CHAPTER NINE

Lucas stared wide-eyed at the door before him, commanding his body to move, sending signals to his brain. "Why!" he screamed, realizing the futility of his efforts. Beside him, Austin stood closer to the elevator, inhaling air from the lower floors, yet still trapped on the 15th. Lucas despaired at the thought of their predicament. "Fall," he whispered, recalling how a single word had sealed his fate.

"What are you guys still doing here? I thought I told you to leave," the monster said, failing to suppress a maniacal cackle. Lucas wondered how powerful the creature before them truly was—and how Lily had managed to escape. The elevator fizzled out of existence, and the fog filled the space once more.

Austin stood up, and Lucas followed suit, initially unaware that the force weighing them down had lifted. "My intro was badass, right?" Nyxshade asked with a grin, now taking the form of the creature Lucas had encountered on the island. "Better than that grotesque monstrosity," Lucas thought as he stared at the blank, black face. The creature's body was black from top to bottom, absorbing all light that dared touch it, exuding only darkness. The only human feature about it was its silhouette.

Tiny white specks of light shimmered over its body like stars, making it appear almost godlike. "What do we do now?" it asked without a mouth. Its voice was as clear as quartz glass, each word so calming it felt as if it spoke directly into their minds. They remained still, not daring to utter a word, knowing full well the creature before them was insane.

"What happened with Lily?" Austin asked, unfazed—much to Lucas's surprise.

"Who?" Nyxshade asked, almost genuinely, as a grinning mouth appeared on its blank face. "I have better uses for her," it responded.

"Like what?" Austin pressed on, further surprising Lucas.

Nyxshade collapsed to the floor in laughter. "It seems you've forgotten your current situation," it said, its voice slowly losing its clarity.

"This is hell."

The words boomed, its voice now a thundering bass that echoed through the room. "Why don't you answer that guy's question before I answer yours?" it added, facing Austin as its voice reverberated around them.

Without warning, the world dissolved. Lucas was in the void once more, the only difference now being the sounds and smells. He could smell flora and fauna, similar to that of a jungle. He heard boots marching through the forest, stepping on twigs and rustling bushes as they moved.

His body left the void. It felt as if he was being stretched to the point of breaking, then abruptly snapped back to normal. There was no time to dwell on the sensation—he was among the men… soldiers, marching.

Austin was beside him, looking around, terrified. Lucas was certain his expression was even worse than when they had first encountered Nyxshade.

"Hey, Austin," he called out.

Austin didn't respond, only staring wide-eyed, mouth agape.

"No!" he screamed. "No no no no no…" He kept repeating the words, like a man trapped in a nightmare.

"A nightmare," Lucas thought. He believed this could be what happened five years ago—the event Austin refused to reveal.

"Lieutenant Austin, you're supposed to be the one leading us," a soldier said jovially.

Lucas was surprised to learn that Austin was a lieutenant and assumed they were currently part of a platoon. He grabbed Austin, urging him to move forward.

Austin threw a punch, which Lucas narrowly avoided by swerving to the side.

"Are you crazy?" he screamed at Austin's sudden attack.

The other soldiers turned to look at him with disgust but said nothing and continued their march.

"Stop!" Austin yelled, and all the soldiers turned to face him.

"We're going back," he added, earning questioning glances from everyone present.

"I know it's an odd mission, sir, but it was ordered by the brigadier himself. We can't back down."

Before Austin could utter another word, the men resumed their march.

"That's an order!" he commanded.

The soldiers halted, surprised, but did not question their leader. They turned around, and Austin was now at the forefront.

"Why did you do that?" Lucas asked.

Austin ignored him and kept moving forward.

They marched until they arrived at what Lucas assumed was their base camp.

"Everyone get some rest. We leave tomorrow," Austin said briskly.

The base camp was well thought out—portable, so in the worst-case scenario, they could simply pack up and leave. The camouflaged green tents blended into the surrounding forest. There were five in total, each quite sizeable.

Lucas entered one of the tents and sat down.

"Why did the lieutenant suddenly change his mind?" one of the soldiers asked. He had a low cut and stretched the shirt he was wearing.

All the men looked at Lucas, hoping for an answer.

"No idea," he responded.

The light left their eyes at his blunt reply.

The men went outside, showered, and changed their clothes.

By nightfall, they gathered around a campfire, eating their rations.

"Sir, why did you abort the mission?" a young soldier asked.

Austin grunted and responded, "For the safety of my men."

The soldiers murmured among themselves, wondering what could be so dangerous in a jungle for trained soldiers.

After an hour, everyone returned to their tents to sleep.

"So far, so good," Lucas thought, relieved. Nothing he had experienced so far was worth calling hell.

"Lucas, come out now," Austin called from outside the tent.

Lucas stood up grumpily, sleep already starting to take hold.

"What?!" he asked as he exited the tent.

"Is that any way to speak to your lieutenant?" Austin asked sternly.

"We both know none of this is real," Lucas replied indifferently.

They moved away from the camp and into the bushes.

"Is this what happened five years ago?" Lucas asked as Austin gazed at the glowing night sky.

The forest was serene, the sound of crickets filling the air. The canopy of trees was just dense enough to let the moon's rays slip through, and the cool air made the moment feel almost transcendental.

The air carried the scent of flora through the forest, making Lucas feel as if he were walking through a god's garden. They passed a river that twinkled as the moon's gentle rays bounced off the water, leaving behind an ethereal glow that coursed along its noble waves. Within the clear, slow-flowing water, fish could be seen moving about, consuming something Lucas couldn't discern.

"This is what happened five years ago," Austin said abruptly, coming to a halt.

Lucas rolled his eyes—the information didn't surprise him.

"So why did you terminate the mission?" Lucas asked, trying his best to mimic a soldier.

Austin turned his head to the side, reluctant to answer.

"Because…"

A deafening screech tore through the air, cutting him off.

"It can't be!"

He screamed as he ran toward their camp, with Lucas close behind, wondering what could possibly make such a loud noise. It was deafening, unnatural—something that shouldn't exist.

As they neared the campgrounds, the smell of blood slowly overpowered the once-fresh air. Lucas tripped over something and fell to the ground. As he stood up, he turned to inspect what had caused his fall. He kicked it with his leg to get a better view. It rolled into the clear, bright moonlight—it was a roughly round object with a touch of green at the top.

It was a head.

A soldier Austin recognized.

"Sergeant Alex," Austin whimpered as tears slowly trickled down his face.

Lucas was enthralled to see tears fall from Austin's eyes. He also felt sorry for him, knowing the person must have been of great importance.

What he wondered most was—what did this?

About a kilometer ahead, all the trees had been cleared.

"How far out did we go?" Lucas asked, more to himself.

"Bastard!" Austin screamed into the air as though speaking to a higher existence.

Nyxshade.

Lucas remembered how the creature had invited them to hell.

"Let's go," he said, facing Austin, who had just buried the sergeant's head with his bare hands.

Austin ran forward, not even pausing to consider his words.

Lucas ran in the opposite direction, unwilling to make the mistake of following Austin again. As he ran, his surroundings slowly dissolved with a ghostly murmur—like whispers unraveling into nothing.

Then, he saw himself beside Austin, both heading in the same direction.

"I have no choice," Lucas said aloud, realizing this must be Nyxshade's doing.

"Shit."

They ran for nearly five minutes before finally reaching the clearing. Lucas slouched, resting his hands on his knees.

"You could have at least taken a break," he said between tired breaths.

He looked around and saw the corpses of many men and women scattered across the ground.

Then, rustling came from one of the few bushes that remained.

"Come out!" Austin screamed, his gun pointed forward, his fingers mere millimeters from the trigger.

Two women emerged. Their shirts were too torn to be considered clothing, the only thing covering their upper bodies being their camisoles, which were also partly shredded. Their trousers remained intact, save for the mud that covered most of it.

One of them wore her hair in a tight bun, tied at the back of her head. The other had a buzz cut and a look on her face that screamed business.

"Lieutenant!" they shouted in unison, saluting before approaching.

They took them by the hands and led them into the bushes they had emerged from.

Before Austin could speak, the woman with the bun interrupted.

"Almost everyone is dead," she said, struggling to catch her breath.

"How—" Austin began, but she cut him off.

"A creature, the size of a building. Thunderous footsteps. A scream loud enough to kill and an… an—"

"Insatiable desire for blood," the buzz-cut woman finished.

"There was another one—thin, as if it had never tasted food in its life. Large, no… long. Around nine feet. Its flesh was rough and cracked, like the dried skin of a scorched desert. It commanded the larger creature and found entertainment in our demise."

"That wasn't there before," Austin said, the words forced out of his mouth as he stared at the ground.

"We and the others are on standby for your orders, sir," the buzz-cut woman said, her face void of fear.

"Run," Austin said, already standing to move.

"Run!" he shouted as they bolted across the open field.

The leviathan had found them.

Austin spared a glance behind him—and froze.

"Just as I remember," he whispered.

At the bare minimum, the creature was the size of a three-story building, even while hunched. Its flesh bore a dark-red hue, resembling human blood. Its texture was coarse, like an alligator's hide—seemingly impenetrable by bullets alone.

Its massive, boulder-like eyes loomed at the very precipice of its head—five in all—spanning the circumference of its skull, leaving no blind spots.

Its hands, resembling jointed tree trunks, were disturbingly human-like. Veins bulged across them as it moved forward calmly, like a cruising plane.

Then, its hands picked up two things—people—from the ground.

The women who had just spoken to them.

It brought them near its mouth—and opened.

In four directions.

Rows upon rows of teeth lined the inside, stretching deep with no visible end.

It consumed their bodies like a man peeling a banana, leaving their heads intact—as if on purpose.

Their faces remained, gazing downward, eyes locked onto Austin—as though pleading for their leader to save them.

The monster continued its monolithic march, unfazed by the futile efforts of the people below.

Lucas nudged Austin, urging him to move.

He tried to run himself—but it happened again.

They were stuck.

"Welcome to hell," Austin said, turning to Lucas with empty eyes.