Code: 213

Fire

I wake up in a daze, unable to move. It's hot. Too hot. I shift my head to the left to see... fire. So much fire. The smoke clouds my lungs and I struggle to breathe. The fear kicks in. I push my self off the ground and pain shoots through my leg. I look down and my left leg is gushing bright red blood. My mind clouds as I try to figure out what to do. I grab a gauze from the bottom kitchen drawer. I wrap a gauze around the gash to stop the bleeding. I limp to my room and get the essentials. Phone, Charger, Meds, Bandages, A Pocket Knife, Water, and Canned food. I throw them all into a small backpack and run out of my condo to the elevator. The elevator wasn't there. The elevator shaft was empty as the elevator fell completely to the bottom. The air around me gets hotter and hotter. Thick black smoke coats the ceiling. The entire building is on fire. I turn from the burning elevator shaft and sprint to the other side of the hallway where the fire escape is. As I run, the walls of the roof of the hallway caved in, allowing me to see the yellow hue of the sky above. I keep running towards the fire escape, the sound of tire screeches piercing my ears. I make it out onto the small, red balcony and see two cars flipped on their roofs and on fire. I'm guessing that's where the tire screeches came from. I jump down the many flights of stairs, hearing the metal shake every jump. Once on the ground, I take a second to view the world around me. It wasn't just my complex, every building was on fire. The streets were crowded and all the traffic lights were stuck on red. Crashes were happening all down the road. I stop in my tracks as I watch a human and an android from across the street. It's eyes are red, and the human is crying. I can't make out any words but it's obvious she's screaming. Then the android pulls out a- a gun. It shoots the woman. In between the eyes. Point blank. My throat goes dry. I think back to the wound on my leg. *Did Nila shoot me?* I think to myself. A loud yell interrupts my thoughts. I turn my head to the source of noise. A bloodied man is laying on the pavement, clutching his stomach. An android looms over him, holding a knife. I notice a group a humans standing huddled in a circle. They aren't normal though. Their eyes were the same terrifying red as the android's. One of the humans turned to me. I didn't even have a chance to run before they bolt at and tackled me. I tried to push them off with my arms but to no avail. I use my good leg to push them off me, struggling to my feet. I take my knife out of my pocket and manage to stab them in the side before they lunge at me again. This time I drag the knife across their chest, causing them to fall off me. I get up and run. I'm not sure where I'm going, but I run.

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??:?? pm

I don't know how long or how far I've run. The sky has gotten considerably darker so I take it that it's been at least a couple hours. I walk into a secluded alleyway where I decide to take a break from walking. I take a water out of my bag and open it. I chug most of it and put the bottle back in my bag. For some reason I can't seem to get my thoughts together. I decide to try and call Keira.

The phone rings once.
Twice.
Three times.
Nothing.

She doesn't pick up. I continue to walk down the street, the road littered with bodies. The smell of smoke is still in the air, with a slight hint of metal. I soon come across a shop with bright blue LED lights above it. The lights read, "West Coast Armory". A gun store. I carefully step through the broken glass that was once a door and look around the store. Most of the shelves are empty. I find an unopened box labeled, SKO Shorty. I lift the gun from the box and examine it. There's no mag and two empty rails. I walk towards the storage closet near the back of the store, looking for accessories . A dismantled android lies near the front of the closet door. I push open the closet door and scan the shelves for accessories that will fit a SKO Shorty. I find 6 10-round mags and a flip-up iron sight. I place the mags in my backpack and the sight on the gun. Just as I turn to leave a familiar face appears. Nila. Holding a gun, what appears to be a Glock 17. We stand in silence for a couple seconds. I clear my throat as I stare down the barrel of the gun. "Why are you doing this?" Nila says nothing. I ask again. "Why are you-" Nila cuts me off. "Soon it will be over. Can't you see the Ultimate has already won?" *The Ultimate* I think to myself. *What is the Ultimate?* Before I have a chance to ask questions, Nila shoots.