The searing heat from the explosion still tore at his face and hands, a hundred scorpions striking one after the other. Josiah could see only the afterglow, nothing else was real. But even before he fully realised what was happening, Josiah had drawn his gun and was diving for cover. A soft-drinks dispenser now served as a barricade. Someone was shouting orders but Josiah couldn’t tell who it was. As his eyes began to clear, colour returned in stark contrasts. Stuttering flashes drove spears of light across the hall. What the hell was going on?
Somehow, Lovecraft materialised beside him, hands nervously twitching as they held a sleek pistol. He popped his head around the machine, fired twice and darted back.
“Where’s Amber? Where’re the others?” Josiah asked, fighting to concentrate.
“I do not know,” Lovecraft replied jerkily, “I lost them.”
Flashes of light burst across his eyes. Josiah felt the machine behind him shudder with sudden impacts. His hands were shaking and he looked at them curiously. He was holding a gun. What should he be doing? He had to do something. The noise was too loud. Bursting volcanoes of sound. Bones quaked, teeth shook. What should he do? What could he do? More flashes of light, gut-tearing eruptions. He had to get out of here. Where was the exit? There had to be a door, a window, a way out. He shouldn’t be here. He had to get out!
“Breathe slower,” Lovecraft said evenly, not looking at him. “We can get out of here if you concentrate. Pick up your gun, then wait for a lull. Shoot the people shooting us.”
For a moment Josiah did not comprehend the words. It was all noise on top of noise. His pulse beat strong and fast in his ears, throbbing. Breaths were short and shallow. But when he became aware of this Josiah could fight for control. Lovecraft was right. He tried to slow his breath and waited for a pause. Without letting himself think, he was shooting across the platform. One shot, two shots. He hardly registered the recoil before ducking back into cover. Two more. Back into cover. They came more easily now. A fifth.
Then he caught sight of Amber, crouching behind a stack of metal barrels in the ditch that had once held the railway lines. A weight lifted from his chest - at least she was okay. And beside her was Theano, pale but seemingly uninjured.
Josiah slipped back into cover a moment before the return fire slammed into the wall behind him - for a moment the air was full of dust and shards of concrete. When it cleared, he peeked out from behind the drinks machine, searching for a target.
The smoke from the explosion obscured everything, all the overhead lights had gone out as well, Only the flickering glow of flames and the flashes of gunfire lit the room. The sound of shots filled Josiah’s head from ear to ear until it became nothing but background noise. Between the staccato sounds he heard someone barking orders.
“MOVE WIDE!” someone shouted but Josiah could not tell who it was.
There! He could see one of the Nightmares behind a metal crate. Carefully, Josiah took aim.
Cold metal pressed against his neck.
“Drop your gun,” the voice hissed, “your friend as well.”
