Chapter 64: The Awakening Part I

Chapter 64: Chapter 64: The Awakening Part I

The apartment door clicked shut behind them.

Instinctively, Erik led the group toward the staircase connecting the upper floors. They had barely taken a few steps before Penelope suddenly veered in the opposite direction.

"...Penny?"

Kai frowned as she walked across the hallway toward the neighboring penthouse.

Ben blinked.

"Where are you going?"

Without slowing her steps, Penelope answered over her shoulder.

"We’re missing one person."

The three men exchanged puzzled looks.

Missing someone?

They subconsciously counted everyone.

Erik.

Kai.

Ben.

Penelope.

...

Their expressions froze simultaneously.

"Oh..."

Kai rubbed the back of his neck.

"I forgot about your boss."

Ben let out an awkward cough.

"So did I."

Three months.

They had spent three entire months living inside the Space.

Training.

Eating together.

Laughing together.

Somewhere along the way...

They had completely forgotten that only ninety minutes had passed outside.

Penelope stopped before the penthouse door and knocked twice.

Less than five seconds later—

The door opened.

Killian Remington stood there, dressed in workout attire. Clearly, he had chosen his time to work out instead of resting.

His emerald-green eyes immediately settled on Penelope.

"You’re awake?" Killian asked, surprise flashing across his face.

To him...

She had only been gone for an hour and a half. She should be resting.

To Penelope...

Three months had passed.

A small smile appeared on her face.

"We are."

Killian’s sharp gaze swept across the group.

Something had changed.

He couldn’t quite explain it.

Yet he could see it.

Their postures were steadier.

Their eyes calmer.

Even the way they carried themselves had become more disciplined.

Especially Penelope.

Whatever had happened during those ninety minutes...

It had transformed them.

"We’re reinforcing the entrance to the twenty-first floor," Penelope explained. "If we’re going to stay here, we need a defensible position."

Killian didn’t hesitate.

"Okay, I’ll come with you."

There was no discussion.

No invitation.

Simply a statement.

Kai chuckled.

"They sure orbit around each other." He mumbled under his breath.

Together, the five of them descended toward the twenty-first floor.

Morning sunlight filtered through the narrow stairwell windows, staining the concrete walls with an eerie crimson glow.

The building remained unnaturally quiet.

Almost peaceful.

Reaching the twenty-first-floor landing, everyone naturally fell into position.

Months of training had turned cooperation into instinct.

Kai immediately ignited a controlled flame in the palm of his hand, heating the reinforced steel frame until it glowed a brilliant orange.

Ben pressed both hands against the surrounding wall, his Earth Element spreading silently through the concrete as tiny cracks disappeared beneath layers of compressed stone.

Penelope knelt beside the foundation, guiding her own Earth Element into the floor, anchoring the entire structure deeper into the building itself. Killian raised his eyebrow when he saw this but decided not to ask.

Meanwhile, Erik carefully aligned the heavy steel door within its frame, checking every hinge twice before giving a satisfied nod.

"It fits."

Kai grinned.

"Then let’s make this thing ugly."

Molten sparks danced through the air as he began welding the reinforced door into place.

The sharp hiss of burning steel echoed throughout the stairwell.

When the final seam cooled, Killian quietly stepped forward.

Without saying a word, he placed his palm against the center of the door.

Everyone watched curiously.

Nothing happened.

At least...

Nothing they could see.

The steel remained perfectly still.

Yet beneath its surface, countless atoms shifted ever so slightly.

Tiny imperfections disappeared.

Microscopic fractures sealed themselves.

The molecular structure grew denser.

Stronger.

More stable.

Killian slowly lowered his hand.

"It won’t fail under normal circumstances."

Ben stared at the door in disbelief.

"You... reinforced the metal itself."

Killian gave a small nod.

"I simply corrected its structure."

Kai whistled softly.

"How?"

A faint smile tugged at the corner of Killian’s lips. "Atom manipulation." he responded.

Satisfied, Penelope reached into her Space and produced several identical keys.

She handed one to Erik.

One to Kai.

One to Ben.

One to Killian.

"And one stays with me," she said, slipping the final key into her pocket.

Kai held his key between two fingers before grinning.

"So... We officially live here now?"

"You’ve always lived here," Ben replied. "You just rarely come back." He replied with a deadpan expression. Sometimes, even he couldn’t keep up with his friend’s stupidity.

"Yeah..." Kai smiled. "But now I have the key to prove it."

"Haven’t you always had a key? Specifically to the apartment on this floor?" Penelope asked. Seriously, should they get his head checked?

For a brief moment—

Everyone laughed.

It was warm.

Comfortable.

Normal.

Then...

A low growl echoed through the stairwell.

The laughter died instantly.

Another growl answered it.

Then another.

The sounds bounced violently against the concrete walls, making it impossible to tell where they originated.

Above.

Below.

Everywhere.

No one moved.

Killian slowly turned toward the darkness beneath the staircase.

His expression hardened.

He drew in one slow, sharp breath.

"...They’ve awakened."

Silence.

No one questioned him.

No one needed to.

Because every single one of them remembered the construction site.

The blood.

The corpse.

The first zombie.

One had nearly killed them.

Now...

Dozens of hungry growls echoed throughout the building.

The nightmare... was officially beginning.

"Should we check it out?" Ben asked.

"Check what out? We know what’s happening." Kai responded.

"We should go take care of it before it becomes an infestation." Killian responded.

"I agree. If we don’t deal with it now, all this is for nothing." Erik said as he pointed at the heavy door.

"Split up?" Ben asked.

"Penny, go upstairs." Kai urged.

"Let’s split into two teams. Kai and I will be in one and Ben and Killian in another." Erik suggested.

"Why do I have to stay inside?" Penelope asked bewildered. She had trained just as hard as them. Why did she have to hide like some damsel in distress?

"Penny, seriously...just go upstairs. Someone needs to stay with Mom and Aunt lucy." Kai retorted. There was no laughter in his voice.

"Then you go." Penny responded.

"Penelope can come with me?" Killian suggested. "I can keep her protected. Ben can go stay with his mother and your mother."

"Yes, I’ll stick to Killian like white on rice. But, you do know that I can protect myself too? Right?" She wasn’t really asking for confirmation. She just wanted to remind her brothers that they weren’t the only ones bringing something to the table.

Kai grunted, he understood very well what Penelope wanted to say. Although he knew, it didn’t mean he liked it.

"Very well. Killian, make sure she doesn’t leave your sight," Kai relented.

Killian met his gaze.

"Don’t worry. I’ll keep a close eye on Ms. Wolfe."

For the first time since the growling began, Kai finally looked away.

"Kai and I take floors twenty through sixteen. You take fifteen through ten." Erik said. Breaking the tension between the two men.

Then he looked intently at Killian. After a brief stare down, he nodded and simply said "Be safe."