A light in the noxious darkness

Opened doors, overtured furniture. And more corpses were lying around the hallway leaning to the walls or flat on the ground, as i continued looking at the growing amount of bodies around the floor, i felt sadness, bitterness. The poor people.....The poor people....Sadness nearly overcame my mind as i continued thinking about them, people of the alliance, happy. With jobs they most likely loved. With families....

"Not on this floor, just in case, check the rooms." We split up in the hallway, each of us investigated a room. I snapped out of my thoughts, moving to one of the rooms. Inside, a small living room with a kitchen next to it separated by a countertop. There were no bodies inside. The gas overtook this floor as sight became harder. I stepped more inside the room, to the right was a closed door. I readied my pistol while putting down the metal box, it's contents clanging around inside it. A quick pull and swing of the door, the bathroom, empty, devoid of life and already eaten up by the gas.

Next to the table was another door, already opened but the inside was darkened. I readied my pistol again, aiming it in front of me, there may not be anyone alive here but i can't risk it. I put my hand on the door, slowly opening it wider. A large bed was in front, a window next to them had it's blinds closed. On the opposite side a large closet stood. It's drawers were pulled out. With clothing thrown around the room. But, like the other parts of this room, there were no bodies present.

"Anyone found survivors?" Sebastian questioned, we had to respond.

"None." I responded back while others replied in the same fashion.

The atmosphere was depressing, what was a place filled with families and joy is now devoid of anything. My search in this room is done, without another order to stop searching, i entered another unchecked room. Similar it looked to the one before, but this time there was more clutter and a mess on the floor, bags, shoes, even silverware among other things, scattered.

The room had more drawers, some pulled while others were taken out completely. A table stood behind the couch, there were plates already set in a disorderly fashion while the chairs were overturned or not even pulled up yet. The window in front was open, letting what little light enter inside, illuminating the area a bit.

Eerie silence was the only thing that lingered other than the gas in this entire place. The doors inside were all opened, revealing messy rooms inside them with no signs of survivors.

"All these rooms are barren, just crap everywhere and a corpse or two still left inside on some of em." Lennox spoke.

"We'll check the next floor, maybe the rooms aren't that affected. Everyone out, were checking the next floor." Sebastian ordered. Outside, we moved back to the stairs, small concrete pbbles crunched under my feet while we stepped up. Seeing the walls and parts of the buildings were stained by the dark green color.

Mary noticed the walls, wiping some of it to check on her hand.

"This stuff is strong, so much of it got on the walls as well." She explained.

"Don't know what poison this is but i never had something like this in storage. And definitely not one that lasts this long to heavily taint the walls of some building." She continued.

On the next floor, the hallway was already gassed out, but a few of the doors weren't wide open.

"Check those ones, maybe survivors are left there." Sebastian ordered. Stacking up, Sebastian stood in front of the door, box in hand.

"Is anyone alive inside here, were here to rescue any survivors found, we come from Parabellum academy. If you're still alive, knock on the door." He requested, speaking out now.

Silence responded.

Marcel tried the doorknob. Shaking his head. In one swift motion, Sebastian kicked down the door. The frame breaking quickly from impact. Splinters littered the ground. Inside, it wasn't as consumed by the gas as the outside. We quickly ran in, searching around the area for anyone still alive.

In front of one of the doors, i tried the knob. It was locked. A push of the button, i started communicating.

"Were mercenaries of the Parabellum Academy, if you're alive there, knock on the door or the wall three times." I spoke. Silence followed after, odd.

A few firm kicks and the door broke down, but it didn't open wide, only a little. It felt heavy and solid when pushed, pushing with all my weight, i finally got it open. Inside, i saw why this room wasn't as destroyed and consumed. Inside were a few people held up. Their skin already destroyed by the gas and blood pouring down on the ground. The window

"Damon, found anythin-" Sebastian stood next to me, quickly realizing what laid in front.

"Aline check them." Alina passed by next to me, quickly crouching down to check one of the bodies.

Inside, a stack of objects stood next to the door. No wonder it was hard to move.

It was mostly dark, light only coming through the now broken down doorway.

"They died the same fashion. If they were hiding, then we and the other personnel were too late." Alina explained, standing up after examining the turned over corpse.

"Shit, we need to keep moving, maybe the other floors still have survivors." Sebastian ordered.

Leaving the corpses, we got out of the room, gas already consuming the once partially sealed room.

We left it, leaving what could have been living survivors if we were fast enough.

We started heading up the stairs, now aiming for the 4th floor of this dead ridden apartment.

The hallway above was just barren, just like earlier.

"There may not be much alive here but it won't hurt to check." We dispersed performing quick checks on the rooms.

Nothing, no corpses, only things scattered around in heavy messes on the floor. It was entirely devoid of even dead bodies.