Into the Red

Cynthia gasped, stepping back. She looked at me, expecting me to defend her like I always did. I remained silent, adjusting the strap of my backpack.

"Move," Garrison ordered his men. "Secure the service elevator. The main shaft is dead."

The two soldiers nodded, moving swiftly out into the corridor. Garrison grabbed my wrist, his fingers wrapping completely around it. His grip was tight, possessive, and warm against my skin. He began pulling me toward the exit.

"Wait!" Cynthia shrieked.

She grabbed her designer leather suitcase from the floor, struggling to drag it.

"My things! I need my jewelry and my clothes!"

"Leave it," Garrison snapped without stopping. "The air filters down there only support basic survival gear. Anything extra gets burned at the checkpoint."

"Valerie, help me!" Cynthia yelled, her voice cracking with genuine panic now. "You have to carry it! My heart is racing, Valerie!"

I looked back at her over my shoulder. For the first time in my life, I did not stop. I did not drop my bag to carry hers.

"Leave the suitcase, Cynthia. Or stay here with it."

Her eyes widened in pure hatred. She dropped the handle of the suitcase and ran after us in her expensive heels.

We reached the service elevator at the end of the long hallway. One of the soldiers was holding the metal doors open. Inside, the emergency red lights were pulsing, casting long, eerie shadows down the shaft.

Suddenly, a loud explosion rocked the building from below. The concrete floor shook violently.

The glass windows at the far end of the corridor shattered inward. A rush of cold wind swept through the hallway, carrying with it a faint, sweet smell.

It smelled like wild berries and burnt sugar.

"The mist breached the lobby!" the soldier yelled, drawing his sidearm.

A thick, swirling plume of dark crimson smoke began pouring down the hallway from the broken windows. It moved like a living thing, reaching out with long, cloudy fingers toward us.

Garrison shoved me into the elevator cage first.

"Get in! Now!"

Cynthia pushed past me, her elbows digging into my ribs as she scrambled to the back of the car. She was sobbing, her hands shaking as she pulled at Garrison's armored vest.

"Get us out of here! Garrison, close the doors!"

Garrison stood in the doorway, his rifle raised. He fired three shots down the hallway into the approaching red fog. A dark silhouette was moving inside the smoke, something that did not move like a human anymore. It walked on all fours, its limbs bending at horrific, impossible angles.

"Sir, the cables are slipping!" the soldier shouted, punching the control panel.

Garrison stepped backward into the elevator and slammed his hand against the manual lever. The iron gate crashed down, locking us inside just as the red mist slammed against the exterior mesh.

Through the gaps in the iron gate, I saw the creature throw itself against the metal. It had the face of a woman, but its skin was entirely translucent, showing dark, black veins pulsing underneath. Its eyes were completely solid red, devoid of any pupils.

It howled, a sound that bypassed my ears and vibrated straight into my bones.

Cynthia let out a high-pitched scream, covering her face and sinking to the floor of the elevator.

The lift dropped with a sudden, violent jerk, plunging us into the dark depths of the skyscraper.

The darkness inside the elevator shaft was absolute, broken only by the flash of the red emergency beacon. Every time the light pulsed, it painted Garrison's face in blood-red angles.

He stood over me, his hand still resting on the frame right above my head. Every drop of the elevator made our bodies brush together.

"You are shaking," he murmured, his voice so low it was almost lost beneath the grinding noise of the cables.

"I am fine," I whispered back, keeping my eyes fixed on his collarbone. I refused to let him see how much the creature in the hallway had terrified me.

"Liar."

Garrison shifted his weight, his thigh pressing firmly against mine in the cramped space. The heat radiating from him was the only warm thing in the entire world right now.

"You always lie when you are cornered, Valerie. Just like you lied when you told me you didn't love me."

"That was six months ago, Garrison. The world is ending today. Let it go."

A sharp scuffle on the floor interrupted us. Cynthia scrambled up from the corner, shoving her way between us. She grabbed Garrison's arm, pressing herself against his armored elbow.

"Don't talk to her," Cynthia sobbed, her voice trembling with a practiced, pathetic rhythm. "She doesn't care about anyone but herself. Garrison, my chest hurts so badly. The air down here feels thick. I think the smoke got in before you closed the gate."

Garrison pulled his arm back, tearing his sleeve from her grip with zero hesitation.

"The air is clear, Miss Kane. If you had inhaled the mist, you would be ripping your own throat open by now. Sit down and stay quiet."

Cynthia's jaw dropped. She looked at me, her eyes burning with pure envy. She had spent her entire life being desired by every man who entered our father's circle. To be discarded so easily by the most powerful man in the sector was a blow she couldn't handle.

The elevator came to a sudden, grinding halt. The metal groaned, and the floor tilted slightly to the left.

"We are at the sub-basement level," the soldier at the controls reported. "The primary transport vehicle is waiting in the maintenance tunnel. But sir, the scanners show multiple bio-signatures outside the door."

"Are they human?" I asked, stepping forward.

Garrison drew his knife from his vest, the long steel blade catching the red emergency light.

"Not anymore. Keep your mask ready, Valerie."

He tossed a spare respirator onto my lap. It was the one he had carried on his own vest.

"What about me?" Cynthia cried, reaching out to grab the mask from my hands. "Where is my mask? Valerie, give that to me! You are healthy, you can handle the air! I have a weak heart!”