Michael already had his hand out in front of him, trying to aim at the figure leading his lady, but he was deathly afraid of hitting his precious Maria in the process. The anger boiling deeply in him did nothing to help his focus either. But he’d be fucking done for if Maria got hurt in the midst of all this alien bullshit. Hell, he’d kill himself.

Whilst Michael was too slow to react, Max already had his blasts raining down on the man in a brightly dancing circle. He successfully missed Maria every hit, trying to skim the stranger’s body. Max wanted to kill the bastard, but Maria was too close to do any actual damage to the guy.

The man started bolting for one of the vans that was roaring to go, and he grabbed Maria’s trance body closer, pulling her with him. Michael aimed for the van and blasted it into small smithereens. Max followed his lead and abolished the other vehicles, the empty street becoming a plague of thunderous fire.

Michael had begun his descent down the fire escape ladder while Max covered him, blasting anything that so much as stirred. By now walls of sky-reaching flames surrounded the man, but it did nothing to reassure Michael because Maria was inside that barricade. The moment Michael felt his feet brush the ground, they were already bounding towards the great blazes. The flames seemed to elevate higher as he neared the blaze, making his eyes feel like they were smoldering into small pools of muddle. He reached out in front of him with his hand and waved it side to side, easing the fire, eventually calming it until it became nothing but a few scattered ashes on the ground. He wiped desperately as his eyes, trying to persuade his eyes to clear and let him reassure the rest of his shaking body.

Michael fell the ground on his knees, coughing agitatedly. He felt Max come up behind him and place a hand on his shoulder. Michael cleared his throat and let his eyes close momentarily. His eyes then flickered, slowly giving passage to the scene before him. The desolate street was silent now, and not one sound was heard throughout the entire vicinity. But the sight that made his heart clench and his teeth grit was the unconscious Maria, lying weak and vulnerable inside a ring of black ash. And she was completely alone. The bastard was gone.