Gunfire erupted from the stairwell without warning. Muzzle flashes lit the corridor for a split second before a thin metallic spear punched through the guard’s skull. As he collapsed, the second guard rushed forward, raising his weapon. But then he too was struck in the head before he could fire. He fell beside the first, motionless.

  Several puppets emerged from the stairwell, one of them carrying a compact, spear-like weapon. As they advanced toward the office, their lifeless gazes fixed on the windows as Dr.Vulcan hurried to seal the door with a sharp tap on the control panel.

  "Too late for escape now. Shit," Dr. Vulcan said nervously.

  With a press of a button, the door sealed shut and an additional plate of glass reinforced the windows. The puppets lined up, each staring into the office as the one holding the spear-like weapon approached the door. It glanced at the button next to it on the wall, and pressed it. In a deep computerized voice, it began to speak into the intercom.

  “Dr. Anthony Vulcan. Surrender yourself and hand over Gaius Servius Amabilia, also known as Emmett Amabilia. You have ten seconds to comply.”

  "How do they know my name? What could they possibly want with me?" Emmett asked, his voice filled with confusion and fear.

  “Don’t worry. That reinforced glass is made to withstand explosions and high-caliber weapons; they aren’t getting through, so you aren’t going anywhere,” Dr. Vulcan said confidently.

  The armed puppet placed a hand on the glass. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then, small cracks began to form and spread as if something was eating away at it.

  “What was it you were saying about it being able to withstand explosions and high-caliber weapons?" Emmett questioned.

  As they watched, the reinforced glass gradually took on the appearance of a fragile spider web, its integrity seemingly on the verge of collapse. Without warning, a new barrage of gunfire erupted. Each puppet was struck in the head one after another, their bodies crumpling to the ground.

  The spider-web-like cracks on the windows obscured the view outside. But a humanoid figure emerged from the stairwell and approached the office door, pressing the intercom button.

  "Let me in," the human voice demanded.

  "You'd better identify yourself. We are armed and will shoot you," Dr. Vulcan replied.

  "You know who I am, Dr. Vulcan. I'm your head of security. I've taken care of the immediate threat. Let me in."

  "Titus, you know the code to this office."

  “Yes, I do.”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  “So why are you still standing out there?”

  The door creaked open as Titus, a man who appeared to be in his early fifties, emerged. His rifle was holstered, and he lowered his hands once Dr. Vulcan confirmed his identity. Titus removed his flat cap, revealing his short well-groomed gray hair and his full-neck stubble beard, which complimented his face nicely as the door behind him closed.

  "Well, hello, Dr. Vulcan. It appears your security team is dead. Sorry it took me so long; those bastards have quite the armor on them. I had to try a few different types of ammunition until I found that the RAPR was the one that worked."

  "The Armor Piercing Round?" Emmett questioned.

  “Damn you for taking your time, Titus—but bless you for coming. I was about to start throwing pens at them.”

  "Of course. I have more of that ammunition in the armory, so let's go and handle those Velcro-looking bastards."

  "What about me? Are you just going to leave me here?" Emmett demanded; his voice tinged with urgency.

  "No, you're coming with us. Titus, this is Emmett, he is the sole survivor from the pods we had."

  "Sole survivor? I thought every last one of them died. He isn't going to be a liability, is he?"

  "Not a liability, an asset."

  Dr. Vulcan removed the restraints and Emmett stood up. He felt a sudden wave of vertigo and nearly fell over but the sensation quickly passed, and he recovered. He walked around for a minute as Titus and Dr. Vulcan raided what was left of the office armory until he felt confident enough to move again.

  Once he felt ready to walk on his own, he gave them a nod. Soon after, they walked out of the office. On the floor, the dead puppets no longer looked like the metal velcro-covered bodies they once were. Their skulls bore grayish-black holes and their clothing was torn and shredded. Dr. Vulcan recognized one of the bodies and knelt beside it.

  "Dr. Flora? What did they do to you?"

  "Hey, don’t touch her! Don’t risk it," Titus screamed.

  “All of these bodies, are they people who work in this building?” Emmett asked.

  “I recognize most, but there are one or two that I don’t. Whoever is behind this is using some sort of advanced nanotechnology, possibly alien technology from our Zavon friends. What I do know for certain is that when they touch you, that metal spreads itself on you and consumes you entirely. That’s when you become one of them after it takes control of you. Whether or not you are alive during this, I don’t know. But what I do know is that the ammunition I’m carrying kills them,” Titus replied.

  “If they are capable of infecting people and converting them like this, we need to stop them before they leave this building. I believe the Air Force has scrambled fighters to deal with that craft outside and the local garrison has been alerted. However, they probably won't arrive in time, so it's up to us to seal this building before these things escape. Unfortunately, I don’t have full access from my office; I was only able to seal the top floor,” Dr. Vulcan explained.

  “What do you mean, seal this building? How do you know they won’t just break out? They almost broke into the office,” Emmett replied.

  “We will need to get to the main security terminal on the 100th floor, which I believe was the first floor attacked. Last I checked what was left of the security team there had locked themselves in and were still attempting to operate. But before we do that, we need to stop by the armory and get more of that RAPR ammunition if we are going to stand any chance of surviving. So, follow me and do exactly as I say," Titus said, ignoring Emmett.

  Titus took point, leading with his rifle ready. As they began to descend the stairs, the building was briefly rocked by an explosion from outside.

  "Might be our friends in the Air Force finally showing up," Titus remarked.

  Dr. Vulcan and Emmett followed closely behind until they reached the next floor. Suddenly, they heard a female scream from the hallway, stopping them from proceeding. Titus took a minute to decide on the next course of action.