The girl sat on an upright metal box amidst the maelstrom of fire. Her legs kicked the air playfully as she whistled an energetic, marching tune. Her flag stood tall beside her, a beacon of her hope. Around her, the ceiling caved in and the ground cracked. Plaster chunks fell, revealing their metal frame. The once white-grey wallpaper was now scorched black.

Still, the girl did not move. She did not stop her cheer. Why would she, when her victory was all but ensured? The exits were sealed. Those that could fight were now part of her own. The survivors were trapped inside her little world, where her friends would reach out and guide them towards their wondorous, shared home.

Flames crackled and iron melted. The song reached its chorus as a second drug lab detonated, sending multiple shout ringing out before they melted into the cacophony around her.

That’s when I stepped into her view at the edge of the flames, hands held up. The girl stood up from her box, grabbed hold of her flag and turned towards me.

“Hello, mister Kyle.” She said, waving. Trickles of fire crawled up and down her freckled cheeks. Embers and ash particles clustered around her like a cloud of bees. Her flag fluttered, as if the extreme heat were its wind.

My lips were cracked dry as a desert. My lungs cried for moisture. It hurt to stand, never mind move. “Hi, Lisa.” I said back, raising a hand.

Status Effect Acquired: Heat Exhaustion. -1 to STRENGTH and WILLPOWER!

Burn damage from fire! -8 HP!

“You’re back. I take it you’ve changed your mind?” The girl said. I didn’t miss her steadily growing excitement, coupled with a hint of smugness.

“Yeah. I surrender, Lisa.” I said, nodding. “Burn me, wrap me with that flag and save me…whatever the hell you’re doing, I want in.”

“You don’t have to word it so harshly. We’re just trying to help, after all.” The girl said, pouting. “Oh, never mind. I’m super glad you’ve decided to see reason. It’s a more comfortable experience this way. But I must ask, what changed your mind?”

“Stuck in a burning building makes a guy think of all the horrible shit he’s done.” The memories flashed through my head. Slugging alcohol and hard drugs, then smashing up a bar because a guy joked about my hair. Murdering corporate executives in exchange for cold hard cash. Blowing up a car at the behest of a fixer’s vendetta, only to find that innocent lives were inside, then trying to brush it off in front of my little sister. I coughed. “I’m tired. I wanted out, Lisa.”

Burn damage from fire! -9 HP!

“I understand. You’ll be free of that pain soon enough. You’ll shine, magnificent and radiant, then soar to a place beyond your imagination.” The girl said. “Where are the rest? Did they not come with you?”

“I don’t know.” I said. “Hey, can you hurry up? Otherwise, the smoke is gonna kill me before you get a chance to do whatever.”

“Can you kneel down for me? It’ll make things easier.”

I complied. Turns out kneeling on a hot floor isn’t pleasant. I clenched my teeth and endured it, regardless.

Burn damage from fire! -10 HP!

[HP: 94/121]

“Thank you, mister Kyle! I’m coming right over!”

The girl shouted in her unintelligible language. The flames parted backward like a retreating tide. Sweet relief washed over me as they took some of the heat with them. The girl picked her flag and walked over. She stopped in her tracks halfway. I glanced up.

“Hold on, Mister Kyle, one last thing.” She called. “Can you please hand over your knife to one of my friends.”

A few seconds of silence. “Why?” I asked.

“Because you might hurt yourself with it! You might try something silly in your panic, such as slicing through my precious flag.” She placed a hand to her open mouth, waggling her index finger on the other. “We can’t have that, not when we’re so close. And don’t get any funny ideas about hiding it in with that magic trick of yours.”

“Fine.” I took out my knife from my pocket and tossed it into the fire. It smoldered there, the blade beginning to glow orange-red in the fire. “There. Are you happy now? Can we start?”

“Coming right over, mister!” The girl said with a smile. “Please hold still.”

The girl approached. Three metres. The emblem on her uniform flashed in the firelight. Two metres. My hands were placed out in front of me in faux prayer. She was the clean, radiant savior and I was the ragged, downtrodden fool, led astray and now in need of guidance.

One metre. Tears tripped from my stinging eyes. They dried in a flash. The girl gripped the flagpole with both hands. She lifted the implement high, drew back and began to swing.

Now!

I jumped to my feet and sprang forward. Then, I called in my mind: INTERFACE-OS, upgrade my stats!

My vision drowned in monochrome grey. The electric-blue stat menu flashed into view. Behind it, the flag swam through the air like a torpedo. It and the rest of the world slowed down within this distorted timeframe. But my mind wasn’t. I observed. I analyzed. The Impurity girl stood in front of me, blocking off the corridor with her flames. A patch of uncovered ground was between us both. Enough space lay between the flag and the ground for a boy to fit through.

STRENGTH and DEXTERITY. Now!

Upgrade complete! Your STRENGTH has been increased to 8! Your DEXTERITY has been increased to 9! Due to status effects, your current STRENGTH is 7.

The slowed time stopped and I threw every ounce of remaining energy into rolling beneath the flag’s breadth. The girl gasped as the cloth dangled into thin air I thrust a punch upwards, hitting the pole with my knuckles. The thing was flung off balance for a moment. It was enough. It was within the girl’s range.

It’s what the other gangers who tried to fight her had failed.

Inventory, give me my fire extinguisher!

I cooked like a roast chicken in her impure zone, bleeding vitality by the second, but the look of terror and shock coating the girl’s face gave me the pure satisfaction needed to finish this. Down went the trigger on the fire extinguisher. A wave of cloud-white foam blasted from the nozzle

The reaction was instantaneous. An ear-piercing shriek burst out of the girl as the foam drenched her entire body. It seeped between the fabric of her clothes, sticking them to her skin. The fires coating her were snuffed out.

“No, no, no!” She wailed. “It hurts! It hurts! Why, mister?”

Her skin was blistering, tearing apart, sloughing off in piles, as if I had just dunked her in a vat of industrial-grade acid. She scrabbled at herself, frantically trying to tear off her uniform, only succeeding into spreading the foam further. My knee shut her up.

How does it feel now, you rancid bitch?

Can’t believe she fell for the same trick I pulled with that kid in the basement. Guess she wasn’t a very bright murderous, impure monster.

The nozzle clicked and the foam sputtered out. The chamber was empty. I threw the object at her forehead, where it bounced off into the darkness. The girl staggered back, stunned by the agony. I wasn’t done yet. My Inventory had two slots, remember? Out came my new gun. I inhaled, ignoring the sting of the smoke, aimed and fired.

Two months and a new body since I last fired a gun. Each shot sent kickback with the strength of a horse. My knees shuddered and threatened to tip me over. The rear end of the gun almost smacked me in the head. But at this range, it was almost impossible to miss.

The right side of her head exploded into chunks. Gaping holes in the torso ejected more of that golden liquid onto the hot ground. The fire around her rushed to fill the gaps, just as I expected. The healing rate was fast, but my new handgun was faster.I blasted more holes into her body down to the last bullet. Goodbye lower torso, shoulders and left leg.

I reached for a fresh mag when the girl suddenly charged forward, swinging her flag.

“How dare you! How dare you refuse my friends! I’ll end you, you dastard!” She roared. But the damage was done. A single whack with the butt of my gun toppled her. A huge glob of internal fluid spilled from her brains and spilled across the floor. That’s when I saw my knife lying nearby. The fire covering it had been used up to heal the girl. I grabbed it.

Burn damage from plastic! -12 HP!

My next swing was dead on target. The fingers on the girl’s right flew right off into the fire. The flag fell to the ground. Then, it was gone, kicked into a corner and out of reach. A yelp of surprise, then reality clicked in. She stumbled back, fear in her eyes. Her face blistered purple and half her skull was torn to pieces, but I’d seen enough fixer deals to know that look of pure dreadful loss.

“No! Please mister, don’t! Mercy!” The girl cried. I responded by driving the knife into her gut. She sank to her knees.

Every mercenary combats the nature of humanity in their career. It’s inevitable when you begin the day brushing your teeth and end it by shooting a poor bastard unlucky to have reacted a second slower. The lives taken are thrown into a great metaphysical pile in the recesses of a merc’s mind. It’s what confronts him on sleepless nights The bullets, the blood money, the broken families and regions caused by his work as a cog in the great war machine.

The details of what happens after are unimportant. A merc only reacts that way because he understands he’s hurting his fellow man—an entity capable of sharing the same desires as him. Love and hate, violence and peace, altruism and greed. A merc thinks no such thing when he kills an animal. They’re lesser creatures in the food chain, after all. He might, however, empathize with one regardless.

This girl in front of me—flagbearer, monster, Impurity—was neither. She bled like a dying horse, wailed like a frightened little girl and thrashed like a hostage. The word ‘inhumane’ is thrown around a lot by fools who lack experience. Yet, there was no other word I could find to describe the girl’s actions on that day.

So I grabbed her by the cuff of her uniform, pulled out my knife with a squelch and plunged it straight into her neck.

A critical hit! +12 EXP!

Jugular vein. Catroid artery. Each wound I inflicted splashed up more faux-blood. It coated me, burning my skin, inflicting pain on nerves I thought were already long gone.

Burn damage from fire! -8 HP!

My desire to see the girl dead in the ground was stronger. The messages kept flashing, warning me of the damage. I felt nothing in return.

Burn damage from fire! -5 HP!

Burn damage from fire! -6 HP!

[HP: 63/121]

Cut the tendons, so her arms are disabled. Pierce the lungs, so she cannot breathe.

I stabbed her eye and gouged it like a slice of meat at a barbecue. The girl reacted, of course. She flailed around, attempting to push me off her. A punch to the chest put that to rest. Her movements became weak punches and kicks, then weak quivers lacking all drive.

Burn damage from fire! -10 HP!

Warning! Your HP is below 50%. Be careful!

Burn damage from fire! -7 HP!

Critical hit! +12 EXP!

I gave her one final slash and the tip of my knife hit hard bone. Her body fell limb, the head twisted off to the side. Her entire neck had been gored to pieces. Only strips of skin and outer flesh kept the head from rolling off to the side. The sight of her corpse wavered in my vision. I blinked. The handgun dropped from the Inventory into my hand.

When I blinked again, I was smashing the butt of the weapon into her skull over and over until a crack rang out. It resonated with something inside me. I slumped back, panting and sweating.

Is it over now? Did I win? God, please tell me I won!

IMPURITY SUPPRESSED.

Gained 120 EXP and 500 Alexandrite!

Level up! Congratulations, you are now level 4! Maximum HP increased by 13! HP has been restored by 25! Acquired 2 Upgrade Points!

Achievement Unlocked: First Impurity Suppressed! Gained 200 Alexandrite!

“I won!” I shouted. My arm flopped towards the beaten girl. A hacking wheeze escaped my throat in place of laugh. “I beat you, you fucking monster! Stay dead, damn it…”

So, was I done? Could I finally leave this hellhole? Now that the girl was dead, would the flames disappear?

Turns out, they didn’t. They continued to rage in the distance, still emitting smoke and ash. Are you serious? I’m gonna have to escape this place myself.

I tottered to my feet. Adrenaline left my system and exhaustion settled in. Unpleasant, but not unfamiliar. I propped myself on the wall and made to drag myself back down the corridor when a chunk of ceiling cracked apart and dropped straight onto my shoulder. I collapsed like a sack of bricks.

And then a chunk of ceiling fell down, hitting my shoulder. Something within my shoulder crunched. I flopped to the ground.

Hit by debris! -25 HP!

Burn damage from fire! -12 HP!

Status Affect Acquired: Paralysis! Your right side cannot move. -3 to AGILITY!

Warning! Your HP is below 25%! If you don’t restore your HP now, you will die soon!

Move, you stupid body! Get up and go!

But no matter how much I struggled inside, my muscles refused to move. I couldn’t do more than crawl a few inches across the ground. The damage kept on piling up.

Burn damage from fire! -12 HP!

Status effect Smoke Inhalation has evolved into Greater Smoke Inhalation! -3 to ENDURANCE and AGILITY!

Blackness corroded the edges of my vision. A heartbeat jerked back and forth through my hearing. Another familiar sensation. The thought of it made it desperately, awfully sick.

Burn damage from fire! -14 HP!

CRITICAL WARNING! Your HP is below 10%! Death is imminent!

Why…why is this happening? After I had endured so much, putting effort in blood and tears, why was this my last final reward? Damn it, I couldn’t die here! I was a complete and utter bastard, but there were so many things I planned for my younger body.

Please, god, anyone, get me out of this! I want to live. I want to see the world with a proper set of eyes. I have to apologize to Emily!

The wall at the end of the corridor fell down. At first, I thought it was truly the end; what could I do if the entire building crashed around me? Then, several figures burst through the dust. Each one wore a suit of dark combat armor covered with orange trimmings. Two of them let loose with sprays canisters attached to their backs. The same foam I spread earlier blew through the second floor in droves. One of the others rushed over to me, shouting something about a ‘live one’.

I was picked up and hauled out of the burning hell into fresh, cool air. A night sky dotted with artificial lights greeted me. A plane sailed around and past my view as I was laid down on a stretcher. A pair of strong hands pressed up and down on my body. CPR. I was saved.

As I fell unconscious, I caught sight of the logo on my savior’s uniform. It was a globe cradled by a pair of firm hands.

IEHAR

IST-Beth-7: FIREWATCH

Mission: COMPLETE!

Gained 100 EXP, 500 Alexandrite, 200 $NF and 5x Item Draw Tickets

Congratulations for passing the first stage of the Tutorial, user Kyle Licht! Your performance will be evaluated for the appropriate Skills and Perks. Look forward to them when you wake up!