The growls and roars of the unknown beast approach closer to her door. She can hear its rampage as it barges into other rooms, breaking down doors, and forcing the screams of its victims to come after. The beast sniffs, smelling any trace or scent that could be near. From the sounds being expelled alone, Lilith realized the dire situation she was in.
"W-what do I do, what do I do????" Lilith said to herself as she panicked on her balcony.
"Please, I don't want to die, I don't want to die."
"Why, why, why me? Why my apartment?"
"Why, why, why?" Her mind spiraled, with every second flooding her mind with thoughts on what her next move should be. Every second, her chest pounded with fear as the growls grew louder, and louder, and louder. She could feel the footsteps approaching her door, until…
Shock.
Instantly, the fear was alleviated. She could think clearly and focus on what her first task would be, and if she wanted to finish it, she'd need to deal with it quickly before her nerves got the best of her again. The door banged with great force. Lilith immediately took action, taking advantage of the neural shocks that were calming her nerves down, and pushed the refrigerator by the door to buy her some time. Soon after this, another barge had occurred on the door, with a lot more force, which had rocked the refrigerator. This was then followed by a strange murmur from the creature.
"Ḫ̶̱̑͊ẻ̶̛̳̭̳L̸̩͎̙̫̗̟͔͚̗̈P̵̨̜̙͌.̶̙̙̹̯̤͖̘͂̓̒̉̾͘ͅ.̵̡̨̧̢̩͉̳͚̍̀̉͘ ̷̨̦͐̌̐̐ḿ̶̯̙͍̩̜̿̒̋̓̀͘ͅE̵̝͉̺̱̮͌͐͗̍̊͊͋̕.̸̻͍̪͎̥͚̈́͋.̴̢̡̛̙̘̞̟͎̦̋̃̒̎̄̈̓͜?̸͓̜͍̬̃̃̃" She could almost make out clearly what the beast said, but it was terrifying.
"One.. strike.. and it already rocked the refrigerator..?" Lilith stood in disbelief.
"N-no, I need to move, or else I'm going to run out of time." She grabbed a jar off the counter and hid behind her bedroom door. She was in the slums after all, and front doors were never too strong.
Bang
The creature's cries of agony for help only grew louder and louder.
Bang
In an instant, the refrigerator was knocked down, with the front door being destroyed. Soon, entered what she could only infer to be the "scraper" as she heard it from the sirens, in all its blazing, disgusting, and terrifying glory. It sniffed around the living area of her apartment, nothing. Soon, it scouted the kitchen, knocking pots and pans as it walked by the racks. With nowhere else to go and a soul full of bloodthirsty hunger, it made its way to the bedroom.
Through the crack of the bedroom door, she could spot the creature making its way to her location. Out of fear, she grabbed the jar she had taken from the counter tightly as she threw it onto the floor. It was the jar of Skän, and it might have just saved her life in that moment.
In an instant, the beast followed the jar as it crashed onto the ground, as the scent of the vermin bits attracted the beast. Without hesitation, Lilith rushed out of the bedroom and bolted for the door.
As she ran through the hallway on her floor, she could feel her legs getting heavier and heavier because of the adrenaline. Minutes later, the shrieks of the beast could be heard charging down the halls, and as Lilith looked back, it was right on her tail.
"This is it," Lilith said as she stumbled onto the ground.
Until…
"GET DOWN!" A voice yelled, soon followed by gunfire. Lilith felt another shock and jittered off to the side, narrowly dodging the rounds. She looked behind her as she saw a Gainan trooper holding what seemed to be a light machine gun, as he lit up the dim halls with his rapid gunfire.
"DIE YOU DAMN VERMIN! FALL TO YOUR KNEES BY THE GLORY OF GAINAS! DIE, DIE YOU WRETCHED BEAST!" He yelled as he approached closer and closer to the creature. The recoil of the weapon was so strong, it had knocked the trooper's pistol out of his holster as well. The beast could not bear to do anything but cover its face as its hardened skin was slowly chipped and grazed off. It shrieked in a blood-curdling pitch as the trooper marched closer and closer. On his head, a primed helmet colored in gray, as he seemed to be wearing the standard-issue set of armor for Gainan troopers, except for one key detail, which Lilith noticed while she looked back at him: his insignia took the shape of a pentagon.
Seconds later, the beast had finally faltered under the pressure, as it bolted back to the broken window it had broken into, disappearing into the darkness of the slums.
"Glad that we've finally gotten you back, Lilith Varie. Follow me, we need you to evacuate from this site immediately." The trooper said as he holstered his machine gun.
"N-no," Lilith said as she picked up the pistol that had fallen onto the ground, pointing it towards the trooper in a shaking-hasty manner. "T-tell me right now what that thing was, w-why I am here, and w-what has happened to this world. Who even are you…?" After this was said, the trooper stopped dead in his tracks.
"Sigh, if I were you, I would lower that pistol-"
"I-I HAVE THE GUN! A-ANSWER ME!" Lilith said as her hands shook from the fear, knowing very well that she did not understand how to operate such a weapon.
"Fine." The trooper said. For a moment, time felt like it had slowed down as Lilith trieed understanding the situation.
"I am Corporal Lansk of the Gainan Viscorps. A regiment you don't know, and will not need to know about for now. Down there will be my brothers, Darius with his flamethrower, and Split with his gladius. Now, unless you want to perish like the rest of your neighbors on this floor, I suggest you put down the weapon and move."
The trooper escorted Lilith outside the apartment complex, where they were met by the two other troopers Darius and Split, both donning the Pentagon insignia.
"This is the girl we need to rescue?" Asked Split.
"Indeed, protect her with our lives." Lansk then replied.
"Pro-protect me?! For what??" Lilith asked in fear.
"That is something you are not yet ready to understand," Darius said as he walked by her and patted her on the shoulder.
"Alright, team, move out into the gates of Studos, protect the girl, and fend off the swarm!" Lansk ordered, with the men agreeing to his every word.
When they ran across the blood-riddled streets, the battle between mankind and mutation still commenced. On rooftops, Lilith glanced as Regan soldiers held their ground with machine fire. On the streets then ran by, she saw Studon Hospitallers tending to those injured. By the slum ceilings, she spotted scrapers by the system wires being lit up into the sky. As she was running by with the troopers, she decided to get answers out of them.
"H-hey, what the hell are those?" She asked.
"They're sunscrapers, or scrapers! Mutated humans who follow pure instinct, caused by the burning radiation of the wars above." Lansk said, despite not laying a single eye on the girl. Unexpectedly, their squad was ambushed by a group of scrapers.
"BURN LIKE HELL YOU FLESH BEASTS!" the Brother Darius yelled as he took the frontlines of the squad, lighting the scrapers up with gasoline and pure vigor.
"Lilith, get back behind me!" The Lansk ordered, as he tore holes through the mutated flesh freaks."
"BROTHER!" Split cried in pain, as Lilith and the others turned in horror. "LEAVE ME HERE! BRING THE GIRL TO STUDOS NOW!" he said as a pack of scrapers had already severed his arm and punctured his stomach.
Without hesitation, the three ran through the thronged streets, blasting through any adversary they found ahead of them. On the way, Lilith glanced upon severed hands, limbs, and heads covered in blood where troops once stood. She noticed as the hospitallers struggled more and more each second, and soon, she noticed that she was finally in front of the gate of Studos.