In and out, Evelyn. In and out.

The air recycled through her respirator, flowing at a metronomic pace. Evelyn’s mind remained blank as she marched forth with her husband by her side, M4 raised. She didn’t see the darkened hallways with an infinite number of hidden threats or the hollows that slowly limbered behind where they had broken through the entrance as well. No, Evelyn saw nothing other than the stairwell in front.

She only saw Leah’s scared face, alone with no one to bring her love.

The two raced down the hall as one. No words were needed. No decisions to be made. Both knew the priority at hand, and how little time they’d have. Abraham’s voice thundered through the building’s speakers as he recited the book of Revelations. Only so many verses left before he reaches the bowls. They had to hurry.

They reached the stairwell and pierced through the narrow gap between. It winded up, and up, and up. Out of view, with only the tiniest sliver of light at the top.

Liam’s eyes glazed over as he took in the full scope of this beast. “How many flights did you say again?”

She sighed. “Too many, honey. We’re gonna have to move double-time.”

A hand suddenly flashed into view a few floors up, dropping a small object. It clattered at their feet. A grenade!

Evelyn scooped the grenade up and threw it back at its sender. Not a second too soon. The upper floors vanished under a cloud of fire and shrapnel. Grunts rolled out.

More shadows appeared behind them, but Liam laid into the Beholders before they could get close. The bastards dropped as shots took them in the heads.

The two nodded and moved, their guns scanning for threats in front. Movement appeared under the screen of smoke as they reached the second floor. They both fired at once, and the Beholder dropped. Another appeared an instant later, only to face the same fate. They kept moving.

Floor by floor, the two marched up the staircase, their weapons ready for use. Each level was identical to the last, save for a single number identifying where they were.

3.

Whenever the slightest hint of a threat appeared, both exterminated it on sight. A few shots came in retaliation, but the Beholders had concentrated their forces when fighting the trucks and were too slow to respond.

20.

The further they climbed, the slower it became. Their stamina began to slacken, and it became harder to concentrate. It wasn’t long before each took turns, with one keeping watch while the other lowered their gun to save on energy. Even if they couldn’t stop for a second, this was now a marathon and not a sprint.

30.

More Inquisitors rushed down, ready to stop them at all costs. Their shots were precise as they tried to bring the two humans down, but Evelyn and Liam were the more experienced marksmen, and did not let these monsters get in their way. The firefights became sporadic as their enemies struggled to hold a defense.

40.

Evelyn winced as a shot took her in the chest, but her attacker died a moment later.

She collapsed into the wall, the air trapped in her lungs. Blood sprouted from the wound at once. She immediately probed along the edges, front and back. The sigh was heavy as she breathed deep, quickly taking bandages from her rucksack to stem the bleeding.

“Evelyn…” Liam started.

She groaned. “It’s fine.”

“Love, you’ve been shot!”

“The bullet went through. Nothing vital hit.” She shook her head and stood back up, then lurched back into a march. “Can’t stop. Not for a second.”

She barreled onward.

50.

Evelyn blinked through the pain, her breath gargling beneath the respirator and visor fogging with sweat. Liam was no better. Even uninjured, his older age was his enemy, and his legs quaked with each step.

But neither slowed for long. When one began to fall, the other picked them back up, their shared adrenaline compensating for all else.

This wasn’t where their daughter died.

55.

The hollows weren’t far behind. Though they moved at a snail’s pace up staircases, they could keep doing so indefinitely, especially when motivated by the smell of blood. Evelyn’s heart skipped a beat as their real estate lessened, with the Beholders still holding their own in front, and the hollows closing in behind.

60.

Evelyn’s feet dragged like lead within her steel-toed boots, and her arms shivered against the weight of her M4. Her hardsuit was stained red where her bandage had been soaked through.

Liam collapsed into the wall.

“Bloody hell,” he gasped. “And I thought you’d be the one suffering.”

Evelyn rubbed his shoulder. “We’re almost there, Liam. Just a little more.”

“I’m only slowing you down, love. Go on. I’ll take care of the hollows while you get our daughter.”

Shades of her dying father flashed before her eyes, and she yanked him up at once. “Don’t you dare say that again! We’re a family. We do this together, or we don’t go at all.”

His brow furrowed with the realization, and he launched back into the climb without another word.

65.

There wasn’t much time or space left to work with. The hollows were now trickling in, one after the next. Liam and Evelyn could only move so fast, their bodies at the cusp of collapse. Ammo began to get burned as they fought enemies on both fronts.

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The hollows below, and the Beholders above.

70.

They were almost there. Just a few floors remained. But this part entered the open, with the rotunda looping around the last few levels and the ruins of LA sprawled away.

With the fresh air seeping through the cracked windows, they hit their final burst of energy, sprinting up the last flights of stairs.

73.

As they reached the end of the staircases, a flurry of bullets clattered out a barricade at the top. Evelyn dove back into cover, but even that respite was non-existent. Hollows floundered around the bend where they had come, their mouths salivating for the meal before them.

Liam fired into the rear while Evelyn tried vainly to get a clean shot against the Beholders. Both sides shifted positions, with the hollows closing in and the Beholders moving to flank. She fired with all her might, but they did not go down.

Then she heard a sound pervade through all else. A whimper. A sob. A baby’s cries.

Her baby.

And Evelyn saw nothing but red. With a shriek, she ditched the M4 and sprinted forth, her body now numb to pain. The Inquisitors’ eyes bulged, seeing her rush straight on, but her hands moved on their own accord and swapped to the Sig Sauer before they could react. She put her enemies down without batting an eye. Undead brains shattered against her fury.

The way was clear. Liam scrambled behind and thrust the Beholder’s barricade to block the stairs. Evelyn swapped her half-empty magazine for one now full. Only a single door remained at the center of Watchtower’s rotunda on this uppermost floor. Their daughter wailed within.

They kicked the door open in unison.

Seven Friars formed a circle around a central bath, with Father Abraham in the center, raising their daughter high. All heads twisted their way, their devout faces shifting to frenzy the moment they made eye contact. The Friars dropped their bowls and rushed to intercept them at once.

Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Evelyn and Liam wasted no time in executing these monsters. Leah’s wails peaked as she flinched against the gunfire, clothed in a white dress, clean and clear as mountain snow.

Only Father Abraham remained. Still in his simple button-down and trousers, with the priest’s collar on top. But as he watched his brethren get gunned down, he didn’t quake in fear, nor look the least bit concerned. He merely grinned like a madman as he watched them both.

“Heavens!” he shouted, cheeks spread wide. “You’ve arrived just in time, Blessed Father and Mother.”

Evelyn caught sight of the bath. Barely enough to support Leah’s size, like the ones used to christen holy water. But the liquid within was viscous and tainted black, its composition fused with HBRS pseudo-cells.

“You put her down, right this second!” Evelyn ordered.

“Now, why would I do that? We’re so close to seeing the Lord return! The seven bowls have been poured, and now God’s wrath will come!”

“No, it won’t! You’re only killing a little girl.”

Leah screamed in agreement.

But Abraham smiled wider, his violet eyes alive in the shifting braziers beside. “How can you say that, Blessed Mother? He brought miracles for you to witness, and He has done everything to bring us all together in this final moment of sweet Revelations. Only through His power was this all possible!”

“Except that He hasn’t!” she countered. “I know the truth, Abraham. God has nothing to do with this. It’s only ever been your lust for power.”

He scoffed. “Do you really think all this could be the work of a simple man? Ridiculous! God created the Holy Word! God chose this pilgrimage! And God will see His kingdom reborn when His vessel purifies all the righteous in this world! I am nothing but His servant, as I have always been.” Tears formed in his eyes. “Don’t you understand, Blessed Mother!? This is what He wants! Can’t you feel it!?”

Up until this moment, Evelyn had known where Abraham stood. Just a greedy conman on a quest to dominate all that remained in this world. Another enemy to be put down without remorse.

But as she looked into his impassioned eyes, she no longer saw the charismatic pastor with a brainwashed cult at his beck and call. Abraham was a true believer in his own righteous cause.

People believe in all sorts of things, whether you try to convince them otherwise or not, he’d once said. The goal isn’t to wonder why they believe. It’s to question what you’ll do for yourself.

In an isolated world without hope, how better could one protect oneself from the cruel fate of the Hollowing, but with an indomitable, unquestionable faith in something greater? How far would one go to see that vision reached if for no reason than to never see it challenged? There could be no greater existential risk than doubting this self-assured faith.

That was Father Abraham, and only now could Evelyn pierce through the facade that not even he could see he’d created for himself.

He was a simple man. A lonely man. So terrified of the dark that he clung to the tiniest sliver of light. Even if it meant burning anything in his path to keep the embers of hope alive a second more, that dream of God’s love was all that kept him sane. With his world falling apart at the seams, there was nowhere left to hide but inside his own delirium.

Evelyn let out a deep breath.

What were his Beholders and all they’d accomplished, but one man’s fruitless attempt to stave off his own mental decay? Just an endless spiritual void that could never truly be filled. Why? Because it was built on his forced compliance, not authentic love.

And where did Evelyn really stand in his eyes, but a fellow spiritual guide that he couldn’t defeat through normal means. As this standoff came together, she could see this truth coming together, now framed under a new lens.

Abraham had been so desperate since the beginning… So intent on proving his faith to Evelyn… Not because he wanted to convert her into some blind zealot, but so he could have nothing more than a single real friend in this world. Even in this moment, his devout eyes shone no motivation other than to have someone gift him that missing companionship.

The one he’d never known for himself. Not really.

It was a truth as heartbreaking for Evelyn as devastating for Abraham, but no sympathy could be spared here.

Not when her daughter’s life still hung in the balance.

Evelyn dropped her pistol and raised her hands. “You’re right, Abraham. I didn’t see it until now, but you’ve been right this whole time. God’s speaking to me, and he’s telling me the truth.” Liam raised his voice, but she shushed him and advanced a step. “Why don’t we take a second, Father? Why don’t we see His wrath wipe every Sinner away? Together.”

Leah wriggled in his arms, but tears flowed down Abraham’s cheeks.

“You can feel it, can’t you?” he asked, still locked in frenzy. “You can feel God’s presence?”

She took another step. “More than that. I can see the end of the Beholding. Just like you said, it’s all so very close now.”

The air escaped from his throat, somewhere between a gasp and a chuckle, his mind drunk on his fantasy. “The Lord’s fury will finally burn all this vile Sin away.”

“It will,” Evelyn agreed, her finger slithering to the small of her back, where she kept her combat knife. “All you have to do is embrace God’s love.”

Only then did he realize what was about to come. He flinched as Evelyn drew her combat knife, but reacted too slowly. She’d already hurled the blade forth.

It spun thrice before landing in his eye. The other curled back, and he fell without another word.

But so did Leah. She screeched as her tiny form struck the concrete floor beside the bath. Evelyn darted forth and wrapped her arms around tight, and Liam did the same a moment later.

“It’s okay, Leah,” she sobbed. “Don’t cry.”

“We got you, love,” Liam agreed, ripping off his gloves to get a better grip on her. “Mommy and Daddy’s here, and we’ll never leave you again.”

Leah cried and cried, and the tears flowed down Evelyn’s cheeks. But where her daughter wailed in pain, her tears came from happiness. She’d witnessed a true miracle and not some sleight of hand. Even at the end of all that had ever been, her family had been brought back together.

And no one could take away that love.