I am awoken by the alarm that I actually remembered to set. "Ugh," moans Jίna. "Too loud." Apparently, she is not a morning person.

"It's time for work," I say, unlocking the hidden door.

"There are very many Infected. I will call in sick."

"Ok." I shrug and sling my backpack over my shoulder. "I'm heading out then."

Jina sits bolt upright. "You are going by yourself?"

"That's how I usually do it."

She's awake now. "No way! I will go with you. We will go armed."

I frown. "Armed?"

Jina dumps out the items in her backpack. The boomerang gun, the double gun, the beetle bot (glasses and remote included), the picture pen, the mind watch, the camouflage suit, the navigation eyewear and earbuds, the video diary, the weapon hider belt, the power source cube, and the knife. Fifteen items just sitting in Jina's backpack.

"We will each pick five," Jina says. She puts the diary in her bag.

I take the boomerang gun (of course), the suit, the watch, the navigation devices, and the belt. Jina takes the rest. She is particularly excited about getting the beetle bot.

I change the suit into a headband and don the watch, glasses, earbuds, and belt. I replace the weapons in the belt with my boomerang gun. Jina puts her guns, the beetle bug, the cube, and the diary into her bag. She puts on the glasses and tucks the pen, remote, and knife handle into her pockets. I am surprised by how well the items blend in.

I check my new watch. "We should get going. Work is starting soon."

The person who passed out must have left because the door is unlocked, and they are gone.

We walk over to Security Saver on edge. It would be better if there are some sounds to scare out our nerves, but the streets are deathly quiet.

The city is so used to villain attacks that life typically continues despite the damage. Whether it's resilient or stupid is up for debate. Besides days when the Security Saver building had been damaged, I can't think of any time when it has closed down.

When we arrive at Security Saver, the lights are already on. I can imagine Aaron is typing away inside with the other early risers.

It takes me a few seconds to notice the low humming noise emanating from the building. It takes me less long to see the cracks lined with faint black dust emerging in the ground around it.

My first instinct is to run away (most people who choose fight over flight end up dead in this city). But then, I see how Security Saver groans and sinks slightly into the ground.

Is someone in danger? Yes.

Will this person be able to get out of danger without your help? I doubt they even know what is happening. Or they're sheltering in place for an earthquake. Either way, they'll stay with the building until it's in the ground.

Will your action impede the hero's work or help the villain? Considering there are no heroes yet... No.

Are you actually able to help? I look at my running shoes, worn from my runs and daily bike rides. Damnit. I hate being capable.

"Jina!" I shout. "Stay here and call 911. Talk as if you're talking to Electronica. Tell her there's another crater forming and a building with civilians inside is on top of it!" She nods quickly and begins dialing. I race towards the building.

"Wait! Ruby--" She takes a step forward.

"Stay here!" I repeat. "I'll be right back!" I run inside.

The tremors aren't noticeable in the building, and the conversation is slightly too loud to hear the cracking outside. I stand atop the nearest desk and raise my voice louder than I've ever shouted. "HEY! EVERYONE!" The voices in the building die down a little as people begin to take notice of me. Now, how to get everyone out quickly and calmly? "IN A CALM AND ORDERLY FASHION, I WANT EVERYONE IN THIS BUILDING TO GET OUTSIDE RIGHT NOW!" I do the first thing that comes to mind and pull out my boomerang gun to assert authority. After all, listen to the person with the gun, right? "GET GOING, NOW!" 

I'm pretty sure the staff think I'm robbing them, but it gets the job done. I keep shouting for people to hurry up as I note the growing noise of the cracking.

When the crowd has thinned, I notice Aaron in his cubicle. Since his head is bobbing up and down, I can guess he is listening to some loud music.

I jump from the desk and dodge through frightened employees to get to Aaron's desk. I tap him urgently on the shoulder. He turns around and frowns at the gun in my hand.

"Are you robbing me?" He asks calmly, taking off his earbuds. He should really be more concerned about his life.

"No! The building's collapsing. We need to get out of here!"

He finally seems to notice the shaking floor and the now deafening sound of the building trying to stay upright. He shrieks in surprise and quickly gets to his feet. Then, he bolts after the last of the escaping crowd. I climb on his desk, check for any lingerers, and race to follow him.

Before I can make much headway, the building drops considerably. The crowd outside screams. Which, frankly, is not helpful: The sound makes my head pound.

Everyone has made it out except me. Because my luck really is the worst. I carefully tiptoe-run toward the exit, praying that the floor stays up. Five steps from the door, and the building lurches again like a drop tower. A yelp escapes from my throat.

Slowly... ever so slowly... I take a step forward. Then another. Then another. The building groans louder. The just repaired wall has cracks running along it. I take another step—the building growls with a warning.

I jump to reach the higher floor outside.

The floor disappears from underneath me.

My shoulder hits the door frame as my hand grabs the edge of the floor outside the building. I cry out but manage to hold on. Tears brim in my eyes. Blurry faces are above me, holding out their hands for me to pull myself out. I sigh in relief, looking up to the heavens... Where the rest of the building is crumbling down toward me.

I reach out.

My hand slips.

I'm falling.

DOWN, Down, down.

I try to grab onto something—anything—but everything seems to be falling with me. When my hand catches onto a solid rock, my arm is almost ripped from my socket. It probably would have been if I hadn't let go. That small break slows my fall enough that when I land on the ground, I only lose the breath in my lungs and not my ribs.

If you've never gotten the wind knocked out of you, you haven't been missing out on anything. For ten, terrifying seconds, when I try to breathe in, my lungs forget how. Breathing out is no less of a challenge. It's as though something is pressing down on my chest, keeping me from connecting the air outside to the emptiness in my lungs.

Ten seconds might not seem like a long time, but it is enough for the rest of the building to finish falling. Straight onto me. I am already freaking out from the lack of oxygen, so when a piece of wall falls onto the right side of my body, I pass out in shock. When I come to, I can breathe normally, but horrible pain lances through half of my body. I almost pass out again.

Conscious thought is not possible for the first minutes of pain. The only thing that encompasses me is the animalistic need to get out. I try to pull myself out of the rubble (only leading to more pain) and then try to push some of the rubble off of me with my left arm. I get my right arm out, but I am too weak to do the same for my leg.

And, of course, it was my left hand that got shot, so now both of my hands are in less than pristine situations.

When I'm finally able to think, I try to look around at my surroundings to distract myself from the pain. The building has stacked so that most of the light above is blocked off. Trying to find anything characteristic about the sinkhole (which, I might add, I was right about) is impossible.

Until I remember the convenient glasses stuck to my head.

I move my left hand to the "on" switch. I hear a beep in the earbuds, and a feminine voice says, "Navigation system on." Light emits from the glasses as they scan my environment. I get pieces of a cave system as the light goes past it. Words appear on the screen as the navigator speaks again, "Current location: Underground lair #10. Status: in construction. Speak the name of your desired location for directions."

I turn off the glasses. They had just confirmed my theory about Vocal. After all, there are now ten sinkholes.

I don't feel it, but I hear the sound of the watch on my right hand buzzing. I've never been more glad of mental technology as I answer the call.

"Ruby?" Jina's muffled voice calls out from the watch. "Ruby, are you ok?"

I try to speak but discover my lungs are still having a hard time functioning. "I'm fine," I croak out. "Just a little stuck. And, you know, my right arm and leg may be broken. I'm alive though."

Jina hisses through her teeth. "I cannot believe you fell! You should never have gone in that building! I called 911. The Gladiators will be here—they have to be here—but they will take longer because of the Infected attacks: There are more of them. But they will be here..." She pauses, and I can hear voices talking to her. Voices are raised. Then: "The heroes... They are not coming."

Panic rises in my chest. The shadows seem to move around me. "What?"

"They went into a crater. Aaron is chanting, 'boss battle, boss battle.'" I groan. The shadows close in... "Stay there. I am coming down."

The shadows disappear and are replaced by the mini heart attack jolting pain back into my spine. "You're what?!"

"I am coming down," Jina repeats as if that makes it better. I hear static. "I will be there in five minutes."

"You are not coming down!" The small movement makes me wince with agony. "You'll just be stuck with me!"

"No I will not. I have rope. I am coming down."

"There might be 'Sites down here!" I protest. "And it's pitch dark..."

"I checked the guide. This is a necessary action. This is what you did, right? I have a flashlight on my phone and three weapons. What is the worst thing that will happen?"

At least ten responses pop to mind. "How are you going to find me?"

"I will send Bebot to find you."

"Bebot?"

"The beetle robot."

I frown. "Hold up. You are climbing down a rope, controlling a robot, and talking on your phone at the same time?"

"I slid down the side of the crater. Now, I am sitting down and controlling the robot while the phone is on the ground."

There is silence as I try to think of a response that doesn't involve my frustration. "Was the other part of that rope attached to the top of the crater?" I ask.

"No. Why?"

I stay silent.

Then: "Can you throw a rope up twenty feet?"

"No."

"How much weight can Bebot carry?"

"Not twenty feet of sturdy rope, that's for sure."

"How about fifteen feet of sturdy rope?"

"You only brought fifteen feet of rope?!"

"I thought we could jump!"

"I have a potentially broken leg! What about that says I can jump?"

"Look! Bebot found you!" I hear its scuttling feet but am more distracted by Jina's wavering voice.

I watch the beetle robot come up to me in silence. I sigh. "I'm sorry for yelling at you. I know these situations are stressful. Heck, that's why I wrote my book."

She sniffs. "It is ok. Everything is very scary right now."

"Yeah. Welcome to the scariest city in America!" I hope she's smiling on her end.

"I am coming over."

Pretty soon, I see a wavering light past all the rubble. Soon after, I see Jina. What a welcome sight. She waves at me. I would wave back if I wasn't in so much pain.

With a lot of huffing and grunting, Jina peels the large chunk of rubble off me. My nerves suddenly remember they are connected to more body parts, so pain flares through the right side of my body. Somehow, my leg feels less broken now that there is more pain. Yes, it is heavily bruised, but the building collapsed in a way to keep most of the pressure off of it. My arm, on the other hand, is very broken. I hate looking at it because of the awkward bump in it.

Jina has the life-changing idea to put the camo suit on me to stabilize my arm. It hurts like hell to get on, but my arm feels less like a noodle attached to my shoulder afterward.

After some searching, she finds the surprisingly intact boomerang gun nearby (What did Vocal make his inventions out of? They survived when my bones didn't?). I feel safer just having it in hand. Even if said hand aches from the bullet put through it a week prior. Fun times.

More searching reveals a passage embedded in the wall. I am reminded of the same tunnels in Vocal's old hideout. The light from Jina's flashlight seems to get dimmer.

Jina must think the same thing. "This passage looks like Vocal's hideout?"

Oh, right: I haven't told her. "This is one of his hideouts. The glasses told me. All the craters are."

"Oh." Jina's voice sounds meek. The shadows come closer.

"It's fine. Now we know there is another exit." I turn on the navigation glasses.

"Speak the name of your desired location for directions."

I consider where we should go. "Scriptor's," I finally say. The eyewear processes the name. Then, a brief map of the hideout appears. A blue line journeys across it. Then, the view zooms in on our current position. A new blue line leads the way. "This way." I feel more confident now. Jina lets out a shaky breath and helps me to my feet. I lean against her as we head into the tunnel.

This hideout seems to be larger and more complex than the other one. Red designs glow from the wall. As we walk, the red transitions to a deep purple. I feel uneasy and frequently look over my shoulder for moving shadows.

Until I realize that the shadows are actually moving.

"Jina?" I squeak. The shadows move faster.

"Yeah...?" Jina glances over at my terrified face and trails off. "What is wrong?"

"There are 'Sites following us."

Jina's face pales. "What?" She glances over her shoulder. "How long have they followed us?"

"Since the crater, I think."

For some crazy reason, she relaxes when I say that. "If they have not attacked us, maybe they will not."

"Then why are they following us?"

"Maybe they are lonely?"

I frown. "Yeah, sure." Yet, despite my wariness, the 'Site continues to follow us at a distance.

Nine minutes until the staircase that would lead us to the surface world, we hear noises ahead. Seven minutes and the noises sound like fighting. Six minutes, and I can make out distinct voices shouting in the cacophony. Five minutes and those voices are clearly the Gladiators.

"He's weak on his back—NO, careful!"

"You too Electronica, watch out!"

"Thanks... ON YOUR LEFT!"

"Come on, Tutrix. Just keep that shield up a little longer..."

"I'm... trying... Electronica—get out of here!"

"Autocurrus, give Tutrix some cover! Ani, boost me up to that platform!"

"I can't... hold the shield... much... longer."

"AUTO, ANI, QUICKLY!"

A deep, rumbling laugh echoes through the hall. Shivers travel up my spine. "Fools. You have come down here to die. I have almost finished connecting my soul with my Parasites. Once I finish, everyone's fears will fuel me for all eternity. I will rule this city!"

"Is that...?" Jina whispers.

"Vocal, "I confirm. I grimly assess our options. The navigation leads past the boss battle in the room to a door, most likely leading to the exit. We might be able to wait out the battle, but I am worried by the 'Site lurking behind us. "I'm going to peek into the room to see if we can sneak past Vocal and the Gladiators," I whisper. "Stay here."

"No," Jina replies. "I am not letting you risk your life alone."

"They are less likely to see one person."

"I will look." She sneaks past before I can protest. And without her support, I suddenly feel the weight of my body all over again. I lean against the wall, breathing hard. My heart pounds wildly in my chest as I watch her look into the doorless opening on the left. Her eyes take in the room with a measured glance. When she comes back toward me safely, I sigh in relief. "Ok. There is good and bad. Good, the room slants down, so we can see the Gladiators, but they cannot see us. Bad, the door is at the other side of the room at the bottom. And Vocal is attached to a scary machine."

I need to see for myself. Despite Jina's protests, I make my way to the opening. 

It is as Jina described it. A circular "viewing" ledge curves around the room like the edge of a colosseum. Beyond that, the room dips down to a large "arena" where the Gladiators (on the left) and Vocal's pet robot monster thing (on the right) are battling. Vocal watches the fight with amusement just below the ledge, suspended by coiling wires that hang from a pitch-black machine on the right ledge. Faint voices come from the machine. Vocal's mantra, I would guess.

Jina pokes her head out next to me. "It's not so bad," I whisper. "Lucifugus can still teleport up to the machine and destroy it." As if the world wishes to mock me for my optimism, at that moment, Lucifugus teleports up to the machine and is paralyzed by a strange, black substance.

Vocal looks back and laughs. "Did I forget to mention I have other 'Sites?"

"This is bad." Jina shakes beside me. "This is very bad."

I turn to console her and notice the shadow leaping toward us. There is no time to warn her. No time to wonder if this is a necessary action. I leap and take the 'Site head-on. I collapse as it begins spreading over my skin like a toxic facial. 

I hadn't realized how much pain I was in until it all faded away. The black ooze shuts out any thought that I possibly could had. All my worries, all my distractions, they melt away as if they had never existed in the first place. I submit myself to the absorption. It is instinct. 

But—I hear a voice.

"Do not let it in, Ruby! We can—it has not invaded your flesh. We can reverse it. It will be fixed with a very long bath. Resist it! You have overcome everything else... do not leave me alone here!"

She is still fighting for me. And I was about to give up on her. I force my mouth to open. If nothing else, I have to say these last words. "I... trust... you."

I can see now. Her face. Her eyes open and glistening with tears. Hope lines her cheeks and fills me with motivation.

"I. Trust. You." I croak.

"Then, do not be infected."

Now, it should be said that I tend to not believe in miracles. Miracles are the sorts of things that happen to protagonists of major feature films who have the plot on their side. But when I hear Jina say this, something inside me ignites. Not any special power, just an urge to stay alive. For her. 

A surge of strength enters me. The black slime withers back in confusion. "I will not." With that simple declaration, the slime turns hard and dry. Bits of it float off of me. My eyes shine with joy. I leap to Jina and hug her. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"You helped me conquer my fear. For a brief moment, instead of terror, I felt hope."

A volume increase of Vocal's machine brings my attention back to the fight. Vocal's mantra screams through the room, chilling me to the bone.

"What do you fear?"

"What makes you squirm?"

"When will you lose hope?"

"THE TIME IS HERE!" Vocal screams above his machine. "You are all FOOLS to try to stop me without my orb of energy. You know THAT is the only thing that could POSSIBLY stop my machine now!"

Jina and I are struck with the same thought. I see it in her eyes. I scan the machine and, sure enough, I find an orb-shaped hole in the side with faint lettering: "Fail Safe." I don't know what diety of luck decided today would be my day, but I thank them a million times over that they exist. I unzip Jina's backpack and snatch the cube from it. I open it and go to step outside, but Jina stops me.

"What are you doing? Touching that thing and connecting it to more power would kill you!"

"What else am I supposed to do? Wait here while hundreds of people fueled by fear get sucked dry to feed this madman?!"

"Yes. Maybe. Will this even work?"

"I have to try! I cannot spend my life fearing what might happen."

"This is a horrible time to have this revelation!"

"I don't see why! Who knows what effects draining a prominent emotion will do to these people! They could have permanent brain damage!"

As if to emphasize my point, Vocal screams, "The people of this city will be my mindless slaves, and I will RULE!"

"If someone has to, I will go," Jina protests.

I frown at her. "You did the last risky thing. Now, it's my turn." I try standing up, but my legs are still weak from the 'Site attack and a building collapsing on them. Honestly, it's a miracle I have any energy left.

"You saved me from 'Site!" She snatches the cube from my hands. "And you cannot hold the cube and a weapon at the same time!"

She's walking away. She's leaving me. "What about the 'Sites?"

"I think they do not like hope." And then she is out of my reach.

I look at the fight again. The Gladiators are losing. I look over at Vocal and the machine. He's looking straight at me. But... I blink, and he's not. I have a horrible feeling of dread.

I pull out my boomerang gun, pushing myself to my feet. My useless right arm leans against the wall as I stumble over to Jina. The 'Sites crawl over to me but only follow me like expectant dogs. I shiver as I pass by the motionless form of Lucifugus. Who is no longer motionless...

I dodge clumsily out of the way as the hero sends a punch my way. My gun flicks into a boomerang, and I smack him with the flat end of the weapon. A jolt of electricity passes through him, but he is only deterred briefly. He sends another punch my way and slams it into my 100% broken arm. The world swims. I stumble. Another punch and I am on the ground. I look up into Lucifugus's eyes. They are not quite black yet, still showing hints of brown. I hope I'm not seeing things.

"Lucifugus," I say in my Samantha voice. I hope I can keep it from shaking too much. Is that recognition in his eyes? "I am sorry for deceiving you." I want to add more so bad but now really isn't the time. "Keep saving people. Saving everyone. Don't let Vocal's parasites cloud your judgment." His eyes are clearer now. He lowers his fist. I sidle past him before he can decide to repel the 'Sites or accept them.

Jina has transformed the knife into a sword. She slashes through drones that have materialized around with impeccable aim. I change my boomerang into a gun and fire shots into the buzzing crowd. Half of them miss, but I'm glad I can hit any at all.

I slowly make my way closer to Jina as she makes her way closer to the machine. I'm almost to her, can almost stop her...

But she reaches the machine first.

Purple light pulses out of the box. Glancing only once back at me, she tosses aside the knife and plunges her hand into the cube.

Above all the noise in the room, I can hear her cry of pain. Swirls of some unearthly power coil around her arm. I stare in transfixed horror. Gritting her teeth, Jina turns to face the machine. In one smooth motion, she leans back and shoves the globe of purple energy into the failsafe. The chanting increases. Jina screams.

A blast of pure energy knocks me off my feet. When I get up again, the machine is falling apart. Jina lies unconscious on the ground. Despite the pain in my leg and my arms, I race over to her, grab the knife, and start dragging her out as fast as I can. Vocal is shouting, but I can no longer comprehend his words. All I care about is getting Jina to safety.

The machine hisses and glows, and I realize it is about to explode. I drop Jina and stand in front of her, hoping to shield her from some of the damage. I look away as the machine explodes, bracing myself for impact...

I hear the sound and feel the heat from the explosion, but no shrapnel hits me. I crane my head back around to find the knife I had held in front of me instinctively is now a full shield. I peer around the shield to see Lucifugus's sword is impaled in Vocal's stomach. He looks at the sword in his chest. Then, he laughs. He laughs as a black glow emanates from him. He laughs as the glow becomes so bright I can see it when I duck behind the shield. His laugh echoes even as I look back and see he has disappeared, his 'Sites turned to burning dust.

With the danger gone, I morph the shield back into a hilt by pulling it back toward me and turn to inspect Jina. She's breathing—thank any deity that may be watching—but her heartbeat seems faint. Then again, I have no idea what is considered a faint heartbeat...

"Citizen!" A commanding female voice shouts. I flinch. Electronica hovers towards me on one of her robot pals. "Thank you for your help." She frowns. "You are the people from Vocal's other hideout? The ones from Security Saver."

Lucifugus teleports next to me, and I flinch again. "Security Saver? That's funny. I thought you work at Scriptor's, Samantha."

I force a smile. "A gal's got to have more than one job to stay afloat."

"Then what happened to your hair?"

Jina groans in pain. "Not important right now. My friend needs medical attention." I blink. I had just called her my friend. I move, and my arm screams in pain. How am I still going? I grunt. "As do I."

Electronica sends Autocurrus and Lucifugus to check the place for any more hidden death traps. I try to lend the Tank my navigation system, but when I show her it works with voice navigation, she shakes her head and points to her throat. Turns out she's mute. There's one thing the news doesn't know.

I give the glasses to Lucifugus instead, but I don't miss the frown Electronica has on her face as I do. Hopefully, I can avoid the discussion of where they came from.

As Electronica and Tutrix fashion a stretcher for Jina, I find myself listening to the still-blaring words of Vocal.

"What do you fear?"

"What makes you squirm?"

"When will you lose hope?"

In the amplified version, it sounds as though something else is said before "When will you lose hope." I slowly get up and move closer to the machine.

"What do you fear?"

"What makes you squirm?"

"—, when will you lose hope?"

I inch forward and tilt my head to hear better.

"What do you fear?"

"What makes you squirm?"

"Yet, when will you lose hope?"

I frown. Surely, that can't be right. I listen again and again, but all I can hear is "yet." Why would Vocal put that in his mantra? Wouldn't it be more scary to exclude it? Now that I think about it, why did he die in a flash of light instead of like a normal person? Why didn't he try to stop Jina from blowing up his machine? Why did he reveal the machine's weakness in the first place? Why was my finger able to unlock his little cube? Why did he leave perfectly good weapons sitting around in his hideout practically unguarded? Why was his tenth hideout directly under Security Saver when all the others were in unoccupied spaces?

Too bad he's dead now, and I can't ask him.

The Gladiators escort me to the outside world. Since all the craters are connected through a series of tunnels, we emerge out of crater nine.

I am not prepared for the reporters. No more so for the many questions. I see Autocurrus grinning as she stands away from the mass of people, knowing she has an excuse to not answer questions. Feeling only slightly bad, I decide to follow her lead. As the first reporter comes up to me, I feign being mute.

Jina's luck must outweigh my own because Jina survives with no lasting injuries. As she has no family in the city, I assign myself the duty of waiting in the hospital for her to get better, even after they patch up my arm (nothing's exclusively wrong with my leg, so they put a few bandages on and leave it). Aaron comes to check up on me every few hours to ensure I don't annoy the doctors too often.

After the first hour of waiting, one of Jina's doctors comes out. He tells me she's in perfect condition (even despite the electric shock to her system and the raining debris), but she is in a deep coma. When I ask him when she'll wake up, he shrugs, saying he's never seen anything like it. So much for a medical degree.

After almost two days of insufferable pacing and waiting, I finally hear news that Jina is awake. When I rush into the hospital room, her grey-brown eyes are sparkling with happiness when she turns to look at me.