Chapter 25: Eric
"DING. You have reached the 102nd floor. Please enjoy your viewing experience."
The elevator door opens to a scene of horror. Dried blood paints the floor in a grisly pattern, while rotting corpses are stacked onto one side of the viewing platform. Henrick simply frowns and scans the room for any sign of Eric.
"What the hell happened here?" Selene mutters, covering her nose at the acrid stench of spoiled meat. Father David retches at the morbid state of their surroundings, muttering prayers all the while.
Leo sniffs the air and sneezes at the potent smell of decomposing flesh, the poor boy unable to stop as the entire room reeks. He barks towards the middle of the room, capturing the soldier’s attention.
Henrick looks to the middle of the room where a familiar little girl sits, tied up, gagged, and unmoving. "Elly!!" he shouts, dashing forward and ripping the bindings off. He checks on her vital signs and breathes out a sigh of relief that she’s only unconscious.
Father David kneels next to them and places a hand on the little girl’s forehead, a frown breaking out on his face. "She’s pale and heating up." The soldier frowns and looks around wearily. "Probably from the shock of all this. Did she see what happened?"
The old man stumbles at the sight of the corpses and screams in terror. He collapses on the floor and latches onto Selene’s leg, eyes closed in fear as he trembles severely while holding on tight.
"Please! I did what you wanted!! Don’t kill me!!" the elder screams into the room, tears and snot pouring out. This prompts the others to manifest their abilities as they look around, bodies tense in preparation.
Henrick picks Elly up and places her in the elevator, pressing the 28th floor as he kneels down. "Come here boy." Leo approaches and sits next to Elly, as if he already knows what to do.
"Smart boy. Take good care of this girl, give her some licks too, just in case." The soldier steps back from the closing elevator doors and prepares for combat.
Silence dominates the viewing platform as Henrick experiences an intense feeling of dread. The sound of Father David praying and the old man screaming fades into the background as his bioelectric field unconsciously spreads once more.
Without warning, he unleashes a bolt of electricity at the old man, which is easily dodged. "Hahahaha! You’re good!" Laughs the old man as he flips through the air like an acrobat.