Chapter 23 – Bound (Part 6)
The noises sent chills down the trio's spines. They froze in place, looking left and right in dismay. That sound meant one thing, and one thing only.
'More rats!!' they thought to themselves as they stared into the darkness. The noises grew louder and louder all around them — on the walls, and even on the ceiling. It made their ears ring and the hairs on their skin stand.
Then, out of that abyss, they saw the first few shapes rushing through the rows of shelves toward them.
"Turn the flashlight on, now!" Alex yelled.
Emi nodded quickly, pulling out her phone and switching on the light — blinding everyone for a brief moment. Their eyes adjusted just in time to see the first creatures lunge at them.
BANG!
Alex swung the iron rod, slamming one of the monsters into the ground ruthlessly. Two more attacked Emi and Evan, who managed to deal with them — albeit with some difficulty.
"They're so huge! These are far from normal rats!" Emi yelled, terror in her voice.
The rats were at least twice the size of a normal rodent, with sharper teeth and enormous, blood-red eyes. Even seeing one dead made her skin crawl.
Unfortunately, they all knew this was only the beginning — what was coming next would be far worse.
Out of the ceaseless darkness, more and more rats emerged — not three or four, but dozens. The massive creatures attacked like an army, swarming toward the trio. The sight was chilling; the sound of their claws and squeals filled every inch of the air.
"We need to leave, now!" Alex shouted. "Get what we've collected!!"
"What about the monsters outs—"
"It doesn't matter! We'll force our way through!" he yelled, grabbing one of the trolleys and pushing it toward the door. But by then, the rats had already reached them and attacked.
"AGH!" Alex felt one latch onto his back. He quickly grabbed it and yanked it off before it could bite him.
Meanwhile, Emi and Evan were rapidly getting surrounded. But they didn't stop — they ran forward, grabbed the other two trolleys, and turned around. The rats swarmed in, encircling them.
"Emi!"
"Right on it!" she shouted.
Channeling her Aether, she raised her hands. A faint hum filled the air before a translucent, magical barrier formed around them, engulfing the trio in a shimmering bubble.
The monsters slammed into it and bounced back — but they didn't stop. They attacked again with even more vigor, piling on top of one another, trying to break through with sheer force.
"Aaaa…." Emi groaned in agony, pain surging through every nerve in her body as she tried to maintain the barrier. It felt as though a million ants crawled under her skin, biting into her very flesh.
"Woah…" Alex gasped, both horrified and amazed. 'So this is her skill? Wow…'
The barrier looked sturdy yet eerily translucent — like glass that could shatter at any moment.
"Let's go! We can't wait any longer!"
"Okay, okay!"
With that, the trio advanced through the storage room as the sea of rats grew around them. Dozens became hundreds, then thousands. The sound was deafening, the pressure unrelenting. Emi clenched her teeth, trembling in pain as she fought to keep the barrier intact.
"Hold on, Emi!" Evan shouted. "We're almost out!"
"I'm… trying!" she said through gritted teeth. 'They're biting through… it's going to crack…'
Her arms shook violently, beads of sweat dripping down her face. A second later, the first crack splintered across the barrier as they reached the doors.
"Open a gap for us, Emi!"
"I'm… trying!!!"
Using every ounce of focus she had left, she opened a small gap. Alex immediately kicked the gates open — and what waited outside made their blood run cold.
The Undead were there, groaning and waiting. The moment they saw the group, they howled and rushed forward.
But then, in a horrifying twist, the rats burst from the doorway like a black flood — leaping onto the Undead and dragging them down. The horde piled on top of the corpses, gnawing, tearing, consuming.
The sound of flesh being ripped apart echoed through the building.
In mere seconds, the three Undead were gone — nothing remained, not even bones or scraps of clothing.
"Oh my god…" Alex covered his mouth, eyes wide in horror.
"Snap out of it! We're leaving!!" Evan shouted, slapping his shoulder and pushing forward.
"Y-Yeah!" Alex stammered, shaking himself back to focus. The three continued running, chased by the endless tide of rats. Cracks spread through Emi's barrier like veins across glass.
"How much longer can you hold on?!"
"A few… a few more seconds, I think!"
'We won't make it with just a few seconds!' Evan thought grimly, scanning around. They had descended to the third floor — now in the kitchen. The swarm was everywhere.
The distance to the first floor was still large, and no nearby exits were in sight. If the barrier broke here, they were dead.
Then, his eyes caught something — a door.
"Let's go there!" he yelled, pushing the trolley ahead. "We'll hide in the bathroom!"
"O-Okay!" Alex nodded. The trio rushed in, hauling their supplies. Once inside, they slammed the door shut and locked it.
The rats rammed into it immediately — a few even squeezed through the gap before the door fully closed.
At that moment, the barrier shattered, and Emi collapsed to the floor. Alex grabbed his rod and began crushing the rats that had made it through.
"Help me, Evan!"
The boy drew his weapon and stabbed at the rodents until none were left alive. The floor was littered with small, twitching corpses.
"Are there any more?!" Alex shouted.
"No, I think… we got them all," Evan panted, then turned to Emi. "Are you okay?"
She looked like she'd just run a marathon, sweat pouring down her face. But she nodded weakly. "I'm… okay…"
"Dammit! Why are there so many rats in that place?! It makes no sense!" Alex slammed his fist against the wall.
"It could be the result of whatever's happening to the world right now," Evan replied grimly. "That number of rats isn't normal anywhere. I have a hunch Aether made their ability to reproduce and grow far more potent."
They had all seen the effect Aether had on life itself — the idea of these rats forming a vast, murderous hive mind wasn't hard to believe.
"What do we do now? We're completely stuck here, and those things will probably break through sooner or later," Alex said. "Jack and Luna are still outside, being chased by the Undead."
No matter how he looked at it, the situation was catastrophic. They'd agreed to be out in five minutes — and if not, to escape no matter what. Now, they could do neither.
They were truly and utterly trapped.
Meanwhile, outside the building…