Written By: Epicstu Wyyvernwriter

Inside and three fourths of the way up a literal support beam to the city above, “Look out!” Noah dove at his daughter just in time to roll the two of them out of its way as the floor above them collapsed down to their level. They rushed to the wall of windows at the other end of the room, opposite of the falling stone structure’s tilt. Crashing through the windows, they rolled to and ran down the now horizontal skyscraper’s side toward the next support beam. Using the underslung grappling hooks of their pistols, Noah and Maggie caught the ceiling and zip-lined to the manhole cover where the top of the now fallen skyscraper had been connected. 

Their breathing heavy, the two took a moment as they lay on their backs in the middle of the empty street staring at the ceiling a mile above them, “please tell me this is the last city,” Maggie held her breath.

“No idea,” Noah replied and they laughed at their current situation.

“Everything hurts,” Maggie clenched her sides, still laughing.

“Me too, Maggie… shit!” Noah quickly rolled out of the way just as the Fenneclich crashed the Nekolich through the ground as thousands of each of them clustered, mauling one another, close behind. The leading Fenneclich carried one of the Nekolich high up before headbutting him down at a shallow angle into a skyscraper, only to be immediately torn asunder by the Nekolich swarm. “Come on, we have to get up there before their fight destroys this floor and the other crashes down on us.”

“They’re throwing thousands of themselves at each other at a time,” Maggie watched the rival lichs fight and saw that, “Stu can’t win this one, can he?”

“His sacrifice will be in vain if we do not make it to Drak,” Noah put a hand on Maggie’s shoulder.

Maggie put her hand on her father’s and closed her eyes a moment to hold back the tears, “then let’s hurry.” Choosing a skyscraper a ways from the raging battle they began yet another climb to the top floor where the underside of a manhole cover would be the only thing between them and the next level. 

Reaching the entry port to the next level, “this thing is a vault door,” Noah sighed out of irritation. “A combination lock. At least things are quiet at the moment.” Then the stone building began to rumble and the floor began to crack.

Maggie jumped on the latter leading to the locked port just in time to avoid falling with the skyscraper as it crumbled down to the levels below, “how has this entire mountain not crashed down yet?”

“The walls must have been left thick enough to stay sturdy or they would not have been able to hollow it out as they have,” Noah replied with his ear to the vault door as he gently turned the combination dial listening for a click. “It is really hard to hear anything past that fight,” he commented on the rumbling and crashing of the falling stone support skyscrapers around them.

Maggie could not refrain from staring at the crumbling ground miles below, “please hurry.” In an attempt to look anywhere else she watched the Nekolich and the Fenneclich fight until the Fenneclich had devoured one of the Nekolich’s bodies and in response the Nekolich became one. She saw fear in Stu’s eyes as he smiled at her before taking the Fenneclich from the Realm.

“Got it!” Noah pulled Maggie up with him and shut the door behind them. “Finally, no more cities,” he sighed. Then he noticed his daughter’s tears, “Maggie?”

“He’s gone,” she wept into his chest.

Noah embraced her, “then let’s make him proud,” he smiled at her and helped her to her feet as he wiped away her tears. “You ready?”

Maggie inhaled and exhaled in an attempt to regain her bearings, “let’s kill this asshole.”

“That’s my girl,” Noah cocked his shotgun and they started their trek through the maze of corridors before them.

*          *

“Seven Miles and a lone assassin are all that lay between you and me,” Drak Mountainhiem spoke to Noah and Maggie as though they could hear him even though they could not. “Ting… Ting… Ting… do you hear it? Ting… Ting… Ting… the hammer striking the anvil? Ting… Ting… Ting… Time is running out,” he chuckled. “Better hurry”