As Ampelius and Bella moved for the door, a flicker of green light stopped them cold. The shards of broken glass shimmered, the glow swelling brighter by the second until it flooded the window frames in a sickly radiance. Against their better judgment, their eyes darted to the source, just as the glow burst into a blazing fireball screaming straight toward them.

  “OH SHIT!” Ampelius yelled, hurling himself and Bella away from the window as it struck.

  The fireball ripped through the wall above, blowing apart plaster and ceiling beams in a deafening crash. Burning debris rained around him as the blazing mass punched into the floor and kept going, carving a jagged wound straight through the building. Splintered embers and molten fragments marked its path, the destruction so violent it felt like the entire structure had been gutted in a single stroke.

  Ampelius slammed hard into the floor with Bella in his arms. The impact knocked the air from his lungs. For a few seconds he laid there, stunned and breathless, while his ears were ringing from the blast. After a bit he pushed himself up, and glanced over at Bella who was sprawled beside him. “You okay? Are you hurt?” he managed, still catching his breath.

  “Are you?” she shot back, her voice shakey.

  “As well as I can be,” he muttered, forcing himself upright and brushing debris from his clothes. His hands still trembled from the shock, but he tried to shake it off, more for her sake than his own.

  He glanced at the massive hole where the fireball had just torn through, leaving behind a gaping wound in the building’s structure. Cautiously, he edged closer and looked down into the wreckage. The fireball’s path was clear, he saw scorched floors, with embers glowing faintly in the debris, and smoke curling upward in thin, acrid streams. It reeked of burning plaster and charred wood, all of it tinged with the sickly green light spilling through the shattered windows.

  Ampelius drew in a steadying breath, though it burned in his chest. He turned back to Bella, his expression grim. “Why are we still here? This is as clear a sign from the gods I've ever seen.”

  Bella nodded, the fear mirroring his own. Together, they shouldered their things, while every explosion outside hammered home the same truth: the longer they stayed, the slimmer their chances.

  However, Ampelius thought he heard something beyond the crackle of fire. Then it came, a metallic screech that was rising from the depths, so sharp and unnatural it crawled straight up their spines.

  Both froze, holding their breath, waiting for it to return. But the noise cut off as abruptly as it had started, leaving only the fire’s faint pop and the rumble of explosions within the city. Bella’s eyes darted to his, wide with fear.

  “That… that sounded like metal on metal,” she whispered. “Is there some kind of generator down below the main floor? I’ve never heard anything like that.”

  “Like a basement? I don't believe there is one.” Ampelius muttered. The sound dragging up old whispers he’d once dismissed, such as the soldiers trading hushed stories about unnatural machines in the wastelands, things that should never exist. He’d laughed them off then. Now, standing here, he felt those rumors crawl back to life.

  He edged closer to the crater, squinting through the haze. Smoke churned, carrying the stench of scorched timber and something sharper, acrid, like burning metal. Every instinct screamed at him to turn away.

  He looked back at Bella, jaw tight. “I don't know what made that noise, but whatever made that noise… it’s not something we want to meet.”

  A deafening blast from below erupted with the sound of crashing like steel pins struck by a massive hammer. The following second, there was a shock wave that ripped upward from the abyss, hurling Ampelius and Bella backward. They slammed onto the floor, as smoke and glowing embers erupted out of the crater like a volcanic breath. They soared into the night sky, scattering fire across the ruined apartment.

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  Then came the smoke. Thick and green, it poured from the shattered floors below, creeping upward in swirling tendrils that shimmered faintly in the dim light. It wasn’t drifting like ordinary smoke, it slithered, curling along the walls and clawing for space, as if pulled by some unseen force. The glow it carried lit the haze with an eerie phosphorescence, a sickly color that made the room feel smaller and more suffocating.

  Ampelius’s gut clenched. Every instinct screamed that this wasn’t natural, that whatever was rising from below was worse than fire or collapsing stone. He lurched to his feet, heart pounding, and grabbed Bella’s arm, pulling her close.

  “We’re done here, we’re leaving this place now!” he snapped, his voice rough with authority.

  His eyes flicked to the door, then back to the rising smoke. “I don't know what that is, but I don't want to be in it.”

  Bella didn’t resist as Ampelius pulled her toward the door. Behind them, the green smoke slithered deeper into the apartment, spilling over furniture, curling around corners, and climbing the walls like it had a mind of its own. It mirrored their movement as if it could sense them trying to flee, stretching tendrils into every crack and shadow, choking the room into submission.

  Ampelius snatched a towel off the floor and shoved it under the door. The thin strip of fabric looked pitiful against the swelling green haze. He pressed it down hard anyway, knowing it wouldn’t hold, but he had to try. His chest tightened as they were running out of time.

  He turned to follow Bella who was already half way toward the stairwell when a scream ripped down the hallway, a high-pitched and raw voice, and close.

  Ampelius spun around and saw the girl he’d spoken to earlier burst into view from her apartment, sprinting wildly toward them. Her arms flailed in blind terror, but the floor betrayed her, as it buckled and swelled beneath her feet like some grotesque pulse. She stumbled forward and collapsed onto her stomach, sliding into the tendrils of green smoke already seeping past the towel.

  “No—!” The word died in Ampelius’s throat.

  The smoke coiled around her instantly, tightening like a serpent. She thrashed, clawing at the floorboards, her screams tearing through the hallway, raw enough to scrape at his bones. For a heartbeat, Ampelius could still see the spark of life in her eyes, desperate and burning. Then the smoke swallowed it.

  The tendrils cinched tighter, dragging her down as the floor itself began to crumble beneath her. Dust and embers rushed upward as she vanished into the collapsing void. Her screams echoed one last time, then silence.

  Ampelius stood frozen, his fists clenched so hard his nails bit into his palms. Anger boiled with helplessness, twisting inside his chest. He couldn’t save her. He couldn’t save anyone. Debris shot toward him in the smoke’s wake, snapping him out of his paralysis. He ducked low, coughing, and bolted for the stairwell.

  Bella was waiting at the landing below, wide-eyed, gripping the rail with white-knuckled fear.

  “Don’t wait for me—go!” Ampelius barked.

  Ampelius caught up to her, and together, they continued down the stairwell as their footsteps echoed in the confined space. The walls trembled around them, groaning as if they, too, were ready to give way. The acrid smell of smoke and burning materials didn't go away, still thick and suffocating, coating his throat with a bitter tang.

  Ampelius rounded the corner to the next landing, only to be confronted by a pile of rubble and thick, choking dust where the stairwell had once been. “Well, shit,” he muttered, his heart sinking. Bella was on the verge of hysteria, her eyes wide with fear as the building continued to groan and shudder.

  “How are we getting out of here? This building is collapsing around us! We’ll be crushed! We’re going to—”

  “Bella, breathe, try to calm down!” Ampelius cut her off, trying to shove his own fear down, knowing if he cracked, they were both done for. The pressure built up with every tremor, as the walls shuddered closer. It felt like the stairwell was shrinking into a tomb with every rumble. Their exits were vanishing one by one, until there’d be nowhere left to run. He clenched his jaw, forcing the words out. “I’ll figure something out. I swear it.”

  A violent explosion rocked the building, sending dust and debris cascading from the ceiling. The noise jarred him to his core, reminding him of just how little time they had left, but he clenched his fists, steadying his breath. This isn’t the first death trap I’ve faced. Focus. The walls shook violently, cracks splintering across the surfaces like jagged scars. Moments later, another blast rattled the structure, and cracks began spider-webbing across the floor and walls where they stood.

  “Think of something now, or we’re dead!” Bella screamed, her voice rising in sheer terror.