Chapter 12: The Breaking Point

The door burst open.

Thorne's soldiers—hulking, rotting things wrapped in the remnants of rusted armor—stormed inside, their decayed faces twisted into the same expressionless stare they always wore.

They moved in sync, their movements guided by her will. Silent, relentless.

Alina, however, didn't even hesitate.

She didn't flinch. She didn't stop.

She just rushed forward.

A skeletal soldier reached out, fingers like iron claws grasping for her shoulder—

—and Alina twisted her body mid-run, bringing her nails across the soldier's exposed face, gouging deep enough that pieces of brittle bone snapped under her fingers.

She was fast. Faster than Thorne had ever seen her move.

Another soldier lunged, seizing Alina by the arm and lifting her with inhuman strength.

For a moment, Thorne thought it was over—

But then the soldier threw her.

Alina's body crashed through the air, hitting one of the workbenches with a sickening crunch.

Thorne's breath caught in her throat as glass shattered, liquid oozing over the edge of the table. But she wasn't focused on that.

She was focused on the experiment that had just hit the floor.

"No—NO—!"

Ignoring Alina completely, Thorne ran.

Her boots splashed through a mix of spilled preservatives and ichor as she skidded to the floor, hands flying to the creature that now lay in a heap of twisted flesh and bone.

Its pale, disjointed limbs twitched, its exposed rib cage expanding with uneven, struggling movements.

Pipes—delicate, carefully constructed pipes—hung uselessly from its body, leaking fluids that were meant to keep it alive.

"Stay with me—" Thorne whispered, frantic, her fingers working fast.

She grabbed a tube, pressing it against one of the exposed veins that wound unnaturally through the creature's skin. She fumbled with the connections, but they wouldn't seal properly—the pressure was too low. She needed to keep its internal structure stable before reintroducing the flow.

Her hands shook as she tried to lift the thing, but the experiment was heavy—far heavier than it should have been. Its flesh felt dense, like something had been growing inside of it.

She struggled, pulling, adjusting, doing everything she could to get it back on the table.

That was when she noticed the hole.

A massive hole, carved straight through her worktable. A deep, gaping wound in the surface, revealing something beneath the lab.

Thorne froze.

It wasn't just empty earth.

The hole pulsed with tangled, red and white plants—roots winding deep into the darkness below. The moment she saw them, a cold weight settled in her stomach.

What the hell…?

A horrific gurgling sound brought her focus back to the experiment.

It spasmed in her grip, body convulsing—its skin bubbling as if something was writhing beneath it.

It was dying.

No, no, no, no!

Thorne's breathing hitched as she tried—desperately—to reconnect the life-sustaining tubes, but it was useless.

Her creation, the thing she had poured years of research into, the very foundation of her experiments—was collapsing before her eyes.

She had failed.

Her fingers trembled. A horrible weight pressed against her chest, threatening to crush her.

Was this it? Was this all for nothing?

Something slammed into her.

Pain erupted through her shoulder.

For a moment, she didn't understand what had happened. Then—

Then she felt it.

The sharp, unbearable pressure of teeth sinking deep into her flesh.

A scream—raw, agonized—tore from her throat.

The pain was overwhelming, blinding. It felt like fire, like something was trying to rip straight through the muscle, tearing into her like a rabid animal.

Alina.

Thorne tried to push her off, but the girl only dug deeper.

Her nails sank into Thorne's ribs, breaking skin, clawing—gripping harder.

Blood poured down her arm. Her vision blurred from the sheer, unbearable shock.

Alina released her shoulder, but only for a second—only to snap forward again, aiming for her neck.

Thorne's mind screamed.

She had to stop her.

Now.