Kyon's First Person Point Of View.

The Sky Lounge was a mess. Bodies of the hunters we’d just fought lay sprawled across the floor, and the smell of burnt gunpowder and spilled blood hung heavy in the air. My breathing was ragged, my hands shaking slightly from the adrenaline. Sia stood beside me, her stance still alert, her face a mask of grim determination.

“We can’t stay here,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “More are coming.”

Sia nodded, wiping sweat from her brow. “Fifteen more, if what you sensed is accurate.”

She was right. Through my Echo Flux, I could feel the hunters moving closer, their intent sharp and focused like blades in the dark. But there was something else, something colder and far more menacing—a gathering storm of malice and hunger. Vampires. Not just one or two, but a whole crowd of them. I couldn’t pinpoint their exact number, but it was enough to make my blood run cold.

I clenched my fists. “And it’s not just hunters. Vampires are heading our way too. Powerful ones.”

Sia’s eyes narrowed. “How close?”

“Close enough,” I said, shuddering as I felt the brush of their killing intent. “We need to move, now.”

The lounge’s grand windows offered a dizzying view of the city skyline, but escape through them wasn’t an option. Rappelling down or using makeshift ropes would leave us exposed, not to mention the cameras. Conrad—or whoever was in charge of the surveillance—would spot us instantly. No, we had to find another way.

I scanned the room, my Echo Flux probing for hidden passages or maintenance access points. “There has to be something,” I muttered.

Sia moved toward the bar counter, running her hands along the edges. “Emergency exits are blocked,” she said. “And the main doors are the most obvious target. They’ll expect us to go that way.”

“Then we don’t,” I said, crossing the room to one of the planters near the far wall. “Help me move this.”

Together, we shoved the heavy planter aside, revealing a small access panel embedded in the floor. I pried it open with the edge of my knife, revealing a narrow maintenance shaft that plunged into darkness. A faint draft rose from below, carrying the scent of oil and machinery.

“This might lead us to the lower levels,” I said, peering inside. “It’s tight, but it’s better than staying here.”

Sia hesitated, her expression doubtful. “What if they’re monitoring the shafts too?”

“They might be,” I admitted. “But it’s a chance we have to take. Better than walking into another ambush.”

She nodded reluctantly. “Fine. I’ll go first.”

“No,” I said firmly. “I’ll go. If there’s trouble down there, I’ll deal with it.”

Her eyes flashed with frustration, but she didn’t argue. Instead, she handed me a flashlight she’d taken from one of the hunters. “Be careful.”

I gave her a grim smile. “Always.”

Sliding into the shaft, I gripped the ladder’s cold metal rungs and began to descend. The darkness was oppressive, swallowing the faint light from above as I went deeper. My Echo Flux reached out, scanning for danger, but the shaft seemed empty—at least for now.

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After what felt like an eternity, my feet touched solid ground. I glanced around, sweeping the flashlight across the cramped space. Pipes and conduits lined the walls, and the hum of machinery filled the air. It looked like a service corridor, one that might connect to other parts of the building.

“It’s clear,” I called up softly. “Come down.”

Sia descended quickly, landing beside me with a soft thud. Together, we began to move, following the corridor’s twists and turns. The air grew warmer as we went, the metallic tang of oil and grease mingling with the faint echoes of footsteps above us.

“They’re close,” Sia whispered.

“I know,” I said, keeping my voice low. My Echo Flux was picking up the hunters now, their movements precise and coordinated. They were spreading out, sweeping the upper floors as they closed in on our location. But the vampires were moving too, their presence like a shadow creeping down from above.

I clenched my jaw. “We need to get farther down. If we can reach the lower floors, we’ll have more options.”

“And Lawrence?” Sia asked. “You said he was on his way.”

“He is,” I said, glancing at her. “But he’s still too far. We can’t wait for him.”

We pressed on, navigating the labyrinthine corridors with as much speed and silence as we could manage. Occasionally, we passed by maintenance access points that led to higher floors, but I avoided them. The last thing we needed was to surface in the middle of another ambush.

After several tense minutes, we reached a junction where the corridor split into two paths. One led toward a stairwell marked “Emergency Exit,” while the other seemed to head deeper into the building’s mechanical infrastructure.

“Which way?” Sia asked, her voice barely audible.

I hesitated, reaching out with my Echo Flux. The stairwell felt wrong—too exposed, too easy to predict. The other path, though less direct, seemed quieter. Safer.

“This way,” I said, motioning toward the mechanical corridor.

We moved quickly, the hum of machinery growing louder as we went. My flashlight flickered, casting jittery shadows on the walls. The sense of being watched was almost palpable now, as if unseen eyes were tracking our every move.

“They’re still watching us,” Sia said, her voice tight.

“Through the cameras,” I said. “Conrad’s playing a game with us.”

“Then let’s make it harder for him,” she replied, stopping suddenly. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small EMP device—something she’d scavenged from one of the hunters earlier.

“Will this work?” she asked.

“It might,” I said. “But it’ll only blind them temporarily. We’ll have to move fast.”

She nodded and activated the device, tossing it down the corridor. There was a faint crackle, and the lights flickered briefly before stabilizing.

“Let’s go,” I said, picking up the pace.

The corridor eventually opened into a larger maintenance area filled with machinery and equipment. I scanned the room quickly, looking for anything that could help us get farther down. My eyes landed on a set of service elevators tucked into the corner, their doors slightly ajar.

“Over there,” I said, motioning toward the elevators.

Sia frowned. “You think they still work?”

“Only one way to find out.”

We approached cautiously, and I pried the doors open wider, revealing the elevator shaft. The cab was parked several floors below, but the cables and maintenance ladder were intact.

“We can climb down,” I said.

Sia groaned. “More climbing?”

“Unless you have a better idea,” I said, stepping onto the ladder.

She sighed but followed without further complaint. The descent was grueling, every creak of the ladder and rattle of the cables setting my nerves on edge. I kept my Echo Flux active, scanning for threats both above and below.

By the time we reached the cab, my arms were burning, and sweat dripped down my face. I pried open the emergency hatch on top of the cab and dropped inside, helping Sia down after me. The interior was cramped and smelled faintly of mildew, but it offered a brief reprieve from the tension.

“Where to now?” Sia asked, leaning against the wall.

I glanced at the control panel, which was powered down. “We’ll have to force the doors open and continue on foot.”

Before I could move, a sudden chill swept over me—a wave of malice and hunger that made my skin crawl. I froze, my heart pounding as I realized what it meant.

“They’re here,” I whispered.

Sia’s eyes widened. “The vampires?”

I nodded. “They’re close. Too close.”

For a moment, we were both silent, the weight of our situation pressing down on us. Then, with a deep breath, I steadied myself and met her gaze.

“We can still make it,” I said. “But we have to move now.”