I fiddled with the empty bullet in my pocket. It was much sharper than the rest, and the tip pressed into my black hand. We just left the first enhancer in the desert and were heading for the city. At one point Quinn spotted thin clouds of dust in the distance, which made us take another route. The worms were likely the cause. We couldn’t have them mess with the car and strand us.

  Wind brushed against my hand as I reached it out the window. Pebbles of sand kicked up from the wheels and bounced off it harmlessly. The girls had been talking at first, but were quiet now.

  No matter how I tried to hide it, my apprehension for the task shone through even my mask of beauty. It was infectious and soured the mood entirely. I couldn’t even tell myself it was better this way. Morale was a fickle thing, and I was a poison to it. Even though I knew all these things, I couldn’t bring myself to act carefree. Not even knowing it would help ease the mind of both Gabi and Quinn.

  Not too far off, the silhouettes of buildings towered above the horizon. The sun bathed the earth in its merciless warmth and made the asphalt shimmer and steam. It was quiet, and still. I knew whatever we faced in the city would be more dangerous than the worms. And I didn’t even know what we were about to face. I could just feel it.

  Quinn shifted in her seat and leaned close to the windshield. She pointed. “Take a right there.”

  Gabi nodded and turned right at the intersection. The roads were eerily empty. Not at all like you’d see in apocalypse movies where cars and all manner of things littered the roads. The evacuation had gone without a hitch.

  The farther we drove, the more buildings there were. After a few more minutes of zig-zagging down the streets we reached the edge of the city. It had been so colorful just a few months ago. Filled with bazaars that burst at the seams with life, filled with scents of spices and laughter. Now it was a ghost town. If it wasn’t for the hum of the engine, I bet I could have heard the wind whistle down the alleys.

  Quinn had unfurled her map on the dashboard. It crinkled as she ran her finger along the painted streets. “We’re coming up on it. Eyes peeled for a plaza with a fountain.”

  I shivered at her words. They carried a sense of dread. Plaza, fountain. That’s where I first saw the Flesh golems. And that sight heralded the change of many people’s lives. It unearthed the existence of cultists, and resulted in the death of a mother. A nice woman. I rubbed my eyes trying to remember her name. Her death hadn’t been so long ago. It had been the first of many.

  I thought I’d never forget her, yet now I struggled to remember.

  “Anna,” I whispered.

  “What’s that?” Quinn turned and asked.

  I shook my head. “It’s nothing. Just something I remembered all of a sudden.”

  “Something funny?”

  “Not really.” Quite the opposite, really.

  “You’re a real hoot today.”

  I rolled my eyes. I didn’t need her telling me what I already knew.

  “There it is,” Gabi announced and pointed.

  I slid to the middle of the backseat and looked out the windshield.

  The plaza was large and mostly empty. The fountain in its middle didn’t spray any water. It looked like a large, square puddle. Restaurants that had left their furniture outside lined the buildings surrounding it. Plastic chairs and tablecloths had blown over and littered the ground.

  “Quinn, anything out of the ordinary?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “Quiet as the grave.”

  “Gabi, stay in the car.” I leaned to the door and took in the surrounding buildings. There was one particularly tall one. It was where I was supposed to plant the enhancer. “Quinn, guard her and keep watch. I’ll go alone.”

  “What if something comes after us?”

  I creased my brow. “Then you run. I can fend for myself.”

  I hadn’t been wasting my time in the car. Each turn and twist of the roads had been recorded in my mind. If need be, I could find my way back alone.

  Gabi scoffed with a scowl and stared out front. Quinn patted her arm with sad eyes. She didn’t like it either, but she knew better than to protest.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  This was the option with the highest chance of survival for us all. They didn’t know about my accolade boots. If things truly went to shit, I could always jump into the Forgotten Lands. But that place was dangerous. Maybe even more so than Earth. If I couldn’t guarantee their safety in an overrun city, then I sure as shit couldn’t in an overrun world.

  The car’s brakes squealed as we ground to a stop. I stepped outside and closed the door softly, trying to make as little noise as possible. I unstrapped the enhancer and wore it over my shoulders like a backpack. Looking at the tall apartment building, I steeled myself for whatever could happen. It was old, and ornate. Living there likely hadn’t been cheap. I clapped my face with my hands and walked forward. The straps holding the enhancer rubbed uncomfortably against my armpits.

  “Stay safe,” Quinn whispered.

  I turned to look at them one last time with a smile. “Honk if something bad happens.”

  Gabi wouldn’t meet my eyes, but Quinn nodded seriously and banged her fist against her chest twice. Some sort of COBA salute I guessed.

  Dust blew across the paved ground of the courtyard, reminding me of the streets in the Layered Empire. A claustrophobic memory. It was funny that a place could make you feel so free and trapped at the same time.

  I pushed the door to the building open without a sound. It was dark inside. Only scattered rays of sunlight lit the stairwell through small windows that climbed all the way to the top floor.

  Climbing it was a piece of cake. There wasn’t more to it than to take one step after the other. My footfalls echoed in the narrow shaft, despite me trying my best to walk softly. Not even the Shoes of Silent Passage could stop the loose tiles from clicking against cut stone.

  When I reached the third floor, I noticed a front door left ajar. I peeked inside. My heart fell and I recoiled back out.

  People lay on their backs, hands resting on their stomachs with interlocked fingers like in prayer. Dead.

  I pressed a hand over my mouth and calmed my breathing. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen death. Far from it. But I hadn’t yet seen civilians like this.

  Had they killed themselves? Had they been killed? Why hadn’t they evacuated with the others?

  Questions raced through my mind. The only way to still them was to see for myself. With a creak, the door opened. I stepped inside and pressed my hand over my mouth and nose. A sweet smell permeated the apartment. There were three of them, a mother, a father, and a son. They wore expressions of elation even in death and had no external wounds.

  “Pills, maybe?” I thought and looked around, but I found no bottles.

  I don’t like this.

  I turned back and picked up my pace as I climbed the stairs. All other doors remained shut. A part of me wanted to break in to see if others were dead, but that would only delay me. And delay put the others in danger too, not just me.

  I reached the top floor. I couldn’t remember which level. The path to the roof was blocked by a locked door. I felt the handle just to make sure before I kicked it down with Burst. Wood smacked against stone as it fell onto the roof. The sound bounced endlessly against the walls in the narrow shaft. I swallowed and removed the enhancer from my back, placing it on the roof with care. This one didn’t take much setting up. I just needed to place an antenna on the highest part of the roof and call it a day.

  I fastened the enhancer to the rooftop enclosure by slamming nails into stone by hand. Hammers didn’t do much for me at this point, and this was much quicker anyway.

  With a quick scan of the roof, I found a thin metal tower. There were already antennas fastened to it. One more wouldn’t hurt. I hurried over and attached the antenna, then ran down the stairs.

  I couldn’t shake the feeling of something about this whole place being wrong. It was just too quiet. Too easy. And nothing was ever easy. I’d learned that the hard way—over and over.

  Just as I was about to press the thought aside, the veil fluttered. My heart lurched to a stop. Someone was using their blessing, and it wasn’t Quinn. Even running down the stairs as I was, I still had a few levels to go. I cursed myself for not just dropping from the rooftop. I could have rappelled down with the dagger and thread.

  With a slam, I pressed myself close to the tiny window and looked down at the car. Quinn stood by the passenger’s side, using the door as a shield and scouting the area. I couldn’t see Gabi, but it couldn’t be her.

  I clenched my jaw. Could I afford to not warn them? No. Who was I to gamble with their safety?

  I banged on the window and shouted. “Go!”

  Quinn whipped her eyes to mine. I could see on her face that she’d heard me. She tensed up and looked back to the car; her lips moved as she waved at me to come.

  I clenched my hand and slammed it against the wall. “Fuck!” Nyla be damned, Quinn would pay for disobeying orders.

  “The one condition I had,” I muttered and ran. The sound of my footfalls grew loud and hurried.

  I didn’t dare to stop and look through the windows as I went. Instead I kept an eye on the veil, looking for even the tiniest of movements. My heart drummed against my chest as I finally burst out into the light.

  The plaza was empty. No matter how I looked, I couldn’t see who had used their blessing, scourge or no. Stoneflow’s leather-bound handle pressed into the palm of my hand.

  “Come on!” Quinn urged and beckoned at me.

  I exhaled and relaxed, keeping my hand on the sword. The veil rippled.

  There! I thought and whirled around in time for the flash to blind me.

  Time seemed to slow as I watched the missile cruise toward the car. By instinct, I activated Skin Stitching and threw myself forward with Burst.

  Heat unlike any I’d ever felt before engulfed me. My eyes stung and all the hair on my body was singed as I rocketed through the air and slammed into the car’s hood. I came face to face with Gabi, separated only by a pane of bulletproof glass. Her eyes were wide and her lips moved frantically as if she was screaming something. I couldn’t hear what. I couldn’t hear anything. My ears rang like a chiming bell from the blast.

  I coughed, painting the hood red with blood, then turned to face the enemy.

  They were on the rooftops. Soldiers. I couldn’t tell how many while seeing double. One of them held a smoking cylinder—a rocket launcher.

  Quinn clawed at my arm to pull me into cover. I swatted her away and pushed myself onto unsteady feet.

  “I told you to fucking go!” I roared and unsheathed Stoneflow.

  Stub announcement and future releases.

  9th.

  February. Friday the 13th to be precise. Updates will continue as usual here on RoyalRoad for those of you who are caught up.

  The stub will eat chapters up to chapter 89.

  Blessed ;-) day,

  Lorin