4 Chapter 3:Oh, I've been Impaled....

Squeezing through the crack created by the explosion, Valerie led Grim to a staircase she remembered from the building's layout.

"There's a supply closet on the fourth floor with a vent leading to an emergency fire escape," she explained. "If it's still intact, we can get out."

Upon reaching the staircase, they faced a new obstacle.

The stairs were in ruins, a jumble of concrete and twisted metal. Grim's gaze shifted to the elevator doors, but Valerie shook her head.

"It's out, no doubt."

Her watch beeped, reminding her of their dwindling oxygen supply. Valerie looked up, her mind racing with calculations.

Grim watched her, his expression a mix of curiosity and resignation.

"What's the plan now?" he asked.

Without a word, Valerie aimed her watch upward. A small grappling rope shot out, latching onto the edge of the fourth-floor landing. She tugged at it, and it expanded into a thicker, sturdier rope.

"We climb," she stated. "But with my ankle, it's not going to be easy. You go first."

Grim eyed the rope, then turned to Valerie. Instead of heading for the rope, he knelt in front of her. "Get on my back," he said firmly.

Valerie stared at him in disbelief. "You're joking, right?"

Grim's face was stoic. "Just get on. I've had worse on my back."

Hesitantly, Valerie complied, wrapping her arms around his neck as he lifted her effortlessly. She let out a surprised yelp, clinging tighter to him.

'Huh, she surprisingly smells nice...like vanilla or maybe peppermint.' Grim thought silently as her scent wafted in his nose.

Grim grasped the rope with one hand, his grip surprisingly strong. "Reminds me of the time I had to outrun mutant bunnies," he commented, beginning their ascent.

Valerie couldn't help but be impressed. Despite his lean frame, Grim's strength was more than adequate. They moved upward steadily, Grim's pace surprisingly quick.

As they climbed, Valerie watched Grim's focused expression. There was more to this boy than met the eye, a depth she hadn't anticipated.

His earlier indifference now seemed like a facade, masking a resilience born of a life harder than she could imagine.

They reached the fourth-floor landing, Grim setting Valerie down gently. She looked around, realizing they were close to the supply closet she had mentioned.

"Thanks," she said, a hint of genuine gratitude in her voice.

Grim shrugged, as if carrying someone up four stories was nothing out of the ordinary. "Let's find that vent."

Together, they moved towards the supply closet, their goal within reach.

The journey had been unexpected, but it had revealed strengths and vulnerabilities in both of them.

A bond, however reluctant, was beginning to form.

....

Standing before the locked supply closet, Valerie pondered their next move.

However, before she could act, Grim stepped forward and slammed his shoulder against the door. With a loud crash, it broke from its hinges and fell to the floor.

Valerie turned to Grim, her watch's laser still activated, and remarked with a hint of amusement, "Or we could just do that."

Grim shrugged nonchalantly. "Seemed like the quickest way."

For the first time since their meeting, Valerie let out a chuckle. "You and an uncle of mine would really get along," she mused, her thoughts briefly drifting to the Thing.

In response, Grim remained stoic, though internally he found her laughter unexpectedly pleasant.

After a brief, awkward silence, Valerie cleared her throat and stepped into the closet.

She swiftly moved aside a shelf blocking the vent and easily tore off the loosely attached cover.

"Stay here while I check it out," she instructed Grim. "I'll come back once I've confirmed it's clear."

Grim nodded and took a seat, watching as Valerie disappeared into the vent.

Alone in the dimly lit closet, Grim's mind wandered until a sudden, splitting headache seized him.

He winced in pain, clutching his head as strange, unfamiliar words and images flashed through his mind. The sensation was oddly familiar, a vague sense of déjà vu that he couldn't place.

As quickly as it came, the headache subsided, leaving Grim disoriented but curious about what had just happened.

Soon, Valerie returned, crawling out of the vent. "It's clear. Let's go," she announced, but then paused, noticing Grim holding his head.

Despite his protests, she insisted on scanning him with her watch. The device beeped, indicating heightened brain activity but nothing else alarming.

Satisfied, if still a bit concerned, Valerie led the way through the vent and onto the fire escape.

Fresh air greeted them, though it was heavy with dust and smog, obscuring their view of the city.

Grim looked up, spotting a few stars twinkling faintly in the night sky, a rare sight in New York City.

They paused for a moment, taking in deep breaths of the slightly fresher air. The journey had been gruelling, but they had managed to escape the confines of the collapsed building.

As they finally reached the ground floor, Valerie's watch started beeping urgently. Tapping it a few times, she answered the incoming call. "Mom, it's Valerie. I'm okay," she said, stepping away from Grim for privacy.

Grim watched from a distance, catching bits and pieces of the conversation.

"Valerie, where are you? We've been trying to reach you," came the worried voice of her mother, Susan Storm.

"I got trapped in the building downtown. There was an explosion," Valerie explained, her voice tinged with fatigue.

"Thank God you're safe. We've been dealing with a situation here—mutated animals attacking the city. It's been chaotic, but we're handling it. I've got your location now and your uncle is on his way to you now."

Valerie nodded, her eyes scanning the surroundings. "I'll be here. Just tell Uncle Ben to hurry—"

Before she could finish, a sudden movement caught Grim's eye.

A monstrous, flame-headed creature emerged from the smog, its giant claw raised menacingly.

Reacting instinctively, Grim shouted, "Valerie, watch out!" He lunged at her, pushing her out of the creature's path.

Valerie hit the ground hard, two meters away, her breath knocked out of her. "Mom, I have to go!" she gasped into her watch, cutting the call short.

As she looked up, her heart skipped a beat. The creature had skewered Grim with its massive claw, lifting him off the ground. The sight of Grim, impaled and bleeding, was a shock to her system.

"Grim what the hell was—wait, oh no!" Valerie's scream pierced the air, a mixture of fear and disbelief.

The creature let out a horrifying roar, its head burning with an inferno of red and yellow flames.

It turned its fiery gaze toward Valerie, who was now scrambling to her feet, her mind racing for a plan.

Grim, hanging limply from the creature's claw, looked at Valerie with a resigned expression.

This was the end he had always expected, yet in this moment, facing an actual monster, there was an undeniable sense of irony.