The early morning sun bathed the city in an eerie orange-red glow as thick black smoke billowed from burning buildings, partially concealing the sun. Everywhere they looked, it was a warzone. Nothing but destruction and debris scattered across the streets, with turtle shells hovering overhead, which only added to it.

  “We reallyshouldn’t be in the street,” Ampelius said tensely.

  “Yeah, let’s use the buildings to navigate. Follow me,” Nova replied, leading them quickly across the street and into a destroyed restaurant. The interior was a mess, with overturned tables and chairs and shell casings scattered across the floor.

  “Looks like someone made a last stand here,” Nova observed, noticing a small pool of blood leading to the kitchen. “Stay here and stay alert. I’ll check it out.”

  Ampelius agreed and watched Nova disappear through the kitchen door. Not even a moment later, he came rushing back out, pale and visibly shaken. He turned to the side and vomited on the floor.

  “You okay, what happened?” Ampelius asked, stepping closer.

  “Back off! I’m fine,” Nova snapped, wiping his mouth. “Whoever did that is seriously twisted. The smell of rotting flesh, piss, and some kind of blue substance... it could be a chemical weapon. Let's not stick around and find out.” As he puked again.

  Nova, still recovering, moved toward a door marked “Employees Only.” With a strong kick, he forced it open, gun ready. The hallway beyond was surprisingly untouched, leading to a manager’s office and a back door. The office itself had been ransacked, papers and a filing cabinet strewn across the floor.

  “Alright, Ampelius, listen up,” Nova said as they approached the back door. “When I open this door, I’ll push left, and you go right. If you see a hostile, start shooting. If it’s clear, say ‘clear.’ If I call out a hostile or start shooting, turn around and fire—unless you’re already engaged. Got it?”

  “Got it,” Ampelius confirmed, trying to steady his nerves.

  “Good.”

  They stacked up at the door, and at Nova’s count, he flung it open, and they burst through. Ampelius moved to the right as Nova went left. Ampelius scanned the alleyway, feeling his heart pounding. It was eerily quiet, but there was no threats in sight.

  “Clear,” Ampelius whispered after a few seconds.

  “Clear,” Nova echoed from the other side, and they relaxed slightly, though the distant sounds of gunfire and explosions continued, reminding them of the ongoing battle in the city.

  “Alright, if I remember right, that building I'm looking at the end of the alley, right there, is the Tertius Theater,” Nova said, pointing at the building. “We should be able to cut through it, then cross a two-lane street to a jewelry shop, and from there, there will be another alleyway that takes us straight to the station entrance you need that should still be open.”

  Ampelius nodded and followed him as they moved toward the theater, but his mind buzzed with questions. He couldn’t resist probing into Nova’s past.

  “So, you were with the Vandals?” Ampelius asked quietly.

  “Yes and no,” Nova replied without turning his head. “I was a mercenary—or what I prefer to be called, a diversion agent. When they needed to conduct business, I’d rob a store or plant fake bombs to keep the heat off. I rarely got involved with their insurgency or assassinations. But I got arrested a lot. Though normally I was cleared due to inside help.”

  “Well, that answers some questions,” Ampelius murmured, processing the information. He was about to ask more when the building ahead of them exploded, sending debris flying as they dove for cover.

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  “I think that might have been artillery, but I didn’t hear the whistle you normally hear. So I’m not sure,” Nova muttered, concern tightening in his voice.

  Before they could react further, a group of Zavons appeared at the end of the alley, marching in a wedge formation. They pressed themselves against a wall, holding their breath while praying they wouldn't be noticed.

  The Zavons didn't even pay attention to the alley itself as they passed by. But before they decided to move, there was another small group moving pass. When the last of the group passed, Nova exhaled slowly, feeling the tension in his body easing as no more walked past.

  “Damn the streets are crawling with them. From now on, stay quiet and stay close to the buildings so we can use them for cover,” Nova whispered. “Stealth is our friend. Let’s get into that theater, there should be a back door. Move quickly, I don’t want them doubling back and catching us with our asses hanging out.”

  Nova carefully checked the back door of the theater while Ampelius huddled near a dumpster, bringing back unpleasant memories. The door creaked open, so they quickly slipped inside, locking it behind them. The faint glow of emergency exit lights cast ghostly shadows, dimly lighting the interior.

  “How does this place still have power? I thought electronics on the surface were fried during the attack,” Ampelius whispered uneasily.

  “It could be a generator that wasn't affected, or someone knows how to fix it.” Nova speculated, though he didn’t sound convinced.

  They realized they were inside a cinema auditorium, as dim lights traced the rows of seats and exit signs along the walls. It was almost completely silent in the room, but faint creaks and distant, unidentifiable sounds seemed to shift with every step.

  “I was actually in my apartment when this attack happened,” Ampelius said quietly. He glanced around the darkened space, the weight of that memory settling over him. “There was this bright blue flash, and the power just fried everything, including the traffic outside. When I looked out my window, I saw this massive ball of blue light, almost like a spiderweb that engulfed the sky over the city.”

  “It’s a suppression weapon, it was meant to fry circuits and cripple communication networks, which is meant to disoriente your enemy before an attack .” Nova said grimly.

  “Rome’s got something like it too, though they keep it buried under classified projects. But whatever the Zavons used makes ours look primitive. Which makes me wonder, did someone manage to get things working again after that? Either way, stay sharp, if anyone’s still here, they might not be friendly.”

  While navigating through the auditorium, trying to find an exit to a hallway, Ampelius heard this strange and unsettling noise, which began to echo faintly around him. They were almost like someone was breathing heavily, with sharp squeals, and distant, overlapping whispers.

  “Tell me you hear that,” Ampelius said, his voice tight, barely above a breath.

  “Hear what?” Nova asked, his calm demeanor unchanged.

  “You don’t hear it? It’s like... voices... coming from the walls.” His eyes darted to the shadowy corners of the hallway. His breathing quickened, his mind racing. Were the walls alive? Or was his exhaustion finally getting to him?

  Nova shook his head. “Nope. Just keep your eyes up.”

  Ampelius tried to convince himself what he was hearing wasn't real. But the voices only grew louder, and began to overlap with whispers coiling through his mind like smoke. But doubt started to creep in, and the line between what was real and imagined blurred. Am I losing it? He shook his head, forcing himself to focus on Nova who found an exit.

  When they entered the hallway, the strange sounds growing louder to Ampelius, though Nova appeared unaffected, as if he wasn't hearing it. Every creak of the floor, every shifting shadow in his peripheral vision, all felt like an imminent threat. His grip tightened on his rifle, finger slowly moving toward the trigger.

  The air seemed heavier here. The noises he heard almost drowned out the pounding of his heart. He knew his nerves were on edge, and tried to keep his breaths shallow, while his senses strained for any hint of danger.

  Eventually, they came up to a T-intersection that split off into different areas. Ampelius spotted a paper sign on the wall and moved past Nova to read it.

  “So, it looks like if we go right, we’ll find more auditoriums and a maintenance room at the end. Left takes us to the main lobby and the front entrance. We need to go left.”

  Before Nova could respond, Ampelius heard the sharp rhythm of fast-approaching footsteps. He spun around to see what was happening, and Nova was already colliding with a masked figure dressed in white. Metal clashed, sparks leaping as their weapons struck. Ampelius jerked his rifle up, instincts locking in.

  Then something flickered at the edge of his vision. Another figure lunged from the shadows, a baseball bat arcing toward him. For a split second, everything slowed, the rush of air, the weight of inevitability. His last clear thought burned through the chaos: I should’ve seen it coming.