“Run” Shade whispered.

“So you’ve encountered ghouls like them before?”

The hours of the day ticked by slowly, like there was an invisible clock hanging over everyone’s heads as they went about their self-assigned duties. Luke sat on a crate hunkered over the metal case holding the deadly artefact the mages were after, with the elderly Spell-Caster nearby assisting him in passing tools from his rollout kit. He’d been fiddling with the mechanism for the lock, seeing if he could bypass the code sequencer and get it open.

The fire crackled as Kaleb’s eyes opened. He shivered from the chill, his uniform damp from condensation. He shifted on the uneven ground, groaning in discomfort. What he wouldn’t give to be back on his soft feather mattress in his cosy luxurious room. Men of his standing shouldn’t have to suffer such indignities.

Emma’s heart stopped beating when she stared at the empty space where Shade was supposed to be. She dropped the bag she was carrying and rushed over only to find her jacket. “Shade?” she cried, scanning the room in front of her, her mind racing. Oh no, what if those things got him? She thought. She looked up at the door across the room, the only other exit. She leapt to her feet and ran towards it, grasping the handle frantically. But she found it was still locked, exactly a

Emma felt her head droop before her eyes snapped open again. She swore she was only resting her eyes, but one look outside said she must’ve dozed off. It was brighter through the filthy glass and she was able to see the hole in the ceiling and the debris beneath it. It was daylight, morning. How long had she been here? All night? How long have I been asleep?

The General clenched his fist as he contained his fury, looking down at the woman’s body with disdain. Foolish woman he thought as she laid spread out over the floor, blood over her lab coat and top from the gunshot wound to the torso. Her glasses lay smashed beside her, her eyes staring back at him blankly. He turned away from her and left her to rot in this dark corridor she chose to throw everything away in, his men flanking him with flashlights.

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.