June 6, 2507

  Current location: Neu York - Road to Noir Aussicht

  8:47 am

  Rellik trudged down the endless road, desert stretching endlessly on either side. "Shouldn't be far now," he muttered through gritted teeth. A weathered sign came into view: Noir Aussicht - 1 Mile. The prison's silhouette loomed on the horizon, a stark monument against the poisoned sky.

  "God, I wish I had a car!" he growled, pressing on.

  ---

  In my cell, I lay on the thin mattress, my mind wandering. Why me? Was Ron still alive? Rellik? And did they still sell tacos anywhere in this godforsaken world?

  The explosion rocked the building without warning. I tumbled from the bed, face meeting concrete. "The hell?" Scrambling to my feet, I pressed against the window. Through the reinforced glass, I could see Werewolves swarming around a smoking breach in the northern wall, MP5s trained on the opening.

  The cell door slid open behind me with a metallic screech.

  "Fuck it!" I bolted through the opening as alarms began to wail.

  An announcement crackled over the intercom: "Alarmieren Sie alle Beamten! Es gab einen Versto?! Lass die Gefangenen nicht entkommen!!!"

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  Somewhere in the building, Rellik chambered his shotgun with satisfaction. "Groovy!"

  I sprinted down a corridor, nearly tripping over Franz's corpse. Rolling him over revealed half his face had been torn away. "Warum sterben immer die Guten?" I whispered. I stripped him of everything useful - combat knife, Glock, spare clips, bulletproof vest, and MP5. The Glock's familiar weight brought back memories as I slapped in a fresh magazine.

  The shower room's sprinklers hissed overhead as I crossed the slick floor. "Hey, Zweig!" The voice froze me in place. I spun just as Hans's chain whipped past my face. I leaped backward, the metal links cracking against tile where I'd stood.

  Hans swung the chain overhead, grinning. "Bist du bereit, Ketzer?"

  I leveled the Glock. "Lass uns tanzen!"

  Time seemed to slow as I charged. The chain arced toward me as I slid across the wet floor, water spraying in my wake. My shot found his leg, bringing him to his knees. I pressed the barrel against his temple.

  "Last words?" I offered.

  He laughed, a hollow sound. "No matter how many of us you kill, no matter if you kill the head of tables, there will always be a bigger threat... a new dawn is approaching and your species will be long gone." He grabbed the gun barrel, pressing it harder against his head.

  I squeezed the trigger, eyes closed. The shot echoed off the walls.

  "It doesn't need to be this way..." I whispered as his body slumped.

  Footsteps pounded behind me. I whirled, weapons raised—

  "Rellik!" The name caught in my throat. He stood in the doorway, looking weathered and worn, but alive. We moved toward each other like magnets. "Are you real?" My voice cracked.

  "I'm real all right," he said, pulling me into a fierce embrace. "I thought you died... the guards said you fell off a building and—" i started to cry

  "I ain't leaving you in a cold cruel world without me" rellik cut meoff, the words heavy with meaning.