All characters in sexual situations are 18 or older. Thanks for reading!
"Mr. and Mrs. Zaal?" Océane said.
"Please don't call us that." Anna's cheeks were already red from their quick descent down the stairway. They turned redder with embarrassment. "It makes it sound like we're married."
"George Zaal, Anna Zaal, and Oldest Guest." Océane tried again.
It was Kapnos's turn to blush. Gwendolyn Valentine's skin was alabaster white, and with her blond hair pinned up, she was sure the others saw the crimson color spread from her cheeks to the back of her neck. "Please don't call me that, Océane. My name is Mrs. Valentine."
"Why would the computer call you that?" Anna looked over at their companion with her eyebrows raised in confusion.
"Please. George Zaal, Anna Zaal, and Mrs. Valentine. I have urgent news." Océane didn't like to cut in, but it really was urgent.
"What is it, Océane?" Anna put a hand on George's shoulder and stopped him. She moved close to him, her body tensing. The computer wouldn't interrupt them for good news.
"I have spotted two of the Newest Guest's drones moving rapidly up the stairwell," Océane said. "They just passed floor one-forty."
"The shadow creatures? Why didn't you give us more of a warning?" George pulled his pistol and dropped his pack to the ground. He straightened his tie and checked their current floor. They were on one hundred forty-four. He fished the spare pistol out of the bottom of the backpack and loaded it. He made eye contact with Kapnos, and she nodded.
Of course she can shoot. She's been around for a thousand years.
He made sure the safety was on and tossed the gun to her.
"My visual detection is rudimentary in Version 3.2. They move in a way that is hard for me to detect." Océane spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.
"What's going on? Why did you give Mrs. Valentine a gun?" Anna looked back and forth between her companions.
"I'm trained with a pistol, Mrs. Zaal." Kapnos hiked her skirts and bent on one knee. She aimed her pistol down the stairway at a point where the switchback went out of view.
"Get behind me, Mom." George had learned how to shoot in a duel. They hadn't taught him to drop to a knee. That wasn't manly. He stood on a stair, his feet evenly spaced, arm extended. He pointed at the same spot as Kapnos.
"I really wish the elevators were working." Anna climbed several stairs behind them and drew her sword. She was far enough away that she wouldn't stab George or Gwendolyn by mistake but close enough that she might help if one of the creatures made it past their gunfire. Her heart thundered in her ears. She struggled to relax her muscles. "Whatever happens, I'm proud of you, sunshine."
"Thanks, Mom." George took slow, even breaths as he'd been taught. He was pleased to see that his hand wasn't shaking. "We're going to be fine. This will all..." The creatures came into view using their momentum to run high on the wall. They weren't where he'd been aiming. They moved fast with their disjointed limbs. He felt like the one he'd seen before had been awkward, but these were swift and sure-footed. He tried to follow their path as they landed on the floor and bolted up the stairs toward them in a zigzag pattern. He exhaled and pulled the trigger. His pistol hissed.
"I think... they're... learning." Kapnos squeezed the trigger. The creatures zigzagged in a random pattern as they ascended. It made aiming difficult. "Mrs. Haversham didn't say... they moved... like this... when Mr. Haversham shot one. Oh... gods... it's going to get me. It's going to..." Her arms shook as she fired again and again. The creatures steadily closed the distance.
"Unload your pistol. Spray bullets at them." George did just that. Rather than trying to hit the creatures he sprayed a cloud of bullets in every possible direction the creature could go. It worked. The creature on the left sounded like a leaky airlock seal, before exploding in a splash of body parts and black, viscous goo.
Kapnos dropped her sidearm and fell backward in panic. The creature on the right leapt into the air. It sailed some twelve feet high in the vaulted space and crashed down on Kapnos.
George turned his pistol on the creature, but it didn't hiss out any more bullets. He was out of ammunition. "Shit... shit..."
"Oh... gods!" Anna could see that Gwendolyn's arms were pinned. She thought about what had happened to poor Edith. She leapt down the stairs and thrust her sword toward the top of the creature's head. She could see a floating brain and eyes below the black, opaque surface. She aimed for the brain. She landed on her feet as the sword pierced the creature. With a cry of pain, her ankle gave way, and she tumbled down the stairs past Gwendolyn and the creature, leaving the sword behind.
"Nossy! Mom!" George dove to stop his mother's fall down the stairs. He caught her with his chest, and they landed with a thud several feet below Kapnos. George could hear hissing from the creature, and then a wet explosion. He looked up to see Kapnos, covered in goo, scrambling away from what was left of the creature.
"Are you okay... Mrs. Valentine?" Anna stood and winced when she put weight on her right ankle.
"I think... I think..." Kapnos looked down at the mess on her bodice. She quickly tore the clothes off her. She would make new clothes later. She would need to add some mass, but that was fine. She wasn't ever again using the part of her that was soaked in the Newest Guest's vile liquids. "I need to wash myself."
Anna blinked. How had the woman ripped her own clothes like that? Maybe it was superstrength brought on from the situation. She'd heard about things like that. "Do you need me to wash you?" Anna limped toward their new friend.
"No... no... I'll do it." Kapnos needed to leave behind her skin, too. But she couldn't very well do that in front of the humans. "Let's find rooms on this floor. I need some time to clean and... rest."
