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Chapter twenty four, We All Fall Down.
Emily raced down the hallway, her steps echoing as she hurried toward Amber's apartment. Behind her, Hastings kept pace, taking care not to pass her and spook Amber. The woman was frightened enough. The building had erupted into chaos with the Shifter rampaging through Contra agents. A fleeting thought crossed Emily's mind. Could the Shifter be on her side, protecting her rather than hunting her, or maybe it simply wanted to find her, like September and Hastings did. She quickly
dismissed the notion, recalling the Violet encounter in Montana. There had to be another reason why the creature was targeting the contract. First September had momentarily split from their small grouping a detour with a promise to regroup at Amber's apartment soon. Emily trusted the guide's capabilities, but couldn't help worrying about his safety amidst such chaos. Her immediate concern, however,
was catching Amber before she could reach her apartment. Panicked by the side of the shifter, Amber had dashed toward what she thought was safety. Normally, Amber would have been able to easily outrun Emily, but thankfully her friend's pace had been hindered by multiple stumbles, and she was moving more sluggish than usual. Emily wasn't sure if this was due to Amber's sheer terror or if there were other factors of play, but she was silently thankful for the
slowed momentum because Amber was running directly toward danger. Hastings had informed Emily that Marcus had Detective Bullard were being held hostage by the Contra in Amber's apartment, a situation that would be rife with danger due to the Contra's notorious ruthlessness if Amber just burst in. As they neared the apartment, one final stumble from Amber allowed Emily to catch up. She reached out, grasping amber arm firmly and pressed her finger to her lips, signaling for silence from
her Panic friend. With a cautious glance. Emily then reached for the apartment door handle.
Amber.
It's okay.
I'm here, Emily, I'm here. You're okay, There, we are.
Okay.
That thing I know it was a monster, a real monster.
I know it's gone for now.
No, No, it's still in the building.
Amber. I need you to listen to me. There might be dangerous people in your apartment, people that want to hurt us. So I need you to do something for me.
What.
I need you to stay right here and watch the hallway until I get back. Okay, Okay, Hastings and I are going to go in and look for Marcus and George.
Emily, I suggest that we wait for here.
Aren't waiting, Hastings. We're going in. Amber will watch for us, won't you? Amber? Yes, September seid he'd be here shortly. Right.
Were paraphrasing, but essentially yes, he actually said that he would catch up with us.
Good Amber. When September gets here, tell him that Hastings and I are inside. If it's safe, we'll come right back out to get you. If not, we'll get Marcus and George and we'll all get out of here.
Okay, Okay, Hastings.
Let's go.
I do not see anyone inside.
Trible, come here.
Well's my baby, I've missed you.
It looks as if your cat is doing well.
Amber, come in here quick.
Is it safe?
I think so? Here take trouble.
Okay, Amber, you should stay by the door. Emily and I will investigate the bedroom and the bathroom.
So I'll keep an eye out for September or the monster.
Hold on, Hastings, what is it. I'm going to use the lines to check the rooms. It could be a trap and my Ispet. I'll tell us if anyone's in there.
I would be wary of using your abilities here. If you cause an event, it could harm a lot of innocent people.
Your abilities turning the lines on and off won't hurt anyone. I've been practicing more and more. It's not what causes the events.
What are you talking about?
Okay, Emily, I will trust your judgment.
I'll tell you later, Amber. I need to focus.
Emily closed her eyes, shutting out the chaos around her. She focused on her Ispet well, feeling the depths.
Of its magic.
The familiar sense of comfort and control was.
There, but the well was different.
Not the ispet magic, but the well itself had transform somehow. It was cold, freezing cold. It was as if her psyche had been plunged into an icy bath. She felt no pain or anxiety, but the warmth of the well had been replaced by a bitter cold that would have chilled her physical body.
To the bone.
She opened her eyes, the world rekindled with vibrant blue lines of energies sprawling in every direction, each tethered to her ispet well. She didn't manipulate them. Instead, she observed, gradually filtering them until only a dozen or so remained distinct. As her focus waned, she found herself inexplicably staring at Amber's gas stove. She had no idea how long she sat there, staring at the stove while sorting her threads of magic, but it was long enough to catch hastings attention.
The chronicler watched her with one eyebrow raised and a half cocked smile. He would have questions, but he would have to wait until later. Her ispat stream showed her that there was someone in the bathroom, and Emily needed to know who. With a subtle gesture to Hastings, Emily signaled towards the bathroom door. Their silent communication was seamless. They both knew the stakes were high and the approach
needed to be cautious. Emily entertained the idea of calling out to whomever was in the bathroom, considered the risk, then decided against it. If it was a hostage, they would likely be bound. If it was an agent, they would likely be armed. Calling out wouldn't benefit her in any way. With resolve, she took a deep breath, steeled her nerves, then quickly opened the door. Inside. A contra agent stood by the bathtub, weapon in hand, quickly unleashing
a volley of bullets at Hastings. Emily's hiss had flared brilliantly, instinctively redirecting the bullets away. As the chronicler ducked behind the wall. Emily stood resolute, working her magic with practiced efficiency. The agent switched to a rifle at Emily, but was too slow. Emily pushed the magic thread that connected her to the target, forcefully propelling them backwards into the bathtub.
But Emily didn't stop there. She drew upon as many blue lines as possible, forcefully pulling them toward the agent from the other room. Amber cried out, but Emily continued to push. The agent attempted to reposition, clutching at her rifle. Just as the bathroom's ceiling groaned and gave way, a bathtub full of water fell from above, crashing through the plastered ceiling, pinning the agent under a cascade of water
and debris. The floor itself succumbed to the weight and collapsed as well, sending both bathtubs and the agent plummeting to the level below. Energy visibly around Emily, her anger palpable in the blue wisps emanating from her. She was sick and tired of people fucking with her, and at that very moment, she had the power to bring every one of these agents to their knees. She could take hold of every one of their blue lines and submit them all to her will. She could dominate, she could destroy.
She could feel Hastings hand on her elbow.
Emily, are you okay?
Uh?
Yeah, I'm okay.
We should go.
Yeah.
What about Marcus and Bullard?
We will try to find them, but they're not here.
Should should we wait?
No?
Emily the apartment is filling up with gas gas. When you redirected the bullets, they hit the same target, the stove that you were staring at before we checked the bathroom.
Oh yeah, the stove.
It took six shots and is now leaking gas. So we need to leave now.
Okay, Amber, I'm okay.
I still have trouble. Something pulled me to the ground.
Emily, we have to go.
Emily, Hello, September Hastings. Is everyone all right?
Physically? I believe we are all intact?
Where were you?
I got us a rifle.
Detective George Bullard cautiously peeked out into the hall, his eyes scanning for any trace of the shifter. Assured it was clear, he quickly ducked back into the cramped supply cubby. The tiny space was already packed with both maintenance supplies and his two companions, making it uncomfortably tight. His partner, Detective Mariano Davis, had endured several hours of being drugged and bound. Though he showed no signs of severe injury,
he was busy exhausted, the drugs lingering effects clouding his senses. Marcus, who also shared the cramped space, bore the marks of his recent encounters with the Shifter, a creature Bullard had once dismissed as a figment of Marcus in Emily's imagination, yet had proven to be all too real. The zip ties still loosely hung around the kid's wrists, but his hands were no longer bound together. After taking stock of their condition, Bullard judged neither of his companions were in
any state to fight their way out. He would have to be clever about their escape.
How are you too, holding up?
I'm fine, peachy.
How are the stairwells?
The elevators are clear, but they won't respond when I press the button. I assume the assholes haven't held somewhere downstairs.
And the stairs themselves.
Stairs are guarded, not only peaked, but looks like they're holding the fourth floor Christ.
With the elevators out there trying to bottle neck us into the stairs.
Yeah, it's a good tactic.
Okay, can we go.
Up about it? They probably have people up top too.
And even if we got to the roof where we go from.
There, they can't hold those positions forever. This place is full of people. Someone's bound to have called the police. We just need to sit tight.
And what about the shifter.
I haven't seen it. I've heard any screams in the last few minutes. Maybe it's gone all right.
What was that thing?
I don't know, some kind of mutant creature.
No, the creature is a shifter. It can take up a bunch of different forms, and it's really very strong. It's really hard to kill. Two Emily dropped a motel on it and it still came back.
Oh damn, Okay, I see you see Davis.
You already knew what that creature was, didn't you, Emily. Fuck. Emily's out there.
It sounds like it came from that way.
Yeah, from back the way we came. She's probably at Amber's apartment. I told that girl to stay in the damn car.
George.
Yeah, what the fuck is wrong with this one?
Uh?
Oh?
His eyes are blue?
Completely blue?
Yeah? I see that. Marcus snap out of him?
What is this?
I don't know.
Hey, Marcus, kid, come on, we got Marcus.
Don't do this.
What the fuck are we supposed to do with him?
Carry him?
Kid?
I need you to wake the fuck up.
We need to get out of here now.
September ushered Emily Hastings and Amber out of apartment five eighteen and into the hallway, his gaze briefly settling on Amber, who was carefully cradling Emily's cat triple. Despite Amber's apparent distrust, her actions spoke of her deep loyalty to Emily. September considered that once they safely escaped the apartment complex, he would extend an imitation to Amber and possibly Sam to join their team, but first he needed to get him
out of the building in one piece. He picked up the pace, leading them swiftly down the hall toward the exit. Just as they were about to reach the quarter intersection, Detective Bullard unexpectedly burst from around the corner, nearly causing a collision.
Detective, it's good to see you, September.
Marcus. Are you okay?
Yeah, I'm fine. We've got to get out.
Of here, agreed, But all the exits are currently blocked. We could find someplace to hunker down until the cavalry arrives.
Hiding's no good. We need to run.
It sounds like the contra barricading the fourth floor. I'm with Bullard. I say we find an empty apartment and wait it out.
No, no, we cannot wait it out.
It is likely that the contra have regrouped on the fourth floor due to the presence of the shifter. I doubt they will stay there if they believe it is left, and it is unlikely that the shifter left.
The thing is still here.
It is like that the shifter.
Hastings, I've got this right. If the fourth floor is blocked, then let's leave from this floor amber. Where's the nearest fire escape?
I don't I don't know.
It is recommended that an individual learns the emergency escape route shortly after moving into a new location. Hastings, Sorry, there's.
A there's a map on the wall down there.
Let's go.
Hey, Emily, I had a vision.
I had a feeling that would happen.
Really, why I may have placed six.
Bullets into a gas stove?
A gas stove? I thought apartments were supposed to have electric.
Now, and that's your takeaway from that statement, I guess not. Did your dream have anything to do with fire?
Okay, it looks like the fire escape is there on the map, so we can access it through that door. Follow me.
No, no fire in the vision, but you do turn the entire building into a blender.
I turn it into a blender. Yeah, do you know what it means. No, I'm sorry, it's okay.
I thought I was getting better at figuring these visions out, but I guess not.
Marcus, it's fine. Let's just get out of here, George.
When I was being held by the contra, I overheard some of their radio communications.
Okay, they said.
They would have snipers on the roofs. I don't know how many, but at least a couple.
Shit, so the outside fire escape might be a bad idea.
Don't worry about the snipers. Hastings and I can handle them.
Handle them.
Yeah. Hastings has the eye and I have the rifle. We will be fine.
I'm not comfortable with you discharging a firearm in my city. In fact, i'm not comfortable with you having a gun at all. Maybe you should give.
That to me, George, it's fine. If anyone can take down a human sniper, it's those two.
A human sniper, Davis, what do you know?
He's right, Detective Hastings on, HI are fairly well versed in sniper tactics.
Why does it feel like I'm the only person here that doesn't have a fucking clue what's happening?
Seriously, Detective you and me both.
We're here, So what's the plan?
You all are going to stand over to the side, away from the door. Snipers typically have high caliber rounds, and while the round shouldn't easily penetrate the brick building, there is no reason to take risks.
Well, that's reassuring.
I will open the door, Hastings will peek outside, and we will get an idea of where the snipers are hiding.
Is there anything I can do to help keep.
An eye out for the shifter if they show up? This could get real ugly?
Are you ready?
Almost?
George?
He dismissed you with straight finesse.
Yeah, I see that is not wrong, though I.
Know it doesn't even sound condescending when he does it.
Yeah, he has a way of disarming people.
I want to dislike the guy.
It's hard, though, get it.
Speak for yourself, all right, Hastings, I'm ready. Just a quick peek and go.
Okay, I did not see any snipers.
What of course you didn't?
You looked outside for like two seconds.
That's all he needs.
I did not see any snipers, but there are two locations where they could potentially be hiding that would be a high risk to us.
Okay, so that's a bit of a wrinkle in our plan, a wrinkle house.
So might I suggest Romania eighteen eighty nine.
That could work, but you wouldn't be able to be bait.
I don't think we have time to argue over.
This, Hastings. I need your eyes. If you first and something happens, I won't be able to help you, and my chances for saving everyone greatly diminish.
Hey, would you like to share with the rest of the class what you're planning?
Guys?
Sorry?
Yes, Hastings didn't confirm any snipers, meaning he didn't actually see them. What he did see was two places where a sniper could hide that would give them a good shot at us while we go down the stairs.
Okay, I already gathered that.
The original plan was that I would hop out and eliminate the sniper before they could take a shot at one of us. I am fast enough to get one if I have a general idea of where they are, but I'm not fast enough for two.
Is there anything I can do to help?
I'd prefer if it wasn't you, but this is what I need. Someone has to go out ahead of me. I will follow right behind and eliminate any snipers that may be in the area.
You want to use someone as a human and shield.
I don't want to, but this would give me the best opportunity to remove any snipers if they are there. I would like to remind you there's a chance there are no snipers at all, or there might be only one sniper that I have to contend with. If that's the case, then there will be almost no risk to the person out of me.
That's a pretty big gamble with someone's life.
Maybe I could use the ISPET lines to find the snipers.
Emily, would you be able to determine which lines connect to a sniper and which connects to the residents in the neighboring building.
I don't know. I don't think so. There are a lot of people over there.
Then we're back to my original plan.
Or you can go outside and risk getting shot.
I'll do it.
What No, we have three perfectly good criminals here. Make one of them do it.
I said I'd do it. I'm the peacekeeper here. It's my job to keep you all safe.
Thank you, Detective.
Yeah, yeah, just make sure you don't miss I will.
Do my best, Detective Bullard, Yeah, thank you, and be careful.
Emily listened as Hastings described the two locations he considered most likely to house snipers. She flared her ispet lines to life twice since suggesting it to the others, but Hastings was right, there were too many people to determine who could be a sniper or not. The group arranged themselves in a makeshift line for their escape, with Bullard in the lead, followed closely by September. Hastings would assist Davis down the fire escape, with Amber and Triple just behind.
Emily and Marcus would bring up the rear. The hallway was ominously silent as Emily scanned for any sign of the shifter. The usual sounds of an apartment complex and the sounds that had just terrifyingly filled it were absent. No curious onlookers, no shifters, heavy steps, only the unsettling quiet. The memory of Marcus's disturbing vision flashed through her mind, the imagery of a colossal blender blade ripping through the center of the apartment complex, tearing walls, ceilings, and floors
into splinters. The thought made her slightly nauseous. Could she really do that much destruction? Could she stop it. Hastings cautiously opened the door to the outside without hesitation. Bullard drew his handgun and charged through the escape exit. He didn't stop to look for snipers, but instead ducked his head and rushed down the metal grated steps. September followed, pausing only to fire a single shot at one of the suspected sniper spots before scanning for a target of
the second. The sharp crack of a rifle set everyone on edge. Emily, Amber and Marcus instinctively covered their ears, the echo reverberating painfully in the tight space. After several tense moments, Hastings deemed they were clear and to move is what they did. September alternated between aiding Hastings with Davis when scanning the rooftop, his rifle at the ready. Amber clung to treble as she followed the others onto the fire escape. When it was Emily's turn to exit,
she hesitated at the threshold, plagued by doubts. What if she was taking the ispet event with them, What if she was about to get away from the apartment and kill even more people, including her friends? What did a giant fucking blend her even mean. She looked after Amber, who was already moving down to the third floor, and then looked back to Marcus. He hadn't pushed her towards the stairs, nor had he attempted to move past her.
He only watched her with a pained expression. Emily realized that Marcus had assumed the ispet event had begun, but it didn't. She brushed her confusion to the back of her mind.
Just as she.
Resolved to step out, the building trembled violently from explosions somewhere below. Emily lost her footing, tumbling onto the metal grate of the stairwell. She looked down to see her friends stumbling and struggling to keep their balance. The metal framework groaned ominously as she felt the world lurch to one side. Two hands grabbed her by the waist and yanked her back into the hallway. Marcus pulled her to safety just as the fire escape collapsed, sending the enormous
steel staircase crashing five stories to the ground below. Emily Swanson is voiced by Tisha Zang. Hastings is voiced by Adam Culbertson September is voiced by Richard Collins. Detective Bullard is voiced by Tony Kinney. Detective Mariano Davis is voiced by Glenn Michael Saxton. Marcus Baker is voiced by Nico Rodriguez. Amber Lang is voiced by Narri Quack and narrated by Michael cole fet Archives was written by Nico Rodriguez in collaboration with Tisha zang Epet. Archives is a Creative TYPEO
Entertainment production. Find out more about our show at www dot creative typo dot com.
A very special thank you to our executive producers from Patreon, Nick Mead and Patrick t Arsenal