Chapter 3: Whispers in the Dark

Lila Carter's hands shook as she tied the strip of her torn tank top around Ethan Blake's bleeding arm. The fabric soaked red fast, but he didn't flinch, just watched her with those steady hazel eyes. "Thanks," he said, voice low, rough from pain. His fingers brushed hers as she finished, lingering a second too long, and her breath hitched. Guilt stabbed her—Jake was out there, maybe hurt, maybe worse—but Ethan's closeness was a lifeline in the chaos.

Maya Torres paced nearby, her shirt ripped from the Xytheran's claws, her brown skin bruised but unbroken. "That thing was gonna kill me," she muttered, kicking the alien's corpse again. Its gray body lay still, black eyes staring blankly, knife jutting from its chest where Damien Voss had stabbed it. Gray blood pooled in the dirt, stinking like burnt metal.

Damien wiped his blade on his jeans, smirking faintly. "Not kill," he said, voice smooth and dark. "Take. They don't waste bodies." He glanced at the girl huddled by the tree, her sobs quieter now but her body trembling. Her clothes hung in shreds, bruises purpling her neck and thighs, a silent story of what the Xytherans had done.

Lila stood, wiping her hands on her shorts. "You said they're experimenting. Breeding." The words felt heavy, wrong. "Why us?" Damien's black eyes met hers, sharp and unreadable. "Their kind's dying out. Some plague hit years back—wiped out most of their females. Now they're here, using humans to rebuild."

Ethan cursed, clutching his arm. "So they're… forcing women to—" He didn't finish, but the disgust in his voice said enough. Lila's stomach twisted. "Jake," she whispered, clutching the torn shirt in her pocket. "Is he part of this?"

"Maybe," Damien said, shrugging. "They take men too—test them, use them as bait. Depends what they need." His casual tone grated, but his gaze softened when it lingered on her, like he saw right through her fear.

The girl whimpered, rocking back and forth. "They held me… up there…" she rasped. "Cold tables… needles… said I'd carry their spawn…" Her hands clawed at her stomach, nails digging into skin. Maya knelt beside her, voice firm but gentle. "Hey, you're safe now. We've got you."

"Safe?" The girl laughed, a broken sound. "They'll come back. They always do." Her eyes darted to the sky, where faint green pulses flickered through the fog.

Lila's chest tightened. She turned to Damien. "How do you know all this?" He smirked again, twirling the knife. "Been tracking them. They're not as smart as they think—leave trails if you know where to look." He nodded at the disc in Ethan's pocket. "That's one of their toys. Tracks their ships."

"Ships?" Maya snapped, standing. "You're saying they've got spaceships?" Damien's smirk widened. "What'd you think the lights were? Fireflies?"

Ethan stepped closer to Lila, his shoulder brushing hers. "We need to move," he said. "Get her somewhere safe, figure this out." Blood seeped through the makeshift bandage, but he didn't complain. Lila nodded, though her mind spun. Jake, the Xytherans, this nightmare—it was too much.

A rustle came from the trees. They froze as footsteps crunched closer—not alien, but human. A figure stumbled into the clearing, small and pale, clutching a sketchbook. Zara Quinn—Gorse Hollow's shy artist, barely twenty, with messy blonde hair and wide, haunted eyes. She stopped, staring at the dead Xytheran. "Oh God…" she whispered, dropping the book.

"Zara?" Lila said, stepping forward. They'd gone to school together, though Zara was always quiet, lost in her drawings. "What are you doing here?"

"I… I saw it," Zara stammered, pointing at the sky. "In my head. The lights. Them." She hugged herself, shivering. "I dream about them… every night." Her eyes flicked to the girl, then away, like she couldn't bear it.

Damien tilted his head, studying her. "You're one of their marked," he said, voice low. "They tag some—mess with their minds, see what sticks." Zara flinched, shaking her head. "No, I'm not—"

"You are," he cut in, stepping closer. "Those dreams? They're not yours." His tone was almost gentle, but his eyes glinted, predatory. Lila moved between them. "Leave her alone."

Damien raised his hands, smirking. "Just saying what's true, princess." The nickname sent a jolt through her—annoying, but his gaze made her skin heat. Ethan tensed beside her, glaring.

Maya grabbed Zara's arm. "Come on, you're with us." Zara nodded, clutching her sketchbook tighter. The girl by the tree stood shakily, leaning on Maya. "We need a plan," Lila said, voice firm despite the tremor in her chest. "Find their ship, find Jake."

Ethan nodded. "Town's not safe if they're hunting." Damien slipped his knife into his boot. "Then we hit the mill again. It's a hotspot—bet they've been there." He started walking, not waiting for agreement.

They followed, a ragged group in the fog. The mill loomed ahead, its rusted walls creaking. Inside, the air was thick with dust and rot. Lila's flash light caught the disc's glow in Ethan's pocket, stronger now, pulsing faster. "It's reacting," he said, pulling it out. The lines glowed, shifting like a map.

A thud echoed from the back. They crept toward it, finding a trapdoor under a pile of crates. Damien kicked it open, revealing a ladder into darkness. "After you," he said to Lila, smirking. She glared but climbed down, bat in hand, the others behind her.

The tunnel below stank of damp earth and something sour. The disc's light led them to a chamber—walls smooth, metallic, not natural. In the Center sat a table, stained with rust—or blood. Straps hung from it, worn and frayed. Lila's stomach dropped. "They've been here," she whispered.

Zara whimpered, pointing at the wall. Scratches marked it—desperate, human. "They screamed," she said, voice shaking. "I heard them… in my dreams." The girl from the clearing sank to her knees, sobbing. "That's where they kept me…"

A low hum vibrated the chamber. The disc flared bright, and the wall shimmered, parting like liquid. A Xytheran stepped through—taller than the last, its gray skin gleaming, black eyes locked on them. It held a jagged tool, dripping with something dark.

Ethan shoved Lila behind him, raising his fists. Maya cursed, grabbing a loose pipe from the floor. But the alien moved fast, slamming Ethan into the wall. He grunted, blood trickling from his lip as it pinned him, claws digging into his shoulder. Lila swung her bat, cracking its arm. It hissed, dropping Ethan, and turned on her.

Damien tackled it, knife flashing. The Xytheran slashed back, slicing his cheek, but he drove the blade into its throat. It shrieked, thrashing, then fell, gray blood spraying. Damien stood, panting, wiping his face. "Told you," he said, smirking at Lila. "More where that came from."

Ethan staggered up, clutching his shoulder. Lila rushed to him, hands on his chest. "You okay?" she asked, voice tight. He nodded, wincing, but pulled her closer, his breath warm on her face. "Not letting them touch you," he muttered. Her heart raced, torn between fear and his heat.

Maya helped the girl stand, while Zara stared at the dead alien, sketching furiously. "It's them," she whispered. "From my head." The hum grew louder—more were coming.

Damien grabbed the disc. "We're out of time. Move!" They scrambled back up the ladder, the tunnel shaking behind them. Outside, the fog glowed green, lights pulsing overhead. The Xytherans were close.

Lila's mind raced. Jake was out there, maybe on that table, maybe worse. The girl's words—carry their spawn—echoed, chilling her. Ethan stayed near, bloodied but steady, while Damien's dark eyes promised answers—and danger. Zara's sketches, the disc, the chamber—it was all connected.

A scream cut the night, not far off. Another victim. Lila gripped her bat. "We're not running," she said. "We fight."

Ethan nodded, Maya grinned grimly, and Damien's smirk widened. "That's my girl," he said, voice low, sending a shiver down her spine. The war was just beginning.