The fluorescent lights flickered overhead as we sprinted through the labyrinthine hallways of the underground facility, our footsteps echoing off the sterile walls. My heart pounded against my ribs when I realized Ron had disappeared. "Where's Ron?" I shouted to Rellik, my voice cracking with desperation.
"Don't know, but the tram's there," Rellik panted, gesturing toward a set of imposing metal doors ahead. The industrial-grade steel groaned as Rellik heaved them open, revealing a vast construction zone bathed in emergency lighting. Through the skeletal framework of unfinished walls, I spotted our salvation – a maintenance tram perched on gleaming tracks.
The relative quiet shattered as Ron exploded through the doors behind us, the metal warping like tissue paper from the impact. His massive frame cast a monstrous shadow across the floor.
"Get the tram moving!" The words had barely left my mouth when Rellik grabbed my shoulder, pressing the cold steel of his pistol into my palm. "Take this," he commanded, his eyes meeting mine for a split second before he sprinted toward the tram controls.
I squared off against Ron, who stood unnaturally still, his mutated form a grotesque mockery of his former humanity. Muscles rippled beneath his torn skin as he assessed me with predatory focus. "This is the last time," I declared, leveling both guns at his chest. "And this time you're going down, bitch!"
Ron's roar shook dust from the ceiling as he charged, moving with impossible speed for something his size. I rolled sideways, feeling the wind from his strike as he pulverized the concrete where I'd stood. Above, I spotted a network of industrial pipes suspended by heavy chains. Without hesitation, I squeezed both triggers, the thunderous reports echoing through the chamber as my bullets severed the chains.
The pipes crashed down with devastating force, driving Ron to his knees. His agonized howl was primal, inhuman – but it didn't last. Before I could retreat, his hand shot out with terrifying speed, fingers like steel cables wrapping around my torso. He lifted me effortlessly, crushing my arms against my sides as he squeezed.
Ron's laughter rumbled through his chest, hot breath washing over my face as he pulled me closer. "No, this time you're going down and your—" His words transformed into a wet gurgle as something massive erupted from his chest. The construction crane's hook burst through his sternum in a spray of gore, its rusty metal gleaming with blood.
His grip loosened and I dropped, scrambling away as the crane retracted. The sound was horrific – tearing flesh and cracking bone as the hook ripped backward, taking chunks of Ron's spine with it. The monster who'd haunted us for so long collapsed, his lower body twitching uselessly.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
"Hey Jason!" called an eerily familiar voice. Ron's signature magnum slid across the floor toward me, its chrome finish reflecting the emergency lights. I snatched it up, the weight comfortable and deadly in my hand as I approached Ron's broken form.
"So this is the end?" he wheezed, blood bubbling at the corners of his mouth.
"Yeah, game over." I aligned the sights with his forehead and squeezed. The magnum's report was deafening, the heavy round reducing Ron's head to a crimson mist. The creature that had once been my father was finally, irrevocably dead.
When I turned to thank my mysterious savior, they had vanished like smoke. Rellik's touch on my shoulder made me jump, combat reflexes still singing through my nerves. "C'mon Jason, tram's ready."
His eyes fixed on the weapon in my hand. "Wait, where'd you get that?"
"Never mind that—we got to get out of here!" I guided him into the tram car, helping him settle onto one of the worn seats. The countdown in my head was merciless – twelve minutes until sunrise, until this whole facility would be nothing but ash.
"Get this thing moving," Rellik urged. I found the control lever, decades old but still functional, and pushed it forward. The tram lurched into motion, carrying us away from the nightmare below.
We rode in exhausted silence until the tram ground to a halt at its final stop. "Come on, let's get out of here." I helped Rellik to his feet, and together we emerged into the pure light of dawn. We stood atop a cliff overlooking the sprawling cityscape, miles of distance between us and the horrors we'd left behind.
"It's over..." Rellik's voice was barely a whisper. He made his way to the cliff's edge and sank down, legs dangling over the precipice. I joined him, feeling the weight of everything we'd survived settling onto my shoulders.
"I can't believe it," he said, wonder and exhaustion mingling in his words.
"Isn't this nice?" Rellik asked softly, resting his head against my shoulder. "Jason, you wanna know something?"
"Yeah, sure."
"I love you."
"I love you too," I replied, the words coming easily, naturally, after everything we'd been through.
"It's over, right?" he whispered, vulnerability creeping into his voice.
"Let's hope," I said, turning to catch his smile – tired but genuine, the first real smile I'd seen in what felt like years. The rising sun painted the world in shades of gold and promise, a new day dawning for both of us.
Darkness swept over us without warning, plunging the dawn into shadow. Our eyes shot skyward where helicopters sliced through the morning air like harbingers of doom.
Rellik rose, his face hardened with defiance. "Who is it?" he demanded, voice cutting through the thunderous beating of rotors.
As I staggered to my feet, the blood-red logo on the aircraft's flank confirmed my worst nightmare. "Noir..." The name escaped my lips in a horrified whisper, fear gripping my chest like an icy vise.
"It's not over..." Rellik's words erupted through clenched teeth, rage seething beneath each syllable.
"No," I breathed, the terrible truth dawning on me. "They don't just own New York—they control the entire world." My fingers trembled as I drew my Glock, the weight of hopeless rebellion heavy in my hand.
To Be Concluded...
