Death (1)

Liam was halfway through completing his push-ups when he felt tiny vibrations under his fingertips, growing closer and closer, like a drill shooting upwards.

"Cadet Liam! Why are you stopping?!" The Lieutenant's voice echoed across the field, but it was just background noise to Liam.

Liam stayed still, studying the new sensation that was getting closer, now resembling a mini earthquake.

"Liam... What's wrong?" Ava asked, noticing a change in her brother's behavior as he shifted into a squat, his hand still pressed against the ground.

His eyes focused on a pebble that began to tremble as everything around it blurred.

"Huh?" Ava bent her knee and slightly raised her foot as the rest of the tiny rocks started to shake.

She could feel the earth moving beneath her legs, like drums announcing something malicious was coming.

"What the—?" Linx raised an eyebrow, slowly getting up before scanning her surroundings, trying to find some clue.

The rest of the cadets and the two lieutenants followed suit, raising their guards.

"Was this part of the drill?" the female lieutenant whispered into her partner's ear, now clenching her rifle.

"No..." he replied, moving closer to the cadets. 'This damn mutated world...' the lieutenant clicked his tongue. This was why he avoided escort missions—you could never predict what would go wrong.

The world seemed to hold its breath. The only sound was the faint rustle of wind through the dead trees.

Liam's heart pounded in his ears, each beat echoing like a drum.

It was the calm before the storm until a strong vibration shot through his fingertips, spreading across his whole body like a bullet.

"Fuck!" he shouted, cursing himself for not realizing it sooner.

The thing was much closer and faster than he expected. And it was right below them!

"Ava, move!" Liam shouted, his voice cracking with urgency.

He lunged forward, grabbing her arm and yanking her backward just as the ground beneath them erupted.

"Liam, what are you—" Ava started, but her words were cut off as the earth began to shift and split apart.

The ground exploded in a shower of dirt and rocks as the creature burst forth, like a whale leaping from a crystal-clear ocean, its massive body glistening under the fading sunlight. The sound of splashing water was replaced by a loud rumble, similar to thunder—wild and untamed, a primal fury.

It was unlike anything Liam had seen before, except on TV. A grotesque hybrid of an earthworm and a predator.

Instead of a smooth, pink surface, its body was covered in thick, black armor made of chitin—sharp and hard to the touch. Each plate overlapped like a dragon's scales.

It opened its circular mouth mid-air like a flower opening its petals, but instead of beautiful colors, it displayed rows of glistening, crystalline teeth that spiraled inward into a circular abyss.

Linx was knocked to the ground as the worm emerged, falling on her backside.

She rubbed her temples and looked up after hearing the commotion, seeing a giant black worm raising its body into the air.

"Oh no..." she muttered, recalling something she had read about it. It wasn't rare to see, either.

Linx stayed still, getting on her knees. She was unable to stand as her legs lost all strength.

Unlike the tiger spiders, there was no fighting that... and running away was useless.

She gulped, hoping their escorts would do something... It was their idea to go on foot.

Hearing a familiar scream, she turned her head toward Griff, who was starting to lose it. They were lucky this thing couldn't hear.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Griff shouted, his voice cracking as he stumbled backward. His hands trembled, the emerald flames flickering weakly around his fingers.

Ray began to harden his fists the moment something emerged from the ground, but his will to fight died just as quickly after witnessing the sheer force of evolved nature.

"Boys, it was nice knowing you..." he muttered to the two beside him, the rock-like substance crumbling into dust.

"No... I don't want to die!" Luka silently screamed, suppressing his voice, which sounded like a three-year-old girl's.

"No... no, no, no," he whispered, covering his ears and crouching down as if he could somehow shrink from danger.

"This can't be happening. Not like this." Luka started to wonder why him. What had he done to deserve this punishment? Why was he dragged into this military academy in the first place, only to die a useless death?

The dark-skinned boy with curly hair and round glasses didn't want to watch, but eventually, he decided to peek, remembering that two more people had it worse than him—Ava and Liam. As he watched the scene, he was only glad it wasn't him.

"A death whale!" the female lieutenant recognized the creature immediately. A menace on the field, especially since it would appear out of nowhere like this.

"Scatter, everyone! Don't stand close to each other!" the other lieutenant ordered, swinging his arm in the air as he observed the worm.

It threw its body toward Liam and Ava, revealing its true length, slightly larger than a two-story house.

Liam's hand twitched, his wings itching to burst free from his skin. He could feel the tension beneath his tattoos as they prepared to open.

His sister's life was in his hands, and he wouldn't hesitate to reveal himself if it meant saving her.

But then, a system message appeared in front of his eyes. Red and flickering, reminding him of his purpose.

[Mission: Stay inside enemy ranks undetected]

[Penalty upon failure: Death]

His breath hitched. The last experience he had with a message like that wasn't great. And the system was just trying to prove it had that kind of power!

Ava's terrified face flashed in his mind. He clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms.

'Screw the system,' he thought, his resolve hardening.

"Oh god..." Ava muttered, staring at Liam, who stood in front of her. She noticed how he was preparing to open his wings. His intricate tattoos slightly raised, subtly beginning to take form.

"Liam, don't," she ordered, stopping him from doing something he might regret later.

Each step she took was agonizing due to the blisters from the military's new boots. Fortunately—or unfortunately—she only had her socks on after recently removing them, but now she could feel every pebble stabbing the soles of her feet.

Liam quickly glanced at Ava, debating whether he should listen or not. Time wasn't on his side, and he only had a second to decide.

He quickly looked behind him, analyzing the possible outcomes.

Liam was faster by a hair, the slight increase in his dexterity points evident. But Ava was too slow.

Right before the death worm could hit the ground, Liam stopped and turned around, grabbing Ava's hand.

Using all his strength, he managed to pull her closer to his side, to safety.

They watched as the death whale dove back into the dirt like a drill, right in front of the siblings.

The shockwave hit like a tidal wave, slamming into Liam and Ava with enough force to send them flying.

Liam's vision blurred as he hit the ground, the air knocked from his lungs.

For a moment, everything went black. When he opened his eyes, the world was spinning.

He could hear Ava coughing beside him, her voice faint and strained. But his attention was drawn to the creature as it disappeared back into the earth, its massive body leaving a gaping crater in its wake.