Maids VS Apocalypse

The cries of metal and gunfire. Even as she hid in a bathroom corner with her hands on her ears, the young woman couldn’t stop the sounds from reaching her.

’Did the monsters return?’

That seemed unlikely.

’Don’t tell me...’

Her mind went back to a message she had received the previous day and her already pale face grew paler. The fighting sounds soon faded and an eerie silence enveloped everything.

The young woman didn’t dare to move from the corner she huddled in. She didn’t dare think it was all over, that the trouble had been dealt with, and that her safety was guaranteed.

A loud bang almost chased the soul out of her body. It came from her living room. Someone broke in and they clearly weren’t the guards that were stationed at the entrance.

Clasping her hands on her mouth she tried to mask any sound she might mask, even that of her breathing. The chances that they might leave without finding her were low, but all she could do was hope.

A naive hope. The bathroom door was broken as well. The terror that filled her heart with each step she heard was threatened to make it stop. She waited for the glass door of the shower to be shattered, but instead, it quietly opened up. Her eyes unintentionally shifted in its direction and what she saw caused them to widen.

Red. It was a red cloak. Standing at the door was a man in a red cloak, his head covered in its hood, and his face was hidden behind a black mask. Looking up at him from the floor made him appear much taller.

’A red cloak!!!’

The worst came to be.

The tall hooded man stared down at her, his eyes appearing confused. After some time he turned around and shouted. "I’ve found someone!"

Not long after a second hooded person arrived beside the first. She appeared to be female going by her build and the parts of her face that weren’t covered. The hooded woman looked down and frowned.

"You, are you the resident of this quarters?"

The young woman didn’t answer and kept her hands on her mouth.

"She looks... normal?" The tall man commented.

"And here I thought we found some big fish." The hooded woman sighed.

"Either way, a heretic is still a heretic. Take her to the Elder Zhang."

The young woman didn’t understand what they were getting at. The hooded woman turned around and left. There was a moment of silence before the tall man spoke up.

"Hey, you," he motioned for the exit with his chin. "Get moving."

As frightened as she was, the young woman felt glad that they didn’t kill her outright. Fear had left her weak in the legs but she feared what might happen if the strangers in red hoods would do if she angered them.

’He said they’re trying to poach Awakened for their world...’ She thought ’They wouldn’t hurt me... right?’

She struggled to her feet and walked out of the shower stall while keeping as much distance as possible between her and the tall man. Stepping into the living room, she saw two more of the red-hooded strangers in the living room, neither of whom was the woman from before.

At first, she was going to avoid looking their way, but then she caught what they were doing from the corner of her eye and froze in place.

The hooded men were fiddling with a rectangular device; a tablet. They seemed absorbed by whatever was on the screen as the one holding it would swipe after every few seconds.

"G-give it back!"

A high-pitched voice tore their attention from the screen. A young woman had walked toward them and was about to reach for the device. She didn’t notice the blade one of them was holding until it was raised to her neck.

Seeing the red staining on the blade caused her to freeze once more. That was no mere paint, the scent made it clear.

The two red hoods stared at her for a moment then looked down at the device. A few seconds later the one holding the device turned it around as if to show her the screen. It displayed a piece of artwork.

In it, two girls embraced each other as they sat on the large bed. One of them had silver hair tied on both sides of her head, the other was blonde with drill-like weaves. Both wore the same costume; a black dress with a frilly white apron on top.

"Did you draw these?"

The young woman couldn’t answer; the blade pointed at her neck prevented it. The look in her eye gave the answer, however. The red hood turned the device around and began swiping again.

"If you’re going to draw this stuff then at least make them kiss properly." He said. "Don’t bait us like this."

"What are you doing?" The tall one’s voice came from behind restoring the tension dispersed by the strange comment.

"Just checking something interesting." The one holding the sword said.

"Save it. This isn’t the time for that."

"Yeah yeah, I get it."

Sighing behind his mask, the red hood pressed the small button on the side of the device, locked it, they extended it toward the young woman. The other one lowered his weapon and stepped back.

The young woman didn’t know how to react, but she couldn’t be relieved yet. Not until the tablet was back in her hands. Hesitating for a moment, she reached out to grab the device. Her fingers touched the cold surface, they each other. The device disappeared right in front of her as if it was never there.

"Ah, sorry about that." The red hood said, barely suppressing the laugh in his voice. "I still want to look at the rest. You can have it back if the Elder lets you live."

"We will put in a good word for you so," The other one chuckled. "You better draw those maids kissing." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Not understanding what was happening, the young woman could only stare at the two. Helplessness painted her expression and the tears slowly returned to her eyes.

"Hey! Quit messing around already!" A voice came from the entrance to the suite. It was the hooded woman from before.

"Hey, get moving."

When the tall man pushed her, the young woman almost collapsed to the floor. She didn’t notice it happen, nor did she notice when her legs moved as she followed the hooded stranger’s directions. Her mind was in chaos for several moments, and it only got worse the longer it went.

A thought arose from the depths of her mind. She had survived the monsters. She had completed the quest. She had made a promise to her friend. He was supposed to come get her today.

’White...’ the tears flowed down her cheeks. ’Where are you...’

~[]~

Most of the corridors were relatively clean at first, but at some point, signs of struggle became more frequent. Blood painted the walls and the floor, and every once in a while they would come across a corpse or two.

It was a little surreal, being relieved that the only dead they found were either Peace Keepers or Red Hoods. It meant no civilians were harmed, or so Mark would have liked to believe.

The bloodiest of the corridors seemed to be the ones with entire suits reserved for important people. The Peace Keepers had moved his illustrator friend to one and provided him with some guards.

He wanted to ask why they were continuing toward it when the enemy had already swiped through the floor and gathered everyone on it. The others must’ve been thinking the same as well, but no one said anything.

They soon arrived at their destination, and looking at the dead Peace Keepers and the broken door, there was no denying that what they predicted had already come true.

"Search every corner." Ramsay gave an order.

It was then that Mark understood why they bothered going there. There was always a chance that the red hoods weren’t thorough in their search, and if one hid very well they might have evaded their search.

The squad members scattered and began their search. The living room, the kitchen, the bathroom, all of them were empty with not even an insect in sight.

Mark quickly checked his quest log and confirmed that the System Upgrade quest was still ongoing. That didn’t give him the relief he was looking for, and at that moment something caught his attention.

In the bedroom, on the desk near the bed, a white pen was left near a stack of books. He examined it and learned that it didn’t have a normal tip. It was a stylus, one meant for digital tablets.

’This is...’

"Hey," a subdued voice called from behind him. He turned around and said that it was Elya. "Get over here. We need to decide on our next move."

Everyone was gathered in the living room, their expressions grim. Ramsay fixed him with a stern look then let out a sigh.

"We were a little late." He said.

"Don’t tell me..." Mark’s face scrunched. "You aren’t going to say we should get out?"

"No," The Sergeant shook his head. "I was going to tell you to stay here."