The map had made hiding impossible, so running was the only option, and even that had a time limit attached. Michael knew he couldn’t keep running for long. He had to find a solution to his problem and soon.

"Fucking... hell!"

Another flash of light banished the darkness, momentarily painting the black sky white. The ground shook from a violent explosion, and the old buildings in his surroundings began to crumble. Glancing at the map, he saw a red dot moving in his direction at a fast pace. Just when he realized it wasn’t the nearest alleyway, the wall to his left exploded, and a massive creature appeared to block his path.

"Huh? Michael!?"

Once again, the other party seemed to recognize him, but Michael couldn’t say the same. All he could see was a seven-foot-tall monster covered in dark green scales. Going by its long maw and the thick tail swaying behind it, it looked like a mix of an alligator and a giant gorilla.

"Sorry, man, but I have to do this."

The creature did sound like it felt bad about what it was about to do, but that did little to decrease the horror of its clawed hand reaching out. Coming back to his senses, Michael fired a bullet, hitting it in the eye. That wasn’t enough to kill it, but just as he was about to pull the trigger once more, his gaze wandered upwards, and he froze.

"Wha-"

Something came down from above and took hold of the lizard creature. Michael could have sworn it was a hand, but it was far too large, covering the view above. Having staggered and fallen on his back, he had miraculously avoided being caught, and when he looked up, he saw a giant head peeking from behind the corner, frowning as it retracted its arm.

"H-hey! Wait a-"

Before it could protest, the giant squeezed the lizard creature once, and its head popped off like the cap of a plastic bottle. Tossing aside the crushed corpse, the giant immediately reached out, trying to grab him as well. Michael felt his hold on his bladder loosen, and his hand shook as he tried to aim his pistol.

The shadows grew darker as a bright orange glow painted the surroundings, and a moment later, a meteor flew over his head, crushing into the giant. A powerful blast washed over the alleyway, followed by a guttural cry. As the heatwave enveloped his body, Michael tried lifting himself up. His panic reached new levels when he heard the footsteps coming from behind him, and when he turned around, he saw a burning corpse walk toward him. It was nothing more than charred bones enveloped in bright range flames, defying physics and logic with the way it moved.

Monsters appeared one after the other, and with each one he saw, despair tightened its hold on Michael. He didn’t even bother shooting the burning skeleton, instead running into the building that the now dead lizard had crashed through. A torrent of flames followed him, but he somehow managed to take cover in time. The next instant, the entire building shook as if struck by a giant fist.

A nightmare. This was a nightmare. Michael could only wonder what he had done in his life to deserve this. He might not have been a perfect role model, but it wasn’t like he terrorized people on a daily basis, spreading misery all over the world.

As the rumbling continued, a piece of debris fell from above, forcing him to jump out of his hiding place. He rolled a couple of times before his back hit the wall. As he pushed himself up, something fell from his coat, drawing his gaze to it right away.

The rectangular gray box. Inside it was the miracle drug, the single pill that granted the others those terrible powers. Michael had been reluctant to take it, just like he had been reluctant to get any bionic implants, even while knowing they would greatly enhance his performance. Messing with his body was something he had always avoided, but as death approached, he could no longer afford to hold back.

Snatching the box, he popped it open and grabbed the blue capsule. As he was about to throw it into his mouth, Michael paused, hesitating one last time before gritting his teeth and swallowing. Nothing happened for a moment, and the building he was in continued to shake. Just as he considered moving to a different spot, a surge of energy shot through his veins, reaching his head in an instant. The agony started in that moment.

It was as if a hot nail had been hammered straight into his brain, and as the pain reached deeper, Michael could only scream until his throat gave in. Pulling on his hair, he started to hear thoughts that weren’t his own slowly engrave themselves into his consciousness.

Sparing no effort to understand them, Michael reached for his gun, wishing to end his suffering and free himself from the pain. The world went silent just then, and as if to ensure he noticed that, his agony suddenly vanished, leaving him with the hangover of a long drinking night. Panting for air, he slowly lowered his gun and raised his head. Something felt off about his surroundings, but as he got his thoughts in order, Michael realized that the debris falling from the ceiling was floating in the air.

’No...’

It wasn’t floating, but rather, it was stuck in its place. Every piece of the old, broken concrete was pinned into the air as if time had stopped for them.

A thought flashed in Michael’s mind, and his eyes grew wide. A sudden rush caused him to move, and while tripping again and again, he quickly made his way outside, exiting the building through the same hole he entered from.

Outside, the burning skeleton was shooting a torrent of flames at the giant who blocked it with one hand. The scene looked like something out of a painting, and it might as well be that, because both monsters were frozen in their place, along with everything in their surroundings.

That wasn’t going to last, however. Knowing that on the instinctive level, Michael rushed to the burning skeleton and aimed his gun at its skull. That had once been one of his colleagues, but now, he was nothing more than a monster who had tried to kill him, and even if his freedom wasn’t on the line, Michael wasn’t someone who would let such betrayal pass.

BLAM BLAM BLAM