Before Lance could finish that thought, more bullets came flying out of nowhere, some of them hitting the rest of the crowd. They were far less affected than they should have been, but still, they fell.

He couldn't sense anyone else close to them, but gunfire had flown in through the wall anyway. Stray fire from a fight further away?

A bullet hit Sophie's leg in passing, sending her tumbling across the floor to land beside a stunned-looking businessman.

Lance ran to Sophie, activating his skill as he did, connecting to more minds and frying them.

They didn't all take hold, some of the enemies remaining more put together than others, but his pistol made quick work of those.

The last civilian fell over on his own; his mind seemed so broken that his body couldn't stand up on its own anymore.

[Enemy defeated!]

[Enemy defeated!]

[Enemy defeated!]

[Enemy defeated!]

[Level up!]

Another wave of exhaustion slammed into Lance.

"I can't—" Lance stopped himself from saying any more words because his voice sounded like gravel being dragged across the ground at full speed. He stumbled forward and fell next to Sophie, who lay on her back staring up at him through glassy eyes. Her skin had turned pale white, and there was blood dripping down her side where the bullet had grazed her.

"Sophie." The sound of her name coming out of his mouth made the pain in his head return tenfold, doubling in intensity for a moment before fading back into manageable levels once more. "Stay with me. Stay with us!"

Lance reached out and grabbed her hand in desperation, pulling her close so they could both feel each other breathing together like they were a single person instead of two separate people clinging to life. For a long minute he just held her tight, trying to find some comfort in this world that seemed determined to end them here. Then he heard something from outside—a sharp, sudden scream that cut off suddenly, leaving an empty silence that stretched on too long.

Lance couldn't see or hear anything beyond that wall anymore; the gunshots and screams had ceased as well, but that one final noise stood out all on its own like it was screaming at him. Lance looked at Sophie's face and realized she was staring up at him with wide eyes that still didn't seem aware enough to know what was happening around her.

There had been an outside force. The mysterious gunmen that had shot Sophie along with half the insane civilians. Had that scream been them?

Lance reached out with his detection Special Ability, but he didn't sense anyone nearby. Whoever those attackers were, they'd moved on out of his range fast.

Lance reached over and gently moved a strand of hair away from Sophie's forehead. She was still alive, but she was hurt.

"Sophie." Lance spoke softly so the sound wouldn't travel far across the empty space in which he was standing—a void of silence like everything else was dead or hiding from him somehow. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she said with a grimace. "Fucker got me in the leg. Are they gone?"

“I can't sense them,” Lance confirmed.

He let go of her hand and turning back to check her wounds as best he could. It probably wasn't lethal, but it was more than enough to worry him. If she died, what hope did he really have then? He needed someone strong enough to fight with him: he couldn't do this alone.