“Hey!”

Henry spun round, metal bar at the ready.

“Amanda?”

It was the recent HR hire, who looked as attractive as ever. Standing close to his height at 1.8 metres, she had shoulder length blonde hair, currently tied back into a ponytail. She wore a red blouse, and a knee length black skirt, both of which showed off her slim figure honestly. Her bust Henry described simply in one word.

Glorious…

“Amanda! I am so glad you’re okay!” Henry ran over to her and drew her into a fierce hug, heedless of courtesy. “It’s so good to see another survivor!”

Amanda allowed the hug for a moment before gently pushing Henry away.

“I’m glad to see you too… Uh, sorry, I don’t recall your name.”

“Ah, no problem, I’m Henry. I worked in tech support, just through the doors over there,” Henry replied. His elation at finding another living human only slightly diminished by the attractive woman not knowing his name.

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry, Henry. Please forgive my forgetfulness. Oh!”

She was looking at Henry’s chest, a look of shock on her face.

“Are you hurt?”

Henry was puzzled momentarily. Looking down at himself, he suddenly realised just how he must look. He was completely drenched in blood from his chest down, with the dried blood having turned his shirt and trousers a deep dark red. His shoe on the foot that was bitten by the imp was looking rather tatty too. Looking back at Amanda, he noticed she seemed completely unharmed in comparison. Other than looking slightly dishevelled, Henry could have easily believed she had just finished giving a presentation to the board of governors.

“Nope, despite how I must look, I’m quite fine,” he assured her. “So, demons, huh?”

Amanda’s face paled visibly at mention of the creatures.

“Yes… Demons,” Amanda replied, her voice suddenly far less buoyant. “They came out of nowhere. I was in the bathroom… The woman in the next stall… she was… she… they got her. There was nothing I could do… Some of the others tried to fight them, but they… all died… every last one of them… I don’t know what’s going on! It’s like something out of a horror story!”

Amanda was clearly quite shaken by the situation, and Henry couldn’t blame her, though he was a little surprised by just how shaken she appeared to be.

How has she survived? I don’t see her taking on the creatures willingly. I’m sure there are plenty of other women that would be raring to kick some ass in her situation, my ex for one, but definitely not her. Not that I can talk, what have I done? Been bitten by an imp, got two of my own hits in, then died from a stab wound… Maybe, I’m underestimating her.

Another though struck him as he lingered on the topic of the woman before him, but it was not a pleasant one, or a believable one.

No… There’s no way she’s his champion. She looks like she’s been hiding the entire time! But, if she is… Fuck! I can’t kill her…

A silence lingered between them, until Amanda eventually broke it.

“I was looking for survivors, but the upper floors are empty. We should probably stick together and keep searching?”

Henry shook away his dark thoughts. Sticking together did sound like a good idea to him. A friendly, and undeniably attractive companion to keep him company in this trying time.

“You’re right. I was planning to do just that before you found me,” he replied, omitting the slightly different set of priorities that were currently motivating him.

Of all the people to run into, I find her. I’d been meaning to ask her for her number, but never got the chance. Finding a reason to drop by HR was never easy. Not that I would have had a chance with her, but now that most of the contenders have dropped from the race! Shit, not that I’m happy that they died…

“Did you hear that!?” Amanda snapped him back to reality with a shout.

Henry strained his ears, but heard nothing out of the ordinary.

“I think it came from downstairs,” Amanda continued, moving quickly towards the stairs leading down. Henry followed her, and as they reached the next floor, a muffled cry greeted him.

“Please! Somebody help!”

Henry and Amanda both looked around hastily trying to find the source of the noise.

“There!” Amanda shouted, pointing at a smaller office that looked out onto the main floor through a glass wall.

Dashing over to it, they saw a man inside cowering behind a large desk, who was shielding his head with his arms. He had pinned the desk on it’s side against the walls, leaving only a small gap at the top, which he had mostly covered with a chair. In front of the desk, two red imps were eagerly trying to reach the man inside.

“Quick, go help him!” Amanda cried.

“What!? What am I supposed to do against two of those things?” Henry retorted.

“You have that club don’t you? Use it and save him!”

Henry looked down at the metal bar in his hand, then back at the imps. Taking a deep breath he stepped into the room.

Just need to sneak up on them and get a good hit in.

Henry crept closer to the imps, moving as quietly as he could, while being hindered by the random debris that littered the floor, as well as his damaged footwear.

Okay, nearly there… Just keep trying to eat that guy and I’ll be fine!

“Yes! Please save me! Please, quickly!” the cowering man suddenly spoke at him.

No! Why would you do that!?

One of the imps started to turn, and Henry wasted no time adjusting his plan. Rushing forwards, he aimed a swing of his club at the creature, which to his relief, struck his target’s skull with a loud metallic thud. The imp was knocked back into the desk and collapsed, but the second imp, who had been still trying to reach the cowering man, turned as it noticed its fellow collide with the desk. Unfortunately, Henry was still recovering from his swing, the lateral momentum of it exposing his right side, and before he could react, the imp leaped onto his leg and sank its teeth right into his thigh.

“Yeaargh!!” Henry cried out. “You little red bastard!”

Henry started bludgeoning the head of the clinging imp repeatedly. But, the impact of each blow was forcing the imp’s teeth further into his leg. Roaring in pain and fury, Henry continued swinging at the imp, and after a few more solid hits, its teethy assault finally seemed to falter. Imminent victory spurred Henry on, his swings becoming more forceful, and continuing unabated even as the imp fell limp to the ground.

“You. Little. Fucking. Imp. Bastard!” each word was accompanied by another swing of his makeshift club, directly on the skull of the prone creature.

Breathing heavily and near exhausted, Henry finally ceased his assault. Neither imp seemed to be moving, though Henry eyed the imp he had knocked into the desk suspiciously.

Was that really enough to kill it? The second imp shrugged off several blows before going down…

Henry looked back at Amanda, who had entered the room behind him. Her eyes were wide, fixed on the imp he had ferociously battered. She looked terribly pale, perhaps disturbed by the violence.

“Is he okay?” she asked.

Henry was confused for a second, the adrenaline from his battle still affecting his mind, before he recalled the reason he had waded into battle with the imps in the first place.

“Hey! You can come out now, the imps are taken care of. It’s safe!” he called out to the man behind the desk.

“Please… Help…” The reply was weak.

Concerned, Henry quickly peered over the desk to get a better look at the man.

“Shit! He’s bleeding. Help me move the desk!” he called back to Amanda.

Together they managed to uncover the man from his furniture fortress. There was a large pool of blood around him.

“That looks bad. I’ll go find a first aid kit!” Amanda left the room in a hurry.

“There’s no time! Just find something to bind the wounds!” Henry called after her.

There probably isn’t even time for that.

Henry quickly went to rip a sleeve off his shirt. It took a few tries before he got it. Looking over the man more closely, Henry assessed his injuries. He seemed to have multiple lacerations on his chest and legs, and a deep gash on his left arm. With the remains of his shirt sleeve, Henry set to work trying to stem the flow of blood.

“Hey! Can you hear me? Stay with me!” he called out to the bleeding man, looking into his eyes. As he did so, recognition struck him. It was Simon, the beverage spilling boaster himself.

“Cold… So cold…” Simon’s voice was barely audible.

Ugh, Simon you insufferable prick. Looks like your luck has finally ran out. Wait… Could he be Gyxr’s champion?

A faint hope began to blossom in Henry’s heart. He quickly began scouring Simon’s body for the mark that would identify him as the Lord Gyxr’s Champion, but he couldn’t find it, there was too much blood covering him.

“How is he?” Amanda had returned, she was carrying some bin bags, a cloth blanket, and a small plastic bin filled with water.

“It’s not looking good. He’s lost so much blood. I’ve tried to stop the bleeding, but I don’t think it will be enough.”

“Should we call an ambulance?”

Henry looked at her raising an eyebrow.

“Sorry, I wasn’t thinking! I’ll try to help him.”

Amanda moved to take over care of Simon, who was still breathing weakly. She started rebinding his wounds more tightly, before washing away some of the blood coating him with the water she had brought. Henry was watching this process very intently, silently hoping Lord Gyxr’s mark would reveal itself.

Come on… It must be him… Then I won’t even have to kill anyone! He’s dead for sure, no one’s going to miss him, and I’ll be saved!

In his short life, Henry had never wished for something more fervently. His thoughts drifted to another fantasy.

I gain great power as Gyxr’s champion after the death of Simon. By day I slay monsters left and right, with ease, skill, and style. At night, I enjoy the company of Amanda, the woman I have kept safe from the evils plaguing our land…

He was eventually snapped out of his imagining by the voice of Amanda, who was no longer trying to wash blood from Simon.

“He’s dead,” she said quietly, head hung low.

Was it him!?

He felt nothing. Minutes seemed to pass. He still felt nothing. Henry’s anger started to boil.

“We should bury him,” the voice of Amanda briefly interrupted his silent seething.

His head snapped to her. Her face was red, like she had been quietly mourning the loss of Simon.

“Bury him!? What are you talking about!?” Henry retorted, barely able to contain his frustration.

“We can’t just leave him like this!”

“Open your eyes! This whole building is littered with corpses! We can’t bury them all! Where would we even put them? The nearest park is at least a kilometre away!”

“I know that! I know, okay! I just feel so helpless. All these poor people, I couldn’t save them.”

Her heartfelt sorrow and the concern she showed was helping to calm his anger. He let out a sigh.

“I know how you feel. Come on, we’d better get moving. There might still be survivors on the lower floors.”

“Are you sure? Is your leg okay?” Amanda asked him.

“My leg?”

Henry looked down at his leg, suddenly realising with a start he had completely forgotten about the imp bite he had received only minutes earlier.

I didn’t even notice it after the battle… It doesn’t seem to be bleeding much, and it’s not even painful. Shit, do I have healing powers after all!? I could test it… Just need something sharp, and some privacy…

After a pause he realised Amanda was still staring at him, awaiting his response.

“My leg’s fine. The imp only grazed me, luckily.”

No longer bolstered by adrenaline after the battle and subsequent emergency, Henry was gradually seeing his recent actions in a new light.

I barely hesitated. I just waded in there, ready to fight some small monsters to the death. That’s good in some ways I guess? Maybe a little more caution in the future wouldn’t hurt, though. Dying again would sure suck…

Discarding the depressing though, Henry took a deep breath, and then moved to the office door, before waiting for Amanda to join him, which she did once she’d draped the cloth blanket of Simon’s body. Now that he had been made aware of it, Henry noticed a slight twinge of pain in his leg with each step, but it wasn’t enough to hinder him.

As he emerged from the office, he scanned the room once more, which soon led his eyes to the elevator doors near by. For some unknown reason the building had been designed with the elevators and stairs placed on opposite sides of the floor.

It’s possible people were in the elevator when the power went out? Might be worth checking to see if they are still in there. If they kept quiet, they could be alive.

“Have you checked the elevators?” he called over his shoulder to Amanda.

“No, the power is out, I couldn’t open the doors. Do you think there are people trapped inside?”

“Could be, let’s go take a look.”

They headed over to the elevators. Henry tried pressing the elevator call button, just in case. Sure enough, nothing happened. Instead, he stepped towards the doors of the leftmost of the two elevator shafts, preparing to open them by hand. It took considerably more effort than he’d expected, but he managed it without injuring himself. Looking down into the shaft, he thought he could make out the car a few floors down, but it was too dark to tell. He listened for a time, but didn’t hear any cries for help, nor the savage snarls of any hideous creatures.

“Hello?” he called down into the darkness.

When no response came back to him, he moved onto the other shaft. Prying open the second set of doors, he saw the bottom of the elevator car just sticking out from above.

“Hey, the car’s here! I’ll try and open it.”

It was an awkward angle to apply his strength to, but he eventually managed to prise open the inner doors to the elevator car. Then, as the contents of the car came into view, his breath caught. He heard Amanda let out a gasp as she noticed it too. Inside the car was an imp slumped against the wall. It was clearly dead, the fire axe buried in its face a dead giveaway.

“Here, give me a boost up, that axe could come in handy,” Henry suggested.

“Uh, maybe you should give me a boost, I’m not sure I could hold you up for long. I probably weigh a bit less than you too.”

At the mention of weight, his eyes inadvertently roved her body once more. She was quite thin, and would likely weigh even less if not for her top heaviness. He couldn’t argue with her logic.

“Good thinking, let’s do that.”

Henry cupped his hands together preparing to boost her up into the elevator car. The logistics of this manoeuvre proved to be quite troublesome. Neither of them wanted to end up falling down the elevator shaft after all, but they eventually settled on a workable solution, and Henry gradually propelled Amanda into the elevator car.

“I can reach it, but I need to be further in to get a good grip,” Amanda admitted.

“Alright, hang on, I'm getting pretty close to the edge here.”

Henry had initially stood side on to the elevator shaft entrance, pushing Amanda mostly towards the inside of the door, rather than towards the shaft. He now slowly shifted round, facing the shaft, allowing him to more easily support her legs, and push her further in.

However, he wasn’t prepared for the change in perspective the new position provided. Before he had been eye level with her hip, but mainly focused his eyes to the side watching his footing. Now, however, he found himself face to face, so to speak, with her well formed posterior. He was trying not to stare, but it was proving difficult, and as he pushed her further into the car, her blouse started to ride up, further increasing his difficulty.

Woah, I need to calm down, this is getting me a bit too worked up. But, such beautiful …

Henry’s thoughts ground to an abrupt halt. As Amanda’s blouse had hiked up further, his eyes had caught sight of something. It was a mixture of white and red. He stood transfixed as more of it slowly crept into view. As he had feared, it was the lower portion of a skull, dripping blood. The mark of Gyxr’s champion.

No! That doesn’t make any sense! How the fuck is she his champion?

Henry kept staring at the newly revealed mark, unable to believe his eyes.

“Almost got it, just a bit further.” The muffled voice of Amanda bounced off him, completely disregarded.

You want me to kill her!? Why do this to me Gyxr, you sick bastard!? Well, I won’t do it! You hear me! I won’t!

Yet, despite his furious denial, he knew, deep down, he didn’t want to die. He feared it, very much so.

No! I don’t want to kill her! She doesn’t deserve this.

His resolve began wavering after just a few moments, with his fear of death being simply too strong. A part of his mind began whispering dark suggestions. No one would have to know, it began. The creatures had already killed so many, what was one more? There would be other more beautiful women after her, it was no great loss. She hadn’t even remembered his name! Then she forced him to fight two imps, to save a man he despised!

No! That doesn’t mean I can just go and kill her, to save my own worthless life!

So, just lay down and die? Face oblivion? What about all those lovely plans? The nice house by the beach, the family? All forgotten, just so she can live? She’s weak! She won’t last a day on her own!

No… But… How could I live with myself… knowing I had… killed her…

With power, countless others could be saved. What is one life in comparison to that? Nothing!

I…

Henry’s internal struggle was finally interrupted by the shouting of an incensed Amanda.

“Henry? What are you doing? Please let me down! Let me down, Henry!”

Henry slowly let down Gyxr’s champion. Seeing the axe brandished in her hand, he flinched.

She’s Gyxr’s champion, she must have powers too? Is that how she survived? But, then why didn’t she help me with the imps? She sent me in there with nothing but a metal bar… Does she know!? Did Gyxr tell her about me!?

“Oh, sorry! I must look quite scary holding this axe up like that. Here, why don’t you take it, it’s a bit too heavy for me to swing about anyway,” Amanda suggested, smiling at him.

Henry stared at the axe like it was a venomous snake she was offering him.

“Are you okay?” Amanda asked, when no response was forthcoming.

“I … Yes, I’m fine sorry. I am just a bit… tired. It’s been a long terrible day.”

“Oh I understand, it’s the same for me. Just hang in there. If we work together we will get out of here safely I’m sure!”

She doesn’t know. There’s no way she could know and spout that ridiculous optimism. ‘Together' … If only…

The warring within his mind had reached a chilling conclusion. The facts were indisputable, by killing her, he could save countless others. As well as himself, of course. He steeled his resolve.

“Hey, could you check the other shaft. I think I saw something down there, but I’m not sure.”

“Oh, sure thing!”

Amanda headed over to the first shaft he had opened. Heart pounding, throat dry, Henry followed closely behind.

“Hmm, I’m not sure…” said Amanda peering into the darkness, trying her best to see anything.

I’m sorry Amanda… But, I don’t want to die…

Despite his conviction, he hesitated. Doing the deed was proving to be too much for him.

No, come on. Before she turns around. Just, do it! Do it you fucking coward!

With a surge of motion, he extended his leg and kicked Amanda down into the shaft. She let out a long sharp shriek as she fell, before she disappeared into the darkness within.