Two men holding automatic rifles came behind her, pointing their guns at her head. Nori clenched her teeth but moved obediently to the passenger side and got inside. She looked with surprise at the glowing dashboard. When she got inside the first time, the projectors blinded her too quickly. Now, she could see the entire front was replaced with a sort of LED screen with many colorful indicators. And right in the center, hovered a light console.

The two men got into the back seat while Bulco entered the driver seat. He followed her eyes and grinned. “Like my upgrades?”

“You did this?” Nori's mouth dropped open. “How?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

The man grabbed the wheel confidently and drove. A couple of the gang members held the main doors open, and the powerful vehicle easily went down the stairs.

Nori glanced toward her two friends’ hideout, trying not to give them away. Her face paled as she saw a snake-like Warped sneaking toward the upturned truck and the unsuspecting students.

Warped, level 5

“Stop!” Nori yelled and yanked up the handbrake.

The hummer screeched to a halt. Bulco turned to her, enraged. “You’re about to--”

“My friends are over there!” Nori cut him off. “They’re about to get killed; let me go!”

“As if I’m gonna believe--”

Before he could finish the sentence, Nori yanked the side door open and jumped outside. She could hear Bulco yelling at the other two not to shoot. Nori didn’t care. The snake Warped was huge, easily four meters long and it had nearly reached her friends. It was as wide as a person and metallic scales covered its body, making a rustling sound as it slithered on the ground.

“Run!” Nori yelled as she ran. She grabbed a broken signpost and lifted the twenty-kilo pole as if it were a cue stick. Lana and Nathan crawled out of the truck and started running toward Nori with the Warped close on their heels. Nori reached it an instant before it caught up to her friends. Using all the strength the exoskeleton gave her, she smashed the metal pole down on the monster’s head, sending it crashing to the pavement. Her flesh crawled as she realized the creature had a grotesquely misshapen human face. The monster hissed in annoyance and coiled its body. It lifted its head off the pavement, revealing cracks made by the impact and continued to rise up, taller than the woman.

Nori lifted the pole defiantly, knowing she was overmatched.

The snake’s head snapped forward.

Using every last bit of her agility, Nori tumbled to the side, dodging the strike and coming back to her feet behind the monster.