"Achoo!" As the biting cold permeated through her body, Aerie let out a sudden sneeze and drew her arms tightly around herself. Her hands rubbed against her arms like two tiny flames trying to ignite a spark of warmth in the midst of the frigid air.
As she swiveled her head, her eyes scanned the desolate surroundings until they landed on a towering structure. The sight of the abandoned hospital elicited a burst of joy in Aerie's heart, happy to find shelter.
A quick survey of her surroundings revealed nothing but a desolate wasteland, where the silence was only broken by the soft crunching of snow beneath her feet. Aerie darted towards the abandoned hospital building, her footsteps carving a trail of imprints in the powdery snow.
With a delicate touch, Aerie grasped the handle of the hospital's door and tugged it open, wincing at the piercing creak that shattered the stillness of the abandoned building.
Like a thief in the night, she slipped inside and closed the door behind her with a soft thud. She began searching every corner, every crevice, for a possible threat. Aerie wasn't just searching around for danger but also for a weapon.
The silence was palpable, and the only sounds were the echoes of her footsteps. As she walked deeper into the abounded hospital, the sight of the decaying front desk greeted her. The wood was warped and cracked, and the drawers hung askew on their hinges.
She pulled open the first drawer and was greeted by a cloud of dust that billowed up. Coughing and waving the dust away, she peered inside and saw something glinting in the darkness.
Aerie Reached in and retrieved the object - a handgun. The metal felt cold and heavy in her hand, a stark contrast to the warmth of her skin.
As Aerie's fingers curled around the barrel of the handgun, she pulled the barrel back she noticed it was a fully loaded magazine. But as she searched for additional magazines, she realized there were none to be found.
'It's an outdated model, but it should be fine.' Aerie thought, feeling much safer with this weapon in hand.
As Aerie's eyes roamed the abandoned hospital, a shiver crept up her spine, like a cold hand tracing a path up her back. Her intuition was screaming at her that she wasn't alone, that there was something - or someone. Just as she was about to turn around, a voice shattered the eerie silence, reverberating through the empty halls. "Move, and I'll blow your head off."
...
Meanwhile...
"She's in this hospital, right?" With a gentle thud, Ellia's boots made contact with the snowy ground, the soft powder cushioning her landing with a faint crunching sound. As she straightened up, she surveyed her surroundings and saw a path of footsteps leading into the hospital.
"Yes, but there are also four other people inside the building with her," A sense of intense focus overtook Ellia as Ruth began to speak, and her eyes took on a faint blue neon glow that seemed to intensify with every passing moment. And then, as if on cue, her vision shifted - the world around her dissolving into a deep, inky blue that seemed to stretch out before her like an endless, starless sky.
But in the midst of the darkness, she could see the outlines of five figures - illuminated with a brilliant, fiery red and orange hue that stood out in stark contrast against the blue.
"Thermal vision?" A soft breath of wonder escaped Ellia's lips as she gazed upon the glowing figures, her eyes wide with amazement.
However, she had no time to waste. She swiftly made her way towards higher ground, the snow crunching softly beneath her boots as she moved. And when she finally reached her destination, she wasted no time in getting to work - setting up her sniper rifle with a deftness that spoke to years of experience.
With her eye pressed up against the cold metal of the scope, Ellia muttered. "Looks like she's in trouble." Then switching the rifle to reaper mode, she steadied herself for the shot.
...
"Don't even think about doing something stupid. I have two other people waiting upstairs."
'They still haven't shot me.' Aerie thought, her head still turned away against them. 'They must think I have someone else with me.'
"Throw you're weapon and turn around." The person spoke.
As Aerie didn't have any other choice but to obey this person's orders, she lowered the handgun and let it slip from her grasp, the metal clattering against the cold, hard floor. Slowly, she turned around, her eyes scanning the darkness.
The darkness slowly gave way to a faint glow, revealing two figures standing before Aerie. They were boys, one with fiery red hair and the other with raven black locks, their features partially obscured by the shadows.
Despite the uncertainty and danger of the situation, Aerie couldn't help but notice the similarities between them - they were around her age.
"Are you with anyone?" Asked the redhead.
'Even if I answer, the chances of them believing me are slim. So I have to do something if I don't want to die in the next ten seconds.' Aerie's senses were on high alert as she assessed the two boys before her, her eyes narrowing into slits. Her muscles tensed, coiling like springs, ready to unleash their energy at a moment's notice. Aerie could feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins, heightening her senses and sharpening her focus.
"Hey, answer me!" He shouted again, feeling something was wrong with Aerie.
'Fouces up, Aerie! Don't forget the training you did with everyone for the past month!' Aerie's mind was a blur as she sprang into action, her body moving with fluid grace. With a burst of speed, she shot forward like an arrow released from its bow, closing the distance that separated her from the two boys.
The air rushed past her, whipping her hair back like a streamer as she covered seven feet in the blink of an eye.
"Argh!" The sudden movement caught the red-haired boy off guard, and he reacted with a panicked burst of gunfire. Three shots rang out, the reports echoing off the walls like thunderclaps as bullets whizzed past Aerie's face.
As the red-haired boy emptied half his gun, the black-haired boy backed away. But in an instant, she closed the distance between herself and the red-haired boy.
The red-haired boy may have been frozen in fear a moment ago, but he was not to be underestimated. Aerie could see the glint of steel in his hand as he pulled up his gun with determination in his eyes. The red-haired boy placed his finger, ready to end everything at this moment.
There wasn't anything Aerie could do but watch as the barrel of the gun was set in front of her left eye. Every detail of the weapon was etched into her mind with painful clarity, from the rough texture of the grip to the glinting metal of the trigger.
The twisted lines of the interior of the barrel seemed to writhe and twist before her eyes, like snakes coiling around each other. And at the end of that deadly tunnel, she knew that there was only one destination: the finality of death.
Inside Aerie's brain, it was as if a million tiny gears had suddenly clicked into place, setting in motion an intricate mechanism that had been dormant for ages. Waves of electricity surged through her neurons, crackling and sparking with energy.
It was a symphony of neural activity, a dance of electric impulses that was beyond anything that humans had ever imagined. Faster than the speed of thought, Aerie's brain was alive with a dazzling display of activity, as if every neuron was suddenly bursting with new life.
But in a sudden and violent explosion, the boy's chest erupted, sending shards of bone and cartilage flying in all directions. Aerie could feel the hot spray of blood on her face as she staggered backward in shock.
The air was thick with the sickly sweet smell of copper and death as the red-haired boy slumped to the ground in a lifeless heap. Aerie looked down at him in horror, wondering what kind of weapon could cause such devastation.
As Aerie stood there, stunned and bewildered by the sudden death of her opponent, something even more surreal began to happen. She watched in disbelief as the boy's shattered body began to convulse and writhe.
The shards of bone and cartilage that had scattered across the ground began to swirl and coalesce like drops of water, forming a whirlpool. Aerie could hardly believe her eyes as the boy's mangled corpse began to knit itself back together, bone by bone and sinew by sinew until he was whole again.
And then, in a final act of magic power, the boy blurred away into nothingness, leaving behind no trace of his existence except for the blood and gore that stained the floor.
"Fuck!" With a snarl of rage, the black-haired boy lunged towards the weapon lying on the cold, hard floor, his fingers reaching out like talons to grasp it before Aerie could get to it.
Though it happened again.
His head erupted like a gory fireworks display, a sickening explosion that shattered bone and sent a spray of blood and brain matter splattering across the walls and floor.
Then just like the spectacle that happened before, the body quickly disappeared.
Aerie crumpled to the ground, a violent upheaval coursing through her stomach as she retched, expelling the contents of her gut onto the floor.
With the sour taste still lingering in her mouth, Aerie quickly brought her hand up to wipe her mouth, the sleeve of her shirt smearing the bile across her face. Suddenly, the sound of echoing footsteps reverberated through the empty halls, emanating from the stairwell.
The sight of them was too much for Aerie to bear, and she averted her gaze, unable to witness the impending fate that awaited them.
With her eyes tightly shut, the sounds of flesh being torn apart and agonized screams pierced through the stillness of the empty hospital, assaulting Aerie's ears with horrifying vividness.
As Aerie slowly opened her eyes, her heart racing, she expected to see a gruesome scene of blood and carnage, but instead, all she saw were weapons and gear scattered across the floor, gleaming in the dim light.