The second floor was quieter than I expected. Maybe I was bracing for screams, looting, or a fight—but all we heard was our footsteps. My boots made almost no sound on the tiled floor. Liam's were quieter. He walked just behind me, like a shadow—always the soldier, always the skeptic.
"You sure we should've split up like this?" he asked, voice low but steady.
"No," I answered honestly. "But we needed coverage. We're not going to find the missing women or level up by huddling together."
He didn't argue. Just a short grunt of acknowledgment before silence returned. I didn't mind.
Sol and Amber were a few paces behind, checking store windows and overturned shelves. Sol's eyes picked up the smallest details. Amber moved like she had something to prove—scanning high and low with her ready machete. She didn't know what she was looking for, but I appreciated that she and Sol were paired together. Sol needed to learn to work with others, and Amber could use the discipline.
We passed a shuttered nail salon, then a burned-out boutique. When we reached the hallway near the restrooms, I stopped. There were scratches on the bathroom door. Blood stained the floor.
"What is it?" Amber asked, concern in her voice.
I raised a hand for silence. Liam stepped past me and posted up at the other side of the entrance. I gave him a nod, and we both moved in.
The stench hit immediately—blood, urine, old fear. One of the stalls was closed, with feet barely visible beneath it.
I gestured to Liam. He flanked the side, weapon raised. I knocked lightly.
"We're not here to hurt you. My name's Jasmine. We're here to help."
Silence. Then a whisper: "You're not... one of them?"
"No. You're safe now."
The lock clicked. The door creaked open. A girl—maybe eleven or twelve—stood trembling. Her cheeks were streaked with tears and grime. Her legs were bruised. Her eyes were wide and haunted.
"She told me to hide," the girl whispered. "My sister. She shoved me in and locked the door. Said she'd come back."
"Where is she now?"
"They... they grabbed her. She tried to fight. She screamed for help. I heard something snap. She screamed louder. I think they broke her legs." Her voice cracked. "They dragged her away. I should've helped. I just hid like a baby."
"Who were they?" I asked, crouching slightly.
"The green monsters. The ones that showed up." Her whole body trembled.
Liam remained near the door, his expression unreadable but eyes sharp. "Did you see where they went?"
She shook her head and wept.
Amber wrapped her in a gentle hug, whispering reassurance. Liam stepped into the hallway to keep watch. Sol frowned at the girl, a flicker of something crossing his face—disgust, or maybe pity. He turned away when he caught me watching.
I brought my radio to my mouth. "Alpha to all teams. We've found a young girl in the restroom. Claims her sister was taken by goblins. Evidence of struggle at the scene. We'll continue searching for signs. Continue with the operation."
One by one, voices confirmed. I looked at Amber and gave a quick gesture toward the door.
I crouched in front of the girl. "We're going to look for your sister. You can stay here and wait until we finish our sweep, or you can come with us. It's your choice."
She opened her mouth, then closed it. Her lips trembled. Then she slapped her cheeks softly, like bracing herself.
She glanced at Amber, then at me. Her eyes lit with something fierce.
"I'm going with you. I want to find my sister."
I stared at her for a second, then nodded.
Sol tapped my shoulder. He pointed to a smeared trail of blood leading out of the bathroom—thick, erratic drag marks that screamed pain and haste.
"What's your name?" I asked, eyes following the blood.
"Karen," she said.
"Stay close to Amber and Sol. If we see goblins, we do not panic. Do not get in anyone's way. Understand?"
She hesitated.
"Do you understand?"
"Yes."
We followed the trail north. Slowly. Carefully.
The drag marks led us toward the escalator to the first floor. Every corridor we passed had been looted or wrecked. Blood,filthand strips of flesh were littered in the hallow making it stank of rot.
Amber gagged. Sol pulled a bandana over his mouth. Liam didn't react.
I held up a fist. We stopped.
I peered over the balcony.
Five—maybe six goblins. Snarling. Restless. Pacing like guard dogs near the escalator base.
They hadn't noticed us.
Then something clattered behind us. We all turned. A figure darted down a side hallway and Sol wanted to follow him but I pulled him back. We didn't have time for that since the goblins already noticed us.
One of the goblins looked up—and shrieked.
"Contact!" Liam barked.
They charged the escalator.
Amber shoved Karen behind her, stepping forward without hesitation. The first goblin leaped up the final step, and Amber met it mid-air with a brutal kick to the chest. Bones cracked. It sailed backward and crashed against the railing before tumbling to the floor below.
Sol didn't wait—he loosed an arrow that hissed through the air and thudded into another goblin's chest. It gurgled and stumbled, falling backward into the arms of a screeching companion.
I intercepted the third with a slash across the torso, my katana biting deep through its ribs. It shrieked, and I spun, severing its head before it could alert the others.
Liam tackled two at once. He slammed the first into a wall, cracking its skull with the butt of his weapon. The second jumped on his back, clawing at his armor. He twisted, grabbed it by the throat, and drove it hard into the ground.
Sol's second shot pierced one in the eye. Amber ran forward and hacked down the last with a downward swing that nearly split its shoulder.
In less than a minute, the floor was smeared with goblin blood. Their bodies twitched. Then lay still.
They were faster than the ones we fought before but still manageable.
In under a minute, it was over. The floor was slick with blood.
Then came the shouting. What's wrong now?
"Help! Someone! Please—!"
A man burst from a hallway—bleeding, limping, panicked. One of Marco's. He spotted us and smiled, relief on his face.
I was about to tell him to shut up before something else found us.
Then I saw what followed.
Three figures moved slowly, wearing Halloween masks—faces frozen in plastic grins and fangs. Each carried a different weapon, all of them stained with blood. They walked in total silence, like predators certain their prey wouldn't escape.
One lifted a makeshift spear which was more of a sharpened metal pipe and threw it. It pierced Marco's man through the back. He collapsed and gasped face full of shock. He reached his hands up towards us before the figure stepped on his back digging the spear deeper in him. Then silence, I knew that the man was already dead and the figure removed the spear from him and began to search him ignoring us.
Once he was done looting the body, the masked figures stopped a distance away, watching us.
I met Liam's eyes—grim, steady, no words needed between us. We both knew what came next.
"Looks like we're not done yet," I said, voice low and sharp, already reaching for my blade. Not with fear. Just certainty.