Natasha was driving. Charlie kept firing at nearby spiders. And Bella—despite all her magic—could only sit there like dead weight.
She relied on sharp eyes to warn them whenever danger came close.
"Left—left! Take it down!"
"Car ahead! Move!"
Samantha led the convoy in her police cruiser, firing continuously along with her bald deputy.
Several armed townspeople joined the fight. Vehicles formed a tight cluster, tearing through the streets toward the central mall like a streak of lightning.
For creatures made of flesh and blood, bullets were absolutely lethal.
Problem was accuracy.
Firing from fast-moving vehicles was a joke. Just like those movie car chases where both sides emptied magazines and somehow hit nothing. Charlie and Samantha were cops, not special forces. Ammunition was limited. They only fired when reasonably sure of a hit.
Bella sat quietly in the passenger seat. Within ten meters, she could kill accurately. Ten to fifty meters—maybe. Beyond that? Pure luck. Moving targets made it worse. She wouldn't perform any better than Charlie.
So she stayed still.
With the two chiefs and the deputy laying down fire, the convoy finally punched through to the central mall.
The rest of the town wasn't so lucky.
Hundreds—no, thousands—of spiders poured out of nests and alleys. Strong enough to flip ordinary cars. Panic spread instantly. Many abandoned their vehicles, dropped their guns while running. Against an endless swarm, resistance collapsed almost immediately.
"Hurry! Move! Pete—get the elderly and kids inside first! Martin, grab heavy objects and block the doors! You, you, and you—on me! Defensive line!"
Samantha barked orders at top speed in front of the mall.
Charlie had no idea how a casual visit had turned into a nightmare. But he still worked beside Samantha with steady efficiency.
The middle-aged "mine heir," however, got shoved inside by fleeing townspeople before he could even react.
Bella was the last to step off the truck. She tapped Shaw lightly on the roof.
"Find a place to hide. Don't let those spiders wreck my truck."
"Send me home."
"Okay. Stay sharp."
She tucked two pistols into the back of her waistband—spoils from Agent 006's safehouse that she normally kept in the pickup.
There was also an RPG launcher under the back seat. Bella paused. Sighed. Shook her head.
Yeah... no.
How was she supposed to explain that?
"Good grades reward"?
"Community service gift"?
Absolutely not.
Bella and Natasha wanted to help outside, but the two police chiefs ordered them into the mall. Charlie, Samantha, and bald Deputy Pete stayed behind to cover the retreat.
Pete had emptied the police armory—rifles, shotguns, handguns—all dumped into the squad car.
One day, Natasha might become terrifyingly accurate. Point, shoot, hit. But right now, she'd never even touched a gun. Talent meant nothing without experience.
Bella couldn't explain where her own firearm skills came from, so she stayed back too.
The mall's iron gate began to descend while the three officers fought outside, buying time for the townspeople.
"Mom! Move!" Natasha shouted, voice cracking.
She would save whoever she could. But she would not watch her mother die outside.
"I'm coming!"
Bella sprinted forward.
Left hand grabbed Charlie. Right hand grabbed Samantha. She dragged both officers inside like a sudden gust of wind.
"You're really strong..." Samantha gasped.
Then she froze. "Pete! Pete—move!"
Only then did she realize something was terribly wrong.
Deputy Pete was still outside.
He stood there firing mechanically, barely aware the others were gone. Without cover on either side, he'd be overwhelmed in seconds.
Bella pressed a hand to her forehead.
The iron gate was already less than a meter above the ground.
Pete was still frozen.
She dashed back out.
Grabbing the nearly two-hundred-pound deputy, Bella hauled him toward the mall. At that exact moment, a green-furred giant spider lunged at them. Pete was paralyzed with fear.
No time to worry about stray bullets.
One smooth motion. She snatched the shotgun from Pete's hands, raised it one-handed, fired point-blank.
Spider's head exploded.
At that distance, missing was impossible.
Before the body even hit the ground, she'd already dragged Pete to the gate.
Iron barrier dropping fast.
She shoved the dazed deputy inside, then dove and rolled through herself—sharp, practiced agility.
The metal slammed down behind her.
Silence.
Deputy Pete sat on the floor, shaking. His memory stopped at the moment he was firing at spiders. Everything after that was a blank.
The townspeople surged forward, piling shelves, benches, and vending machines against the entrance.
Only then did the mall fill with sobbing breaths.
The elderly clutched each other. Women held crying children. People trembled, staring at the sealed gate as if it were the only thing separating them from hell.
Everything had happened too fast.
Less than thirty minutes.
Half an hour ago, they'd been chatting, laughing, living ordinary lives.
Now they were refugees. Huddled together. Waiting for an unknown fate.
Prosperity Town had over four thousand residents.
Fewer than a thousand had made it inside.
The remaining three thousand were unaccounted for.
Husbands called wives. Parents screamed children's names. Old men wandered in circles, calling out to people who didn't answer.
Crying. Blaming. Despair. Everything mixed together, pressing down like a suffocating weight.
Even Natasha, usually fearless, felt shaken. Many of the missing were her friends. More than half were gone.
She felt powerless.
Bella stood beside her. Leaned close. Lowered her voice.
"It'll be okay. It will."
Natasha looked at her, eyes red. "Really?"
Bella hesitated for just a fraction of a second—too small for anyone else to notice.
"...Really."