ROOFTOP ACCESS - AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY
I tumbled out of the shaft and onto the floor, my wounded shoulders screaming in protest. But I was almost there. But the ventilation shaft exploded outward behind me.
The creature had emerged. Its body had been twisted by the infection into something that barely resembled human anatomy. Multiple arms jutted from its torso at impossible angles, each ending in surgical-steel claws. Its face was a ruin of exposed bone and hanging flesh.
"Found you..." it whispered, the words bubbling up from deep in its chest. "Now we can... play..."
I threw myself at the rooftop access door, hands fumbling for the emergency release. The mechanism was electronic, but the backup manual override was built into the frame. I grabbed the red handle and pulled everything I had.
The door groaned open, revealing a short flight of stairs leading up to the roof. But as I started to climb, claws raked across my back, tearing through my already-ruined blazer and opening new wounds.
I spun around and swung the flare beacon like a club, catching the creature across what remained of its face. It shrieked and stumbled back, black ichor spraying from the impact point.
That bought me the seconds I needed.
I ran up the stairs, taking them three at a time. Behind me, the creature recovered and gave chase, its multiple limbs allowing it to move faster.
I burst through the final door and onto the rooftop.
The wind hit my body, whipping my hair across my face and carrying the acrid smell of smoke. The sky was a hellish red, painted by fires burning across the city below. In the distance, I could see the remains of other buildings, their windows dark and empty.
But there they are, cutting through the storm clouds, I saw them.
It's not the government rescue squad or anything.
The Phoenix Corps that I knew my father had ties with, that they were working on a project related to them.
Phoenix Corps VTOL aircraft, their sleek forms moving in formation across the burning cityscape. Gunmetal gray with glowing blue phoenix insignia on their hulls, they moved with grace through the smoke.
I raised the flare beacon, hands shaking as I tried to activate the emergency signal. The device was heavier than I'd expected, its surface slick with my blood and sweat.
That's when the creature burst onto the rooftop behind me.
It moves across the concrete with inhuman speed. I had maybe seconds before it reached me.
I triggered the flare.
The beacon erupted in brilliant red light, a pillar of fire that cut through the storm clouds. The signal would be visible for miles.
The creature lunged.
I tried to dodge, but my wounded body betrayed me. Claws raked across my legs, sending me tumbling across the rooftop. The flare beacon rolled away, still burning in the sky.
The creature stood over me, its multiple arms spread wide like some nightmare spider. Black ichor dripped from its wounds, pooling on the concrete around my head.
"Time to join us..." it whispered, raising its claws for the killing blow.
That's when the sky exploded.
Pulse rifle fire erupted from above, brilliant blue bolts of kinetic energy hammering into the creature's torso. It shrieked and stumbled backward, its body convulsing as the high-energy rounds tore through mutated flesh.
The Phoenix Corps VTOL roared overhead, its engines whining as it adjusted position for the perfect firing angle. Rappelling lines deployed from its belly, and black-armored figures descended like avenging angels.
Phoenix SWAT.
They hit the rooftop in perfect formation, pulse rifles already tracking targets. The creature tried to fight back, but it was outnumbered and outgunned. One of the soldiers threw a plasma net that wrapped around the creature's torso, the energy field searing through its flesh.
But the monster still moves even if it's wounded, the thing was still dangerous. It lashed out with its remaining functional arm, catching one of the soldiers across the chest. The trooper went down hard, his armor cracking under the impact.
"Tango is still active!" someone shouted. "Requesting immediate fire support!"
The VTOL's main guns opened up, filling the air with superheated death. The creature simply... ceased to exist, vaporized by the concentrated firepower of the high-tech chopper.
I lay on the concrete, watching the sky spin above me. The storm clouds were breaking up, revealing patches of star-filled darkness beyond. The air tasted of ozone and blood and smoke.
A figure appeared in my blurry vision of a soldier, their armor scorched but still intact.
"Target neutralized," they reported into their comm system. "Survivor located. Initiating immediate extraction.
The soldier knelt beside me, their helmet retracting to reveal a young face marked by the same kind of exhaustion I felt. "You're safe now," they said. "We're getting you out of here."
I tried to speak, but only managed a whisper. "Others... in the building..."
"We'll sweep the structure," the soldier promised. "But right now, we need to get your medical attention."
A platform descended from the VTOL's belly, and I saw them. Two figures in high-collar tactical coats with glowing trim, their faces obscured by the smoke and wind but somehow familiar.
Dr. Alistair Valerius and Dr. Lyra Valerius. My parents.
They'd come for me.
"Sera... We need to get out of here fast" My Father wraps me in a towel and guides me in the chopper.
The platform touched down, and gentle hands lifted me from the concrete. I felt the solid metal beneath me as we rose toward the aircraft, the burning city falling away below.
As the VTOL's doors sealed shut, I managed one last look at the rooftop. The flare beacon was still burning, its red light reflecting off the pools of black blood that marked where the creature had died.
I closed my eyes and whispered a name that cut through the engine noise and the wind.
"Aoi..."
The longest climb was over. But somehow, I knew the hardest part was still ahead.The VTOL banked sharply, carrying me away from the burning school and toward whatever remained of the world outside. Through the aircraft's reinforced windows, I could see the infection spreading across the city like a living thing, buildings going dark one by one as the plague consumed everything in its path.
I'd escaped. But I was one of the few who survived.
The war against the Crawler Plague had only just begun.