Maria stared at the empty air in a mindless daze. Jason walked over to her.

 

“You okay?” he asked.

 

“Uh, ah. Yeah, I’m fine,” she definitely wasn’t fine considering the countenance on her face. She kept staring in front of her as if something was there. Even after rubbing her eyes, she still kept on staring at the same place.

 

Jason stood there staring at her every movement. He had an assumption in mind since it might be possible.

 

“Are you hurt?” he asked.

 

“I’m... No, I’m fine. Just a little a bit dizzy,” Maria replied.

 

He noticed her hesitation.

 

“See a floating blue window?” he asked. Throwing in the bait.

 

“No, its,” she stopped talking and turned over towards Jason. “Wait, you can see it too?”

 

So it’s true. But how did she gets it? I’m the one who killed the bird. Unless she shooting at it counts the same as an assist? Or was it because I killed the bird using her gun?

 

Too many questions with no answers. Although he was curious, yet he has other matters to attend to. His sight brought him to the view of a woman laid on the floor.

 

“Let’s talk about this later,” said Jason.

 

“What do you mean later? I-” her emotions were in a state of chaos. She didn't know what was happening to her and Jason seemed to have the same condition as hers.

 

She needs answers, answers that could put a little bit of peace in her mind. But Jason intervened as he shut her down.

 

“I need to check on Gina,” speaking about Gina, was enough to silenced Maria.

 

She followed him from behind and noticed that Jason was limping, dragging his other feet around.

 

“Jason, you’re hurt,” said Maria as she walked beside him.

 

“It’s fine,” he waved her off and arrived in front of Gina.

 

His brows knitted together, frowning after seeing the state Gina was in. A few cut and bruises over her body with a few parts of her dress torn apart. A huge bite wound was seen on her left shoulder, the perpetrator was none other than that damn ebony pterodactyl. He stood there staring at her feeling guilty. He didn't know whether she was still alive or not, afraid of checking her pulse.

 

What if she was dead was one of the thoughts fleeting in his mind. Maria noticed Jason clenching both of his fists tightly. She knew that this ex-boyfriend of hers was hesitating. Maria took the lead and checked on Gina’s pulse.

 

“I’ll do it,” said Maria.

 

Her fingers touched Gina’s neck just above the carotid artery. Jason waited for Maria as his heart beats faster than ever.

 

“She’s alive,” said Maria. But she wasn’t in the best of condition. Her face was pale and her breathing was becoming shallower. Although Maria didn’t say anything else, yet Jason knew her condition.

 

But that was enough for Jason. He stood there staring at the unconscious woman. He told her, he would come back with help. But what did he brought along?

 

Nothing.

 

It pained him to saw her like this.

 

“Maria, help me get the first aid kit. I left it in front of the door,” said Jason.

 

Maria was worried about seeing him like this. She wanted to reach out her hand at him but she didn’t know what to say. She left and came back with the first aid kit. To her surprise, Jason made an improvised stretcher from the tablecloth and a few things around the area.

 

“Help me lift her up,” said Jason.

 

They brought her out of the event hall and found a smaller room with all four walls. It was too cold to let her lay there close to the broken glass wall. Along with the three of them were Eugene and her parents.

 

“Eugene, take this bandage, it’s for uncle,” he handed over a few things to Eugene.

 

His aunt and uncle thanked Jason out of gratitude, he nodded in response. Taking a swab of alcohol, he cleaned his hands up preparing for what he was about to do.

 

“What are you going to do?” Maria asked.

 

“Pulling a few of these glass shards from her body, I’ll leave the big one inside. She can’t heal if these things still stuck inside of her,” said Jason.

 

Although his reasoning a bit flaw not following the medical standards but at least he was doing something.

 

“I’ll help,” said Maria as she removed her coat.

 

But her phone rang. She saw the caller ID from the screen and her eyes turned jubilant. She was impatient and quickly received the call. Jason glanced as Maria left the room. He was curious since the expression she had was rather surprising in a time like this.

 

A loved one? Wait, why should I even bother about it. It’s none of my business.

 

He scrambled his thought, shaking off from thinking the unnecessity. Then thinking about love one made him thought about a few of those in his life.

 

I wonder how mom and dad are doing, I hope they’re okay. What about Ted and Esther? I probably should at least message them later.

 

He had decided and for now, he remained focus at the task in hand. One by one, those small glass shards were removed. His hands were moving quickly closing up the wounds with the bandages in hand. Thankfully, he didn’t make a mistake taking out those small shards. If he had taken a big one, it would have been bad.

 

“Fuh,” a sigh out of relief.

 

A touch felt over his forehead. His eyes saw someone wiping down the sweat on his forehead.

 

“Oppa, I hope you won’t mind. It’s the least I can do,” said Eugene.

 

He stared at her for a while, seeing every inch of her face closely.

 

“What’s wrong oppa?” she asked, noticing the stare from Jason.

 

“Nothing, where’s Paul? I didn’t see him in the hall,” he asked. Remembering the man he slapped.

 

The countenance of Eugene turned pale as her eyes appeared cold and flat. A drastic change after he mentioned the name Paul.

 

“Don’t mention that bastard name, a useless piece of shit,” she didn’t restrain herself as her words filled with anger.

 

Something definitely went wrong. Jason didn’t bother asking more since it would only sour the mood but Eugene gave him a piece of her mind.

 

“That bastard just left along with those scumbags uncle and aunt of ours. Like father and son, all of them were alike. I begged on my knees asking them to help my father yet they left us in the dust,” said Eugene.

 

Jason got the gist of the situation.

 

He did act like a man, but more of a scumbag than a gentleman.

 

True to what they said, in time of peril was where we could saw the meaning of a bond. It seems being relatives was meaningless in their eyes.

 

Every man to themselves, touche Paul.

 

He didn’t agree nor disagree with Paul’s action. It was a basic instinct to preserve one own’s life. Thinking back, he was more or less the same. Saving himself leaving those people down at the elevator to died by the jaws of that reptilian creature was much crueler than what Paul did.

 

All possible thoughts lingered in his mind. He could have stopped them from fighting and do it in a rational mind. But that thought never cross his mind, only his own life matter. He pondered on his own while maintaining his silence. Eugene left after seeing Jason sitting there in silence, a tint of disappointment flashed on her face. The door to the room opened with a bang catching everyone’s attention.

 

“Jason,” said Maria with a smile on her face.

 

“The military is on their way,” to her words the rest of the people inside the room changed for the better.

 

“Mom and dad, we’re saved,” Eugene leaped into the arms of her parents. The thought of leaving this dreadful place was like a beacon of light for her.

 

Jason stood close to Maria and whispered in her ears. He didn’t want to sour the mood with his question. He remained skeptical about the whole situation. Maria wanted to back away as she was surprised by Jason’s sudden action but he grabbed her arm not letting her do so.

 

“How do you know?” he asked.

 

“I’ve got a friend in the police, they told me the military had been mobilized. They’re on their way,” Maria replied.

 

The police? Since when she had a friend in the police.

 

“What’s the catch?” Jason asked. For some reason, he always had thoughts that when there was good news there would always be bad news.

 

Maria turned serious as she didn’t want to actually tell them this other piece of information. Her lips came closer to Jason’s ear as she whispered in her raspy voice.

 

“There’s a possibility of aerial bombing from the air force,” his countenance changed with his eyes trembling. Jason’s hand reached out to his throat lightly clasping it. All of sudden he felt his throat dried up.

 

He knew the implication of bombing an entire city. If the situation worsens, the lives of people living in the city will be abandon.

 

“Don’t worry, things like that won’t happen. I’m sure the military can handle it. My friend said it would be better to hold up in a secure place until the rescue team arrives,” Maria saw the change in Jason and she tried to smooth things out for him, reassuring him that things would get better.

 

She thought Jason had changed into this courageous brave man but she could see that he was still a worry wart like he used to be back when they were dating. Maria felt both her shoulders grabbed by something. It was Jason standing in front of her staring at her dead in the eyes.

 

“Where is this friend of yours? Do they have a base of operation?” he asked.

 

She hesitated to tell him but seeing those eyes staring at her. She gave in.

 

“The military told him to set up a base at Fort Hamilton and Fort Wadsworth. He was told to gather any policemen and armed force near these two locations to secure a perimeter.”

 

In a word, there’s no base at the moment. To be frank, they were already acting fast enough considering the sudden situation. But at least, Jason had a destination in mind.

 

“We need to go,” he said.

 

“No, it’s dangerous. Don’t you see out there? We’ll die out there, we need to stay here until help comes,” she replied with her loud voice rang through the whole room.

 

Eugene and her parents turned their attention to them along with a few stranded people in this room. Again, he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her close. Their bodies stuck together as Maria could felt her skin touching Jason’s clothes. Her heart skipped a beat regardless of the situation.

 

“Gina needs medical attention, if they’re setting a base then there will also be medical personnel. She won’t last if we just sit here,” he whispered into her ears.

 

She couldn’t refute his words, more so in this sort of distance between them. They were too close.

 

“Come with me,” Jason dragged her out of the room much to Maria’s surprise.

 

“Jason, what are you doing?” she asked with her tone rather meek. They stopped walking after a few steps out of the room standing in the middle of the corridor.

 

“Say status open,” he said.

 

“Eh?” Maria didn’t understand.

 

“Just say it,” Jason ordered.

 

“Status open,” she hesitated but did it none the less.

 

To her surprise, the blue window appeared once more. Astonishment was underestimating the feeling she had right now. She looked back at Jason wanting an answer. He only said a few words.

 

“Time for a crash course.”