The walk to the industrial district took them two grueling hours. They moved like ghosts through the dying city. They walked through the maze of back alleys and abandoned subway tunnels.
Above them, the red sky pulsed like a diseased heart. The distant, ringing roars of mutating animals served as a constant reminder that the clock was ticking.
Valerie proved her worth right away. She didn't slow him down. She matched his punishing pace. Her expensive suit was totally ruined, and her hands blistered from gripping the heavy magnum. But her dark blue eyes stayed locked on his back with fierce, stubborn determination.
They finally climbed out of a storm drain into the sprawling, empty expanse of the city's abandoned factory sector.
It was a graveyard of old factories. Massive iron warehouses sat rusting in the acid rain. They were surrounded by cracked concrete lots and overgrown chain-link fences.
