The shockwave explodes the glass in a deafening way. Gary crouches on the ground covering his head. His tight-shut eyes slowly opened. His head feels heavy. The backdrop is blurred and the room is filled with dust circling the bare-lit room. The broken glass is all over and some stones rolled over.

“So, does the two of you have any intention to tell me why I'm the magnet?” Gary groaned as he speaks through the phone.

“This is the perfect opportunity for Lance to gather some intel.” She steadily said.

“The fuck? Do you have any idea how scary here is? There’s someone who’s after me.”

“We are well aware of that.”

“Then why take the risk? I’m gonna die here.”

“You are a member of the elite agents, Canary. Do you think we didn’t give a thought about this? We know you are capable of fending off monsters all by yourself. Besides, you can still use your magic.”

“That’s the problem. My stamina is not infinite and there are a lot of monsters here. I was not built for this.”

“I know this is hard, but you need to do this. With the rest of the security busy trying to open the gate and rescue you we can gather information about the scale of their operation.”

“Fine, but I need you to guide me the way.”

“I checked out the previous records of the layout of the area. There’s supposed to be an escalator platform in the B1 square area. I suggest you should look at the hallway to know where you are.”

Gary briefly stood for a moment and limbered his muscles. He slowly walks outside and begins to observe the papers and flyers posted on the walls. He walked through the hallway and saw the map hanging on the wall across the three ways.

If his deduction is right, he’s right now in the reception area of the research and development department. The B1 square area is to the right side beyond the walls of the security room and between the main laboratory and the technology testing area which leads through the A1 square area.

“Ina, I’m currently in the research and development area on the ground floor.”

“Good. There’s supposed to be a weapon stock room on the left side, passed behind the directory room. Grab a weapon and proceed to the right side of the platform.”

Following the path, Gary couldn’t wane off the feeling of someone is stalking his back. He walked faster; his pounding footsteps echoed across the hallway.

“Is someone there?” His voice rang throughout the hallway as he looked back. “Of course, if I was stalking someone, I wouldn’t say anything.”

He pulled over and lift the chair tossing it to the glass case of an ax. Gary unsheathed the knife from its keep and raised the ax. He glances through his shoulder once more with his daunting gaze before proceeding forward.

With sheer strength, he destroyed the knob and entered the room. There were a lot of guns left hanging on the walls and kept to the crater. Gary finds the rightful keep for the ax and wore gun straps. He only picked those he can carry, overloading of guns would only hinder his movements, hence, decelerating his progress.

He wore a belt of ammo along with the handgun on his holster, knife on his right shoulder, ax on his back, and submachine gun dangling over his shoulder. His gun rose, pointed forward along with the flashlight as he discreetly moved to the darkness.

He emerged to the lightened part of the area scanning the unlit section of the hallway. The bulb above him stuttered and shattered, raining over him. Something whispers in the darkness; he turns around with the nose of his gun followed by the noise trailing into the seemingly eternal darkness. He proceeded forward, with an uneasy feeling.

Prepared of what might happen, Gary took all of it, the pressure bearing over his shoulder as he walked faster with a steady gait and a vigilant eye. No slight hesitation has shown when he chose to stroll over the darkness. He heard it again, an inconceivable whispering through the darkness.

He looked behind and was sure of it, it was the source of the whisper. His flashlight stutters and for a moment, he caught a glance at the creature that is stalking him. It’s pale and has long hair, it’s skinny, and could see the bones stretching over. It crawls back and hid into the darkness as the light touches its skin. Gary didn’t waste any more time sensitizing and shot the creature relentlessly until his gun ran out of bullets.

Gary reloaded quickly. While his attention remained diminished, its fellow kind slowly emerges its head unto the darkness, peeking with its white eyes to Gary. A chill ran up to his spine as he slowly lifted his gaze. His lips trembled and gulped the remaining saliva. He placed back his handgun back to its holster and equipped the submachine gun.

The enemies crawl slowly out of the darkness, whispers overtaken the silence. Gary, who’s momentarily lost for a moment returns to the environment as one of the enemies gets closer to him. Clutching violently back the charging handle, he peeks at the sight and pulled the trigger. The muzzle friction flashed every bullet that sputtered out of its nose. The monster fell, others followed. A loud screech had dominated the entire field, he flinches and covered his ear from glass shattering noise. Gary sprinted away as the other monsters crawl after him. He aimlessly shot the creatures.

He came to the part of the hallway, where the light from the outside stripling as he dashed away from nightmarish creatures. He evaded one of the enemies and he gets closer to killing it with its gun. He does not want to use his mana but it seems that the situation requires an extreme reaction.

He fisted his right hand and began to recite the magic, ‘Blanã de aer.’ He opened his hand towards behind him and a blast of air covering over the four corners of space violently pushed over the enemy. He stole a glance for a moment. Others were impaled, some have broken limbs, disabling their movements and the majority were dead. He heavily sighed before walking ahead of the path. Gary turns once more and saw a hundred eyes watching him in the darkness.

For one last time, he ran.

“Ina! Where am I supposed to go?! Is there any place I can hide?”

“Go to the lower level. It's supposed to automatically lock when there are monsters around.”

He followed the instructions of Ina and goes down. The door automatically slides open and he stopped. He waited for a few moments and there came shadows hurdling forward. One of them stopped and stood tall eyes glaring through the window. It screams as it saw Gary standing in the middle of the stair.

The door automatically opened, Gary was in shock at this. He quickly drew out his handgun and shot it on its head as it leaps towards him and evaded the lifeless body. Other monsters heard the gunshot and quickly turns back to the source.

Gary frantically looked around looking for something that could help him. The emergency button had caught his attention and sprinted towards it. He slammed his fist to it and the barrage emerges blocking the way. Six monsters managed to pass the barrier, there were other two that were cut half of the barrier but they’re not as much as threatening anymore.

Gary gritted his teeth as he pulled out his ax and swung to the close enemy. The rusty smell of blood spewed out and the head rolls down the stairs. He held it aloft with his two hands and threw to the enemy, flung away in the air with the ax stuck on its body.

He jinked sideways, evading the two and drawn out his handgun with its knife thrown to the one in front of him. His gun rose to the face of the enemy and he pulled the trigger. He looked back at the remaining two enemies and cracks his neck. Gary chanted magic, ‘Blanã de aer.’ The two monsters flew and stumble back by the fierce blast of wind. Gary reloaded his handgun and drew out his submachine gun.

With a hard grip, the two guns flash steadily as Gary pulled the trigger, relentlessly rained them with bullets. The enemy's voice couldn’t hear as the rhythmic loud bang continuously echoed the place.

Gary found a safe room not far from the stairway he came from. The place is not too shabby, unlike others that were left unkempt and smell indifferently than those monsters he fought back before. This is the only room that Gary could stand. It’s not good, it’s worst but this is the only good enough from the list of the worst room he checked.

No bed is suitable to sleep in. Its foul odor lingered in the air. He took a nap by leaning against the wall. His eyes were tightly shut but his mind remained undiminished. It took ten minutes of silence before he falls into slumber.

It’s been two hours since he’s stuck here. Thirty minutes of nap and zero luck of finding edible foods. The refrigerator inside the safe room is nothing but less garbage. Worms crawl out, flies hurdled to it.

He places his things back to his holster reloaded and equipped. Gary, who’s physically and mentally tired allowed his body to fall and slump back to the wall and breathe heavily before going out for another chapter of the horrifying adventure. The company’s phone vibrates and the LED lightened up before declining back to silent. Gary thought that it was a bug not until the vibration he stiffened and chilled crawled to his spine. His composure returned and pick up, answering.

“Gary? Are you still their buddy?” Port asked.

“Yes!” Gary brightened. “I am well and still kicking to survive. Now, when will you plan to save me in this hell hole? And how there is an underground facility here?”

“This tunnel was built thirty years ago, during the War of Blights.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“You heard it right. Bastards from the east once take over the Vesoga Plain and build underground railways to gain an advantage against the united front army of the six countries. The army found out about this and bombarded the small facility upon the ground. Theodore and other investigators suggested that not all of them got killed in that incident. Instead, they were stuck here on the underground. The people left this hellhole but some mad scientists stayed here and continued their beloved research. Though, I think you can already guess what happened here.

“So, you’re saying that they got killed by their experiments?”

“That’s right and those experiments may be one of those creatures you have met.”

“That makes a lot of sense. I never recognize any of them.”

“Tell me, where are you now?”

“Right side of the lower level of the research and development section. I’m in a safe room.”

“Stay there. We’re coming to get you.”

“Wait! I kind of activate a system that summons a barrier, a thick layer of a barrier.”

“Why?”

“I was chased by a horde of freaking she-likes monsters.”

It was too late to warn them about the monsters. Gary could hear gunshots ringing through the phone. A few moments, the gunfire stops and he could hear the brisling sound of the breeze.

“Port. Hello. Is anybody there?” Someone coughs through the phone.

“We’re alive. Some of my men got minor injuries.”

“I’m glad that none of you were dead.”

“Thank you for not giving us a warning.”

“You are aware right, that we’re in an old abandoned station built during the War of Blights? Anything could happen here.”

“I know, smartass.” Port finally dropped the call. Gary noticed a shadow passing through the blurred window. He pulled out his handgun and unlocked its safe. It was held high straight into the door, waiting patiently, for the incoming intruder with the utmost vigilance to his surroundings.