Cal was also starting to feel the beginnings of brain-stabbing migraine. The invisible needles were currently at the gentle-prodding stage, but he knew from experience that the more he exerted his powers the more incessant they’d grow. At least it was taking longer these days. It meant that his powers were still growing, that he wasn’t close to a plateau. It boded well for a boost after he successfully completed the operation to retake Orchestral Meridian. He’d emerge even stronger, hopefully enough to just steamroll Zalthyss, the angelic bastard whose existence had been hanging over him like a cloud of swords for over a year.

“Okay, this isn’t getting us anywhere,” Cal said.

The two Threnosh running behind him didn’t respond. It was taking all they had to keep up even with their physical movements almost one hundred percent being taken care of by their power armors.

So, it wasn’t like Pac-man at all.

Cal sighed.

Aside from being chased by things that wanted to eat them there were no super pellets nor fruits. Cal missed fruits. The ones he’d taste-tested from the forests around his base had been terrible. Although, to be fair he wasn’t entirely certain that some of them weren’t vegetables.

Cal frowned. That wasn’t like him. He had trained himself over the six to seven-ish years since he got his powers to maintain focus. Especially while in the middle of fight. His train of thought derailing into non sequiturs without him realizing was concerning.

Pac-man, fruits and vegetables?

“What the fuck?” Cal whispered. “No more bullshit. Alright guys. We are going to that command center.”

Cal turned right at the next intersection. The path led right to a group of corrupted. Screw the head pains. He was going to smear the monsters all over the corridor.

----------------------------------------

Then

Cal and Bennett reached the block of two-story townhouses ahead of Detective Ordonez and Jake. The street was blocked off by a police truck. A small crowd had gathered. Interestingly, the squad of police-soldiers from the interim government wasn’t facing the crowd.

Everyone was facing the houses.

Cal had to pull back his telepathy and strengthen the imaginary sphere shielding his mind. The anxiety and fear coming from the fifty or so people was overwhelming.

“We should probably wait for the others,” Bennett said.

“Scared they might shoot you?”

“Yes.”

“Sure, why not.” Cal didn’t mention that he hadn’t picked up anything inside the houses as far as any human-like thoughts and emotions. He didn’t know how it worked, but he knew when what he was sensing came from monsters. Even the most hate-filled human still read as human. And he had picked up a vicious sort of hunger still lurking somewhere within.

“I see you aren’t breathing hard,” Cal said. “For someone downplaying their physical ability. You kept up with me fine and I was probably at about forty-fifty miles per hour.”

Bennett cleared his throat. “My running speed is a different matter compared to my strength and durability.”

“Fair enough, just saying I could use your help when we go in there,” Cal gestured past the crowd.

“I’m not going in there. That wasn’t part of the agreement,” Bennett’s hair flew wildly as he shook his head from side to side.

“True, I guess you can wait outside just in case the mauler or whatever is in there gets away from me.”

“Er… maybe I will go with you.”

Cal chuckled. “What’re you worried about? You’re topped up on blood. You’ve got a bunch of blood packs. Hell, even your flask is filled with blood. You’ve got more than enough to heal any damage. Worst case scenario you just do that hide in the shadows thing.”

“All of that does nothing to assuage my fears.”

Cal reached up to pat Bennett on the shoulder. “That’s like half the battle.”

“What is?”

“Acknowledging that you are afraid.”

A pensive look grew on Bennett’s face and he lapsed into silence.

Cal alternated from watching the houses and looking back down the street. “What’s taking them so long? It was barely a mile.”

Six minutes later, Detective Ordonez and Jake arrived. Out of breath and sweating.

“Not bad,” Cal said. They covered the distance pretty fast, especially considering they were both carrying guns and wearing a plate carrier with an actual plate in the front.

Detective Ordonez said nothing while she got her breathing back under control.

“… carry… thirty… pounds…” Jake managed to wheeze out.

“Well, when you’re ready. I’m pretty sure the mauler, if it is the mauler, is still in there,” Cal said.

It took a few minutes. Detective Ordonez recovered first. Jake had to hurry after her while trying to drink from his water bottle. He spilled about half as much as he got down. That was the hardest run he had ever done. Even though he had been training on a daily basis ever since he got his Techmage class and got fast-tracked to spec ops status. He had always been a big and fat guy, dating back to his discovery of ice cream and candy. Who knew that all it took to get him in shape was the end of the world?

“Sullivan, Give me the sitrep?” Detective Ordonez barged past the crowd to reach one of the officers.

“We got some survivors, want to talk them,” Sullivan jabbed a thumb over his shoulder.

Jake saw that there was a cluster of people near a couple of battered vehicles. There was an ambulance and a couple of repurposed SUV’s.

“No time, just give me a quick rundown,” Detective Ordonez barked. Inwardly she wanted to chew Sullivan’s head off. The man was new to the force. He did have a military background, but clearly he probably pushed paper or cleaned facilities. She didn’t have time to waste, which is why she expected him to just give her the details himself. Pointing out the survivors just wasted time.

“Survivors said that they got attacked by something. No descriptions. Just woke up to screams. Some tried to fight. Didn’t make it out. The rest booked it and started banging on the rest of the neighborhood's doors. We got the call from there. Set up a perimeter. Got squads surrounding the block. The people living there knocked down the common walls to connect all the homes for defensive purposes.”

“Which floors? Or both?”

“Both, but not the basements.”

“What about the perp? Anyone got a good look?”

Sullivan shook his head. “They didn’t and we haven’t seen anything exiting. Don’t know if it’s still in there, though. Do you think it’s the mauler? Is that why your task force is here.” Sullivan’s eyes widened as he looked over Detective Ordonez’s shoulder.

Jake looked behind him and saw that Cruces and his weird-looking buddy, Bennett, had joined them.

“Thanks, Sullivan.” Detective Ordonez said flatly. She tapped Jake on the chest. “Let’s go, Gates. We’re going on.” Her eyes fell on Cal, then on Bennett. “You do whatever you want.”

“He’s coming too,” Cal answered before Bennett could even open his mouth.

“Fine, his safety is your responsibility.”

“Aren’t we all responsible for our safety?” Cal mused.

Jake heard Detective Ordonez’s teeth grinding over the noise from the crowd.

The detective turned and strode with purpose past the caution tape and toward the houses.

Jake hurried to catch up. There was a forceful gust of wind that pushed him to one side. Cruces was suddenly standing in Detective Ordonez’s way.

“Hold on,” Cal said. “I’m pretty sure it’s still in there,” his voice dropped to a whisper. “You guys don’t need to go inside. Bennett and I can handle it.”

“Out of the way,” Detective Ordonez glared.

“The mauler isn’t like the monsters you’re used to fighting. It’s a lot more dangerous, even more than the gremlin alpha. Walking into a dark, cramped environment puts you and Jake in danger that you don’t need to be in.”

“It’s our jobs and this is my task force, if you’ve forgotten. You’re here as a courtesy.”

Cruces grimaced.

Jake was two minds of the situation. He didn’t want to die, especially being torn and possibly eaten, like those gangbangers. However, taking on the mauler and completing the Quest would give him more Universal Points than he could even dream of. It was legitimately like winning the lottery.

“Okay, you’re all adults and you are technically correct. I’m taking point. You and Jake follow, order is up to you. Bennett brings up the rear.”

Bennett paled.

The freaky, scarecrow-like man was already practically white. Jake was surprised that he went even whiter.

“It’s cool, bro. I’ll block for you,” Jake said.

“Thanks, but you don’t have to worry about me,” Bennett sighed.

“Look, Bennett,” Cal said. “You’re either in front or in the back.”

“Because that’s who you’re expecting is most likely to be attacked?”

“Yup… so, do you want to switch?”

Bennett shook his head.

“Children,” Detective Ordonez snapped. “We need to move quickly.”

Jake watched Cruces intently as the man turned an intent gaze on the block of townhouses.

“Nope, still in there.”

“How are you doing that?” Jake was in awe. “What kind of magic are you using? Or is it something else. I’ve heard rumors about superpowers.”

“Where?”

“Sorry, detective. I can’t exactly pinpoint from here. Maybe if I get closer.”

They both ignored Jake. Sadly, he was used to it.

Cruces took the lead as he cautiously walked through the open front door of the rightmost home. Detective Ordonez followed with her shotgun held at the ready. She had a small, candle lantern hanging from a loop around her hand holding the forestock. An attached tac light would’ve been preferable, but they hadn’t yet figured out how to get them working again.

Jake came next. He held a smartphone in each hand, pointed over the others’ heads. One held the Magic Missile and the other had Mana Shield.

“Hey, boss? Shouldn’t I be in front of you? I’ve got a shield spell,” Jake whispered.

“Your big ass will block my sight lines,” Detective Ordonez growled back.

“Tsch!” Cal hissed at them for silence.

Jake’s eyes darted to every dark and shadowed corner. There were a lot. The interior of the home was dimly lit by candles and lanterns. He saw monsters everywhere. He took some comfort in Cruces’ presence. He had never seen the man in action, but he had heard plenty of rumors and from those that claimed to have seen Cruces battling and somehow throwing monsters around without touching them. Even those gigantic gremlin alphas.

Jake figured Cruces was using telekinesis, whether it was superpower style or magic, he didn’t know. He had repeatedly asked, but had been rebuffed each time.

The battered camping ax in Cruce’s hand showed how much battle he had seen. Its steel head was covered in scratches, the cutting edge was notched. The handle was stained with blood, despite looking like it had been cleaned well. Jake took more comfort in the image.

Cruces was a veteran of many monster fights. The man definitely knew what he was doing. All Jake had to do was stick close and maybe he’d get a shot to fire of his offensive spells, while Cruces kept the mauler busy.

The group cleared the first home they entered. From bottom to top. Clearing the basement consisted of Cruces taking a step or two down and scanning with his telepathy. The process was much the same for the first and second level. They didn’t even need to check the individual rooms, even if some still had their doors closed.

Detective Ordonez didn’t understand, but she wasn’t exactly in position to object to Cruces’ methods. He didn’t give her the opportunity by moving continuously.

When they crossed over into the third home, the one in the middle of the row, Jake immediately felt something was different. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up.

Jake was a city kid. He’d never been out in the wilderness. Though he had watched a lot of survival shows. He remembered the descriptions those grizzled people had given about what it was like to be stalked by a predator. That was exactly what he felt.

A flash of movement to the right, from above, the ceiling.

“Watch out!”

“Get down!”

There was a blast that made Jake’s ears ring and his eyes blind. He waved his smartphones in front of him, but he couldn’t pull the triggers on his spells. Couldn’t risk hitting the others.

There were terrible sounds of a fight right in front of Jake.

Snarling.

Cursing.

Another blast from Detective Ordonez’s shotgun was followed by more cursing, Cruces.

A high-pitched yelp from somewhere behind him. Jake spun around his smartphones held out like guns.

“Don’t shoot!”

Bennett’s voice.

There was a great crash. Then nothing, but the sounds of their heavy breaths.

“Damn it, every time… why do they always go for the face?” Cruces spat.

Jake blinked away the white spots in his eyesight.

Detective Ordonez pointed her shotgun and the light from her lantern at a child-sized hole in the wall that Jake didn’t remember being there earlier.

Cruces took a bottle of liquid from the pouch at his belt and splashed it on his face. “Still stings,” he hissed.

“Did you see it?” Detective Ordonez’s voice was a whisper.

Jake didn’t like the sound of it. She sounded scared. Detective Hardass was what they called her behind her back. Not Jake, though, he thought she was badass. She didn’t blink when facing down gremlins. To hear the fear in her made the stone in his stomach grow a few more sizes.

“It cut my face right away. So, I didn’t get a good look. Felt like it had human skin, different from the gremlins. Small size, just like the smaller gremlins.”

“The ones that can’t take light?”

Jake jumped. Bennett appeared next to him out of nowhere.

Cruces nodded. “A lot stronger. Very strong.” He sounded uncertain.

Jake didn’t hear the customary lightness in Cruces’ voice. The man was concerned now. He counted the thin red lines on Cruces’ face. There were five of them. Close together, smaller than what he remembered on the mauler victims’ bodies, but very similar.

“Hey, detective? Try not to shoot me in the back next time. I’m bulletproof, but my clothes aren’t,” Cal said.

“You crossed my sight line,” Detective Ordonez said.

“This isn’t going to work.” Cal said. “Change of plans. Bennett, you’re going to guard these two. I’m going after that thing.”

Bennett’s eyes were wide as he shook his head.

“Don’t worry. It’ll be too busy dealing with me to come back for the rest of you,” Cal pointed at the front door. He noticed that it was barricade. He pointed through the large hole in the wall, back the way the came. “Out the nearest exit. Quickly, before I change my mind about going solo.” He turned and went into the other house after the monster.

“Shit, you don’t split the party,” Jake said in shock.

“Yeah, that’s like death flags for everyone,” Bennett said.

“You play games too? RPGs?”

“I’ve played all the Baldur’s Gate ones, Torment, Pillars, Pathfinder, bunch of others.”

“Computer gamer,” Jake nodded. “Me too. Except for the older ones.”

“Had to use an emulator.”

“I know. I tried them out, but just couldn’t deal with the dated graphics. Say, have you ever done tabletop?”

Bennett shook his head. “Not really, didn’t get out much.”

“Cool, me and some friends have been talking about getting a game night going. But it’s tough to get into the mood. Ever since…”

“Yeah. I imagine it’s hard to play when real life got essentially turned into one. Except terrifying and not fun.”

Jake noticed the blood stains on the floor and walls for the first time. He had to agree with that assessment.

“We’re not going anywhere,” Detective Ordonez said flatly. “Come on.”

She marched right through the hole in the wall after Cruces.