**BOOM.**
They landed on the next rooftop. Sable's knees buckled. His burnt arm screamed. His entire body was *vibrating* from the explosive acceleration.
Bang released his coat. Spun around. Grinning like a maniac.
"*THAT* was a good one! Did you see—"
"Your feet," Sable gasped. "Your feet are—"
He stared.
Bang's boots were scorched black. Smoke still rising from the soles in thin, wispy trails. The leather was cracked, peeling away in places where the heat had been most intense.
But underneath—when Bang shifted his weight and Sable caught a glimpse—the skin looked *fine*. Pale. Undamaged. Like the explosions that should have charred flesh to bone somehow just… didn't.
Sable's blue eye catalogued automatically: *No tissue damage. No burns. No nerve degradation. Grace adaptation? Impossible—Grace doesn't modify base physiology unless—*
His brown eye just thought: *What the fuck.*
"Oh yeah." Bang looked down. Wiggled his toes inside the ruined boots. "These lasted longer than the last pair. Maybe three hours?" He said it like commenting on weather. "Might be a record."
"The explosions don't burn you."
"Nope!" Bang kicked the air to demonstrate.
**BOOM.**
The explosion erupted from his sole. The boot leather didn't even flinch this time—already too damaged to register new destruction. But Bang's leg was steady. No tremor. No sign of pain.
"Took like six months to stop hurting myself," Bang continued, landing smoothly. "Now it's just—" He shrugged. "—easy."
"That's not how Grace—"
A screech cut through the air.
Not from below.
From *above*.
Sable's head snapped up.
Wings. Massive. Leathery. Stretched between arms that bent wrong. Three creatures circled overhead—bodies the size of dogs, faces that might have been human once, teeth filling mouths that split their skulls horizontally.
"Oh *shit*," Bang breathed. Not scared. *Excited*. "Flying ones!"
"What—"
"Used to be hawks! Or eagles!" Bang pointed. His voice dropped. "Beautiful birds, man. Now they're just—" He gestured at the circling abominations. "—*this*."
One of them dove.
Straight at Sable.
He raised the metal rod—the one he'd used on the orange-haired man, still gripped in his left hand—and *swung*.
Connected. The creature shrieked. Veered off. But didn't fall.
"Tougher than Droplings!" Bang kicked upward.
**BOOM.**
The explosion caught the second diving creature mid-flight. It *disintegrated*. Wings and bone fragments scattering across the rooftop like wet confetti.
"Two down!" Bang landed. Already spinning toward the third. "Man, I'm getting *hungry*. Gonna need food after—"
The third creature was *fast*. Dove from a different angle. Claws extended. Aiming for Bang's exposed back.
"*BEHIND YOU!*" Sable lunged. Swung the rod.
Caught the creature across its skull. *Crack*. The impact jarred his arms. The creature hit the rooftop. Twitched.
Sable brought the rod down. Again. Again. *Again.*
Until it stopped moving.
His chest heaving. Blood—creature's blood, black and viscous—splattered across his face.
Bang turned. Looked at the corpse. Then at Sable.
"*Nice!*" He said it like Sable had just pulled off a perfect combo in a video game. "You got good instincts with that thing."
Sable didn't respond. Just stood there. Rod in hand. Breathing hard. His blue eye tracking the remaining screeches in the distance. His brown eye fixed on the blood covering his hands.
*Efficient. Clinical. Survival.*
*That's what this is.*
*Not heroism. Not protection. Just—*
More screeches. From below. From above. From *everywhere*.
"Yeah okay talking later!" Bang grabbed his coat. "Seriously though—we find shelter soon, I'm raiding whatever kitchen we can find. These kicks are *draining*." He patted his stomach. "Running on fumes here."
**BOOM.**
They launched. Another rooftop. This one lower. Closer to street level.
Behind them: the horde. Climbing. Flying. *Hunting*.
Sable's legs hit the new rooftop running. His burnt arm was barely functional. The rod felt like it weighed fifty pounds. His vision was tunneling at the edges.
*Can't keep this up. Can't—*
Bang was already three rooftops ahead. Moving like gravity was optional. Each kick propelling him forward in explosive bursts that covered impossible distances.
**BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.**
He looked back. Saw Sable falling behind.
"Come *on*! You're so *slow*!"
"I'M NOT SLOW!" Sable screamed. "YOU'RE USING *EXPLOSIONS*!"
"EXACTLY!" Bang's laugh carried back through the rain. "BEST DECISION I EVER MADE!"
A winged Torrent-born dove from the left.
Sable swung. Missed. The creature's claws raked across his shoulder. Not deep. Just enough to *hurt*. To add another injury to the collection.
He stumbled. Caught himself. Kept running.
*Keep moving. Just keep moving. Don't stop. Don't think. Just—*
The rooftop ended.
Ten-foot gap to the next building.
*Too far. Can't make it. Can't—*
He jumped anyway.
His legs screamed. His burnt arm hung useless at his side. The rod tumbled from nerveless fingers.
He wasn't going to make it.
His hands hit the edge of the far rooftop. Fingers scrabbling. Finding purchase. Barely.
His body slammed against the wall. Air left his lungs in a rush.
He was *slipping*. The bandages on his burnt arm unraveling. Fresh blood making everything slick.
*Fuck. Fuck fuck FUCK—*
A hand grabbed his wrist.
*Yanked*.
Sable flew upward. Landed on the rooftop. Rolled. Came to rest on his back.
Staring up at grey sky and black rain.
Bang's face appeared above him. Grinning. "You almost died!"
"I *noticed*," Sable gasped.
"That was *close*! Like—super close!" Bang pulled him upright. Not gentle. Just—*efficient*. "Thought you were gonna be street pizza for a second there."
Sable wanted to say something. Something about debt or gratitude or the fact that Bang kept saving him without asking for anything.
Instead: "*So did I*."
Six winged Torrent-borns emerged from the rain. Circling. Spiraling inward.
Bang's grin took on a sharp edge. "Okay. New record attempt. Watch this."
He kicked upward. Straight vertical.
**BOOM.**
Launched ten feet into the air.
Spun mid-flight. Kicked left.
**BOOM.**
The nearest creature exploded.
Still spinning. Kicked right.
**BOOM.**
Another one disintegrated.
He landed. Immediately kicked again.
**BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.**
Three explosions in rapid succession. Three more creatures painted across the sky.
The last one tried to flee.
Bang's kick caught it mid-retreat.
**BOOM.**
It fell. Broken. Thirty feet to the flooded street below.
Bang landed. Breathing harder now. Not winded—just *present*. Like he'd actually exerted himself for once.
"*SIX!*" He pumped his fist at the sky. "*NEW RECORD!*"
Then immediately: "Man, I'm *starving*. How many kicks was that? Like fifty? Sixty?" He looked at Sable. "You keeping count?"
"No." Sable was still staring at where the creatures had been. At the blood mist still hanging in the air. "I wasn't counting."
"Aw, man. I wanted to know." Bang lifted one boot, inspecting the smoking sole. "Though these boots are definitely done. Third pair this month."
More screeches. Louder. Closer.
Not just Torrent-borns anymore.
Something *bigger*.
Bang's posture shifted. Weight forward. Ready.
"Okay that one sounds bad."
"What—"
The building three rooftops away *collapsed*.
Not gradually. *Collapsed*. The structure folding in on itself like it was made of paper.
Something massive emerged from the rubble.
Sable's couldn't process it all at once. Too big. Too *wrong*.
Fifteen feet tall. Six arms. Face split into three vertical mouths, each lined with teeth that looked human-sized. Skin translucent. Organs visible underneath. Pulsing. *Breathing*.
**[THE DELUGE]**
The text appeared in Bang's and Sable's vision. Cold. Clinical.
Bang whistled. "Okay. *That's* new."
"We need to—"
"Go! Yeah! Going!" Bang grabbed Sable's coat. "Also—definitely finding food after this. That thing looks like it needs like twenty kicks *minimum*."
**BOOM.**
They launched.
Behind them: the Deluge. Not climbing. *LEAPING*. Covering the distance in single bounds that should have been impossible for something that size.
"IT'S FOLLOWING US!" Sable screamed over the wind.
"YEAH!"
**BOOM.**
Another rooftop.
The Deluge landed where they'd been. The entire building *shook*. Tiles sliding off. Concrete cracking.
"IT'S LEARNING!" Bang's voice carried genuine fascination. "Did you see that? It *calculated* the jump!"
"NOT THE TIME—"
**BOOM.**
They jumped again.
The Deluge followed.
Gaining.
Sable's blue eye was calculating: *velocity, trajectory, closing speed, time to contact—*
His brown eye just saw death getting closer.
"Okay okay okay—" Bang's eyes scanned ahead. "We need—there!"
A rooftop. Partially collapsed. The center had caved in, creating a massive hole that led into darkness below.
"We're jumping through that!" Bang pointed.
"THAT'S *INSANE*—"
"TRUST ME!"
They hit the edge. Bang kicked.
**BOOM.**
They launched toward the hole.
Sable's stomach lurched. The world spinning. Black rain hammering. The hole getting closer—too fast, too *vertical*—
They dropped through.
Into darkness.
Sable hit something. Wood. Stairs. His shoulder took the impact. Fresh pain exploding through already-damaged tissue.
He tumbled. Rolled. Hit the bottom.
Stopped.
Lay there in the dark. Breathing. Every part of him *screaming*.
*Still alive. Still moving. That's enough. That's—*
Above: the sound of the Deluge landing on the rooftop. The building groaning. But not collapsing.
Not following through the hole.
"HA!" Bang's voice echoed in the darkness. "Too big! Can't fit!" His laugh bounced off walls. "Man, that thing's gotta be *pissed*."
Sable just lay there.
Staring at nothing.
His body refusing to move.
*This is what survival looks like. Falling. Breaking. Barely escaping. Over and over. Until—*
Footsteps. Bang's boots on wooden stairs. The slapping sound of ruined leather hitting old wood.
"You okay down there?"
"No," Sable whispered.
"Cool cool. Can you stand?"
"…Eventually."
"Good enough!" A hand grabbed his coat. Hauled him upright. "Come on. Can't stay here. Building might collapse. Also—" Bang sniffed the air. "—I smell mold. Lots of mold."
Sable's legs wobbled. Held. Barely.
His eyes adjusted to the darkness. Roland's borrowed grace working. They were in some kind of house. Upper floor. The stairs they'd fallen down led to the ground level—which was flooded. Black water filling the first floor completely.
"Down we go!" Bang started descending. "Seriously though—after we find shelter? Food. Like, *immediately*. I can feel my stomach trying to digest itself."
"Wait—"
"Can't wait! Deluge might figure out another way in!" Bang hit the water. Waded toward what looked like a doorway. "Plus if I don't eat soon I'm gonna start getting *cranky*. You don't wanna see me cranky."
"I think I *have* seen you cranky—"
"Nah. This is my *happy* mode." Bang's grin flashed white in the darkness. "Cranky me just kicks things without asking questions first."
They waded through the flooded house. Past furniture floating in dark water. Past walls with pictures still hanging—a family, smiling, before the Rain.
Sable looked at the pictures as they passed.
Mother. Father. Two kids.
All dead now. Probably.
The doorway led to an alley.
Narrower than the main streets. Less flooded. Only ankle-deep here.
Bang stopped. Looked left. Right. Calculating.
"Okay. Defense House Seven is—" He pointed north. "Eight blocks that way. Through Torrent central. Still a suicide run."
Sable's jaw tightened.
"I need to find her," he said. His voice came out flat. Empty. "Ellaya. She's seven. I gave her my pass. She's with an old man named Elvor. They're supposed to be at House Seven. I promised—"
"Dude." Bang turned to face him. His grin was gone. "They're *safe*. They made it to the defense house. Guards. Walls. Registered shelter." He clapped Sable's shoulder. "They're *fine*."
"You don't know that—"
"Yeah I do. Because you gave them passes." Bang's silver eyes locked with Sable's. "You made sure they got in. That's what matters. They're inside. Protected. You did your job."
*Did my job. Like that makes it okay. Like that makes leaving her—*
"But if I just—"
"If you just what? Run through eight blocks of Torrent-borns? Get torn apart by that Deluge we just barely escaped?" Bang shook his head. "Then she's got nobody. Then you *failed* her." He squeezed Sable's shoulder. Hard. "Stay alive. Wait for the Rain to stop. *Then* find her."
The words made sense.
Cold. Clinical. *Logical*.
Sable hated how much sense they made.
"Come on." Bang was already walking. "We find high ground. Safe spot. Wait it out."
Sable followed.
Because what else could he do?
Second was still tucked in his coat pocket. The bird hadn't made a sound in minutes. Probably exhausted.
*Both of us.*
They walked.
The alley opened onto a wider street. Less flooded. More bodies. Human and Torrent-born mixed together in the water.
Bang kicked through them without slowing.
**BOOM.**
A corpse launched sideways. Splashed into a storefront.
Sable stepped around them instead.
*Still human. Used to be. That matters. Has to matter. Otherwise—*
"Hey." Bang looked back. "You good?"
"Fine."
"You don't look fine."
"I said I'm fine."
Bang studied him for a moment. Then shrugged. "Okay. But like—if you need to talk about stuff? I'm not great at it but I can listen. Had lots of practice listening to rats."
Despite everything—the exhaustion, the pain, the knowledge that Ellaya was somewhere he couldn't reach—Sable's mouth twitched.
Almost a smile.
"You listened to rats."
"Yeah! They're very talkative. Well—not like *talking* talking. But they squeak a lot. And you can kinda tell what they mean if you pay attention." Bang's voice carried genuine enthusiasm. "Like there's 'I'm hungry' squeaks and 'there's danger' squeaks and 'this is my spot' squeaks. Very expressive."
"How long were you in the sewers?"
"Like seven days. Maybe ten?" Bang scratched his head. "Lost track of time down there. But it was cool. Dark. Lots of space. The rats were chill. Mice too. Even the cockroaches were pretty chill."
Sable processed this.
"You hid in sewers. For ten days. With rats and cockroaches."
"Yup."
"During the last Rain."
"Yup."
"Instead of trying to reach a defense house."
"Well *yeah*. Defense houses have lines. And guards checking passes. And—" Bang gestured vaguely. "—too many people. Sewers just had me and the bugs. Way better odds."
"Most people would consider that insane."
"Most people died." Bang said it simply. Matter-of-fact. "I didn't. So I think I made the right call."
The logic was flawless in the worst possible way.
They walked three more blocks.
The rain was lessening. Slightly. The viscous black drops becoming thinner. More like actual water.
*First wave ending. Maybe thirty minutes until it stops completely.*
A building appeared ahead. Large. Three stories. Stone construction. Iron reinforcements visible through cracked walls.
Above the entrance: a sign. Scorched. Partially melted.
**PRULLA MAIN FORGE**
**BLACKSMITH - METALWORKS - CUSTOM ORDERS**
"Oh *shit*," Bang breathed. "Is that—"
"The main blacksmith," Sable finished. "Everyone in Prulla gets their tools from here. Maintenance workers. Guards."
The entrance was flooded. Water pouring in through the open doors. But the upper floors looked intact. Solid.
"Perfect!" Bang started toward it. "We go up. Find a spot. Maybe there's—you think blacksmiths keep food?"
"Why would a *blacksmith*—"
"People gotta eat while they work, right? Maybe there's like—a break room? With crackers?" Bang was already wading through the entrance. "Man, I could *destroy* some crackers right now."
They splashed through the flooded doorway. Into darkness.
Inside: workbenches floating in black water. Tools scattered. Forge cold and dead. The smell of metal and ash and stagnant liquid.
Bang opened his mouth to speak—
Sable's hand clamped over it. *Silence.*
Bang's eyes widened. But he nodded.
They moved deeper into the building. Found a staircase. Climbed. The wood groaning under their weight.
*Too loud. Too obvious. If anything's here—*
Reached the second floor. Found a corner. Pressed against the wall.
Below: the sound that had made Sable freeze.
Footsteps.
Not running. Not rushing. Just—*walking*.
Synchronized.
**THUD. THUD. THUD.**
Heavy. Measured. Metal on stone.
**THUD. THUD. THUD.**
Getting closer.
From outside. From the direction they'd just come.
Sable's blue eye tracked the sound. *Forty meters. Maybe less. Multiple contacts. Moving in formation.*
His brown eye just felt cold dread settle in his chest.
Bang mouthed: *What is that?*
Sable shook his head. Pointed down. *Stay quiet.*
The footsteps entered the forge.
**THUD. THUD. THUD.**
Below: Six figures became visible through cracks in the floorboards. Dark blue armor. Seamless. Pristine. Moving with mechanical precision.
Sable's breath stopped.
*Blackwater.*
One of them stopped. Raised a hand. The others halted immediately.
"Sector clear?" A voice. Female. Cold. Clinical.
"Negative." Another voice. Male. Deeper. "Torrent-born presence confirmed. Thermal signatures indicate—there."
He pointed.
A Torrent-born emerged from the flooded back room. Human-sized. Too many joints. Face smooth. Mouth vertical.
It saw them. Screeched. Charged.
The knight didn't move. Didn't flinch.
Just drew his sword.
One motion. Clean. Professional.
The blade sang through air.
The Torrent-born's head separated. Clean cut. The body continued forward three more steps on momentum alone.
Then collapsed.
The knight flicked blood from his blade. Sheathed it. "Sector clear."
"Confirmed. Moving to next—" The female knight stopped. Tilted her head. "Wait."
Silence.
Sable's heart hammered.
*They can hear heartbeats. They have thermal. They have—*
"Upper floors?" The female knight looked up.
Directly at where Sable and Bang were hiding.
"Negative readings. Likely abandoned."
"Sweep anyway. Standard protocol."
*No.*
*No no no—*
The knights started toward the stairs.
Sable's hand found Bang's arm. Squeezed. *Don't move. Don't breathe. Don't—*
Footsteps on the stairs.
**THUD.**
**THUD.**
**THUD.**
Getting closer.
Sable's blue eye was calculating: *Distance, reaction time, escape routes, Grace activation requirements—*
His brown eye just saw death climbing toward them.
The footsteps reached the second floor.
A knight appeared at the top of the stairs.
Helmet turning. Scanning. The visor reflecting green emergency lighting.
Searching.
Sable pressed harder against the wall. Like he could phase through it. Become invisible. *Disappear*.
Bang had gone completely still. Not breathing. Not even his manic energy visible anymore. Just—*absence*.
The knight's helmet turned toward their corner.
Stopped.
Sable could see his own reflection in the visor. Distorted. Small. *Trapped*.
*If he draws that sword I have one second maybe less to trigger Retrograde but I need genuine regret and right now I just feel fear which isn't enough and—*
The knight's hand moved toward his sword—
A screech erupted from outside. Massive. Deep. Resonant.
The Deluge.
The knight's head snapped toward the sound. "Priority target confirmed. All units converge."
He turned. Descended the stairs. Fast.
The other knights followed. Moving with sudden urgency.
**THUD THUD THUD THUD.**
Running now. Synchronized. Toward the Deluge.
Their voices carried back:
"Weapons free—"
"Engage at range—"
"Don't let it—"
Then they were gone.
Silence.
Sable and Bang stayed frozen. Counting heartbeats. Waiting.
One minute.
Two.
Finally Bang whispered: "What the *fuck* was that?"
"Blackwater Division." Sable's voice came out hoarse. "Upper City knights. Culling teams."
"They just—" Bang gestured vaguely. "That Torrent-born didn't even touch him. One swing. Clean kill. Like cutting *paper*."
"They're Anointed-rank. Minimum." Sable's blue eye had catalogued everything. "Trained. Equipped. Grace-enhanced armor. Weapons that can—" He stopped. Looked at Bang. "We can't fight them."
"I wasn't planning to fight them."
"Good. Because—"
"I was planning to kick them and *then* run."
"That's—" Sable pressed his palms against his eyes. "That's the *same thing*—"
"It's really not. One involves planning."
"The plan is *kicking*—"
"Exactly. Planning." Bang's grin was trying to return. "Though that sword thing was pretty cool. You see how fast—"
"Bang." Sable's voice came out flat. Dead. "Those are the people who kill Dredge survivors."
Silence.
Bang's grin faded completely.
"What?"
"The Blackwater." Sable's jaw tightened. "They don't evacuate the Dredge. They *clean* it. Kill the Torrent-borns. Kill anyone who got Grace and survived." His voice went colder. "Anyone who might become a problem."
"But—" Bang's face was unreadable. "But we made it *out*. We're in Prulla. We're—"
"Still from the Dredge. Still Bestowed. Still *targets*." Sable met his eyes. "To them? We're just Torrent-borns that learned to talk."
The words hung in the air.
Bang was quiet for a long moment.
His expression was strange. Confused. Like someone had just told him something that contradicted everything he thought he knew about how the world worked.
"That doesn't—" He stopped. Started again. "Last year. During the Rain. I stayed in the sewers the whole time. With the rats. Never came up. Never saw any knights." His voice trailed off. "I thought—when people said Blackwater was coming—I thought that was a *good* thing."
"It is. For everyone who's not us."
Bang nodded slowly. "Well that's fucked up."
"Yeah."
"Like—really fucked up."
"Yeah."
"We should probably not let them find us then."
"That's the plan."
Bang's grin tried to come back. Failed. "Okay. New priority. Find food. Find shelter. Avoid knights who want to murder us." He paused. "That's like—three things. I can remember three things."
Outside: another screech. The Deluge. Then—explosions. Not Bang's. Different. Louder. More controlled.
Grace-fire. Knight weapons. The sound of Anointed-rank combatants engaging a Deluge-class Torrent-born.
The building shook slightly.
"We should move," Bang said. "Before they come back."
"Yeah."
They stood. Started toward the stairs.
Sable's hand was shaking. Just slightly. Not from fear.
From something else.
*I gave Ellaya the pass. Made sure she got in. That was the right choice. The smart choice. The—*
*So why does it feel like I abandoned her?*
He shoved the thought down. Focused on movement. On survival. On the simple mechanics of walking down stairs without collapsing.
Outside: the battle continued. Knights shouting coordinates. Explosions shaking walls. The Deluge screaming.
They waded through the flooded ground floor. Toward the entrance.
Bang stopped at the doorway. Looked left. Right.
"Okay. So. Shelter. Food. Not dying." He ticked them off on his fingers. "I'm thinking we find a building with a roof. Maybe a second floor that's not flooded. Somewhere we can—"
He stopped.
Stared at something across the street.
Sable followed his gaze.
A shop. Partially collapsed. The sign still visible: **PRULLA GENERAL GOODS - FOOD - SUPPLIES**
Bang's face lit up.
"*FOOD!*"
He launched himself across the street. Splashing through water. Not even using his Grace. Just—*running*.
Sable followed. Slower. His legs barely working.
*This is what survival looks like. Following a lunatic who's excited about maybe finding stale crackers in a ruined shop.*
They reached the storefront. The door was gone. The interior flooded ankle-deep.
But the shelves—some of them—were still standing.
Bang waded inside. Started searching. "Please have food please have food please—*YES!*"
He held up a can. Dented. Label half-peeled. But intact.
"BEANS!" He screamed at the ceiling. "THERE'S *BEANS!*"
Despite everything—the exhaustion, the fear, the knowledge that they were being hunted—Sable felt his mouth twitch.
Almost a smile.
"You're insane."
"I'm *hungry*!" Bang was already searching for more. "And beans are—beans are like—they're *perfect*. Protein. Carbs. Energy." He found another can. "OH SHIT THERE'S *TWO!*"
"See?" Bang looked at Sable triumphantly. "Delicacy ."
Sable just stood there.
Watching this red haired lunatic smiling over canned beans in a flooded shop while Blackwater knights hunted Torrent-borns three blocks away.
"You're really happy about this," Sable said quietly.
"Hell yeah I'm happy! We got *food*!" Bang was grinning. Full force. "And shelter! And—" He looked around. "—okay the shelter part needs work but we'll figure it out!"
"The building's partially collapsed."
"So we use the part that's not collapsed. Simple."
"There's black water everywhere."
"So we go upstairs."
"The stairs might not support our weight."
"So we test them first." Bang was already moving toward the back of the shop. "Come on. Stop being negative. We're *surviving*. That's good!"
Sable followed.
Because Bang was right.
They were surviving.
Against impossible odds. Against Torrent-borns and Deluges and Blackwater knights.
They were still alive.