As soon as Hank went past the barricade separating the wing, he could feel the stares bearing towards him. They looked at him with blank stares of detachment or bawled their eyes out as they realized the reality of their situation. The latter was the worst. Hank could see it in their eyes as they looked at them as if they arrived to be their saving grace, but they were wrong. They weren't there to save them as they were in the same situation as them, only better armed.

Stone handed Hank a loaded magazine, which he took. He slapped it twice to reduce feeding issues and stowed it in his vest. They were running out of bullets fast. A resupply run would have to be their next move, or they'll be left with nothing but poorly shaped clubs. The nearest location to find ammo would have to be the police station or the gun stores nearby, but the most reliable would be his house.

They also needed to get the power back to the hospital. Doctor Rose had raised his concern that the batteries on their equipment could only last so long despite using them sparingly. Without it, they would be working on Casey metaphorically with only one eye open.

An engineer would be needed to get the power back, but Hank and the others have no idea how. Cory and Drake, the engineers they brought from the hotel could figure it out, but none of them were in shape to be of help.

To their luck, a man came forward with the knowledge and willingness to come with them. His name was Rick, a heavyset man who worked as a plant supervisor for most of his professional career.

They studied the maps. The generator room was situated on the other side of the complex, away from the wards operating rooms. The plan would be to get to the location using the most direct route inside the buildings, through multiple wards and a sky bridge that spanned over a road.

Dan would stay behind as they needed to leave a guard to reinforce the barricade.

As they went, Rick was handed a spare handgun to protect himself. Hank and the rest of the team would take care of any hostile creatures while he only has to worry about his own.

Cries of help echoed ahead of them. They paused and identified it to be one of the false ones. Ignoring it, they made good time, as getting surrounded and ambushed once more was out of their plans. Moreso is expending more ammunition when they don't have to.

Their bait not being taken, the mongrels didn't make contact, instead content on simply calling for them from the sides. They made their way to the generator room.

They pied their corners. The room was clear. A lit-up panel gave off some illumination ahead of them. With flashlight in hand, Rick made his way towards the panel and inspected it. "I'm going to need some time. I need to figure out how to make sure we isolate the building from the grid."

"You do that," Hank replied, opening the hallway doors and taking a post by the door. He watched the end of the hall. Stone took position opposite to him and watched the other side.

"Might as well get this out of the way." Stone said, getting Hank's attention. "We'll be staying here until Casey is all healed up. Just so you know."

"It's alright," Hank replied. "Wanting to keep you guys working with me would only be selfish, wouldn't it? Anyway, we'll also be heading out after this to check on Dan's family along with getting some supplies. People are going to complain about it, but it's something we have to do.”

“We’ll have your back.” Stone replied.

The generator started with a roar. Its pitch rose steadily as it met the building's power demand. Breakers and relays clacked and clicked as the automatic circuits engaged. Lights flickered on, causing everyone to turn off their weapon lights and the emergency lights turned back off. "Well, that was easy," Hank muttered.

"It's weird," Rick said as he finished monitoring the power draw and approached Hank. "The ATS is still detecting power from the mainline, even though there shouldn't be any power."

"Is it broken?" Hank asked. “Is that a problem?”

"I don't think so." He shrugged.

"Would it be trouble if we leave it without someone to give it attention?"

"Nah. These things are designed to have the least human interaction possible. Automation is the key nowadays. Once it's running you can leave it as it is." Rick replied.

"Good." He said, and the five of them filled out of the room, locking it behind them and moving through the same way back and threw in barricades in halls to isolate the wings. The cries of help and screams still echoed in the halls but were much farther, the lights keeping the creatures in check.

"Hey, Rick," Hank called. "Were kept getting some really bad interference in the radios, making it so that we could only call and receive within line of sight. You think that has something to do with it?"

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"Can't be sure. But I know that electric current can affect signals." He replied.

"Right. Thanks." Hank muttered, raising his rifle to aim at one of the mongrels on the far side of the hall.

With the lights on, the mongrels could only skulk farther as their numbers dwindled. Whenever they would see one peeking around and looking at them, one would take a shot hitting the creatures and killing them. Soon, they learned not to show themselves as the team made their way back to the wing and made a sizeable buffer area.

They returned to the barricade. Doctor Rose was still working on Casey, staples clicked as they closed the wound. Looking from afar, he wasn't looking good. His condition had deteriorated much worse than the last time he had seen the man.

"Hank, over here," Dan called over, jerking his head over.

"The girl. She's up and has something to tell you." Dan said.

"Tell me what?"

"I think it's better if she says it to you herself," Dan replied.

Hank followed him to find that the strange woman was awake. She sat on her bed, looking out the window. The pale light gave her features a nightly glow, providing her with an added ethereal beauty. She looked away from the window and caught Hank staring.

Hank approached her, and she followed him with her piercing gaze. Something about it reminded him of someone measuring someone up in case of a fight. He offered a hand and greeted, "Hi, I'm Hank.”

The woman broke eye contact and looked at the offer for a couple of seconds before grasping his hand with a limp grip. “My name is Elena.” She replied.

“How are you doing? Dan said you have something to say."

“I am doing fine, and thank you for saving my life."

“Dan told you that?” Hank asked, taking a seat on the chair by the bed. “Yeah, we found you in one of those cocoons still alive. Hate to say it, but you were lucky we happened to check it first because we were about to burn it with you inside.”

“I know. Are you now ready to hear what I have to say?”

“We're already talking."

"Yes. Should we move to more pressing matters?”

The wording made Hank feel suspicious. He looked over to Dan, who was sitting by the door and watching them like a hawk. “I guess we should.” He said, looking at her with full attention.

“I am not from this world. As you can see with yours, changes are being made. I would like to make things clear first that my kingdom is not in any way involved in what is happening to yours. It is simply a natural occurrence that your world and mine were connected.”

Hank watched her, looking for any ticks that might indicate her lying. He found nothing. “Alright. Go on.”

“Yesterday, I am betrayed by at least one of my men. As to how deep that betrayal is, I don't know. I am in dire need of protection. I alone will not survive in this world without my team discovering that I am alive. I fear that when they do, my second in command along with others in his employ would step in to finish me. In return, I offer you payment, along with information that will help you and your people, but in no terms will not harm mine." She said, extending her hand. A light emerged from her palm to materialize into a bottle containing a liquid.

Hank looked at it in shock. What he had just witnessed should be impossible.

"The man in the other room.” She continued. “He is dying. The Broodmother’s poison has already taken root and has already started to damage his body. You seem to care for his survival. If you make him drink this, he will have more than a fighting chance.”

Hank reached for the bottle after witnessing the light show. He grasped it in his hands to see that it was indeed real. "Do it again. That thing that you did. I'd like to make sure that you're not just fucking with me. I'm not going to give a dying man something I happened to get from a stranger.”

“I assure you that this is real.” She did it again, proving that she was indeed able to materialize objects out of thin air and not just some petty trick.

What came out was a knife.

Hank’s hands shot out in reflex. He grabbed Elena's wrist and twisted it to an uncomfortable angle, making her drop the knife. But Elena was fast. She snatched the knife out of the air as it fell and held it low, the sharpened tip pointing up to his torso. Hank twisted his body, angling it so that a thrust would hit his stab-proof vest.

“Drop the knife!” Dan commanded, pointing the rifle at her head.

She glanced at him, nonchalantly, she let go of the knife. A trickle of blood flowed between her fingers.

"Do you mind?" Elena asked, raising the bloody hand. Hank let go of the hand and stepped back, watching as she materialized another potion of her own and drank.

She kept her hand raised where Hank could see it. They watched as the bleeding stopped in front of them, then Elena wiped her hand on the sheets to see that it was completely healed. "Still unconvinced?" She asked.

“I see it.” Hank replied, “But you know something is going to happen when this thing fails right?"

Elena nodded.

"Okay. You stay here," Hank said to Elena. Then to Dan. "Make sure that she does."

Dan nodded, stepped back to his previous seat. He gripped the rifle with both his hands and laid it on his lap.

Hank went to the other room. The doctors just finished working on him. He laid on the bed, bound in bandages and lines running to his arm. He looked pale, almost wasting.

Riley and Stone sat on the side, keeping watch. Stone looked up as he entered while Riley had his head down, sleeping.

Hank nodded, Stone nodded back. “How’s he doing?”

“The Doc plugged the hole and cleaned him up. He’s hooked up with fluids and blood. There’s nothing left to do but let him heal. The doctor said that it's all up to God now.”

He didn’t look good. “It’s a risk, but I have something for him. And I have reason to believe that it should help him recover." Hank replied.

"It's from the girl, isn't it. She doesn't look that she's from here."

Hank wasn't surprised. It would get past the ever-watchful bodyguards to let anything past them. "Yeah. From very far away.”

Stone took a minute to think. In the end, he nodded towards the vial in his hand. “So how we going to give it to him?”

“Make him drink it.”

“Do it man.”

Hank went to Casey’s side and looked down. His face was sunken with a sickly pallor, looking to have aged years in just a few hours, far from what Hank remembered his face the first time they met.

Hank popped the cork with one hand and held Casey's cheeks to open them. He let the contents trickle to prevent him from choking.

The effect was immediate. His sickly look developed to a better complexion. Stone was beside him then, also witnessing the change in health.

“Thank you.” Stone said, grabbing Hank’s arm to shake his hand. “You did more than just save Casey’s life. I owe you.”

“Don’t worry about it. It's just the right thing to do.” Hank replied. “I’ll leave you to it.”

“You take care man.”

Hank nodded and left the room.

He went to the other side of the hall. "It worked." Hank declared as he entered the room. "You got your deal. We'll protect you from your side and mine."

Elena smiled. She was about to utter a reply when she heard something in the distance, a faint distant thumping. "You hear that?" she asked.

Hank went to her side, listening. The night was dead silent, which caused every bit of sound to be amplified. A moment later, he heard it. It was weak but somewhat recognizable.

Hank picked his rifle up. He pointed it out the window and in the sky. Dan stood up to try and respond but relaxed as soon as Hank waved him down. He pressed the IR laser on his PEQ-15 Laser designator/ Illuminator and held it on, tracing a hoop into the sky.

A minute later, the thumping grew louder that they could hear it clearly. The blinking red lights and the dark shape of a helicopter hovered against the starlit sky. Hank could recognize the shape. A wide bell shape on top of the rotors, the twin engines, wings holding pods of rockets, and an underslung cannon swiveling left and right.

AH-64 Apache Longbow.

Hank released the IR laser and reached over to his radio, praying that they would be able to hear. "This is Police Lieutenant Hank Hayes of Morgan City police department, SWAT. We have survivors and wounded inside. We need immediate assistance. Please respond. Over."

The attack helicopter continued to hover, then came the reply. "This is Castle-4. We read you. You have good signal. Over."