Midnight. The scattering of lights that illuminate the dilapidated Mega-high rises confirm that there are still pockets of humanity left in New York City's barren wastelands. Below my hover car, the free-zones twinkle in a broken geometric grid over the desolate terrain—a glistening spiderweb interwoven with death. My job is to save the innocents trapped in that concrete web.

Dead zones.

I enter the forbidden zone and my transmission cuts out. These gaps between the lights are infestations of horror where the undead hide in the shadows. The non-living remain underground during the day, but at night they surface to feed. Sweat beads my brow as the heavy rainfall lashes my windshield in dark vertical sheets. Despite my job, I'm not used to the dark. The undead hide in the shadows.

Explosive gas shock waves, caused by broken pipelines, pummel my vehicle and a worrisome thought tugs at the edge of my awareness. The torrential rain is degrading the ground upon which the building sits. If the downpour doesn't stop, the whole destabilized structure could topple. Circling the tower, I focus on the darkened thirteenth floor.

The call from headquarters could not have come at a worse time. Unbeknownst to the Undead Crime Bureau that I work for, I've been searching for my partner, Evander, during my patrols and also in my free time. The last time I saw him, we had a heated argument. His astral beacon transmitted from here three hours ago and then cut out. As a senior Light Worker, I know better than to respond to a Level 1 hot spike without backup. The building's crumbling infrastructure and tight stairwells are fraught with blind spots, but instead of following bureau protocol and reporting him missing, I respond to the call alone to cover for his ass.

When Evander disappeared in the Dead Zone two weeks ago, I assumed he had run off with one of his android hybrids from the sex parlors. Now I want to kick myself for ignoring a nagging suspicion that he was in trouble. Leaving his whereabouts to chance was a terrible mistake.

Dredge Towers..there, I see his battered hover car teetering on the edge of a swimming pool-sized sink hole centered in a fifteen meter island of intact asphalt. The front wheels dangle precariously over the edge in a nauseating see-saw motion. Touching down five meters behind his unit, I exit my hover car. Rain trickles down my cheeks as I watch the sluicing water erode chunks of the car's precarious perch. It won't be long before the edges give and the whole cruiser is swallowed by the cavernous maw.

There's a break in the incessant rain and the visibility increases. Running a scan, I sigh with relief when the system confirms my partner is not inside his vehicle. Out of my peripheral vision, a dog yips. The sound is cold, hungry and lonely. Almost human. I crouch at the lip of the sinkhole and peer into the hole's murky depths. A torrential sucking sound fills the air, as if a large plug has been pulled from an Olympic sized pool. It won't be long before the building and the whole block collapses.

I have to find him.

As I turn to the building's entrance, a feeling of dread sweeps through me. The underground infrastructure is unstable, and the rain is accelerating the dangerous erosion to the foundation. As the creature's cry fades, the area is eerily silent. I doubt there are any uninfected humans living here. The Towers are too decrepit and remote to house anyone alive. If a human ventured out during the day, and didn't make it back by nightfall, they'd be an unarmed target and easily fed upon. They would have to be desperate or suicidal to hide in this death trap. My heightened senses haven't picked up any human energy fields, but there is something watching me.

Evander, what happened to you?

A loud grating sound causes me to leap back. Above me, a chunk of concrete, the size of a car, breaks off the building and tumbles to the ground with a loud crash. The earth shudders from the impact. Breathing hard, I spin and flash my halo light over the facade. Smaller rocks sheer off the building, exposing jagged rebar and the building's decaying guts.

Damn, I'd prefer the building was on fire rather than disintegrating like a huge ass sandcastle.

One of the first mega high rises to be abandoned during the off-world expansion, the eerie crumbling structure that soars above me is a testament of Terra's golden age. According to the Sylex Corporation, humanity's future is in the heavens housed in their mega transport ships, not in these once coveted, now abandoned, renaissance luxury towers.

My precog warning senses go into overdrive as I vault up the rundown stairs two at a time. I scan the ceiling and assess the artery of growing fissures in the facade. The widening cracks concern me less than the smell of fresh blood. Not from synthetic zombies that I fear infest this zone, but from the energy of a freshly taken human life.

I follow the smell of blood to a crumbling apartment that I'm sure will soon be part of the growing pile of concrete debris piled below. Leading with my katana, I burst into the room.

Nothing prepares me for the sight of my former Light Worker partner feeding off the motionless infant.

"Evander!" Blood drips down his clean-shaven face, as he looks up at me. His eyes are as bright as sapphires. My partner doesn't beg for his life or try to kill me. Instead, he earnestly tries to explain why he is holding the small body in his hands.

"It was still warm when I found it out back in the dumpster." The yearning for forgiveness in his gaze makes me want to weep.

The muscles in my throat tighten as I force myself to answer. "I would rather see you dead than turned into one of the monsters we hunt. You asshole, it was a baby!" Snatching the infant's limp form away, I decapitate him with such fury the entire couch he's sitting on is sliced in two. Kicking his head away from his body, I slip in his pooling blood as something dark and powerful grabs me from behind.

My psychic shielding slips and the room ripples and blurs in hyper space as time stretches out like an accordion. I collapse near the dissected couch. I'm losing consciousness when I hear the rest of Evander's body slither out the window into a moonless night.

Let this be a nightmare so I can wake up.

I know that's impossible.

Light Workers never dream.

I can't tell how much temporal time has passed as I painfully roll onto my knees and listen. Gibbering  noises surround me. Bare feet slapping on concrete. Blood drips down the side of my face. I have no defenses. If I don't move, I will die. I make my way back to my patrol vehicle to call for backup. Sitting there, I abruptly burst into tears.

"God damn it!" Tossing my Lightworker manual  and sword onto the empty passenger seat, I lean forward resting my head on the cruiser's control panel as fear races through my body.

I've lost my shield, my psychic protection and my partner. Next, it will be my sanity. Defenseless, in one of the city's worst psychic hot spots, I can't tell light from dark even if it comes up and bites me on the ass.

Sit here long enough and something WILL kill you,...or do much worse. The nagging voice of self preservation buzzes in my head. Shuddering, feeling utterly naked and defenseless, I see sensors on the console flash warning red lights at me.

<HARPER-SHIELD DOWN EVACUATE>

I try to push myself into action, but I continue sitting there motionless. Despite the growing threat, I can't stop thinking of Evander and the little baby.

Come on—move or you'll die!

Finally, self-preservation kicks in and I throw the car into auto pilot to make a bee line for headquarters. As I prepare to lift off, I realize someone else is in the vehicle with me. In the upper reflective windshield, a dark figure menacingly rises up, but it's too late. Powerful tattooed arms pulled me into the back seat, physically restraining my wrists.

"You're mine now bitch!"

Wrenching my arms free I go for my sword, but he viciously yanks my hair slamming my head into the side door. Dazed, I feel his muscular body cover mine while one of his knees slowly pries my legs open, painfully grinding into my crotch.

"I will penetrate you with my throbbing, hard, light sword until I cleave you in two as you did to Evander."

I can't see him in the darkness, but I hear his rumbling laughter. I see a flash of whiteness in the dark before his teeth sink into my neck.