"Jason, this paper is from about 20 years ago. There's no way it's still here," Rellik told me.

  "Rellik, think about it—if it is still here and we take it, we can end this all a lot faster," I pleaded. "Please, Rellik."

  "Let's go then," he conceded. We left the room and entered a hallway with a map on the wall. "There's the storage facility," Rellik pointed out.

  Suddenly, the whole facility shook violently, throwing us to the floor. "What the hell was that?" I asked.

  "I think they know we're here," Rellik said just as the wall behind us exploded. A brute walked through the debris, carrying a rocket launcher.

  "Run!" Rellik screamed. We scrambled up and sprinted down the hall. The brute aimed its rocket at us.

  "Get down!" I yelled, grabbing Rellik and pulling us both to the ground. The rocket whooshed over our heads, exploding at the end of the hall.

  "Jason, in there!" Rellik pointed to a vent large enough for us. He kicked it open and crawled in. I followed quickly, feeling the brute's fingers brush my leg as it tried to grab me.

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  We crawled through the ventilation system. "What now?" Rellik asked.

  "I have no idea!" I shouted back. We reached the end of the vent, and Rellik pushed it open. After climbing out, I asked, "Now where to?"

  Rellik pointed to another map. "We head to the storage closet. There's a vent there that leads to the storage facility." He gestured down the hall, but before we could move, the roof above us cracked with a thunderous boom.

  "RUN!" Rellik shouted. We barely escaped as the roof exploded and the brute dropped down, turning to us with a growl. We sprinted down the armory corridor, our footsteps echoing as the creature's heavy stomping pursued us like an unstoppable force.

  We reached the storage closet and locked ourselves inside. The room was filled with shelves of cleaning supplies. "The vent's right there," Rellik said, running to kick it open. "Come on!"

  Suddenly, the door exploded behind me. The brute grabbed me by the throat, lifting me off the ground. "J-Rellik h-elp m-e," I gasped, looking toward the vent. But he was gone...

  Looking at the brute's face, I realized with horror that I recognized it. It was Ayuda, his face chalk-white, eyes black, completely hairless. Then a loud bang rang out, and his head exploded. As his body fell, I dropped to the ground and turned to see Rellik holding a shotgun.

  "That's about the fourth time I had to save your ass," he said as I got up.

  "Thanks, I mean it," I told him sincerely. He walked back to the vent and crawled in, with me close behind.