His taste buds drowned with the taste of blood. Was it his own? His opponent’s? Did it matter? No. Landing another blow was the only thing that mattered.

William spat out another gob of spit and blood, and threw his right punch at Jacobs’ face. He managed to block it, but the impact was strong enough to stagger him. Again, this time with his left. Jacobs reacted faster than him, and his punch shook William’s head from top to bottom.

He couldn’t slow down. If he did, he felt like he would collapse at any moment.

They grabbed each other, and Jacobs’ knee sunk into his stomach, and his fist crashed against Jacobs’ chin, and they collided with the office furniture, and they attempted to strangle each other; like animals, entangled in a savage brawl, blow after blow.

A new tremor coursed through the tower, stronger than the previous ones, making them stumble and lose their balance. Each one rolled in a different direction, interrupting the fight for a brief moment.

Still on the floor, William had a strange feeling. Was it a slight tilt, or was it his mind playing tricks on him? Some small objects slid along tables and fell to the ground all over the office. It wasn’t his imagination. The building was tilting sideways.

“Fuck, I love it…” mumbled Jacobs, some meters away, using a chair as support to stand back up.

He couldn’t remain on the floor. He couldn’t give that motherfucker the slightest advantage. William jumped back up and observed his opponent.

“Do you hear them screaming down there, man? Do you feel how it’s all falling apart? Do you feel the sweat on your forehead, the pain in your bones? The taste of blood in your mouth? Pure adrenalin! Without law, without order, without any of that bullshit!” as he talked, a sickening grin appeared on his face. “I missed this crap so much.”

All of a sudden, he decided to start blabbering? William continued observing, and waiting. Despite all the chattering, Jacobs wasn’t distracted at all. He kept his posture, and his eyes were fixated on William, and on every single movement he made. One could almost say his monologue was effective, it was driving him nuts.

“Are you gonna stay quiet?” he added. “I thought you’d at least bark some mo—”

“Go fuck yourself. You’re insane.” neither William’s words nor his tone were able to express his resentment towards that man.

“Insane? Insane!? Shit, of course I am!” he let out a snicker.

‘Shut the fuck up.’

“You know, William…? You’ve been a fucking pain in the ass since you crossed ways with me. You’ve got me pissed off as all hell, you have no idea.”

“Why won’t you shut up…? I don’t wanna hear you!’

“And now that you’re here in front of me, I’ll—”

Another tremor. Books, folders, and other objects fell from shelves and tables, and Jacobs staggered again. William dove towards him without hesitating.

Entwined in a violent hold, they continued stumbling and crashing against the furniture in the room, exchanging blow after blow. They panted, growled, shouted. Why did it look like Jacobs was enjoying it?

“Come on…! Come on…!!” he screamed, before receiving a punch to the jaw and giving it back to William in the face. “Keep going…!! You got anything else!?”

A powerful kick to William’s chest sent him flying backwards, over some tables, until he dropped down at the other side. With his head spinning, he saw light a few feet away from his face. He had fallen quite close to the outer wall, which had fallen apart in its entirety. A column of smoke and ash ascended towards the heights, behind which the city’s panorama could be discerned.

Jacobs rushed to his position and, before he could manage to get back up, kicked him in the stomach. For an instant, William was out of breath.

“Fuck, look at you. You know…? I’m fed up already…” Jacobs climbed on top of him and brought out a small pocket knife. “And to think you gave me trouble… Motherfucker, it’s not funny if you’re not going to defend yourself.”

“It’s… not… funny…?” muttered William. “Is this… a fucking game… to you…!?”

“Of course!” he said, raising the knife and dropping it on William’s face. With all the strength he could muster, he grabbed Jacobs’ arms and resisted. “Look, I don’t care anymore whether I live or die. I don’t give a crap. But whatever happens, it’ll be with my own rules. Fight for the future? Save the world? Protect others? You’ve got to be kidding…! Who the fuck gives a shit about any of that!?”

‘And what do you know? You’re the last one I wanna hear that from. What do you know about protecting anyone!? Fucking psychopath, do you even know what it’s like to have something to fight for!?’

The incandescent ash from the exterior reflected on the knife’s blade, barely some centimeters away from his face, giving it a crimson gleam. As it drew closer, millimeter by millimeter, Jacobs’ grin grew wider and wider, as if he enjoyed every single second of it.

‘It’s your fault…! It’s your fucking fault…!!’

He wouldn’t allow it. He wouldn’t give him that pleasure. Not to him. With each glance at the unhinged glint in his eyes, he remembered that fateful moment. He remembered those last words.

[You’re going to survive, don’t you? You’ll keep going!]

That son of a bitch was smiling? He was having fun? William had had enough.

With his right hand, he felt around his pockets in a hurry, leaving only the left hand to hold his enemy back. The knife almost grazed his skin, right between the eyes. Did he have any weapons? A lighter. A mobile phone. Some trash. There was nothing? He checked another pocket of his jacket and felt something hard and circular.

The pocket mirror. He took it out and crashed it against the floor by his side, releasing a multitude of glass shards. He grabbed one of them tightly, and warm blood ran through his fingers.

He aimed directly at Jacob’s neck.

‘Go to hell, bastard!!’

The mirror shard sunk into the flesh, making Jacobs howl. With a befuddled expression, he stopped pushing the knife, and grabbed his own neck, feeling around the shard in disbelief. William took the chance and kicked him away.

“Fuck… Seriously?” said Jacobs, among giggles, holding the wound.

William stood up. His opponent lay now on the floor, with the searing abyss behind, and blood fell in streams from his neck.

“So…? What’re you gonna do now, huh…? Will you grow a pair, hero…? Huh…!? Do you have the balls to finish what you—!?”

“Yes.”

The kick, powerful and decisive, right in the chest, threw Jacobs backwards, headfirst into the column of ash ascending from the void.

It had been only a second, and that man was gone. He hadn’t even heard him scream. He couldn’t even see his face as he fell.

‘Amanda…’

Would she have approved such act of vengeance? Absolutely not. It was the first, and perhaps the last time in his life he would contradict her.

He’d have plenty of time to apologize later.

‘I’m sorry, honey… I think you’ll have to wait for me a bit more.’

******

The air burned. The more he approached the ground, the more it burned, it seared his clothes, it skinned him alive. But he felt no pain. All he felt was emptiness. That was the last remaining thorn in his side, and he’d have to die with it.

‘You motherfucker.’

Was the ground very far away? He could see almost the entire tower, covering the skies. It looked too big. Why?

‘Ah, right… It’s tilted. That fire is sure doing its job. I nailed it, didn’t I?’

An intense blue light penetrated the smoke and the inferno. The shamblers, most likely. Numerous columns of them clung to the tower’s sides, climbing over one another, in flames. How far up were they? Half-way? A third of the way?

‘You know what…? I’m satisfied. Fuck, what else can I ask for? These guys are screwed. You’re screwed! You hear me!? Fuck it all! Fuck William, fuck that damn brat, fuck the Army dogs, fuck your shitty justice, fuck everything! I love it, damn it!! I’ll greet you in hell, motherfuckers!! And I promise I’ll—!!’

******

“There’s someone here!!”

William heard a series of hurried steps behind him, followed by a voice. He turned towards the office’s door, and saw a soldier at the doorframe.

“What are you doing down here!? We’ve got to go up, come on!” he said.

As if stepping out of a trance, William shook his head and nodded. Staying still and deep in thought wasn’t the best idea at the moment. He approached the soldier, but his gaze was focused on the hole in the wall, leading outside. His eyes were squinting, trying to make out something through the smoke curtain.

“C-Captain…!” he shouted.

More steps approached from the corridor, and a small group of soldiers piled up around the door.

“Alan!? What’s going on!?” William recognized Captain Isaac among the soldiers. “What’s a civilian doing here!? Hurry, there’s no time to—!”

“Captain, over there! Isn’t that…!?”

The soldier pointed at the hole. What was he pointing at? There was nothing on the other side of the column of smoke, besides the expansive city. The skies above were clear, without a single cloud in sight.

William narrowed his eyes. No, it wasn’t completely clear. There was something, an unusual dark spot. He hadn’t noticed before, but the ambient was brimming with background noise. The screams of the shambler crowds down below, the soldier’s gunfire, and the crackling of fire, but there was something else. Explosions in the distance? Perhaps. And, what was that annoying whirr? It grew stronger with time: it was getting closer.

“A helicopter!!” the soldiers arrived at the conclusion first.

‘The rescue!?’

“This is Alpha!” Isaac grabbed the radio. “Lucky-02, we’ve got visual on you! We’re heading to the rooftop, hurry up!!”

The captain received a reply on the radio, and his expression quickly contorted in confusion.

“What…!? What does that mean…!? You couldn’t approach the tower yet…!? Then, who…?”

A sequence of devastating blasts rattled William’s eardrums, followed by a new tremor. There was no warning. As if caused by an earthquake, dust and gravel detached from the trembling walls, the false ceiling collapsed in pieces, and every glass surface in the area shattered.

The soldiers immediately dropped to the floor. The one closest to him grabbed him and knocked him over as well.

“What the fuck is going on!!?”

“An explosion!?”

“Shit, the damn building will fall apart at this rate!!”

‘Damn it…! Now what!?’

******

In barely an instant, the soldier dropped like a rag, with his neck snapped. A distraction was all it took for him to lose focus on the battle. Amateurs until the end.

PT-01 kept his guard up and responded to Colonel Rowan’s imminent grab. The missile attack hadn’t bothered him at all. Despite being the last man standing, he showed no signs of fatigue or indecision. With precise and calculated movements, he began a wild choreography of blows, blocks, and holds with PT-01. He aimed specifically for the most vulnerable areas of the body. Neck, stomach, groin, knees.

Whoever made the first mistake would be the first one to fall. And they wouldn’t be standing up again.

The sound of the helicopter’s propellers drew closer and closer, and one minute later, the dark figure rose into the skies, above the rooftop of Kurtis Tower. PT-01 and Rowan kicked each other away and got separated for a moment, with their gazes set on the vehicle.

The missiles had been the unnecessary confirmation of something he already knew. From the very moment Nyx had been exposed, PT-01 knew with absolute certainty that ZEUS would initiate the cleanup protocol. They wouldn’t risk the queen falling into military hands and producing a cure as a result. They’d start over with a clean slate, and wait for a new opportunity.

Picking him up? Another risk they wouldn’t be willing to take, by no means. That’s what the cleanup was for: getting rid of all the trash they had left behind. Prometheus had followed orders like a bunch of lap dogs, but ZEUS wouldn’t fulfill their end of the deal. And that pissed him off.

He grabbed the radio. “Satisfied, Hades?”

“It’s nothing personal, Prometheus, you know how it goes.” replied a voice on the other side. PT-01 kept his gaze on the helicopter’s dark cockpit. He had a feeling the pilot was looking back at him. “We’re just doing our job, like we’ve always done. Tough luck, buddy.”

“Conspiracy, biological terrorism, without guarantees, with betrayal right around the corner…” said Rowan. “Why the hell is an old fox like you deep in such a pile of shit?”

The colonel, not letting go of his firm combat posture, observed him with inquiring eyes.

“Save your words. I’m way too rotten to appreciate them.”

‘More importantly… Hades…!’

Not saying another word, PT-01 dove behind the rooftop’s machinery and rolled to cover. An instant later, the Hades helicopter spat a volley of machine gun fire on their position. Metal splinters, gravel, and dust flew all over the place, passing centimeters away from his body.

The helicopter moved sideways; he knew thanks to the directions the propeller’s roar came from. It was very unlikely he’d survive a second volley. He needed a moment of distraction, and he needed it now.

He heard a new round of gunfire, but it wasn’t hitting the rooftop.

‘…?’

He sat up and took a quick look.

‘There it is. The opportunity I need!’

A second helicopter approached the tower and opened fire on Hades. He saw one of their gunners fall down into the void, while they attempted to use the building as cover.

He had no idea where Rowan was, he couldn’t see him. Definitely still alive. Didn’t matter. The path to the stairwell was clear. Without hesitating, PT-01 bolted off running.

His job wasn’t finished yet. He still had one last score to settle.