Ampelius and Nova raised their weapons, ready to fire—but before they could, a spear burst through the Zavon’s neck from behind, and the creature exploded into a spray of thick yellow goo.

  As the bulky form crumpled to its knees, another Zavon stepped from the haze, gripping the spear. It finished the kill with a twist and pull, then turned toward them. For a heartbeat, Ampelius thought its eyes met his.

  He fired twice. The bullets sparked uselessly off the armor. The Zavon’s hand flared crimson, releasing a red shockwave that hurled him backward into a pile of bodies slick with slime.

  When he staggered up, pain shot through his back. The room was empty. The Zavons, both of them were gone.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa! It’s me!” Nova’s voice came from his left, closer than it should’ve been. He almost fired. “What the hell are you shooting at?”

  “The Zavon! The one that injected us! It was right there!”

  Nova blinked. “What Zavon? I didn’t see anything.”

  “You were right here! It was standing over you, you didn’t see it get stabbed?”

  “I wasn’t standing there,” Nova said, frowning. “I was checking the next corridor when you started firing. When I turned around, you were on the floor.”

  Ampelius’s hands trembled. “There were two Zavons right there. Tell me you see this yellow goo.”

  “Yeah,” Nova said carefully, “but that was already here when we got to the plaza.”

  Ampelius looked again at the mess, his breath catching up to his heartbeat. The pile of bodies hadn’t moved.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Nova said. “Every Zavon in this station heard those shots. We need to move.”

  They entered a nearby corridor marked with a homemade hospital sign. “You said Bella was receiving medical treatment, right? She should be down this way unless they moved her.”

  As they pushed deeper into the facility, it looked like the whole place had been turned upside down and shaken. Medical equipment was scattered across the floor, with ceiling lights flickering, while some barely hung by their wires. But it was the endless pools of blood, and overturned stretchers that covered every inch of the corridor.

  The air reeked of iron, a mix of dried and fresh blood that clung to their throats as they took in a breath. Ampelius tried to ignore it, but found it hard. Nova behaved as if it was normal, or was used it.

  They moved cautiously, checking each room they passed, but found nothing, only death and ruin. Ampelius felt a knot in his chest tighten, as the last of his hope started to fade.

  Then he heard it. Faint cries from a room up ahead.

  “Bella?” he called, breaking into a run toward the sound.

  He burst into a room he thought he heard the voice, only to stop dead in his tracks at the sight before him. A young woman laid on a bed, covered in the same blue stuff they had seen everywhere. From her stomach down, she was nothing but liquefied remains. She weakly raised a hand toward Ampelius, tears streaming down her face.

  Ampelius stepped closer to take her hand, gripping it as tight as he could while tears blurred his vision. She pleaded for him to end it, her voice barely audible. At first he hesitated as his hands were trembling, but he knew what had to be done. Within a few seconds, he drew his pistol, looked away and granted her mercy with a single shot.

  He wiped the tears from his face and stared at the girl, feeling the grief stir up within him. Nova walked up behind him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, man. Bella didn’t deserve that.”

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “That wasn’t Bella,” Ampelius replied, trying not to cry. “I don’t know who that was.”

  They were startled by the sound of glass breaking from a room across the hall. They drew their weapons on instinct, and move acrossed. They breached into the room, finding several dead bodies and, to their surprise, a Zavon with numerous bullet holes lying on the ground.

  “Watch for movement,” Nova said.

  Suddenly, two hands rose from the bed, revealing a blonde woman with a bandage wrapped around her head. She looked at Ampelius, her eyes widening in recognition.

  “Ampelius? Is that you?” she asked, her voice trembling.

  “Olivia?” He froze, hardly believing it.

  Her eyes widened. “Oh my god—it is you.” Relief broke through the fear on her face.

  Nova glanced between them. “Okay, great reunion, but what the hell happened here?”

  “I don’t remember much,” Olivia replied. “I barely survived an attack and got hit in the head. I lost a lot of blood and passed out. When I woke up, I was here, patched up and on meds. But everything went to hell soon after.”

  “What happened to this Zavon?” Nova asked, pointing at the dead creature.

  “It was shot by that soldier over there. They must have killed each other. After that, everything went quiet until I heard you guys coming. I wasn’t sure if you were friendly, so I grabbed a glass bottle to defend myself, but I dropped it.”

  “Are you okay? Do you need any more medical assistance? You’re safe now,” Ampelius said, trying to reassure her.

  “Am I okay? Is that really a question Ampelius?” Olivia replied, sounding tinged with hysteria. “This is like the mental institution all over again! A blessed program that was.”

  “Mental institution?” Ampelius echoed, clearly confused.

  Olivia sighed. “You really don’t remember? That’s where we met? I guess it doesn’t matter now. Can we please leave?”

  “Yeah, let’s go. Oh, and gave you seen Bella? She's who I'm looking for. She is another blonde, although a bit heavier set than you.”

  “They did evacuate some people, but I don’t know if she was among them. I was one of the last left here, they left us for dead, those assholes. Never trust red, red, never red you trust.” she muttered.

  “If she’s alive, I’ll find her,” Ampelius vowed. “Nova, lead the way.”

  They navigated back out the hallway, and stepped through the debris. Ampelius’s mind raced with thoughts of Bella, hoping against the lack of hope that she was still alive. The Nova decided to spark a conversation, as the silence was too much for him.

  “So, what’s this about a mental institution?” He asked.

  “I was a patient there,” Olivia said, her tone bitter. “Ampelius and I became close friends, but apparently, he doesn’t remember.”

  “That’s not true! I used to visit you there; I remember that,” Ampelius protested.

  Olivia shook her head. “Believe what you want.”

  Nova shrugged. “Whatever. Let’s just get out of here.”

  They reached the end of the corridor, when gunfire and explosions erupted from inside the plaza. The three of them took cover by the exit, listening carefully.

  They heard the sound of footsteps approaching and readied their weapons. Two Roman soldiers appeared, running frantically from something behind them. Without hesitation, Ampelius fired, dropping the first soldier with a bullet to the heart. The second soldier barely had time to react before a bullet struck his neck, sending him choking to the ground.

  Ampelius finished him off with a shot to the head, then turned to Nova and Olivia.

  “Let’s move. I don't want to stay here.”

  As Nova stood up and moved, a fast-moving red ball of energy struck him, disintegrating him into a pile of red and black ash. Ampelius and Olivia dove to the ground as more of the deadly projectiles zipped past them, impacting the wall behind them with explosive force.

  “What the hell is that?” Olivia screamed.

  “I don’t know! Just stay down!” Ampelius shouted, his mind racing for a plan.

  The whistling projectiles finally stopped, replaced by the sound of approaching footsteps. Ampelius could hear distant voices but couldn’t make out the words. He motioned for Olivia to stay quiet as he listened.

  The voices grew louder, and Ampelius realized they were Roman soldiers. What kind of weapon are they using? He wondered. Maybe they captured a Zavon weapon? It didn't matter, he decided to ambush the approaching soldiers, with the hope that maybe they don't know he was there.

  He looked over at Olivia who was shaking and looking like she was about to explode with anxiety. Then she stood up with her hands raised, trying to surrender. Not long after, a soldier’s flashlight beam found her, and before she could speak, a gunshot rang out, and she crumpled to the floor.

  He felt his heart fill with rage. He rose from his position and opened fire, emptying his magazine into the light, hiting the soldier who he suspected had shot Olivia. As the soldier dropped to the floor, two more soldiers appeared, both firing at him from a distance and in cover.

  Ampelius calmly walked toward the dead soldier, while being shot at, and firing his pistol. He took the rifle off the dead man and used it to return fire. He struck one soldier in the chest when he finally decided to take cover. He advanced steadily, firing controlled shots as he closed the distance with the next attacker.

  The surviving soldier reappeared, firing three rounds before his weapon jammed. Ampelius didn’t hesitate, he took aim and pulled the trigger.