BookRix

Despite my newfound determination, I found I couldn't run much farther, making it only five or six metres down the corridor, before stopping to catch my breath again.

+Attelus,+ said Karmen. +Attelus you've got to keep moving.+

I nodded and forced my body onward, ambling while using my forearm to pull myself along the corridor, glancing around at every crash and roar that echoed through the building from Darrance's and the daemons' struggle. There were, without doubt, more daemons; I had to be careful.

I made it to the end of the corridor, finding another window.

With battered, bloody and hurt hands, I clumsily slid it open and leaned to look outside. The next building over was another long, six-story hab unit. It was nearly a three-metre gap, and the nearest fire escape was a few windows on my left.

I quickly recalled that there was a fork in the corridor a while back. Most of all, what caught my attention was the light; the blood-red light had grown in intensity. It was like my eyes had blown their blood vessels. I sighed, about to push back into the building but stopped as I felt slight droplets of rain on my head.

I blanched in bemusement and looked up at the thick, crimson clouds above. It never rained in the underhive; it couldn't rain in the underhive; the ceiling of the over hive forever prevented that. The few droplets quickly escalated into a full-on downpour, but I couldn't see the rain; I could hear it, feel it, but couldn't see it. I reeled inside, abruptly shut the window and backed away in disgust and horror.

It was raining blood, frigging blood.

Another great crash down the hall made me jump and brought me back to reality. I turned and ran to the intersection, turning right. As much I didn't want to go outside, I had to get to the roof; it was the best way to go. Making it to the next turn, I ran to the fire escape door and, without looking back, opened it and stepped outside.

The force of the blood rain hit me like a punch to the jaw, and I raised my arm to protect my face with a growl of anger and fighting the urge to vomit. I started up the metal staircase.

Edracian wasn't just throwing daemons at me but the very elements. I couldn't help but take some pride in that. Clenching my teeth, I trod carefully, all the while clutching hard at the handrail to keep my feet on the treacherous, slick surface.

Finally, I made it to the top and looked about, trying to find this church. I saw it through the blood-red, a large, two-story monastic and overly grandiose thing; its two towers which stuck out like a sore thumb compared to the simplistic hab buildings around it. It would've been gaudy if it wasn't in such disrepair. My brow furrowed involuntarily, the Ecclesiarchy, always having the thrones to build such monstrosities but never really helping those in need. Ohh, they did but only 'spiritually', which meant nothing to me and not just that they'd charge for it too. I shook away such thoughts and walked to the other side of the roof.

After wiping my sticky, blood-slicked hair from my eyes, I spun on my heels, fell into a sprint and lunged over the three-metre gap.

Landing well, I finished into a crouch and ran to the next edge, stopping to look along the side, trying to find another way down.

The tallest building was only four stories high and was a good one hundred metres away, which would've made me curse, but I froze in fear as I saw daemons, frigging dozens of the bastards. They stood perfectly still throughout the streets and the buildings below. As I noticed them, all their snouts simultaneously snapped upward, somehow looking straight at me. Desperate with utter terror, I threw myself to the floor, although I suspected it was fruitless.

"Karmen! Karmen! You could've frigging warned me of this!" I hissed through clenched teeth.

It took a good few seconds before Karmen finally replied that her voice was pained and distant when she did. +Warn you of what Attelus? I am sorry, I am...busy. I cannot see everything.+

Slowly, I climbed up and peered over the buttress, but what I saw scared me even more. All the daemons were all gone.

+Attelus? What's wrong?+ "I-" My reply was interrupted by a massive crash followed by another, then another that came from below.

I furrowed my brow in bemusement, climbed to my feet; then the realisation hit me; it hit me hard.

+Attelus!+ "They're collapsing the frigging building!" I roared, more to myself than to her, and as if on cue, the roof under my feet began to sway and tilt, making me stumble to keep my feet. Panic gripped me so hard I couldn't think straight, and I sprinted straight for one of the rooftop doors. Then found much to my distress; it locked. Without thinking, I kicked at the door; the first did nothing, the second not much more. It was only after the fifth that my panicked mind finally remembered, I was carrying a frigging powersword. I activated it, sliced through the thick lock.