Silence dominated the other end of the line.
"Boss?... I'm coming right now!"
He slammed the phone shut and dashed toward the red sports car.
The engine roared to life as he turned the key, and the vehicle bolted, racing against time.
"He'll be fine... he's the Boss, after all!"
he muttered to himself.
---
"Orchid?.. Is that you?"
The voice coming from behind me was similar to the young man's from that night, but it was fractured, punctuated by heavy panting.
My head turned with a mechanical, broken motion, like a gear that had lost its teeth.
'Everything will be fine, just don't look at the specter...'
I tried to calm myself… but words were useless.
He was there.
Behind him.
In broad daylight.
More clearly…and more terrifying.
This time, darkness couldn't hide him.
The young man extended a hand while leaning on his knees, struggling to catch his breath.
"Sorry for the delay... an unexpected situation came up. Did you bring the phone?"
"H-here it is."
I felt the oxygen in the air burning.
And my hair! It was curling inward, recoiling from the heat, its brown hue fading two shades lighter.
The charred specter was drawing closer.
"Where are you guys?"
I whispered under my breath.
But there was no answer.
'Did they really run away and leave me alone?'
As the entity crept nearer, I felt a crushing pressure weigh down on my already exhausted feet.
This is completely different from two nights ago! If back then it could sear me with a touch, now it could do so with a single breath.
"Ah..."
Breathing became harder.
Suddenly, the scorched monstrosity jerked its head upward toward something behind me. Its body snapped in a rapid, unnatural angle—I actually heard the sound of bones cracking.
"Wha—what..."
It had dodged a bullet that slammed into the pavement right next to the young man, piercing the concrete.
Is that the 'thing'?
The object they had been arguing over using...
Was a sniper rifle!
The young man shot me a look as if I had betrayed him, his legs trembling as he fled in desperate haste.
[Lina, Lina, he's running toward the tower! Chase him, quickly!]
Soliman's cold voice alerted me to the entity's departure. In that moment, I could finally breathe.
[Lina, he's heading to Apartment 9 on the second floor! Lina? Damn it!]
There was no response.
What happened to her?
I didn't know if she'd been hurt, but the sight unfolding before me left me so stunned I completely forgot about Lina.
The monstrosity was scaling the wall, rising and maneuvering between the building's windows like Spider-Man... no, a burnt Spider-Man.
Damn it, how are they going to get rid of this thing?
The creature stopped at a specific window—exactly as Soliman had said: Apartment 9, second floor.
As the monster entered, leaving soot-stained handprints along the wall, it vanished behind the already open window.
A massive explosion shook the air.
It was immediately followed by two consecutive gunshots from the apartment.
Then, those sounds died down, replaced by a different kind of noise.
The screams of passersby, the chaos, the commotion.
Some brave souls stood their ground, questioning what they saw, while most fled as far as possible from that cursed building.
"Is... is it over?" I whispered.
But at that moment, I caught the flare of fire and the shadows of children in the apartment.
Their screams were drowned out by the roar of the crowd.
Everyone below stood paralyzed. Some called out, others dialed for an ambulance, but not a single soul dared to go up.
The smoke billowing from the window thickened by the second.
All of this happened in a mere two minutes.
I didn't realize when I gave my weary legs to the wind.
I bolted, with only one thought in my mind:
"The children! The children!"
It took only a few breaths to reach the second floor.
Despite my repeated stumbling, I managed to reach Apartment 9.
Fortunately, the door was ajar.
I didn't know who had opened it, but this wasn't the time for questions.
Everything inside the apartment was chaos.
Tongues of fire rose high, devouring everything they touched.
The voices of two children were screaming: "Mom!! Mom, get up!!"
I didn't think twice.
I pressed my sleeve over my nose and leaped into the fire.
"Kids! Cough, cough..."
The smoke here was lethal; simply entering made me choke.
"Ki—"
There.
I found them!
But... the scene was hard to believe.
The monstrosity—its shoulder and temple adorned with two circular craters the size of lemons—lay prone on the floor.
Meanwhile, Soliman stood over the monster's head, pointing a sharp knife.
He wasn't pointing it at the monster...
But at himself!
What was he doing?
"You! What are you doing?! Save the children!"
I tried to call out to him, to warn him, but he seemed far from conscious.
Soliman's hand was trembling as he gripped the knife, the cold edge pressing directly against his skin.
A thin line of blood began to appear... as if his hand no longer belonged to him.
Cough, cough.
The first child collapsed with a violent cough next to the body of the woman who must have been their mother.
I couldn't get everyone out.
At the very least, I would save the children!
There was no time for ethics or priorities.
I rushed toward them, grabbing the child who had just fainted while pulling the other away.
The second child resisted me.
I used every ounce of my remaining strength to drag him.
"Let me go! Cough... I'm not going anywhere without my mom! No!!"
"Please!"
Let's leave before this beast realizes we're here!
That's what I wanted to say, but...
A hiss, more terrifying than the sound of the fire around us, erupted:
"N... O... O... N... E... L... E... A... V... E... S!"
The voice was a screaming hiss laced with agony. It seemed the two shots, while not finishing him off, had weakened him.
He extended his charred hand toward us.
"N... no..."
Those eye sockets froze me in my tracks.
They were scorched, staring at us...
Not with anger, nor with hunger...
But with despair.
A burning... despair.
I felt the world spinning around me.
I fell to my knees, but I didn't let go of the children.
I pulled them under me, huddling over them.
Perhaps this would keep the smoke and flames from reaching them until help arrived.
I expected it to end there.
But then, a powerful scent of mint pierced through the smell of ash and soot clogging my lungs.
Instead of fire, I felt a chill... a refreshing, comforting cold.
The last thing I saw was a graceful shadow stepping through the door.
"Mariam!"
He called my name...
And I collapsed.
---
"Are you okay?"
"Mm-hmm."
I nodded to the deep voice asking me.
"Why are you smiling?"
the voice asked, sounding puzzled.
My smile was apparently something unusual.
"Me?"
My hand, moving against my will, touched my lips and traced them.
I was... actually smiling!
"Because I'm happy. I feel happy!"
I chuckled in response.
I knew the voice was coming from beside me, yet I didn't turn toward it.
"You are? Why do you feel happy?"
The voice questioned, as if my happiness was the most baffling thing of all.
"Because... I saved someone!"
"Then what about me?"
the voice asked.
Only then did my head move against my will again, and I looked at him.
My eyes fell upon two glowing yellow eyes with vertical slits in the center... I felt as if those eyes were pulling me into them.
I felt like I had seen these eyes before.
They were familiar.
"That's enough, ■■■■■■■... it's time to wake up!"