The closer we got to the city, the slower we moved, until eventually it seemed like we were just barely tiptoeing forward. We took the drainage ditch on the side of the freeway into some side roads behind what seemed like a power plant, but it had been so badly damaged it was hard to tell.

  The architecture of the city was same as always, those elegant dome shapes that looked like eggshell halves, only now most of the eggs had been cracked or broken completely. There were abandoned vehicles everywhere, most of which were just smoldering remains, while the roads themselves were so damaged they looked like jagged piles of dark stones layered on top of each other.

  Inside the city, we could hear sounds of battle all over, some surprisingly close, and off in the distance I could see various orbital defenses shooting massive streams of plasma up into the sky, the very reason we had to make the journey on the ground.

  It was endless chaos all over, and it was wild to think any of the resistance soldiers had been able to hunker down in this city for an extended period, but I would imagine there was a lot of stealth and strategy involved in keeping this stronghold right on the enemy’s doorstep.

  We shuffled through the derelict power station in a tight row of twos, with everyone’s head on a swivel. I was walking beside Eve as usual, with the researchers right on our heels for protection and our agents including Vinnago and Lobae holding the rear, with Almana and her team just in front of us and our marines and power armor soldiers following behind some of the resistance soldiers leading the company.

  We made it through the power station and into the parking lot, hugging the fenceline while keeping as low as possible. Even after all this time fighting them, we weren’t sure how exactly the assimilated soldiers coordinated with each other or how they ever discovered us on the road. Worst case scenario, they would possess Beta-09’s extra-sense—or more like Beta-09 could expand her extra-sense through her puppet’s perception. I didn’t think they would allow her that possibility though since they were still constrained to their host bodies and somewhat limited what Beta-09 could do through them. Still, it seemed like they could find us from rather far away, so I was sure there was something unnatural going on, made me wonder if just breaking eyeline while retreating through the city would be enough to escape.

  We made it to the gate of the parking lot and Gryme at the front held up a fist to signal it was time to stop. Everyone stayed low against the fenceline, waiting for the go ahead to continue into the street.

  Gryme started waving people through a few at a time for them to rush across the street, ducking into the awning of another building. We continued down the line until it was Eve and my turn, and we stalked through the street at a steady pace.

  As always, Eve didn’t even look remotely concerned, more like she was playing a game—as though we were back on Adventure-7 in the Holistia Nebula, playing in the War-Sim tournament. Still, she was following orders and kept quiet and moved with a purpose same as the rest of the soldiers.

  Once we made it across the damaged main road, Kotlokk was waiting for us at the awning holding the door open, directing everyone inside. Once we were all clear of the street, everyone was able to stand up and stretch out a bit, and there were relieved sighs heard all over as we successfully infiltrated the city without alerting our enemy.

  Gryme was the last one through, and he shut the door carefully as Almana took her place in the center of the burned room.

  “Alright everyone, excellent job getting into the city. From here, we’re going to follow through a few side streets and alleyways to get into the downtown area of Sesamna, and then we’re going to head back onto an old main road to head for a residential district, and then we’ll make it to Brightengale.” She explained in a clear whisper.

  “Is this a known route used by the resistance team who stay within the city?” A marine of ours asked.

  Almana pulled out her tablet to show some kind of mapping display, “Not exactly. Ferro’s team does constant reconnaissance to find areas with minimal separatist activity; it changes day-by-day, but right now this is the safest route for us to take, at least according to the most recent updates.”

  “It might be awkward, but right now this is our best chance at getting through the city alive.” Gryme confirmed.

  I couldn’t even tell what kind of building we were in, maybe a store or restaurant; all that was left was the frame and walls—the eggshell still stood.

  Suddenly, there was a massive explosion from outside, loud enough to make me jump—close enough I could feel the shockwave beneath my feet.

  “Let’s quicken our pace, might not be safe here for much longer.” Seash directed, following along after Gryme as he started leading our company towards the back of the building.

  We left the building in pairs as Gryme waved us through once more, heading into a rather long alleyway that stood in the middle of a few dozen broken dome buildings. At one point the damage to one building was so bad we had to hook inside it to get around some tall debris, continuing on through the alley.

  It didn’t seem like we had very good cover with the way the low dome structures were built without roofs, but on the bright side that meant the enemy wouldn’t have high vantage points to see us from far away—wouldn’t need to worry about someone holed up a hundred feet in the air with some long ranged rifle trained on us. Small comfort.

  We made it to the end of the alley and were directed to cross through a large intersection, going in small groups as usual. I could see we were heading into a commercial district now, moving into the downtown area. Considering how populated those areas would normally be and how many buildings would usually comprise a downtown area, I wondered if it was really the smart path to take; surely none of the available options were good, and this one was probably simply the least bad.

  We continued through twisting turns and long stretches of alleyways for another mile it seemed, and it got to the point there was no way I could retrace my steps, a good sense of directions not one of my many random talents; if I hadn’t been following along a long line of soldiers, I would’ve surely been lost by now.

  After heading down a rather long stretch of road, ducking around destroyed vehicles and surprisingly large road debris, we finally made it into the downtown area. Here, there were more buildings than anywhere else, some seemingly crammed on top of each other, with a few taller than the usual three-story domes, but not by much.

  There were a lot of open buildings that seemed like they were part of a farmer’s market or some open-faced restaurants, though it was hard to tell what they were with all the damage.

  Gryme started leading us through the open front to one of the buildings, when Almana held her fist up and called for everyone to hold.

  She’d mostly stayed back with us, guarding the rear, and rushed forward to rejoin Gryme as the two of them double-checked the route on their tablets.

  I leaned over towards Eve, “What do you think that’s about?”

  Eve however was looking around as though greatly distracted, staring off into space with a contemplative look on her face.

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “I think there might be an enemy nearby, a few maybe, but not some overwhelming force.” Eve said mildly.

  “Shit, are you sure? Should we tell them?”

  Eve cocked her head to the side, “I believe they already know; it would seem they must’ve noticed a change in the terrain from whatever reports they were given by Ferro and his reconnaissance. Almana must be sharp indeed to have noticed such a detail so quickly.”

  Exactly as Eve suspected, Almana had us double-back to another alleyway, going around the building we were originally supposed to head through.

  “Being sealed as you are, is it difficult for you to sense the assimilated soldiers?” I asked Eve in a hushed tone.

  Eve shook her head, “It’s not even about sensing them now with how my abilities have been limited, more like instinct I would say—like I can feel their heat through vibrations in the air.”

  “Is that reliable?”

  Eve smirked, “Not at all, doesn’t even make sense really; how can dead bodies give off any heat?”

  I shrugged, “Maybe some weird Predazoan control process that still generates heat.” I offered mildly.

  “You guys, hush up!” Kianna behind us said in a strained whisper.

  Eve turned back to throw a harsh glare at Kianna, but I grabbed Eve by the shoulder to look at me and shook my head slowly.

  ~Let it go Evie. You’ve gotta realize how terrifying this must be for them, and I still don’t think Kianna’s recovered from her time in the tunnel~ I communicated to Eve though vibrations.

  Eve fixed me with a flat look, ~And I should care, why? How dare she interrupt a conversation with my beloved?~

  I let out a weary sigh, ~Please behave at least until we’re clear of the mission, for your beloved’s sake~

  Eve smirked, ~I’m adding that to your running tab of rewards you owe me~

  I scoffed, ~How does you just behaving earn you another reward?~

  ~Anytime I play along with the Empire and their silly little games I deserve a reward~

  I rolled my eyes, ~Right, I should reward you for not giving away our position and putting all our lives in jeopardy~

  Eve smiled brightly, ~Yes, exactly~

  It really was funny how silly Eve could be even in the middle of such a dangerous situation. I mean sure, she was never really in danger, being the impossibly powerful Outside god, but for the rest of us mortals, this was a really intense situation. Even me with my new abilities, there was no guarantee I would survive on my own without Eve always watching out for me. Of course, I felt safe having her protection, but it couldn’t alleviate all my fears and concerns.

  What if a random stray laser bolt ripped through my skull before anyone even noticed we were in danger? I knew Eve could move faster than light and could react to match that speed, but with her senses all dulled, what if she missed the danger before it was too late? Maybe I was letting my anxiety run wild, but I felt like I had a valid reason to still be concerned.

  I wasn’t sure how Almana decided on our new route, but we ended up going through a couple parking lots on the way to some really large dome building in the distance, this one made mostly of glass that’d been shattered in hundreds of different places.

  By the time we made it to the next building, it was clear what it was; it must’ve been some kind of shopping center, like a mall back on Earth—a collection of several stores and restaurants.

  While the outside of the mall was a cracked glass shell, the inside was more intact than any other building we’d seen so far. It wasn’t a surprise the power was out after seeing the damaged power station on our way into the city, but thanks to the clear ceiling with the sun still out, it was bright enough to travel through without any problems.

  Gryme took point again while Almana headed towards the back of the line with us once more, flashing us a quick smile as she passed.

  “Everything good?” I asked her quietly, yet my voice still seemed to carry far inside to glass building.

  Almana put a finger up to her lips, then leaned in quite close to me, and I had to bend down so she could speak into my ear.

  “There was a building that’d been cleared in an earlier report that wasn’t supposed to be damaged like that. This is our secondary route.” She confirmed in a whisper.

  I leaned back and nodded, and we continued through the derelict mall.

  More than ever I was reminded of Earth, seeing the framework of stores and a setup that seemed rather familiar from my teenage years when I was a bit of a mall rat, ditching school to head to the arcade or make a fool of myself to impress girls. My fiancée from another life, Abby, our first date was at a mall; we got some pizza and hung around at the arcade for a few hours, literally no different from a normal hangout. But since I paid for Abby’s meal, I thought I was such a big-shot. Looking back, I had to laugh at what a dumb kid I was, and yet it seemed like I hadn’t learned my lesson almost two decades later, still not thinking anything through. I was always rebelling against authority, always jumping headfirst into the next group or hobby that grabbed my interest, always making stupid deals with dangerous intergalactic Empires and ending up on alien planets with my life at risk.

  Well, okay, I guess that last one wasn’t so common, but still, the trends were there.

  Gryme directed us up some ramp that looked like it would’ve been a moving walkway at one point, leading us up to the second floor. There was an old, broken fountain surrounded by dead red trees before us. Everything looked so open now, made me worried we were way too vulnerable up here—made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

  My human instinct was warning me there was danger nearby, or maybe we were heading towards danger.

  I put a hand on Almana’s shoulder to stop her, “Something isn’t right.”

  Almana turned to look at me, a serious look of concern on her face, “What is it?”

  Almana had come to really trust me during our time on the freeway, and she had come to believe in my human instincts and wasn’t about to just dismiss them.

  Problem was, my instincts were vague even at the best of times.

  I turned to Eve, ~What are you thinking?~ I asked through the humming vibrations.

  Eve nodded, ~They’re in this shopping center, not far, but I can’t exactly tell where~ She confirmed.

  I looked back at Almana, “We’re too exposed up here, something doesn’t feel right.”

  Almana pressed some button on her communicator to alert Gryme, and he paused our line and looked back to see what was going on. She gestured for him to come meet up with her, and Seash and Bryx followed along with him.

  “What is it?” Gryme asked.

  Almana gestured to me, “Adam says we’re too exposed, says it doesn’t feel right.”

  Seash looked up at the ceiling, it was all broken panels of glass and black metal framework, “No good vantage points above us.” He turned to Eve, “Any thoughts?”

  Eve just shrugged, looking unconcerned, “There’s someone in the mall, like Adam says, but I don’t know where either.”

  Almana shook her head slowly, “Well standing around up here out in the open won’t do any good; we either need to continue forward or double-back, but we need to decide quickly.”

  Seash gestured for Kotlokk to come over to us too.

  “Can you have your agents scout ahead a little? We’re worried we might be walking into something.” Seash asked in a hushed, but urgent tone.

  Kotlokk nodded, then went back over to Vinnago and Lobae and relayed the message, and the two of them (with their resistance escort) continued down the line and through the second floor of the mall with stealthy haste.

  “Do you think we should stay up here while they check things out?” Almana asked me.

  I really had no idea what to do; I might’ve had the instincts to know I was in danger, but I still didn’t have the training to know what to do with it. I looked around the mall and could only see blown-out storefronts, a mess of goods left scattered around, and obvious damage from past fire fights.

  “Why don’t we head into that nearby store, park up for a moment, wait for Vinnago and Lobae to return with a report.” I offered.

  Seash’s reptilian face scrunched up with a thoughtful frown, “We’re losing time just sitting around like this.”

  Almana shook her head, “We’re still okay, so long as we get to Brightengale before dark so we can secure the area for an early morning meeting with Ferro’s team.” She reasoned.

  Seash didn’t like the idea, but he wasn’t about to argue. Instead, he made a fist, then a sweeping gesturing and directed the troops towards the nearby store—a bookstore maybe, with long rows of shelves, great for cover.

  Our company started towards the store, but before I could even take two steps, Eve grabbed my shoulder rather roughly.

  “No, everyone fall back; they’re in the store!” Eve announced.

  Eve had warned our soldiers just in time as the front of the store exploded with laser fire.

  Our power armor soldiers at the front could just barely activate the repulser barriers to block the enemy assault, and everyone formed up quickly behind them.

  “Shit, so much for your instinct!” Almana growled.

  “Hey, at least I knew there was danger nearby!” I countered.

  Before Almana could say anything else, there was another explosion behind us as assimilated soldiers started filing out from the store from our opposite side. Two of our marines and one of the resistance soldiers were killed by lasers before the power armor soldiers could deploy a second repulser barrier.

  I wasn’t sure if it had been a trap or if I just had the worst luck in the fucking world, but right then, we were completely pinned by a few dozen assimilated soldiers, attacking us from both directions, with no means of escape anywhere in sight.

  "It has been said, never bring a knife to a gunfight, but what happens when you bring a gun to a sword fight?"

  Ozzy Irman had always considered himself something of an explorer. Never in all of his wildest dreams however did he think he'd end up in another world. Hell, he still hadn't made it to Yellowstone.

  But when the unthinkable happens, and he finds himself face down cheeks up in a swamp full of monsters he knows something has gone terribly wrong with life. Armed with nothing save his rapidly fraying wits and *cough* an arsenal of magical firearms *cough* he must eke out a place for himself in a world full of magic, corruption, and Gods.

  ?? Great for readers who enjoyed He Who Fights With Monsters, Vigil's Wrath, The Ten Realms Series, and other isekai/flintlock fantasy stories.