ron door at the bottom of the apartment building. It groa

ad-gray. The air was thick with the sh

to fall. A single drop hit the expos

his

ty flinched, realizing instantly that this was the h

at over her head, shielding her face and neck,

street were slammed shut. Only a few dying

vy, poisoned body would allow. Her chest heaved, and

h-black dead-end alley, a sharp prickle

ng crunching sound echoed. It was the sound

ils slowly opened in the darkn

eopard, crawled out of the shadows. Strips of un

powerful hind legs coiled, and it launched itself through

icks. Her bloated body was too s

y military boots echoed from the adjacent street, though C

inches from tearing her throat open, a deaf

blue arc of plasma from the rail friction, pun

at Charity's feet, carried by its own momentum. Th

her chest heaving as she gasped for air, her who

ots splashing through the puddles appro

the rain-soaked fog. He wore a black, tact

e. The barrel was still smoking. His eyes were c

t her collapsed form. Pure, undisguis

oice a flat, cutting blade, "go die some

as Braden. Another one of her forced genetic partners. The

't scream. She didn't throw a hysterical t

d her sleeve and calmly wiped the black m

ced her hands flat on the wet wall and

r unnatural silence. A brief flicker of

around the massive, bleeding rat corpse and limped away, heading

ted, silent figure disappear into the fog. He let out a cold

oncrete building. She pressed her thumb to the rusted b