Chapter 8

Roy stood in the ruined facility, heart pounding, the scent of blood and rust thick in the air. His fingers tightened around the steel pipe, knuckles white. The chimera's corpse hung limply from the rebar, black ichor dripping onto the cracked floor.

The fight had taken everything out of him. His ribs ached, his muscles screamed, and his vision swam. He had won—but just barely.

His earpiece crackled.

"Roy," Dr. Chen's voice came through, relief mixing with urgency. "Stay where you are. Extraction team is inbound."

Roy exhaled, stumbling forward a few steps before catching himself on a broken console. His whole body trembled with exhaustion. The S12 had helped him push past his limits, but it wasn't infinite. His wounds weren't healing fast enough.

He wasn't invincible.

His hand drifted to his ribs, feeling the deep bruising beneath his torn suit. The chimera had almost killed him.

Almost.

The silence was heavy. Too heavy.

Roy's eyes narrowed. Something felt… wrong.

His instincts, the same ones that had saved his life in the fight, whispered a warning. He turned slowly—

And his blood ran cold.

The chimera's body… was moving.

Not in death spasms. Not in random nerve firings.

It was changing.

The rebar-staked corpse twitched, the flesh around its wound shifting, pulsing as if something beneath the skin was alive.

What the hell…?

A horrible squelching sound echoed through the chamber as black veins began crawling across its body, the once lifeless eyes flickering with a new, unnatural light.

Roy took a step back.

His gut screamed at him—RUN.

Then the thing spoke.

"…I see now…"

Roy's breath caught in his throat. The voice wasn't the same. It was deeper. Layered. As if multiple voices were speaking at once.

The chimera's head snapped toward him with unnatural speed, its mouth splitting wider than before. Its broken limbs shifted, bones snapping into place, twisting into something worse.

A grotesque, wet tearing sound filled the air as its back ripped open, something crawling out from beneath its skin.

Roy's stomach twisted.

It's not dead.

No—this was something else.

Something worse.

A new voice crackled in Roy's earpiece. Not Dr. Chen. Not Roland.

A cold, unfamiliar voice.

"Subject has entered Phase Two."

Phase… Two?

The chimera lunged.

And this time, it was faster.

Roy barely had time to react before the thing was on him.

It moved like a blur, faster than before, its body twisting mid-air as its tails lashed toward him.

He threw himself backward—not fast enough.

The first tail slammed into his shoulder, sending him skidding across the floor. His back hit a rusted support beam, pain flaring through his spine.

Roy gasped for breath. It's faster. Stronger. This wasn't the same chimera he had fought minutes ago. It had evolved.

He forced himself to his feet, gripping the steel pipe tighter. His arms shook. His body wasn't healing fast enough.

The chimera stood before him, its form warping. The black veins had spread across its body, pulsing like a second layer of muscle. Its glowing yellow eyes were gone, replaced by deep, empty sockets that seemed to stare through him.

Then it grinned.

"Now… I see it," the layered voice rasped. Its long, grey tongue flicked out, tasting the air. "You're like me."

Roy's breath hitched. What?

He had no time to think. The creature vanished again.

Roy's instincts screamed—he twisted, raising the pipe—

Too slow.

A clawed hand wrapped around his throat.

Roy gagged as he was lifted off the ground, the grip tightening, his windpipe crushing.

The chimera leaned in close, its breath cold against his face.

"I wonder," it whispered, tilting its head. "How much can you take before you break?"

Then it threw him.

Roy's body crashed through a reinforced wall. Metal and concrete exploded outward as he tumbled into the next chamber. He hit the floor hard, rolling until he came to a stop against another pile of debris.

For a few seconds, he couldn't move. His vision blurred. His ribs—definitely cracked. Maybe broken. Blood dripped from his lips.

I can't keep up.

Not like this. Not yet.

His body wasn't evolving fast enough.

The chimera stepped through the ruined wall, unhurried. Confident.

"Pathetic."

It stomped toward him, claws clicking against the floor.

Roy gritted his teeth, forcing his arms to move. His fingers tightened around the steel pipe. Think, damn it!

He wasn't Cade. He wasn't fast enough, strong enough.

But he was still alive.

He had one shot.

The chimera lunged.

Roy rolled—barely avoiding the strike—then swung the steel pipe with every ounce of strength he had left.

But the creature caught it.

Its claws sliced through the metal, cutting it in half. The useless remains clattered to the floor.

Roy's heart sank.

The chimera chuckled. "Wrong move."

Roy's lungs burned as he gasped for breath, his body refusing to move. Every muscle screamed, his vision blurred. Blood trickled down his chin, staining the ground beneath him.

Across the ruined facility, the chimera stood, its form mutating before his eyes. Black veins pulsed along its skin, its empty eye sockets glowing with eerie, flickering light. Its two tails, once severed, regrew in grotesque, twitching spasms.

This wasn't the same chimera he had fought minutes ago.

It had evolved.

And he couldn't stop it.

The monster's voice slithered through the air, layered, unnatural. "You can feel it, can't you?" it whispered, stepping toward him. "Your body trying to keep up. Trying to change."

Roy forced himself to stand, leaning against a cracked steel beam for support. His vision swam, his ribs screamed in protest—but he refused to fall.

He gritted his teeth, raising his broken pipe. "Shut up."

The chimera grinned. "I'll make you beg, little human."

It vanished.

Roy's instincts screamed—

But he was too slow.

CRACK!

The impact hit like a truck. A tail whipped against his side, launching him through the air. He slammed into a console, the metal caving under his weight. His world spun as he hit the floor, pain radiating through his ribs.

Damn it…

He tried to move—

But the chimera was already above him.

It grabbed him by the throat, lifting him into the air like he weighed nothing.

"Disappointing," it mused, tilting its head. "I expected more from you."

Its grip tightened.

Roy choked, fingers clawing at the monster's wrist. His vision darkened, his body refusing to respond.

Was this it?

Was this how he died?

Then—

A voice cut through the air.

"Hey, ugly."

Something whistled through the room.

The chimera's head jerked as a bullet pierced its skull, spraying black ichor across the floor.

Its grip on Roy loosened—just enough.

A split second. A chance.

Roy ripped free, dropping to the ground and gasping for air. His legs nearly gave out, but he forced himself to stay standing.

The chimera snarled, snapping its head toward the source of the attack—

And Roy followed its gaze.

A figure stood in the wreckage of the broken entrance, rifle still aimed at the chimera's head.

It wasn't Cade.

It wasn't anyone Roy recognized.

She was tall, her frame wrapped in reinforced tactical gear, a long black coat billowing behind her. Her short, silver hair gleamed under the flickering facility lights, and a single red cybernetic eye glowed from beneath her hood.

Her expression?

Bored.

"Guess you're not as dead as I thought," she muttered, lowering her rifle slightly. Her voice was smooth, almost lazy—like she had better things to do than be here.

The chimera's tails twitched. "Who the hell are you?"

The woman exhaled, her finger tightening on the trigger. "Your executioner."

Then she moved.

Roy barely saw it.

One second she was standing by the doorway—

The next, she was in front of the chimera.

A blade extended from her wrist, a sleek, curved sharp blade. She slashed, and the chimera barely had time to react—

SHING!

One of its tails hit the ground, severed cleanly.

The chimera screeched, leaping backward, but the woman didn't stop.

She vanished again, reappearing above it mid-air. Her rifle twisted in her hands—

Then she fired straight into the chimera's knee.

The creature's leg exploded in a spray of black ichor, its body collapsing to the ground.

Roy could barely process what was happening.

She was faster than him. Faster than the chimera.

Who the hell was she?

The chimera snarled, dragging itself up despite the wounds. "You think this—"

The woman didn't let it finish.

She dropped from above, plunging her wrist-blade straight into its skull.

The chimera convulsed violently.

Then it went still.

The woman yanked the blade free and flicked off the black ichor like it was nothing. The chimera's corpse slumped to the floor in a lifeless heap.

Silence.

Roy stared, barely able to believe what he had just witnessed.

The woman sighed, rolling her shoulders. "Well. That was underwhelming."

Roy coughed, clutching his ribs. "Who the hell are you?"

She turned to him, looking him up and down with vague disinterest.

Then she tossed him a small metal patch. "Patch yourself up, rookie. You look like shit."

Roy barely caught it, wincing as pain shot through his arm. He turned the patch over in his hand—a medical seal, meant to accelerate clotting and stabilize injuries.

His brain was still catching up.

"You didn't answer my question."

The woman huffed, glancing toward the chimera's corpse. "Talia Voss." She gave a halfhearted salute. "Freelancer."

Roy frowned. "You're not Order?"

Talia smirked. "Not officially."

The comms in Roy's ear crackled to life.

"Roy!" Dr. Chen's voice came through, frantic. "What the hell just happened? Your vitals dropped—who's in there with you?!"

Roy glanced at Talia. "Uh… a freelancer, apparently."

Silence.

Then, a second voice came through the comms—Roland.

"Talia?" His voice practically vibrated with excitement. "Ohhh, now this is interesting!"

Talia groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Ugh. Roland."

Roy blinked. "You know him?"

"Unfortunately." She crossed her arms, looking entirely unamused. "Guess that means you're one of his pet projects, huh?"

Roy scowled. "I'm not a pet project."

She smirked. "Sure you're not."

Before Roy could snap back, Dr. Chen's voice cut in.

"Enough. Roy, extraction is inbound. Stay put."

Talia sighed. "Guess that's my cue to leave."

Roy narrowed his eyes. "You saved me. Why?"

She paused. Then shrugged. "Felt like it."

That didn't seem like the real answer.

But before Roy could press her, Talia turned, already walking toward the ruined exit.

"Oh," she called over her shoulder. "You do realize that thing evolved mid-fight, right?"

Roy's jaw tightened. "Yeah."

Talia glanced back, her red cybernetic eye gleaming. "Then you should be asking yourself one thing, rookie."

Roy swallowed. "What?"

She smirked.

"How long before you do the same?"

Then, in the blink of an eye—

She was gone.

Roy stared after her, mind spinning.

Who was she? And what the hell did she mean by that?

As the extraction team's lights flickered in the distance, Roy clenched his fists.

He had a feeling this wasn't the last time he'd see her.

And, for some reason…

That thought made him uneasy.