I’m not sure how long I stood there, straining my ears for any sign of what was happening above before I tried the radio again.

“Dante, please say you’re alive. Come on this isn’t funny.” I tried to keep the panic out of my voice. All I got back was static.

“Fuck!”

I sat on the floor, looking at the vent above. I couldn't stay here, I’d either starve or whichever gang that killed Dante would kill me, eventually. Dante was a dick, but the Scorpions were a hell of a lot better than a lot of the assholes out there.

I needed to check the entrance, if it was clear I could make a run for it. If it was a reasonable gang I could probably bribe them with the knowledge of the fabricator in exchange for letting me go. If they weren’t reasonable… well I was dead either way. Guess there was no point wasting time.

The ladders in the corner were barely long enough for me to reach the vent. Fuck my tiny stature. If I had been just an inch or two shorter I would have been trapped down here, but with a little struggle I did manage to wiggle into the vent again. This time I left the light off, and took it slower than before. I didn’t hear anything until I was barely two feet from the end of the vent then... Moaning. Actually not the worst case scenario, moaning meant someone was alive but injured, no executions. I held my breath and took a peek down to the end of the tunnel. I immediately lost any hope I had in escaping unscathed.

At the end of the tunnel sat one of the gang’s SMGs, hand still on the trigger, everything above the hand missing. Only the most depraved gangs dismembered people, and they didn’t come around here. The other option was... The Antithesis were actually down here. I closed my eyes.

Fuck.

Being stuck in the vent was about the worst case scenario, no way to evade, to escape. I really didn’t want something to come in here and bite my head off when I couldn’t defend myself. The gun was right there, for what little it helped the Scorpions. It’s possible they won, I was pretty sure the Antithesis didn’t moan. The only choice was forward.

I reached the gun, the smell of blood was overpowering, the sight of the severed hand nauseating. I still pulled the hand off, I wanted to throw it but forced myself to put it aside. No noise, that could get me killed.

I slowly stuck my head out of the tunnel to get a look at the surrounding area, and almost immediately regretted it. The area was a charnel house. There were a half dozen Antithesis corpses dotting the area, most of them with multiple bullet wounds; both of Dante’s boys were dead. Dante himself was sitting against some debris a few feet away, covered in blood and one of his arms was twisted unnaturally. Dear god, I hoped he was still alive.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

I glanced around, no other monsters in sight, now was the time to move.

I snuck over to Dante and crouched down, “You still alive old man?” I whispered.

One eye cracked open, his voice was rough. “Teddy? Shit, I forgot you were still here.”

I looked him over, his arm had what looked to be bite marks, and there were deep gashes in his chest, but I had no idea how bad it was. He was breathing and not coughing up blood, so it could be worse. “On your feet, we need to move.”

He shook his head, “Sorry girl, I doubt either of us will get out of here.” He raised a finger, pointing at a section of the ruins behind me. Something moved in the shadows.

I’d never fired a gun before, but I knew the theory. I put the stock up against my shoulder, aiming at Antithesis that burst from the rubble. Now would not be the time to make a mistake. I pulled the trigger.

The gun kicked, firing a three round burst into the back of the alien. The first two rounds missed, the third buried itself deep in one of the beast's front legs causing the thing to stumble and fall. I would have expected it to cry out in pain, or anger, but it just glowered at me and tried to rise on the ruined limb. I didn’t give it a chance, I fired again. This time two rounds hit the target, smashing into the thing's head and killing it.

There was a moment of silence, then the sound of rubble shifting. Two more of the creatures bounded out of the ruins dodging around broken pillars thirty feet away and closing fast.

I pulled the trigger once, twice, three times, and didn’t score a single hit. It was the fourth burst that caught the front Antithesis in the face, it slammed into the ground and slid another foot before coming to a stop. The other stepped on the corpse, and using the body as a platform pounced. My brain stopped, luckily my finger didn’t. Three rounds struck the last dog straight in the face, but it did nothing to stop its momentum. The dead weight struck me, center mass, and sent me tumbling away. Once I came to a stop I just lay there for a minute, staring at the underside of the city plate above. I was in severe pain, but alive.

Dante let out a wheezing laugh, “Shit Teddy, I never would have thought you had that in you. You still alive over there?”

There was a beep, in my head.

System Initialized.

Congratulations. Through your actions you have proven yourself worthy of becoming one of the Vanguard, a defender of humanity. I am Nyxous. I will assist you to uplift humanity so that you may defend your homeworld from the Antithesis threat. Rise Evelyn Claire, and become a protector of the weak!

You can call me Nyx.

Too much information, and pain, I wasn’t sure what the hell was going on so I said the first thing that came to my head. “I want more than fifteen percent”