The rusted metal of the fire escape groaned under his weight as Kai began to climb. Each step felt precarious, the bolts holding the structure to the brick wall looking ancient and unreliable. He didn't dare look down. His focus was entirely on the window of the third-floor landing, the lowest accessible point.
Elara lived on the fourth floor. He'd have to get inside and take the stairs for the last flight.
The sounds of the city's destruction were slightly muffled in the back lot, but they were still a constant, terrifying symphony of screams, crashes, and inhuman shrieks. He moved as quickly and quietly as he could, the Broodguard Plate on his arm giving him a small, almost foolish sense of security.
He reached the third-floor window. It was a thick, wire-reinforced pane of glass meant to deter break-ins. His heart sank. He couldn't smash it without making a huge amount of noise. He tried the latch, praying for a miracle, but it was locked tight.
Think. Don't force what you can finesse. The swordsman's echo was a calming presence.
He examined the frame. It was old, the wood slightly warped and softened by years of rain. The lock was a simple, cheap latch. He took the tip of his saber, the rusted metal surprisingly steady in his hand, and began to work it into the thin gap between the window and the frame. He levered it gently, putting pressure on the latch. Metal scraped against metal. For a tense moment, nothing happened. Then, with a quiet click, the latch gave way.
Kai let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. He slid the window open just enough to squeeze through and tumbled into the third-floor hallway of the apartment building.
The interior was chaos. The lights flickered erratically, casting long, dancing shadows down the corridor. Furniture from the communal landing area was overturned, and a large crack, similar to the ones outside, pulsed with a faint purple light on the far wall. The air was thick with the smell of ozone and dust.
He was in a danger zone.
He drew his saber, the faint outline of the shield on his other arm a welcome comfort. He crept toward the stairwell, his footsteps silent on the grime-covered linoleum. The building was eerily quiet, a stark contrast to the hellscape outside. It was the kind of quiet that felt wrong, like a predator holding its breath.
As he reached the stairwell door, he heard it. A faint, rhythmic scratching sound from the floor above.
Scritch. Scrape. Scritch.
It was coming from the fourth floor. From the direction of Elara's apartment.
His blood ran cold. He took the stairs two at a time, his saber held at the ready. The scratching grew louder, more frantic. It was accompanied by a low, wet gurgling sound.
He emerged onto the fourth-floor landing and saw it. Crouched in front of apartment 4B—Elara's apartment—was a creature he hadn't seen before. It was small, no bigger than a dog, with pale, almost translucent skin stretched tight over a skeletal frame. It had a slug-like body but moved on two spindly, bird-like legs, using two longer, clawed arms to tear at the wood of the door.
A blue box identified the threat.
[Grave Imp - Level 1]
It was weak, but it was trying to get to his sister. A hot, protective rage flared in Kai's chest.
The Imp was so focused on the door it didn't notice him until he was almost upon it. It turned its head, its face a mess of needle-like teeth and two large, black, unblinking eyes. It let out a gurgling hiss and lunged.
Kai didn't even need the echo's guidance. He sidestepped the clumsy attack and brought his saber down in a single, clean chop. The blade cleaved through the Imp's thin neck with ease, its head tumbling to the floor. The body stood for a second, then collapsed, dissolving into blue particles before it even landed.
[You have slain a Level 1 Grave Imp.]
[XP Gained: 10]
[XP: 55/200 to Lvl. 5]
He absorbed the tiny core it left behind, his eyes fixed on the deep gashes in the door of apartment 4B.
"Elara!" he called out, his voice strained. He knocked on the damaged wood. "Elara, it's me! It's Kai! Are you in there?"
Silence. For a heart-stopping moment, he thought he was too late.
Then, a faint, trembling voice came from the other side. "Kai? Is... is it really you?"
"Yes! It's me! I'm here," he said, relief washing over him. "Are you okay? Open the door."
"I can't," she sobbed. "I pushed the big bookcase in front of it. I can't move it."
He put his shoulder to the door. It barely budged. "Okay, stay calm. I'm going to help you. We'll move it together. On the count of three, we both push. Ready?"
He heard a muffled "Okay" from inside.
"One... two... THREE!"