Chapter 37 Nowhere to Run

Kaiju shouted.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake! And here they come! Great! Just fucking great!”

Meanwhile, Makiko’s head throbbed. The world was dark, the air thick with dust and the smell of scorched concrete. Something heavy was pressing her down, pinning her against the cold floor.

She grunted, blinking against the dust in her eyelashes.

“Ugh… what the hell…”

Then, she realized.

Something warm. Something solid. A man’s body was draped over hers. Her eyes widened as her senses snapped into focus. A strong chest pressed against her, an arm shielding her head, his breath hot against her ear.

Makiko froze.

A slow, dawning horror crawled up her spine.

“…Oh hell no. You have to be kidding me.”

With an angry grunt, she shoved against the weight crushing her, trying to wriggle free.

“Get. Off. Me.”

The mercenary groaned from above her, his voice rough and pained.

“For God’s sake—gimme a second, hot stuff. Ouch!”

Makiko stopped struggling just long enough for him to push himself up on shaky arms. With a strained grunt, he rolled off her, collapsing onto his back beside her with a wince. Now that she could actually see him, she recognized him. It was the flirty mercenary. The one who had been teasing her before all hell broke loose.

And now he was lying next to her, covered in dust and bleeding from his forehead, grinning.

Makiko sat up, brushing dust from her uniform. She gave him a glare.

“And what were you trying to do there? I mean, you were on top of me just now. In the middle of a goddamn buildings collapsing, you decided the tactical move was to tackle me to the ground and end up in this... position?”

"If you were trying for some cheap battlefield grope, I swear to Christ I'll break your boner. And if you tell me this was some 'protective instinct' bullshit," she leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a dangerous purr, "then you'd better pray the freaks get you before I get my hands on you."

He sighed, staring up at the cracked ceiling.

“You’re welcome for saving your life, Firestorm. I shielded you with my body. If I wanted an excuse to get handsy, I'd at least buy you dinner first. But just for the record, Firestorm—if I was trying to cop a feel during an apocalypse? I’d at least pick somewhere with better ambiance. Maybe candles. Definitely fewer corpses... Though the whole 'near-death experience' thing does make you look even hotter. Just saying. Also, in my defense—you do have a very tackle-able silhouette, if you know what I mean.”

She scoffed.

“Oh please. I didn't ask you to play hero and save me. But since you're lying there looking so proud of yourself... thanks. I guess.”

She immediately pointed a warning finger at his face before he could even think about smiling.

"Do not make this weird. Do not bring it up again or I will feed you to the next crystal monster we see."

The mercenary let out a short, humorless laugh.

“Yeah, well, I couldn't just let a goddamn building crush you.”

Makiko ignored him and surveyed the wreckage around them. They were in what used to be an office—now a collapsed, broken husk of a room, with only faint streaks of light cutting through the cracks in the rubble above. The entire building had caved in, but somehow this room remained mostly intact, trapping them inside.

She clicked her tongue.

“Great. We’re buried alive.”

The mercenary groaned as he sat up, rolling his sore shoulder.

“Yeah, I know, right? But hey, could be worse.”

Makiko shot him a look.

“Oh yeah? How?”

A long, horrible screech echoed from outside the rubble. A noise that was definitely not human. Then gunshots.

Makiko and the man exchanged glances.

“...Okay, fair point,” she muttered.

On the outside, Conor gritted his teeth, his finger squeezing the trigger as he unleashed a barrage of bullets into the advancing crystalline creatures. Each shot rang out like a thunderclap, the recoil jolting his arms as he fought to hold the line.

“Kaiju! Get behind me! I’ll hold them off!”

Kaiju cursed under his breath, fumbling to reload his sidearm. His hands trembled slightly, betraying the fear he tried to mask.

“There’s too many, damn it! We need to move before—”

Then—

BANG. BANG. BANG.

A faint, rhythmic thudding sound cut through the chaos, coming from somewhere deep within the wreckage of the collapsed building. Conor froze, his sharp ears catching the noise even over the cacophony of gunfire and screeching creatures.

A voice—hoarse, desperate—called out.

“Major! We’re here! Trapped, but alive! Would be nice if you could give us a hand!”

Conor’s heart skipped a beat.

His stomach twisted into knots, a cold wave of dread washing over him. He whirled around, his eyes locking onto the shattered remains of the building. Somewhere in that mess of concrete and steel, one of his men was still alive.

“Jacob! Hold on! I’m coming! Just hold on!”

He sprinted toward the crumbled wall, slamming his rifle against the concrete and unloading the last of his magazine. The bullets chipped away at the surface, but the wall barely budged. It was too thick, too solid.

Not enough. Not even close.

His gun clicked empty and no more ammo to reload.

With a furious grunt, Conor flipped his rifle and swung the stock against the wall, slamming it again and again. The sound of metal hitting concrete echoed through the air, but the wall held firm. The rifle finally snapped under the force, the stock splintering into pieces.

Conor didn’t stop.

He dropped the broken weapon and curled his hands into fists, his armored gloves scraping against the surface as he punched the wall. Sparks flew with each impact, his knuckles bleeding beneath the gloves, but he didn’t care. Pain was irrelevant. Exhaustion was irrelevant. All that mattered was getting to Jacob.

“Break, damn you! BREAK!” he roared in desperation and rage.

Kaiju grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him violently.

“What the hell are you doing?! That wall is too thick! We don’t have time! They’re coming!”

Behind them, the crystalline creatures screeched, their twisted limbs clawing over the wreckage as they closed in. The sound was deafening, a nightmarish sound of scraping crystal and guttural growls. They had seconds—maybe less.

But Conor didn’t care.

He shoved Kaiju away, who was trying to pull him away, his eyes blazing.

 “Get lost, you damn coward! Run alone if you have to! I will NOT leave another one of my men to die!”

He slammed his fists against the wall again, his voice rising to a thunderous roar. 

“I will break this wall even if my arms break—AND IF THEY DO, I’LL BASH IT WITH MY HEAD!”

For a moment, there was silence—a brief, heavy pause that seemed to stretch forever. Then, from inside the rubble, Jacob’s voice came through, shaky but resolute.

  “Major! GO! Leave me! You have to leave me! Don't you dare throw your life away now—not when we're this close! It was an honor, Major. Every damn day. But this? This is my choice. My stand. SO FINISH THE JOB! For them! For me! NOW GO!"

Conor’s breath hitched, his fists still pressed against the unyielding wall. His mind raced, torn between duty and loyalty, between the mission and the man. But deep down, he already knew the truth. Jacob was right. They were out of time, and there was nothing he could do to save him.

Kaiju grabbed his arm again, his voice low and urgent. 

“Conor! Punching a concrete wall is pointless! You would need C4 to break that wall. There is nothing you can do here! We have to move! Now! Or we’re all dead!”

Conor’s shoulders slumped, his hands falling to his sides. He took one last look at the wall, his jaw clenched so tightly it hurt.

  “Jacob… damn it… I'm sorry!”

But monsters didn’t give him even a second to mourn.

A crystalline creature lunged at him, its jagged claw slicing through the air with terrifying speed. Conor’s instincts kicked in just in time. He ducked low, the claw grazing the top of his hat, and then surged upward with a furious roar. His armored fist slammed into the creature’s crystalline face in a brutal cross-counter, the impact sending it staggering back.

“Die! You ugly bastard!” Conor roared, his voice raw with rage and grief. He didn’t wait for the creature to recover. He followed up with another punch, then another, each strike fueled by the pain of losing Jacob and the frustration of being forced to leave him behind.

The creature screeched, its glowing eyes flickering as cracks spread across its crystal form. But before Conor could deliver the final blow, Kaiju stepped in, emptying his 50cal pistol into the creature at point-blank range. The bullets chipped away at its crystalline body, and with a final, ear-piercing shriek, the creature shattered into pieces.

Kaiju tossed his empty pistol aside, his breath coming in gasps. 

“I got no ammo left! Conor, goddamn it, we need to move! Now! They just keep coming!”

Conor didn’t argue. He gave the shattered remains of the creature one last glare, his fists still clenched, before turning to follow Kaiju. The two men sprinted through the wreckage, their boots crunching over broken concrete and shattered glass. Behind them, the screeches of more crystalline creatures echoed through the air, chasing them. But Conor’s mind was elsewhere, his heart heavy with the weight of another loss.

As they disappeared into the shadows, Jacob’s voice echoed in Conor’s mind.

"It was an honor working with you."