“There is no time! Run, comrade!”


    Artemis rushed out of his quarters, a stack of papers hastily gathered in his arms. Some of the forms fluttered out into the resistance of the air around him, settling on the tiled floor. His frantic footsteps echoed on the concrete walls around him, the sound of an alarm blaring somewhere in the distance.


    He had his research, a few personal things, and the most important thing he had ever owned. It may have tricked onlookers into thinking it was a pocket watch, but it was way more. It was the result ot the scientist’s many years of research and hard work.


    The sirens grew louder, and the lights started to become more broken. Instead of four plasma tubes glowing brightly, only one or two would illuminate the room, the rest of them having been shattered by whatever was going on.


    An explosion rang out somewhere, shaking the room just enough for Artemis to trip. His stack of papers escaped in a huge and brilliant flurry, scattering into a pile on the floor in front of him. Among the dimly lit corridor he gathered everything he could, sorting his work from the debris of office and security equipment.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    A jolt of pain shot up his arm, his hand having been sliced by one of the shards of glass produced by the overhead lights. He grabbed his wrist with his other hand, desperately trying to stop the bleeding. Red splotches began to populate the papers and the ground around him. His clothes were stained crimson from his wound.


    The scientist ripped his necktie off and fashioned a sort of tourniquet around his wrist. With the numbness starting to overtake him, he prioritized what he could carry, only the most valuable parts of his research now. The rest had been abandoned along with his blood.


    The shots quieted down, and Artemis finally came to a steel door at the end of the corridor. He fumbled for the keycard hanging from his breast pocket, but when he tapped it against the reader, the door refused to open. The lights were all off, and the red emergency glow was all that could be seen.


    Something metal clattered behind him. He froze, and turned around slowly.


    The figure, clearly not human, sneered at him.


    “There is no time left for you,”