Another loud crack echoed through the building. Patricia didn’t argue and ran to grab the phone. When she returned, Henry threw open the door and trained his pistol on the legion. As soon as the legion caught sight of Patricia, it started reaching for her.

“Tee… tee… tee!” Henry could hear Patricia’s breathing become rapid. 

“It’ll… it’ll be okay Sammy.” Henry pulled her through the door frame, keeping himself between her and the legion. The two of them slowly backed down the hallway.

Seeing its target getting away, the legion dug its claws into the floor, pulling itself through the safety glass. The glass continued to give way, occasionally catching on one of the legion's many appendages. Henry wasn’t sure how much distance to keep between them anymore, and the two of them were about 25 meters from the stair. The elevator wasn’t much farther, although it probably was shut off by the fire alarm. With a final crack, the legion’s other arm was through the window and it quickly began dragging the rest of its body inside.

“Patricia?!”

“It needs a few more minutes!”

“Tee… tee… tee!” A leg was through with the other one quickly to follow. Its eyes stared at them like an army of the damned. With a final pull, the legion was entirely in the hallway. The legion’s appendages began spreading out, completely filling the width of the hallway. Their silhouette was a web of mechanical death.

The legion rushed them. Its speed caught Henry off guard but its jittering movements meant it kept crashing into the sides of the hallway.

“Go!” 

Henry began shoving Patricia and she bolted for the stairs, but her attention was split between running and keeping an eye on the phone. They had barely made it a few meters before Patricia tripped and fell, causing Henry to fall on top of her. Turning over, Henry watched the legion descend upon them. Steadying his pistol with his right hand, he fired the shotgun slug into the legions head.

As the slug connected with the legion’s head, it ripped apart its non-bulginging eye, exposing some putrescent gray matter, but the machine didn’t falter. Patricia screamed as Henry unloaded his pistol, trying to hit any major joints for the legion’s major limbs. Although a few bullets connected, damaging the monstrosity, it wasn’t enough to stop the legion. 

Henry’s whole body pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat. As the legion towered over him, he felt everything slow. He was slow. The legion was slow. Slowly, its blades and cutting implements extended forward, aimed directly at them. Henry extended his right arm and curled his hand into a fist, but felt Patricia tremble beside him. He stared at his fist and accepted what he had to do. Moving to better cover Patricia, he held out his right hand to try and catch the blade aimed at her. Maybe his protective gear would stop the blade pointed at him, but Henry didn’t hold his breath.

Like slides of a presentation, little moments played in Henry’s mind. He saw baby Rowan cradled in his arms while Ashley slept in her hospital bed. The boy had been born so tiny, but he didn’t cry or make a fuss. Next was Chicory, giggling as Lily bounced the tiny pup on her knee. She slept a lot, but she’d always let you know when she was awake. As he closed his eyes for a power nap, he reawakened to the first night Henry had been with Reggie. Maybe it was because he was high on Glitter, or all the alcohol lingering in his system, but she looked so divine as she slept in his arms. Feeling a shiver, Rico held him from behind, singing one of the songs he’d been workshopping. As he closed his eyes again, Henry reopened them to the day he woke up half alive at the hospital with his brother, Conner, handcuffed to his bed and uncle Malik standing in the corner. Conner had clearly been crying all night. Malik hawkishly watched both of them while donning his police uniform. As a warm spring breeze brought the faint smell of flowers through the hospital window, Henry and Conner were at the park, having just ran into two Doberman girls: Ashley and Lily. They were looking for June bugs to put in their little plastic bug cages.

Lily, Rowan, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for everything.

A gunshot brought the world back to normal speed and out of nostalgia. Henry watched the legion stumble and stagger as something crackled within its body. Blue arcs of electricity spread out from a fresh bullet hole in its chest. A few more gunshots rang out and more holes appeared in the legion’s chest, with even more electricity coursing through its body. The speaker inside it crackled furiously as smoke billowed from the gaps in its crudely meshed together body. Looking down the hallway, Henry saw Mercy, scars faintly aglow, reloading her rifle before taking a few more shots at the legion. Henry kept Patricia covered as shrapnel pelted them. The legion lurched forward as it began to run at Mercy, readying every weapon and tool at its disposal. 

Henry got to his knees, fumbling to reload his pistol as he kept looking toward Mercy. Instead of firing more, she lowered the rifle and drew a pistol she had tucked in the back of her pants, but she didn’t point it at the legion. Aiming to the ceiling, Mercy unloaded the gun into the sprinkler system, spraying water everywhere around her. Henry watched as the water turned to steam as it fell on her, causing the whole hallway to become misty. Despite the lack of visibility, he could see Mercy clearly as her scars glowed like hot irons.