The light blistered Emma’s eyes as she found herself once more running through the field, the grass tickling her bare feet as her arms stretched out wide brushing the flowers either side of her. Her dress billowed around her knees and her brown hair flowed behind her as she ran, her childlike voice laughing as the sun touched her face. She ran up to the tall figure waiting for her, her beautiful face obscured by the glare of the sun in her eyes. She jumped into the woman’s ar

The darkness was thicker inside the forest, obscuring Scarlett’s path as she sprinted blindly through the trees and bushes. Whatever magic that was allowing her to see in the dark wasn’t working, either because of her fear or stress or just overall lack of control. As a compensation her skin was glowing instead, but she was fighting hard to keep that from happening. As much as she wanted to light her way, she couldn’t risk it.

Scarlett hide behind the shelves, keeping as low as she could while also watching the Doctor as she was surrounded by soldiers. She stayed in the shadows as the cones of light scanned the room, penetrating the gloom illuminating the soldier’s faces as they stormed in. she recognised Travis standing by one of the hallways, his narrow eyes glaring at Doctor Yui through his glasses. She also saw Commander Midas, who marched forward with a handgun in his hand, stepping up to the

Doctor Yui breathed heavily as she huddled over the gurney, organising the medical supplies they had salvaged from the cargo plane and putting them into a satchel. She felt the eyes of her guards watching her as she examined them, checking for contamination or breakages. After an hour she was finished, satisfied most of their medicine was viable. “It’s all there” she said, speaking in her native language. Even after six years in a bunker, she never felt the need to learn Engl

Ferndale waited outside the council chamber with baited breath, adjusting his robes methodically.

Emma stumbled over as she touched down in the middle of a pile of crates, the sensation of warping through space making her nauseous. She held back the urge to throw up as she tripped over her feet and landed on the cold metal floor with a thud.

Emma struggled to get her footing as the soldiers dragged her across the runway in a hurry. Her head was pounding and her legs felt like they were jelly. Her ears continued to ring even though the emitters tearing her aura apart had been shut off. She slumped to her knees and coughed, her hands bound in front of her, tasting something metallic in her mouth. Blood.

“WE’VE GOT INCOMING!”

Rebecca’s skull throbbed as she started to come back to consciousness. But the moment she fought to open her eyes she knew the worst was yet to come.

The day dragged on as everyone busied themselves with distractions. They weren’t used to waiting in one spot for so long.

They had one more hour before the scheduled check in with the base, so Hanson took the opportunity to familiarise himself with the equipment the mortals gave him. He eyed the submachine gun inquisitively, until Henry gave him a crash course on how to handle it safely. It was much more crude than a wand, but far more dangerous. “Try not to blow off your own hand” Henry advised, passing the weapon back to him.

The mages reeled from the whiplash of their attackers switching from trying to kill them to bringing them to their campsite in the middle of the forest and saving them from starvation. They freely shared their supplies of food and helped treat their injuries, a few of them apologising while others watched them warily. Brunhilde in particular found the situation confusing, and a little suspicious, but Hanson reminded her all these mortals had the same thing in common; they wer

Clark stared at Shaw as she repeated the message over and over desperately. “What are you doing?” he cried, grabbing her wrist.

The mortals, however, found themselves caught in the same gunfire as the mages. The handful who had stepped outside at the wrong moment were met with a battery of lead before they dove for the nearest cover.

The High-King didn’t sleep. He spent the whole night in Emma’s room watching over her has she finally passed out. He sat on the bed beside her in the dark room, stroking her head as she snored restlessly.

The scream woke Shade up instantly.

Everyone retired for the night pretty early. The plan was to wake up at the crack of dawn and start moving again, so the mortals suggested they get as much sleep as they could. And with nearly all of the rooms here in good condition, a good night’s sleep actually appeared possible.

With the highway no longer an option, it forced them to divert their journey back the way they came in order to take a longer and more scenic route. Which nobody was happy about. It extended their journey to twice the length they should’ve taken to reach their destination.

“Analysis?”

Scarlett remembered being scared. So scared she couldn’t breathe. The monsters were out there and they were getting closer. There were so many people around her she couldn’t move. They were shouting and screaming, and finally she was shoved to the floor grazing her hands. She dropped the toy she was carrying and it was crushed under a dozen stomping feet. She wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn’t come. She was too scared.