Chapter 44
Surprisingly Weak Mini Boss
They grappled on the floor, the creature’s limbs bending in impossible directions as it tried to gain leverage. Asher moved gracefully, his face almost serene, as he grabbed the thing’s throat while the other drove a scalpel into its eye with a wet, puncturing sound.
The creature bucked and thrashed, inhuman sounds tearing from its mouth. Asher held firm, driving the scalpel deeper, twisting. Dark fluid spilled across his hands, splashing onto his face.
With a final, human-like whimper, the creature went limp.
Asher remained atop it for several seconds, chest heaving, before slowly rising to his feet. His clothes were soaked with the creature’s fluids, his eyes wide as he turned to face Levi.
Time seemed to stretch between them, elastic and uncertain.
This man had hunted him and comforted him.
Kissed him and killed him. Hurt him and violated him and was violently possessive and protective in equal measure.
He wasn’t just a walking red flag; he was the bubbling vat of dye that made the flags red at the red flag factory.
Common sense would tell Levi to run as far and fast away from Asher as he could.
But common sense was for a world he didn’t live in anymore.
Levi ran towards him so fast he collided with Asher’s body, his hands gripping the front of his blood-soaked shirt for dear life. Before either of them could speak, Levi slammed his mouth against Asher’s in a desperate, hungry kiss.
He felt Asher’s momentary shock in the stiffness of his posture, the quick intake of breath against Levi’s lips.
Then his arms encircled Levi’s waist, pulling their bodies flush together with bruising force.
He tasted of copper and salt, his lips cool at first contact but warming quickly against Levi’s.
“Asher,” Levi gasped against his lips, not giving himself time to think before continuing to kiss him.
It was chaotic, almost violent in its intensity as Levi pushed his tongue into Asher’s mouth, as if tasting every inch of the inside of his mouth would make his presence more real.
Levi’s fingers tangled in Asher’s hair, tugging hard enough to hurt, and he was rewarded with a low growl that vibrated through both their bodies.
“What was that for?” Asher panted as Levi broke away from the kiss to catch his breath. His eyes were wide as he stared down at Levi, his lower lip sucked against his teeth as though he were afraid of what Levi would say.
Before Levi could answer, before he could begin to articulate the confused tangle of relief and need and residual terror, a wet sliding sound from the corridor interrupted the moment.
Another creature burst through the door.
Where the others had been spindly and insect-like, this new horror was a mass of fused limbs forming multi-jointed appendages that propelled it forward with unsettling efficiency.
Its spine protruded through stretched skin, vertebrae visible like a row of knobs down its back.
Its face was partially hidden behind a flap of skin that oozed yellowish adipose tissue with a single eyeball peering through what appeared to be a belly button.
It charged without hesitation, moving faster than something so malformed should be able to.
Asher shoved Levi behind him, positioning himself between the creature and its target. But instead of retreating, Levi stepped to the side, grabbing a metal tray of surgical implements from the table.
“Hey, over here, asshole!” Asher shouted at the creature as he feinted left while Levi circled right. When the creature lunged at Asher, Levi swung the metal tray with all his strength, connecting with the thing’s exposed spine.
It shrieked, a sound like grinding metal and human pain combined, and whirled toward Levi.
Asher shoved its face to the side, stabbing it in the neck with his scalpel and tearing his arm to the side.
Blood oozed out, thick and viscous globules that hit the ground with wet slaps, like it was already coagulated.
The creature thrashed, catching Levi with one of its fused limbs and sending him sprawling. His head struck the edge of the table, making his vision swim with black spots. The creature reared back to strike again.
“Levi!” Asher shouted, sliding the scalpel toward him as he grabbed at it’s fleshy face. The skin ripped away like wax.
Levi’s hand closed around the scalpel. As the creature descended, he thrust upward with every ounce of strength he had left in him. The blade sank into the underside of its jaw, piercing through to whatever passed for a brain in the monstrosity.
The creature collapsed atop him, its weight forcing the air from his lungs. For a terrible moment, he was pinned beneath the twitching mass, the smell of chemicals and decay overwhelming as he gagged. Then the weight lifted as Asher hauled the creature’s body away, flinging it aside with a grunt.
“Are you hurt?” Asher demanded, his hands moving over Levi’s body.
Levi shook his head, still struggling to catch his breath. “I’m okay.”
Asher helped him to his feet, steadying him when he swayed slightly. They stood close, neither willing to step away, the adrenaline of combat still coursing through their systems.
“You kept your promise.” Asher pulled Levi into a hug. “You found me.”
Levi closed his eyes, his body still shaking, and leaned his head against Asher’s chest. This is wrong. I know it’s wrong. But I need him.
No.
I want him.
A small sound drew their attention: a click followed by a hiss of releasing pressure. The large observation window began to retract, sliding upward to reveal the surgical theater below in its entirety.
The room beneath them had once been state-of-the-art, with multiple operating tables arranged around a central pillar. That pillar now held what could only be the third key—a tissue sample in a glass vial, preserved in yellowish fluid, floating like a grotesque trophy.
“The third guardian,” Asher observed, nodding toward the creature’s corpse. “Faine’s way of protecting his ‘contributions’ to science.”
Levi approached the window, studying the room below. “How do we get down there?”
“Service stairs,” Asher replied, pointing to a door marked with a faded maintenance symbol. “If Faine’s security system follows the pattern, killing the guardian should have unlocked the way.”
As if confirming his theory, the maintenance door’s electronic lock flashed from red to green with a soft beep.
They descended a narrow metal staircase that spiraled down to the surgical theater. The air grew colder as they descended, heavy with the smell of chemical preservatives and something older, as if the scent of suffering was embedded in the walls themselves.
The operating room looked like something from a nightmare.
Each table was equipped with not just surgical implements but restraints—heavy leather straps reinforced with metal buckles.
Dried blood stained the floor in concentric patterns around each station, evidence of procedures where precision had mattered less than results.
“Careful,” Asher warned as Levi approached the central pillar.
“I’ve got this,” he assured Asher.
A small panel with two recessed grooves in the pillar bore an inscription: “Blood and voice confirm the worthy. Flesh reveals the path.”
Levi removed the blood vial and voice cylinder from his pockets. “We need to use all three together.”
He placed the cylinder in one of the grooves, then the vial of blood in the next. A musical tone sounded, and the entire pillar began to hum. Lights around the base glowed brighter, and a voice announced: “All components verified. Central access granted.”
The floor beneath one of the operating tables began to recede, revealing a hidden elevator platform.
“That’s it,” Levi breathed. “The way to Faine’s inner sanctum.”
“You did it!” Asher smiled at him, and Levi’s stomach flipped. Even with the inhuman blood still smeared across his face, the smile on his face, the brightness in his eyes...
He’s beautiful.
Before either could speak again, the surgical theater door burst open. Jasper stumbled through, looking worse than before but incredibly, impossibly alive. Blood matted his hair and ran in rivulets down one side of his face. Behind him came Elliot, wide-eyed with panic.
“We have to go,” Jasper gasped, clutching his side where a dark stain spread across his shirt. “Those things—there are more of them. Coming this way.”
Elliot’s gaze darted between Levi and Asher, then to the open elevator shaft. “You found it? The way out?”
“We think so.” Levi nodded.
“Then let’s go,” Elliot insisted, moving toward the elevator platform. “Now!”
As if in response to his urgency, the building shuddered. A low rumble emanated from deep within the walls, growing in intensity until the surgical implements rattled on their trays. The lights flickered, then stabilized at a lower intensity.
“It knows,” Asher said quietly. “It knows we’ve found the way in.”
The rumbling intensified. Dust fell from the ceiling in fine streams, collecting on the operating tables. The floor vibrated beneath their feet, subtle at first, then with increasing violence.
“Move!” Jasper shouted, gesturing toward the elevator.
They were halfway to the platform when the first real quake hit. The floor buckled, a crack racing across the concrete like lightning. Elliot stumbled, nearly falling into the widening fissure. Jasper grabbed his arm, steadying him.
The next tremor was stronger still. A section of ceiling collapsed near the door, blocking their escape route with rubble. The operating tables began to slide across the floor, pulled by some unseen force toward the walls.
“It’s reconfiguring,” Levi realized. “Trying to stop us from reaching the center.”
Jasper pushed him forward. “Go! Get to the elevator!”
They were mere steps from the platform when a horrific grinding sound filled the room. A section of wall detached, revealing components hidden within—massive gears and hydraulic pistons that began to extend into the room.
“Look out!” Levi shouted as one piston shot toward Jasper with impossible speed.
Jasper shoved him forward, the force sending Levi stumbling onto the elevator platform. The piston caught Jasper instead, pinning him against the opposite wall with crushing force. Blood erupted from his mouth as the metal impaled him.
“No!” Levi tried to go to him, but Asher grabbed him.
“He’s gone,” Asher said. “Keep moving.”
Elliot reached the platform, his face sheet-white. “Jesus Christ,” he whispered, staring at Jasper’s impaled body. “Oh Jesus.”
More wall sections retracted, revealing additional traps. The entire room was transforming into a death machine, designed to prevent them from reaching the heart of Faine’s domain.
“We need to activate the elevator,” Levi said, searching for controls on the platform.
Elliot’s nerve broke. With a strangled cry, he turned and ran, heading back toward the door he and Jasper came from.
“Elliot, wait!” Levi called, but it was too late.
As Elliot reached the door, a section of floor rose up to meet a descending ceiling panel. He had just enough time to look back, eyes wide with terror, before the two surfaces met with sickening finality. When they withdrew, nothing remained of him but a dark smear on the concrete.
“The controls,” Asher said, his voice unnervingly calm as he pointed to a panel that rose from the center of the platform.
Levi’s hands trembled as he hit the panel’s singular button.
They’re all gone. They’re not coming back. They all died.
The building’s convulsions grew more violent.
Equipment crashed to the floor, shattering into shrapnel.
The walls themselves seemed to breathe, expanding and contracting as if in pain.
At the edges of the room, more components emerged—blades and spikes and crushing plates, all designed to keep them from what lay below.
“It’s working,” Levi said as the platform dipped then descended into the darkness below. “We’re going to make it.”
He’d barely finished speaking when a terrible groaning sound came from above. They looked up to see the ceiling aperture beginning to close—massive metal plates sliding together like the iris of a camera, tensing around the cables of the platform that kept them suspended.
“No, no, no,” Levi breathed, watching their escape route disappear.
The platform was moving too slowly. They wouldn’t make it before the opening sealed.
Asher’s eyes met his, a strange clarity in them. Without speaking, he pulled Levi against his chest, arms wrapping around him protectively.
Levi clutched the front of Asher’s shirt, eyes fixed on the closing aperture above. In that moment, with death approaching once again, he found himself pressing closer to the man who had once been his nightmare.
“I’ll find you again,” Asher promised, his voice low and certain against Levi’s ear.
“I know.”
The ceiling plates crashed together with devastating force, severing the elevator cables and sending the platform plummeting into the darkness below. Asher’s body curled around him.
I made him a promise, didn’t I? After the third key—