**Time: 28th, 02:17 GMT**
The golden fire of the Ignis Sol Glyph faded within the narrow firing port, leaving behind the acrid stench of sulphur and charred chitin.
Outside, an uneasy quiet fell, broken only by the wind's moan through steel seams and distant, inhuman shrieks.
Jack slid down against the cold plate metal, breathing hard. Sweat soaked his thermals, chilling his skin.
Activating the glyph had drained not just the wisp of "Qi" but his entire mental focus. His head felt hollow, buzzing.
He fumbled for the dimmed glyph.
The vellum felt brittle, its crimson lines scorched and dulled, no longer molten.
How many uses left?
The book didn't say. Despair's shadow loomed again. The safe-house supplies could last years, but without the glyphs against endless monsters…
***THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!***
Sudden, frantic pounding – unmistakably **human** – hammered against the steel-plated outer door of the *other* sealed apartment!
A woman's voice, raw with terror and near-hysteria, cut through the absolute dark and biting cold:
"Open up! Please! For God's sake! Open! They… they're right behind me!"
Jack's heart seized. A human! A living woman!
Trapped outside his fortress, hunted! He scrambled to the breach connecting the two apartments (barricaded with heavy steel and furniture, leaving a narrow slit).
He flicked off the night-vision (save power) and peered through.
By the flickering, unstable light of distant purple rifts scarring the sky, he saw a figure desperately throwing her shoulder against the steel door.
She was bundled in a dark parka crusted with snow and mud, hood torn back to reveal short, dirty honey-brown hair plastered to a pale, sweat-streaked face. Her eyes, wide in the violet glare, held pure, animal terror.
A hair-raising screech – like rending metal – echoed from the stairwell!
The silhouette of one of the massive, scythe-limbed mantis creatures he'd seen earlier materialised at the corridor's end in a flash of rift-light!
Its compound eyes swivelled, locking onto the woman at the door.
She choked off a scream, slumping against the steel, hands clamped over her mouth, trembling violently.
She saw the creature. She saw death.
Jack's mind raced. Open the door? Huge risk! More monsters out there! Who was she? A trap? But seeing the raw fear in her eyes, hearing the stifled whimpers… he remembered Sophia leaving, remembered months of being dismissed as mad.
A sliver of civilised humanity warred with cold survival instinct.
"Bollocks!" he hissed, making his choice.
He shoved the heavy cabinet blocking the breach aside just enough to create a crawl-space. "Here! Now!"
he barked in a low voice, simultaneously drawing his Glock 17, racking the slide, and aiming down the corridor at the advancing horror.
The woman's head snapped up. In the violet flash, Jack saw shock, disbelief, then desperate hope flood her features.
She scrambled forward, crawling through the gap! A wave of icy air, the coppery tang of blood, and… a faint, incongruous hint of expensive perfume hit him.
As she tumbled through, Jack slammed the cabinet back. He fired at the mantis, its scythe-limbs already raised!
***BANG! BANG! BANG!***
Muzzle flashes like lightning in the dark! Sparks flew where bullets struck the creature's tough chitin, only enraging it! It shrieked louder, accelerating!
"Get down!" Jack roared at the woman. With his last shred of will, he slammed his focus onto the dimming Ignis Sol Glyph in his hand!
***HUMMM—!***
The glyph flared weakly. A fist-sized phantom glyph of golden fire flickered into existence.
Dizziness washed over Jack, a draining weakness. Gritting his teeth, he thrust the glyph towards the firing port!
***WHOOSH!***
A blast of searing heat and blinding golden light erupted!
Though it missed, the explosive wave and glare clearly startled the creature. The mantis shrieked, recoiling a step, compound eyes fixed warily on the shimmering light.
Jack seized the moment, heaving a heavy prefab steel plate across the breach, sealing it completely!
***CLANG!***
The crash echoed in the confined space. Outside, furious scraping began, but the double barrier seemed secure for now.
Silence descended again, thick and heavy, broken only by their ragged breathing.
Jack slumped, vision swimming, drenched in sweat. Mental exhaustion felt like a sledgehammer blow.
He fumbled for a small LED camping lamp. Its weak glow illuminated a corner of the inner room.
The woman huddled against the opposite wall.
Her parka hung open, revealing a deep grey cashmere sweater, sweat-darkened and clinging to a figure of startling, well-maintained curves even in disarray.
She hugged her knees, tremors still wracking her frame. Honey-brown hair hid half her face; one visible eye stared blankly at the floor, long lashes beaded with tiny ice crystals (or melted snow?).
Her long legs, clad in torn jeans, were drawn up tight. One boot was missing, revealing a red, frozen ankle and a filthy sock.
"You… alright?" Jack rasped, his voice rough with exhaustion.
She lifted her head slowly. In the lamplight, her face was smudged but strikingly beautiful – high cheekbones, a straight nose, lips bloodless from cold and fear.
Her gaze swept over Jack, then fixed on the Ignis Sol Glyph in his hand, still radiating faint heat. Her eyes held dazed relief and profound shock at the surreal scene.
"I…" Her voice was distinctive – educated, slightly husky, magnetic, retaining clarity even now. "Alice… Alice Winters. Thank you… for saving me."
Her eyes lingered on the glyph, burning with undisguised curiosity. "That… what *was* that? The light… the creature…"
Jack leaned his head back against the cold steel, eyes closed. "Welcome to hell, Dr. Winters. That's the only ticket that buys time against what's out there. What is it?"
He weighed the warm vellum in his hand. "That's a story that starts with a madman… and a book used to prop up a bed."