"Jessica!" Babel called.

A droning ring tore through her blurred vision as she pressed the ground. Despair and the boom of an engine were one. Despair had an agent. Despair's white hero entered the top floor from an incinerated entry point. Malvis advanced by leaps and bounds.

David anxiously crawled out of the mad Azarean's path. But the red glare in the alien's embattled and scarred mug vied for Jessica.

She looked down, noticed a piece of glass wedged beneath her ...