Chapter 27: Someone was already living upstairs.

Zarek led Elsa and Ayesha down a side street, keeping away from the intersection where the creature had disappeared.

They passed several abandoned shops before a tall building came into view. It rose above the surrounding structures, its upper floors disappearing into the gray sky.

He stopped to examine it.

The tower had roughly forty floors. Most of its lower windows were broken, and thick black roots covered the entrance, spreading across the exterior walls like enormous veins.

A section of the entrance canopy had collapsed onto several cars, while vegetation had pushed through the glass doors of the lobby.

The upper floors looked considerably better. Many windows remained intact, and the black growth became thinner farther up the building.

"Think we can stay there?" Elsa asked.

"That’s what we’re going to find out."

Ayesha studied the tower. "You want to climb forty floors?"

"Twenty-one should be enough."

She looked at him as if he’d lost his mind.

"Should be?"

He led them through a damaged side door into the lobby. Dust covered the floor, and thick roots twisted around the reception desk. Somewhere deeper inside, something rustled among the vegetation.

He stopped.

A pale shape slipped between two overturned cabinets and disappeared behind the roots.

He didn’t pursue it.

"Stairs," he said. "Stay close, and don’t touch anything growing out of the walls."

The stairwell was accessible, though climbing it would take time. The lower floors were cluttered with fallen ceiling panels and roots that had broken through the concrete.

They moved carefully, checking each landing before continuing.

On the sixth floor, Elsa spotted movement through a shattered office doorway. A small, long-limbed creature crawled across the ceiling before vanishing into a dark room.

She tightened her grip on the pry bar.

Zarek gestured for her to keep moving.

They had no reason to fight something that hadn’t noticed them.

Higher up, the roots became thinner. They still appeared in cracks along the walls, but the stairwell was easier to navigate, and the air grew less damp.

They reached the twelfth floor without encountering anything else.

By then, Elsa’s injured arm had begun to trouble her. She kept it close to her body, trying not to slow the others down.

Zarek noticed but said nothing. He already knew she couldn’t fight at full strength.

That didn’t mean she could avoid every fight.

On the fifteenth floor, they found their way blocked.

A section of the ceiling had collapsed across the landing, leaving only a narrow passage between the rubble and the railing.

Beyond it, a small mutant crouched over something Zarek couldn’t identify. Its pale back rose and fell as it tore at the remains beneath its claws.

The creature heard them.

Its head snapped around.

"Back up," Zarek ordered.

They retreated several steps, but the mutant abandoned its meal and charged through the gap.

He moved to intercept it.

"Elsa. Yours."

She stared at him.

"What?"

"You heard me."

The creature was already coming.

Elsa raised the pry bar with both hands, but her injured arm trembled under the strain. She swung too early. The mutant ducked beneath the blow and slammed into her legs.

She stumbled against the railing.

For an instant, she nearly lost her weapon.

Then she remembered what Zarek had taught her: watch the movement, keep her balance, and don’t waste a strike.

The mutant turned for another attack.

She shifted her injured arm closer to her body and held the pry bar primarily with her stronger hand. When the creature lunged, she stepped aside instead of trying to stop its entire body with a swing.

Its claws scraped the concrete.

She brought the metal bar down across its head.

The impact made her hands sting. The creature staggered but remained on its feet.

She didn’t wait for it to recover.

She thrust the flattened end of the pry bar into its face. The creature bucked violently, forcing her to stagger backward, but she kept her grip and drove the weapon forward again.

This time, it stopped moving.

Elsa stood over the body, breathing hard. Her injured arm hurt badly enough that she wanted to drop the pry bar, but she forced herself to keep holding it.

She had killed it.

Without Zarek stepping in.

"Well done," he said.

She looked at him, still trying to catch her breath. "You could’ve helped."

"I could have."

"You’re unbelievable."

"And you’re alive. Remember that next time something attacks you."

Before she could answer, a familiar notification appeared in Zarek’s vision.

[Investment Achievement Registered.]

[Target: Elsa]

[Achievement: Successful Combat Engagement.]

[Investment Contribution: Basic Combat Training + Weapon.]

[Investment Return Calculated.]

[Reward: Permanent Physical Enhancement — Minor Strength Increase.]

His attention sharpened.

Another permanent enhancement.

Elsa’s achievement had produced a return from the investment he’d made in her training and weapon. The system had rewarded the result, not simply the fact that a mutant had died.

He accepted the notification.

A subtle warmth spread through his muscles. His grip felt firmer, and the sword at his waist seemed a little easier to handle.

Zarek smiled.

"What are you smiling about?"

"Your performance."

"You’re lying."

"Probably."

She scowled at him, but there was a hint of satisfaction beneath her exhaustion. She had faced a creature that could have killed her and survived through her own actions.

Zarek resumed climbing before the moment could turn into a conversation.

"Come on. We’re not sleeping on these stairs."

They continued upward.

The remaining floors were quieter. The roots had almost disappeared, and the corridors visible through the stairwell doors appeared largely untouched.

They passed abandoned offices and overturned furniture, but nothing blocked their path.

By the time they reached the twenty-first floor, Elsa was struggling to hide her exhaustion. Ayesha wasn’t much better, and even Zarek felt the strain of the climb.

He pushed open the stairwell door.

A long office corridor stretched ahead. Dust covered the floor, but the windows remained mostly intact, and the vegetation had barely reached this level.

Several doors stood closed along the walls, offering a better chance of finding a room they could secure.

It was the first promising shelter they’d seen since leaving the hotel.

Elsa leaned against the wall.

"Please tell me we’re stopping here."

"We’re stopping long enough to find a room."

"That’s not what I meant."

"I know."

Ayesha checked the nearest door. It was locked, so she moved to the next one while Zarek examined the corridor.

He wanted a room with a working lock and enough space to organize their supplies. After everything they’d been through, he had no intention of resting in an exposed hallway.

Then he heard a sound.

Footsteps.

He stopped and raised one hand.

Elsa immediately fell silent. Ayesha turned toward him, her rifle held ready.

The footsteps came from behind a closed door farther down the corridor.

Someone was moving inside.

A chair scraped across the floor, followed by a muffled voice. Another person answered.

Zarek drew his sword just enough to free it from the sheath and approached the door.

There were people in this building.

Whether they were survivors worth dealing with or another problem waiting to happen remained to be seen.

He leaned closer as another voice came from inside.

Someone was already living upstairs.