The fire alarm rang.

The sweat covered Florence. The energy drained from her muscles

A flame engulfed the entire room. The smoke flowed out and into the hallway, filling her nostrils. The melted metal puddles bubbled and glowed orange. The faucet and stove collapsed within themselves as the heat intensified. Ashes rested on the floor.

Her heart sank with Mai nowhere to be seen.

But why? Why would the pink androids do such a thing?

Aisling and Yuze weighed Florence down, compressing Florence’s lungs.

Stella leaped into the inferno, disappearing through the fumes.

Sam meowed and pounced on top of Aisling.

“Stella,” Florence said, stretching her hands toward where Stella went. “Come back here right now.”

“Hey, stop being lazy, pleb,” Sam said. “Do something.”

Florence pressed her palm on the floor with a creak, but gravity pulled her back down. Her ankle burned and swelled.

Sam hissed. “Stop slacking off for once,” he said. He pawed Aisling’s head.

Aisling coughed, rubbing the back of her skull. She blinked, drooling from her mouth.

“Pardon me, could you please get off my back, Aisling?” Florence asked.

“Wait, what?” Aisling slurped her saliva. “What… happened?”

“For the love of all kitten deities. Do something useful for once, pleb,” Sam said.

Florence clawed, her nails screeching on the floor. She did not move an inch. “I am trying to do exactly that.”

Aisling rolled off Florence’s back.

Florence pushed Yuze. But she didn’t budge a single inch.

“Do something pleb,” Sam said. “This is a command.”

Aisling waved her finger around her paling face. “Do you see this? Right here? Do you seriously think I’m not trying?”

The floor creaked.

Florence gritted her teeth. Her muscles strained. The nerves in her wounded ankle screamed as she stood up, forcing Yuze off her back.

Sam meowed. “Come on, pleb. Hurry up.”

“Sam, please,” Aisling said. “We’re trying our best here. If you really want to do this faster, then go ahead, jump in the fire, and save Stella.”

“Yes, sure. I’m totally huge enough to drag Stella out of there.”

“Fair… enough.”

“Exactly. She is probably going to embarrass herself before I can pull her out. And I probably will suffocate in the process.”

Yuze twitched her finger. Her eyes opened halfway. However, other body parts didn’t move like she had frozen into a statue.

Florence pushed herself to her feet, trembling her legs. She breathed in and out and dove head-first into the inferno.

The heat sucked the air out of her lungs, drying the liquid in her body.

In every direction, the flame grew, engulfing each inch of the room.

Stella spun around, searching for Mai.

But Mai and her wheelchair seemingly vanished into nowhere.

“Mai,” Stella said. “Where are you?”

“Stella, come to me right now.” Florence stretched her hands out, limping forward. “Is dangerous here. You’ve to come to me now.”

Stella shook her head, fidgeting her skirt. Her eyes reddened. She cupped her mouth and nose, looking down at the floor as the fire expanded into the other glass room.

The musical instruments went up in a blaze.

Florence coughed. The smoke engulfed her entire body, from the toes to her head.

A creak echoed.

“I’m sorry for your loss. I… just do not know how to put this in words,” Florence said. She bit her lips, clenching her fist. A faint scream from that… war rang in her ears. The blackened skin of their bodies flashed before her. Even now, the charred flash scent tingled her nostrils. “But just remember, I’m here for you. And we could chat about it if you want to do that after we get out of here.”

Stella took one step forward. She slowly reached for Florence.

The ceiling creaked. In a blink, it collapsed. The debris plummeted towards Florence and Stella.

Florence leaped forward with all her strength. The nerves in her injured ankle screeched. She tackled Stella away.

The rubble scraped past Florence and Stella.

Florence coughed, cupping her mouth and nose.

“I mean… you got… lucky over there,” Stella said.

Florence glanced over her shoulder. Behind her, the steel and glass burned, blocking her exit. The smoke suffocated her as it rose up to the exposed pipes. Her vision blurred.

Above the inferno, Sam hopped over it. He landed on Stella’s head with a dagger in his mouth. The blood dripped from the tip of a blade, splashing on Stella’s blouse.

“I didn’t expect you to come here as well, Sam,” Florence said.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Sam dropped the dagger, clattering it on a surface. “What is taking you so long?”

“I mean… I can’t… find Mai,” Stella said. “I just hope… she… I don’t know.”

A tree bark snaked its way through the inferno. The roots wrapped around the pipes above, pulling it. A stream of sewage discharged between the cracks.

The flames died down.

The droplets splashed onto Florence and Stella, soaking their clothes wet.

Some water slipped between Florence’s lips, leaving a rotten metallic flavor lingering on her tongue. She gagged, covering her mouth and curling into a ball.

From the entrance, Yuze stretched her fist out. The blood leaked between her fingers, splashing onto the tree bark. Her chest rose and fell. She rolled her eyes up, collapsing onto the floor with a thud.

Sam bit the handle of a dagger. He dashed out of the room, splashing his paws on the sewage.

Florence grinned, wrapping her arms around Stella’s shoulder.

Stella rubbed her bloodshot eyes, jerking her head back.

In the end, Florence and Stella splashed their way across the puddle of water. They went through the opened door and entered the hallway.

Aisling leaned back on the floor with her arms closed. Her mouth foamed, spewing the fluid out next to Yuze.

“Wake up, pleb,” Sam said. He sheathed the dagger onto Aisling, slapping her on the face. “The fire is already gone. You can stop pretending to be dead.”

“I don’t think she is dead,” Florence said.

“I didn’t ask for your opinion.”

“Fair enough.”

With Stella’s help, Florence pulled Aisling and Yuze to their feet, dragging them down the hallway. Florence pressed down on the gashes on Yuze’s palm, stopping the blood from flowing out.

Sam pounced, extending his claws. He dug his nails into Stella’s skirt, climbing up to her shoulder.

“How are you feeling, Stella?” Florence asked. “As in… you know, say whatever you feel like.”

“I don’t know.” Stella glanced at a poster of the band as she walked past it. She straightened herself, maintaining a rigid posture. “I mean… I don’t want to talk about it.”

“If this is what you want, then sure. I will respect it.”

“It… just that… you know. I mean… she must be alive… I know it… I can feel it.”

Florence zipped her mouth shut. Back in that room… In the best-case scenario, Mai would depart from this world in peace.

She and Stella continued onward, reaching the stairway in silence. They descended it with a creak on each step.

Florence inhaled and exhaled in shallow breaths. Her swollen ankle ached and shrieked. The signals jumbled from one to another of her nerves. Her leg muscles spasmed. She then found herself plummeting as gravity pulled her. Her skull cracked on the handrail. With each thud, she rolled down the steps. Her body slammed onto the glass panel wall.

She blinked, rubbing her head. A ring echoed in her ears.

Stella rushed down, cupping her mouth. She kneeled in front of Florence.

“Where… am I?” Florence asked.

Sam hissed, slapping Florence’s face.

“What was that for?” Florence covered her cheeks.

“For being clumsy, pleb,” Sam said. He stood on his hind legs, pumping his chest and pointing up the ceiling. “You deserved it. And be proud of it, as I had slapped you in the face.”

Stella fidgeted her skirt. “I mean… are you okay?”

“I am not certain about it,” Florence said. Her skull throbbed. “I can’t tell if that was my electrical burn or I hit my head too hard.”

“I believe this pleb had indeed revived some brain damage,” Sam said. “Stella, it’s in the best interest of all of us to dispose of her in the dumpster.”

Aisling snored with the foams bubbling in her mouth.

“I mean… this is a bad idea,” Stella said.

“No, it’s a perfect idea,” Sam said. He brushed his whiskers on Stella.

“Pardon me, I think… I will agree with Stella,” Florence said. “Please do not dump me.”

Stella nodded. She smiled, but without reaching the corner of her eyes.

Sam meowed. “Whatever you say, Stella.”

“I’ll buy you some catnip,” Stella said, scratching Sam’s chin. “But I think I’ll get it for you whenever convenient.”

Sam purred, swishing his tail. He pulled his ears upright, winking at Stella.

Florence turned the corner of her mouth downwards. Her eyes widened. A lightbulb flicked on in her brain. “Wait… did we forget about something?”

“Yuze’s revolver,” Sam said.

Florence smacked the back of her head on the glass panel wall. Just… how could she have forgotten about that?

Sam climbed down from Stella’s shoulder, pouncing onto Yuze. He then scaled down to the pocket of her shorts, extracting a revolver out with his teeth sunk into the grip.

“How is it there?” Florence asked.

“I don’t know,” Sam said. “Why are you asking me, pleb? As far as I know, this isn’t her ability. So don’t ask me how the revolver got there in the first place.”

“Since when did you know it was there?”

“Forever ago.”

“And none of you decided to tell me this vital information.”

Stella and Sam nodded.

“Also, I mean… please, don’t tell this to Aisling,” Stella said. “She’ll get… well, you know.”

Florence forced herself up. Her back squeaked against the glass panel wall. “What do I know about what now?”

Sam backflipped, landing on his paws. “Whatever you do, do not tell her,” he said. His ears flattened. He extended his claws, arching his back and holding his tail upwards with the hair raised. “Or else something else will happen to you, pleb.”

Florence stumbled, grabbing Yuze’s gashed palm.

“Are you going to tell her or not?” Sam said.

“Maybe,” Florence said.

“What do you mean by maybe?”

“I don’t know.”

Florence descended the staircase, tugging Stella with her. Aisling’s and Yuze’s toes tapped on the steps as Florence and Stella carried them down.

“Don’t annoy me, pleb,” Sam said. He followed Florence and Stella.

Florence sighed. “Why did I even try to save you from those pink androids back there in the first place?”

“How dare you say that to me, pleb.”

“Sorry… intrusive thoughts.”

After a few more flights of stairs, they reached the lobby, void of furniture on the ground level. They inched closer to the glass door.

From the smoke and fire emerged a company of pink androids. A clanging of metals echoed, vibrating the glass panel walls.

Florence and Stella stepped back, carrying Aisling and Yuze, Sam tailing from behind.

“What should we do about them?” Florence asked.

“I mean… this is bad.” Stella rubbed her eyes. “Like really bad.”

“Pleb, go and sacrifice yourself,” Sam said. He headbutted Florence on the leg. “So that Stella and I can escape. But you will receive a glorious death for our namesake.”

“I am not doing it,” Florence said.

The glass door slid open. The pink androids transformed one of their arms into a rifle crackling with power.

Florence, Stella, and Sam retreated up the stairs until those pink androids disappeared.

Florence bit her lips. “How could we escape from here?”

“Or perhaps you could use my genius plan,” Sam said.

“Absolutely not means absolutely not. Do you understand?”

“Fine, whatever you say, pleb.”

The squeaks and grinding of gears grew louder in every direction. The floor reflected the crackling electricity from those pink androids’ rifles.

Florence shook on Yuze’s stiff shoulder.

An eerie silence came out of Yuze.

Sam hissed. “What’re you doing?”

“I do have a plan,” Florence said. “And it involves Yuze.”

“I mean… you do realize this wouldn’t work,” Stella said. She squeezed Yuze’s cheek without forming wrinkles on her skin. “Just… I mean, look at her.”

“Plus, this pleb over here overused her ability. So, don’t expect her to wake up anytime soon,” Sam said.

The tip of a muzzle poked the back of Florence’s skull, causing an electrical shiver to run through her spine.

“Give us the NPC and those two Ability Users, or I’ll send you to our maker,” the pink androids said.