LUNA HELEN

  Mr. Crox… I couldn’t believe what I was seeing on the monitor. He advanced toward the creature as white light and smoke poured from his back. Something was wrong with his armor.

  I looked at Mr. Lucius. He stood completely still, his body rigid. The palms of his hands had turned white from how tightly he clenched them—so much so that his nails had torn into his own skin. Even so, he continued issuing commands to the drone he was controlling remotely.

  Then the sequence of events grew even stranger.

  The creature noticed Mr. Crox moving toward it. Its single eye locked onto him. The thing screamed—a horrifying sound that made my heart race. Even from a distance, my body froze for a few seconds. There was something in that scream that affected me.

  On the monitor, I saw Mr. Crox standing still as the thing advanced toward him.

  “Lucius…”

  His voice came through the transmitter, weak and distorted.

  Something was deeply wrong.

  After a moment, his body began to move again—charging at the creature in a bestial manner, twisting unnaturally. The sounds were terrifying: labored breathing, bones shifting, everything felt wrong—until a bizarre noise burst through the transmitter. An animalistic scream, closer to a wail than a human voice.

  Everyone in the room knew what it meant.

  And yet, no one could accept it.

  He continued forward until he stood face to face with the creature. Even wearing the armor, Mr. Crox was barely a third of its size. He never stood a chance.

  The creature struck with one of its hands. Crox narrowly dodged.

  Then something impossible happened.

  In a single motion, his arm burst out from inside the armor, completely distorted. Muscles overlapped skin, bones fused with flesh, forming something like a living harpoon. With it, he slashed the skin of one of the creature’s legs, throwing it off balance and forcing it down onto one knee.

  He seized the opening and tried to strike again—but the creature screamed once more. The sound paralyzed him just long enough for it to land a brutal punch, hurling him violently into the ground.

  His armor was shattered. The helmet had broken apart.

  When I saw his face—completely warped—there was nothing human left.

  I couldn’t hold my gaze and looked away.

  I glanced around. Erick was slumped against the floor, eyes locked on the monitor. When I looked back at Mr. Lucius, he no longer held his previous posture. He looked pale, ghostlike—his arms hanging loosely, as if his body might collapse at any second.

  I moved closer to touch his shoulder, but something on the screen pulled my attention back.

  The giant had risen.

  Its colossal tongue wrapped around Mr. Crox’s body, lifting him into the air. Slowly, the creature began pulling him toward its mouth, devouring him. Crox’s body disappeared into the darkness of its throat.

  My entire body trembled at the sight.

  I felt the man in front of me was about to collapse. I placed my hands on his shoulders.

  He murmured,

  “No… this can’t be… not like this. He didn’t choose this form…”

  …

  As a final glimmer of hope, something began to glow within the darkness of the monster’s mouth. The light intensified rapidly—until there was a blinding flash.

  Then a dry explosion.

  No fire.

  Only destruction.

  Half of the creature’s torso vanished instantly, leaving little more than its legs behind.

  I didn’t understand how that was possible, but I suspected it had something to do with the light coming from the back of Mr. Crox’s armor—some kind of explosive device.

  So that had been his final plan.

  “The weight of a man’s sacrifice is equal to his courage.”

  Mr. Lucius said this with a smile.

  It was broken, bitter—but beneath it, there was a trace of happiness.

  I sighed and guided him to a chair beside the table. I hadn’t known they were so close. I admired Mr. Crox deeply and was grateful for everything he had done—but somehow, after so many tragedies, I had learned to cope better with loss.

  Or maybe that was just something I told myself.

  Before I could relax, the alarm blared again.

  “PROXIMITY ALERT.”

  Red lights flashed across the room.

  “What’s happening? Didn’t it die?!” I asked Mr. Lucius.

  His eyes were wide, fixed on the panel. Dozens of red dots were approaching the location where the giant’s corpse lay.

  They would arrive in approximately eight minutes.

  I looked at Mr. Lucius and saw absolute despair in his eyes—as if all that sacrifice had been for nothing. Crimson veins began to surface beneath his skin.

  No… this couldn’t be happening now.

  I shook him, trying to bring him back, but I didn’t know if that man could still be saved. He muttered incoherent words, his gaze slowly slipping into irreversible madness.

  “I’m sorry.”

  I punched him with all my strength—using everything my father had taught me. His body went limp as he collapsed to his knees. I placed him on the couch. I didn’t know how long he would remain unconscious, but I had to act.

  “Erick, are you okay?”

  “Yes… just a little tired.”

  “Alright. Keep an eye on him. Any sign—”

  “Understood. Don’t worry.”

  On the way here, I hadn’t encountered a single person. Where were they? I needed to find someone.

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  I grabbed Mr. Lucius’s transmitter and checked the recent communications.

  Captain Carla Andrade.

  She would know what to do.

  I activated the transmitter. She answered seconds later.

  “Sir, what happened?”

  Her voice was tense—fear slipping through every word.

  “Hello, Miss Carla.”

  “Who is this?”

  I partially explained our situation. I avoided mentioning Mr. Lucius’s critical condition—I didn’t want to frighten her further.

  “We’re almost finished relocating everyone to Floor 3. We’ll seal the doors and move the supplies from Floor 2 there as well. I’m not far from you—I’ll be there in at most seven minutes.”

  I checked the monitor.

  Five minutes until contact.

  We wouldn’t have enough time—and I couldn’t move both of them like this. I had to make a decision.

  Before I could speak, Erick stood up. He lifted Mr. Lucius onto his back.

  “Are you sure you can do this?”

  “Yes. Let’s go.”

  His voice was firm and resolute, despite the exhaustion on his face.

  We prepared to leave. The corridors were completely empty, lit only by a few dim lights. It reminded me of the first time I’d been through something like this. In such a short time, everything had changed.

  We moved without stopping until we began hearing footsteps growing closer.

  “There you are. How is Dr. Lucius?”

  We ran into Carla and Carlos.

  Both looked exhausted, pushing carts loaded with supply crates.

  “He’s stable… but we need to hurry. The alert—”

  “I know. Let’s move.”

  We talked on the way to the elevator leading to the second floor. I didn’t know her well—she was much older than me. She apologized for what had happened. I told her I knew it wasn’t her fault, that she was just following orders.

  Behind us, Erick and Carlos talked quietly. Carlos was about six years older than him.

  We reached the elevator—but something went wrong.

  The doors wouldn’t open.

  By then, the creatures had already reached Sector 1.

  “Damn it. What do we do? Where’s the rest of your team?”

  “They went ahead. Shit—I told them to activate lockdown only after everyone arrived.”

  SALICIS DAVIS

  After we reached Sector 3, the alarms went off and everything sealed shut—without us doing anything. Or at least, that’s what I thought.

  But I was sure someone had triggered the lockdown.

  Who?

  Only squad members and high-ranking officers knew the code.

  There was no word from the captain or Carlos. They were still upstairs, along with most of the supplies for this sector. She said she needed more time to deal with something.

  Damn it.

  I had to fix this before those things reached us.

  I spoke with the rest of the squad and noticed something off.

  Aline…

  No. It couldn’t be.

  She was nervous, avoiding my gaze. I had seen her near the control panel.

  She wouldn’t do that.

  Damn it.

  I pulled her aside.

  “Aline, do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

  “S-sir? What are you talking about?”

  She stammered.

  Now I was sure.

  “Why did you do this? Do you realize what you’ve done? The captain, the supplies, the rest of the team—you condemned them. You screwed everything up, you idiot.”

  I’d always been patient.

  But I’d reached my limit long ago.

  And now this.

  “I-I’m sorry. I thought everyone was already here. I didn’t want to risk any of those things getting in. I can’t let that happen here too. I didn’t do anything wrong—they were the ones who took too long.”

  She was losing control.

  “Calm down. We need to fix this. We have to disable the lockdown.”

  “I didn’t do anything wrong! Disable it? Are you crazy? They’ll get in here—they’ll kill all of us! I won’t allow it!”

  She drew a pistol from her waist and aimed it at me.

  “What are you doing, Aline?”

  The commotion drew the others’ attention, and Fagus tried to intervene.

  “Aline, why are you pointing that weapon at the captain?”

  “I won’t let you open it. They can’t come in here!”

  She shifted her aim between me and Fagus.

  That’s when I noticed it.

  On her forearm, crimson veins pulsed vividly beneath the skin.

  She was showing signs.

  How did I miss it?

  “Aline, you need to calm down. For your own sake, breathe. We’re not opening it, understand? Don’t worry—nothing is coming in here.”

  Fagus moved closer to me.

  “Captain… her arms.”

  “I know.”

  “What are you two whispering about? What are you planning? Speak up!”

  “No one is whispering. You need to calm down.”

  She started swinging the gun wildly, screaming that they were already here.

  “Now!”

  Fagus and I lunged forward, grabbing her weapon as he tried to restrain her.

  “Calm down, damn it!”

  Fagus said—seconds before she hurled him aside like a rag doll.

  She turned to me.

  Her eyes were now a mix of red and black.

  Her teeth looked like an animal’s fangs.

  I tried to shoot, but she was too fast.

  She fled, slipping into the darkness.

  I checked on Fagus. His breathing was weak—but he was alive.

  Everyone stared in disbelief at what had just happened.

  “We need to find Aline before this causes more panic.”

  Damn it…

  And we still had to fix everything.

  We needed the captain.

  We needed the supplies.

  The lock had to have a way to be opened.

  This damn system was programmed to unlock only after a four-week timer.