Her hands shot up, the gun almost flying from her slippery grasp. Taking a deep breath, she steadied her shaking hands, waiting as the door lurched open and something stepped out.

  There, a young man with bright blonde hair appeared. He spotted her and raised his hands to the sky.

  “Please! Don’t shoot!”

  Gradually, Ashley stood up, keeping the gun trained on him.

  “Who are you!?” she asked.

  The boy swallowed, “You… you don’t know?”

  For a split second, his eye twitched, but maybe she had just imagined it.

  “How about you stop being a bitch and tell me!?” she retorted.

  “It’s me! Abel!” he whimpered, shrinking back as the gun pushed closer.

  Abel? Where had she heard—

  “Coffee boy?”

  Those words earned a meek nod from him.

  “Er… yes?”

  Ashley’s muscles relaxed, and she lowered the weapon, letting it hang at her side.

  “Wow. You look terrible!” she laughed, pointing a shaking finger at his disheveled hair.

  “So do—!" he began, but lost his voice as Ashley raised the gun again.

  His eyes locked onto the barrel, a bead of sweat dripping down his face.

  “Bang!”

  Abel jerked backward, curling into a small ball.

  “Ahaha! Look at you! So jumpy!”

  She stepped forward and flaunted the piece in her hands. “What? Scared I’ll shoot you?”

  Abel’s voice cracked, “Please! Please don’t!

  She took another step, “Hm… I don’t know. Maybe I will if you keep hiding like that!”

  Abel sprang up, his entire form racked with trembling. “Please!”

  It was just too easy. She very well could just pull the trigger right there. Boom! And he would be dead! But where was the fun in that? Look at him now — he was about to piss his pants! It was too funny. Way too funny.

  Not only that, her survival chances had just been boosted by a good amount. If it so happened that she ran into that thing again, here was a body that could be tossed. Her luck had finally kicked in.

  “Ok, Abel. I won’t shoot you. But you’re going to do everything I say. Got it?”

  Abel nodded rapidly, “Of course! Anything for you!”

  “Good boy,” she cooed, tapping the pistol against his head.

  Flinching at its cold metallic touch, Abel’s eyes darted between her and the weapon. Eyes that carried that stupid spark. She could see it; she wasn’t stupid. Just like the fat ass, he had hidden intentions. She would bet on it.

  Except she would keep an eye out if he ever showed a single notion that he would divert from her plans. Bang! It was an easy solution. She had the gun, and he had these wimpy little sticks for arms. So he wouldn’t be a problem.

  Affirming that he would comply, Ashley pivoted on her heel and crossed her arms. Now that she had a gun, she no longer needed the armory. which meant she no longer needed Schafer’s code. So everything was all peachy in the end.

  Now all she needed was to hide somewhere. A lab wasn’t good enough. Storage areas were too big. And anything security-related was too obvious. The monster would have an easy time finding her. Her time was running out.

  Nothing made sense. There wasn’t anywhere—

  “Um… Miss Sinclair?” Abel called.

  “Shut up. I’m thinking,” she snapped.

  But he continued anyway, his voice becoming unstable as he raised an arm, “There’s something over there…”

  Following his gaze, she spotted the source of his anxiety. A large shadow was consuming the wall, slowly expanding as that noise, that terrible noise, grew louder and louder.

  However, just as she was contemplating throwing the kid, it disappeared.

  She was not going to test her luck again.

  So it only made sense that she turned and ran.

  “Hey! Wait!”

  Ashley would say she had an active lifestyle. After all, without a workout now and then, how could she look this good? Despite that, she had done a little too much running today. Far more than usual.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  Adding onto the dull pain that still flared now and then, her legs felt sore and heavy, something that began to noticeably hinder her speed as Abel caught up.

  “Were you leaving me behind!?”

  Slowing her pace to catch her breath against the wall, Ashley shoved her gun into his face, “Shut up! Shut the fuck up!”

  This silenced him.

  What kind of question was that? A stupid one. She wasn’t leaving him behind. He was just slow at reacting. No… he was just trying to guilt her so that she would let her guard down. That’s when he would strike.

  But she wasn’t going to let him. No, there wouldn’t be a chance. She wouldn’t give him a chance. It would be easy. Pull the trigger and her problem would be gone. She would do it. She would. Just pull the-

  No.

  Calm down.

  He still had his use. Even if he were a ticking time bomb, she could use him. All she had to do was control him. Keep a firm grasp, and he wouldn’t even dare to think about it.

  Find a way out. She had to find a way out.

  “We’re finding a way out,” she muttered.

  “Uh… ok?”

  Ready to move again, she continued on. The elevator. They just had to find an elevator. She bet the entrance checkpoint guard would be an asshole like the other one. But she had a gun now. She could get what she wanted.

  Just try. Try to defy her again.

  Down here, to the right, and straight would… No, that wasn’t right. Left here? Right again? No… back, forward, left…

  No. This wasn’t right.

  “Miss Sinclair… where are we going?”

  Ashley’s arm flashed out, and she felt the impact as the gun hit his head. A heavy thunk sounded as metal met flesh. He let out a grunt of pain and fell to the floor, a new red imprint blooming on his cheek.

  “How many times do I have to fucking tell you!” she screeched. “Shut up! God, you’re so damn annoying! How is someone supposed to think when all they do is talk? I can’t fucking hear myself!”

  She was trying, she really was. But he was making it impossible. It was his fault they were lost. All because he wouldn’t shut up. It had distracted her, and now they were here. Stupid Abel. Stupid collapsed hallways. Stupid monster. And he had the audacity to lie there and keep groaning! He just wanted to die, didn’t he? She should just grant his wish!

  “STAND UP OR I'LL BLOW YOUR BRAINS OUT!”

  How dare he take his time, rubbing his face as he stood? Slow motherfucker, wasn’t he? Kill him. She was going to kill him. It wasn’t her fault she felt this way. People always made bad decisions around her. It wasn’t her job to save them from themselves.

  Ah, but she needed him… or did she? Maybe he wasn’t as useful as she thought. Perhaps shooting him dead here would be easier for her than keeping him around. After all, he was stressing her out. Kill… wait, there was someone else she could just kill.

  Striding off without bothering to check if Abel was following or not, Ashley retraced her steps and once again arrived at a large door. Except something was off. The window where his stupid face should’ve been was shattered. Impossible. Wasn’t it supposed to be bulletproof?

  Approaching it and peering through, she found him. Or what was left of him. What an asshole. Why did he have to die before she got the chance to do him in herself? It was beyond comprehension.

  There he was, slumped against the opposite window that was covered in blood and brain matter. While in his lap, a shiny little pistol, just like the one in her hands. Had he taken his own life? So he was a coward! He was scared of her! That was right!

  Behind her, she heard someone retch, and she turned to find Abel right beside her.

  “Are these… scratch marks?” he asked.

  What kind of question was that? He was really good at asking stupid questions. So what if there were long abrasions against the walls and door? How did that add to the situation? He really was just an idiot.

  “Who cares… the fucker's dead and we can’t open the door.” Ashley scoffed.

  His gaze traveled to the side door. “Can’t you just use your code?”

  Wow. He really was an idiot.

  Narrowing her eyes, Ashley’s grip tightened on her gun, “Don’t say anything like that ever again.”

  Stepping back, he cleared his throat, “Then… maybe we can reach the button through the window?”

  Reach through the window? They could do that; it was broken after all. A great idea. Compared to him, she was a genius. It was unfortunate that her arm couldn’t reach and she herself couldn’t fit. But another solution came to mind.

  Nodding her head, Ashley patted Abel’s back, “Yes… you could do that.”

  Abel froze, “I could… what?”

  “Go on. Hit the button," she said nonchalantly.

  “I… there’s no way I’ll fit!” he cried, waving his arms.

  Rolling her eyes, she gave him a little shove, “You can do it. I’m counting on you.”

  Grunting as he slammed against the wall, Abel’s brow furrowed. “No!”

  Hm… that wasn’t working.

  “Aww… but can’t you do it for me?” she purred, adding a sultry tone into her voice.

  But that seemed to have the opposite effect: “Fuck no!”

  Ok. He really wanted to die, didn’t he?

  “It’s not a fucking choice!” Ashley sneered, raising the gun to his forehead. “GET IN THERE!”

  The man’s skin became ghostly white as he swallowed. His forehead glittering with sweat as he slowly turned and placed his hand into the window. He really was a massive liar; he would definitely fit, so he shouldn't be complaining.

  But he was way too slow. The idiot seemed to be searching for the perfect handhold. It was only glass. Why was he being such a pussy? Time was valuable, and the longer he took, the longer that monster would have to kill them.

  So as he lifted himself up, she gave him a little help; that was all. Just to speed things up a tiny bit. Yet here she was being super generous, and what did he do in return?

  Scream.

  That was all he fucking did, and it was so damn annoying.

  There was a loud crunch as he hit the floor, as if his fall had been cushioned by a thin layer of ice. But that couldn’t be the case, because why would there have been ice just lying there? So he was just overexaggerating it for attention.

  “Hey, stop being such a bitch and hit the button!” she kindly suggested.

  But no, he just kept screaming. Complete dumbass. And when he finally got to his feet, he had to curse and whine! She didn’t care about the red that stained his clothes. Oh, so he fell into a puddle of the guard’s blood? So what!

  Maybe he just needed some motivation.

  Bang!

  The guard’s head jerked back, a new hole punching through its skull.

  “FUCK! FUCK! YOU REALLY FUCKING SHOT!” Abel squealed, falling back down.

  “AND IT'LL BE YOU IF YOU DON’T SPEED IT UP!” she threatened.

  That got him motivated.

  Letting out a guttural cry, he shot up and slammed his hand down onto the button. Before slumping down, crying, and whimpering like a bitch. As the door creaked open, Ashley redirected the gun towards the dipshit.

  She had enough. Clearly his annoying ass wasn’t worth it. It wasn’t her fault. He had done this himself. For being annoying. For being stupid. For being born. So he had to die. That was it; that was all. Goodbye~

  Squeezing the trigger tighter and tighter, then ban—

  “Ash?”