Chapter 30: Willkommen in Deutschland - Part 3
Omega-7 advanced cautiously through the darkened depths of the cavern, their footsteps echoing off the uneven and slippery ground. The dim light from their torches barely pierced the surrounding darkness, amplifying the growing sense of dread as they approached the unsettling door before them. The door, a pulsating organic mass, resembled a gigantic mouth more than a conventional entrance. Its viscous texture and shifting contours seemed to possess a life of their own, reflecting the nightmarish atmosphere of the cave.
The team leader gave the command to breach the door. Explosives were placed with precision and detonated. A low rumble followed, and the organic door burst apart in a shower of debris and fluids, revealing an even more sinister space beyond.
The chamber was vast, with walls and ceilings made of the same viscous substance as the door. At its center, illuminated by a harsh, unflattering light, was Lina. Kneeling, she was covered from head to toe in blood, with streams of it flowing from her eyes like tears. Her gaze was vacant, fixed on something far beyond her immediate surroundings.
Behind her stood the robed man, who turned his head to face Omega-7. A sinister smile spread across his face as he greeted them. "Welcome, trash. Observe how I will dismantle your saviors," he said while turning to Lina, his voice dripping with malice. With a snap of his fingers, a colossal humanoid creature emerged from the shadows.
The creature, a grotesque fusion of sinew and muscle, stood at least fifteen feet tall. Its skin was a sickly shade of gray, and its eyes burned with a malevolent light. The ground trembled beneath its heavy steps as it advanced toward Omega-7, the air thickening with a palpable sense of impending doom.
Omega-7 sprang into action as they burst into the grotesque chamber, confronting the monstrous threat with precision. The towering humanoid beast, an abomination of flesh and terror, stood at the center, its eyes glowing malevolently. SCP-073, or Cain, took the lead, his role as both shield and weapon crucial in this engagement.
The team leader immediately issued commands. "Cain, up front! Everyone else, cover and suppress!" SCP-073 advanced, his presence a bulwark against the monstrous onslaught. The creature's attacks, while devastating, were deflected and redirected by SCP-073's inherent ability to reflect damage. Each strike against him was met with equal force, causing the creature to stagger and howl with every hit it inflicted upon its opponent.
The team moved in a coordinated pattern, using the terrain to their advantage. One operative deployed smoke grenades to obscure their movements, while another took up a vantage point with a sniper rifle. The sniper aimed for the creature's vulnerable points, adjusting for the chaos of battle.
As SCP-073 engaged the creature head-on, the rest of Omega-7 utilized close-quarters tactics. Two operatives with specialized melee gear maneuvered around the beast, aiming for its exposed joints and attempting to disable its mobility. Their combat knives slashed through the creature's hide, while SCP-073 absorbed the retaliatory force with a stoic resilience.
The support team, positioned at a distance, unleashed a barrage of heavy weaponry. A mounted machine gun sprayed a continuous stream of bullets at the beast, providing suppressive fire. A team member with a rocket launcher prepared to fire, targeting the creature's midsection. The rocket exploded with a deafening blast, causing further damage and disorienting the beast.
The creature, now visibly wounded and enraged, began to focus its attacks more intensely on SCP-073. The reflective nature of SCP-073's shield meant that each attack, though absorbed, was returned with equal force. Omega-7 used this to their advantage, targeting the creature while it was momentarily stunned by the feedback from SCP-073's defensive stance.
As the battle reached its peak, SCP-073's ability to reflect damage proved decisive. The creature, battered and disoriented, struggled to adapt to the relentless assault. The team leader, seizing the opportunity, ordered a final concentrated attack. "All units, focus fire! Now!"
With a coordinated effort, Omega-7 unleashed their full arsenal. The sniper's precision shots, the assault rifle's relentless fire, and the melee team's relentless strikes combined to overwhelm the creature. SCP-073 continued to absorb and reflect the creature's retaliatory strikes, ensuring that it was subjected to its own destructive force.
As the final blows landed, the beast collapsed, its monstrous form convulsing before finally falling still. Omega-7, though exhausted, had achieved a hard-fought victory. They regrouped, checking their equipment and ensuring that SCP-073 was unharmed.
As the monstrous humanoid fell, the robed man sneered from the shadows, his eyes burning with a dark intensity. Omega-7 had only a moment to catch their breath before the chamber began to pulse with a sickening, rhythmic beat, as if the very walls were alive. The robed man raised his arms, chanting in a guttural language, and the organic matter that formed the walls, floor, and ceiling of the chamber began to writhe and pulsate in response.
The air grew thick with the stench of decay as the walls seemed to pulse in time with the man's incantation. His connection to the grotesque, living structure intensified, and from every surface, tentacles sprouted, twisting and slithering with unnatural speed. The chamber became a living nightmare, with Omega-7 at its center.
"Tentacles, incoming!" shouted the team leader, his voice cutting through the mounting chaos.
The tentacles lashed out with terrifying speed, attempting to ensnare the operatives from all directions. SCP-073, Cain, positioned himself at the forefront, blocking several tendrils with his arms, their impact absorbed by his anomalous ability and reflected back into the writhing mass. Yet, for every tentacle that was repelled, two more seemed to take its place, each strike more aggressive and frenzied than the last.
"Fall back! We need to regroup!" the team leader ordered, his voice strained as he fired rounds into the oncoming tendrils.
One of the operatives rushed forward, grabbing Lina, who remained kneeling in the middle of the chaos, still in shock, her eyes wide and unseeing. Blood, not her own, stained her from head to toe, and her body trembled uncontrollably. The operative slung his rifle over his shoulder and scooped Lina up, cradling her in his arms as he joined the others.
"We've got the girl! Move, move, move!"
The robed man, sensing their intent to escape, poured more of his energy into the chamber. The tentacles, now thicker and more aggressive, converged on the team, intent on preventing their retreat.
Omega-7 moved in a tight formation, Cain at the front, absorbing the brunt of the attacks, while the others laid down suppressive fire. The sound of gunfire echoed through the chamber, but the tentacles kept coming, faster and more frenzied with each step they took toward the exit.
One of the operatives was nearly caught by a particularly large tendril, but a quick shot from his teammate severed it before it could wrap around his leg. Another operative was knocked off balance by a glancing blow but quickly recovered, his focus entirely on keeping Lina safe.
"Keep moving! Don't let them cut us off!" the team leader barked, his voice cutting through the chaos.
As they neared the grotesque mouth-like exit, the tentacles grew even more desperate, lashing out with ferocity. Cain continued to deflect and reflect as many strikes as he could, his presence the only thing preventing the team from being overwhelmed.
With one final push, Omega-7 reached the exit, blasting it open once again. They burst through, the tentacles still reaching after them but retreating as the team broke free from the organic chamber's influence.
Outside, the night air was a stark contrast to the stifling atmosphere inside. They continued running, not stopping until they had put significant distance between themselves and the cursed chamber. Only when they reached a relatively safe position did they pause, breathing heavily, Lina still in their care.
The team leader checked their surroundings, ensuring no immediate threats before turning to Cain. "Status report?"
"All operatives accounted for," Cain replied, his voice steady, though his eyes showed the toll the encounter had taken.
"Good. Let's regroup with the others and get her to safety," the leader said, indicating Lina, who was now slowly beginning to come back to her senses, though still visibly traumatized.
Omega-7 had barely managed to escape the nightmarish cavern when the ear-splitting scream echoed across the landscape. The monstrous entity, now fully unleashed, burst through the ground, its massive body forcing its way out of the earth and into the open air. The team, along with Lina, were on the forested slope leading away from the cavern's mouth when the explosion occurred, sending dirt, rocks, and organic matter raining down around them.
As the dust settled, they looked up to see the gargantuan creature emerging, a grotesque mass of flesh, eyes, and mouths, with tentacles flailing wildly. It was so massive that it seemed to blot out the night sky, stretching as far as they could see. The main mouth, a black abyss, opened wide as if to consume the very air around it.
Omega-7's training kicked in, and they immediately fell into a defensive formation, shielding Lina while assessing the situation. They didn't need to be told how dire the situation was; the sheer size and power of the creature were unlike anything they had ever faced.
From the command center, frantic messages came through their earpieces. The entity's sudden emergence had triggered alarms across multiple Foundation sites. Operators who saw the feed from the team's cameras were shouting for clarification.
"What the hell is that? Omega-7, respond!"
The team leader, adrenaline pumping, responded, "We're facing a massive organic entity, larger than anything on record! We need immediate support—get everything you can here, now!"
The creature's colossal tentacles began to thrash about, extending far beyond the cavern's edge, ripping through trees and boulders with terrifying ease. One of the tentacles, thicker than a tree trunk, lashed out toward the team.
Cain, SCP-073, moved to intercept, his body absorbing the force of the strike. The impact created a shockwave that sent the tentacle recoiling, the energy reflected back into the creature. It screeched in response, its many mouths opening in a cacophony of rage.
"We're not going to hold this thing off for long!" one of the team members shouted as they fired another barrage of rounds into the creature, trying to slow its advance. The bullets seemed to barely make a dent in the writhing mass.
The team leader made a quick decision. "Fall back! We need to get the girl to safety and regroup with reinforcements!"
With the creature expanding rapidly, they had no choice but to retreat. They began to move quickly down the slope, Cain still leading the way to absorb any further attacks. Lina, still in shock and barely responsive, was dragged along by two operatives, her eyes wide with fear.
As they fled, they heard the creature's bellowing roar behind them, followed by the sound of the earth being torn apart as it expanded even further. Tentacles reached out, trying to snatch them as they ran, but Cain deflected the strikes, allowing the team to keep their pace.
They could see the lights of the base in the distance, a beacon of hope amidst the chaos. But the creature wasn't slowing down. Its massive form was beginning to cover the ground between it and the base, consuming everything in its path. The team knew they were running out of time.
At the base, the sight of the monster sent everyone into overdrive. Soldiers manned their positions, heavy artillery was brought to bear, and the remaining tactical teams were preparing for what seemed like an impossible defense.
"Omega-7, report!" the base commander's voice crackled over the radio.
"We're en route to the base, but this thing is massive! Prepare for heavy contact!" the team leader replied, glancing back at the monstrous entity, its enormous body still growing, still reaching for them.
With the creature now fully in pursuit, Omega-7 had to make it back to the base before it was too late.
—
Omega-7 was still in full retreat, the monstrous creature in relentless pursuit, when they suddenly felt a shift in the air around them. Lina, who had been near-catatonic, slumped over with exhaustion and trauma, began to stir. Her eyes, previously glazed over with shock, now glowed a vivid, blood-red hue. She started whispering, her voice trembling as she murmured the names of her dead friends and teachers, each name dripping with sorrow and rage.
"Did you hear that ?" one of the operatives asked, glancing over at Lina, but before anyone could respond, a wave of energy surged from her small frame. The force was so immense that it sent the entire Omega-7 team flying backwards, crashing into the ground with bone-jarring impact.
"Hold-" the team leader started to shout, but his voice was drowned out by a guttural scream from Lina, a sound that carried with it all the pain, anger, and despair she had bottled up inside. Her body began to change, grotesque and terrifying, as hundreds of blood-red tentacles erupted from her back, writhing and twisting like a nest of enraged serpents.
Lina's transformation was horrifying to behold. Her small form was now engulfed in a twisted mass of flesh and tendrils, her eyes streaming blood as if she were crying tears of crimson. The whispers grew louder, more frantic, until they reached a fever pitch, and then, when she uttered the name of her beloved friend, Anja, Lina let out an unearthly wail. It was a cry that reverberated through the forest, a cry of unimaginable pain and fury.
Her new, monstrous form lunged at the towering creature that had just emerged from the cavern. Omega-7 watched in shock as Lina, now a berserk force of nature, collided with the beast. Her tendrils wrapped around its limbs, digging into its flesh, tearing it apart piece by piece.
The creature shrieked in agony as Lina's relentless assault continued. With each fragment she tore away, she shoved the bloody mass into her mouth, devouring it with a primal hunger. The more she consumed, the more powerful she became, her body swelling with unnatural strength. Her movements were fueled by a single-minded desire for vengeance, each strike infused with the rage of a girl who had lost everything.
Omega-7 scrambled to recover from the shockwave, their training barely keeping them focused as they tried to comprehend the spectacle before them. Lina was no longer the frightened girl they had been protecting-she had become something entirely different, something terrifying. They watched as she savagely tore into the creature, her tentacles ripping its flesh, her mouth filled with the blood of the monstrosity as she consumed it.
Cain, who had been the team's shield, now looked on with an expression that was both curious and disturbed.
"Fall back!" the team leader ordered, realizing that Lina's rampage was not something they could control or predict. "We need to regroup and-"
But before he could finish, the creature, despite its gruesome injuries, began to fight back. It lashed out with its own tentacles, trying to swat Lina away like a bothersome fly. But she was relentless. Lina's rage gave her an edge, her new form able to withstand the creature's assaults, retaliating with even greater force. Each time she was struck, she only seemed to grow stronger, her tentacles digging deeper into the creature's flesh, tearing larger and larger chunks away to feed her insatiable fury.
The two monstrous beings clashed in a violent dance of death, the ground beneath them shaking with the force of their battle. Lina's blood-red tentacles wrapped around the creature's many limbs, squeezing, pulling, ripping with a ferocity that matched the beast's own.
"Command, this is Omega-7 !" the team leader shouted into his radio, trying to stay clear of the fight while issuing orders. "We've got a situation here! The hostage has... transformed into something. She's engaging the target directly-send reinforcements now!"
The operator on the other end of the line stammered, barely able to process what he was hearing. "Understood, Omega-7.
Reinforcements are en route. Hold your position."
But holding their position seemed impossible. The battle between Lina and the creature was escalating to a level that threatened to consume everything around them. Trees were uprooted, the earth cracked and split, and the air was thick with the scent of blood and decay.
Lina's attacks grew even more brutal, her body now grotesquely distorted as she continued to devour the creature's flesh. Her once-human face was twisted into a snarl, her bloodshot eyes wide with unhinged fury. As she bit into another massive chunk of the creature, the beast let out a final, desperate scream. Its body shuddered, weakened by the relentless assault, and finally, it began to collapse under the weight of its injuries.
But Lina was far from finished. She continued to tear into the creature, her tentacles piercing its organs, ripping out its heart, its lungs, its very essence. With each bite, she grew more powerful, more monstrous, until the
creature was nothing more than a dismembered heap at her feet.
The forest was eerily quiet in the aftermath of the battle. The ground was littered with the remains of the creature, a mess of flesh and blood that seeped into the earth. Lina stood amidst the carnage, her body still trembling with residual energy. Her tentacles writhed and squirmed, as if searching for more to consume, but there was nothing left.
Omega-7 kept their distance, unsure of what to do. The girl they had once known was gone, replaced by something far more dangerous. Cain stepped forward, cautiously, his eyes narrowing as he studied Lina's new form.
"Lina," he called out softly, trying to reach the girl buried beneath the monster. "It's over. You've won."
But Lina didn't respond. Her eyes, still bleeding, stared blankly at the remains of the creature, her mind lost in the sea of rage and sorrow that had driven her transformation.
Cain approached Lina cautiously, his steps deliberate but gentle, as if he were approaching a wounded animal. He could see the torment in her eyes, the way they were fixed on the grotesque remnants of the creature she had just torn apart. The fury that had transformed her into something so unrecognizable was slowly ebbing away, leaving behind only a shattered girl.
Reaching her, Cain didn't hesitate. He wrapped his arms around her trembling form and pulled her close, holding her tightly in his embrace. His voice, though usually cold and distant, was now filled with a warmth that Lina had never heard before.
"Child, it's over now," he whispered into her ear, his voice soft, almost fatherly.
For a moment, Lina didn't react. But then, slowly, her blood-red eyes began to clear, the wild, feral look fading as the realization of what had happened settled in. Tears welled up in her eyes, and they weren't the bloodstained tears from before, but true, human tears—tears of grief, exhaustion, and relief.
As the first sob broke through, her monstrous form began to recede. The tentacles, once writhing with a life of their own, slowly retreated back into her body, disappearing into her shoulders and back. The grotesque transformation reversed itself until, once again, she was just a teenage girl.
Lina buried her face in Cain's chest, her body racked with sobs as she clung to him, the weight of everything she had endured pouring out in those tears. Cain held her, letting her cry, his hand gently stroking her hair as he murmured comforting words, understanding that what she needed now was not a soldier, but someone who could offer her solace in the midst of the nightmare she had lived through.
As this emotional scene unfolded in the dark, scarred forest, far away in his room, Léonard sat staring at his monitor. A notification blinked on the screen, stark against the dim light: Crisis Resolved.
Léonard leaned back in his chair, a heavy sigh escaping him. The immediate threat might have been neutralized, but the weight of what lay ahead pressed down on him. The battle might have been won, but the war—the true war—was only just beginning. The conflicts and horrors lurking on the horizon were things he could already see, and they filled him with a deep, unsettling dread. The fight for survival, for all that was left of humanity, had only just begun.
—
Léonard was still reeling from the notification that the crisis had been resolved when a new alert abruptly pulled him back to the present.
[ Ding! Congratulations to the host for unlocking Site-DE-19 localised in Mülheim-Kärlich Nuclear Power Plant in Koblenz, Germany. ]
He blinked, the gravity of the situation settling in. A new site? And in a location like that?
Before he could fully process the information, another notification appeared on his screen.
[ Ding! Congratulations to the host for unlocking Tactical Luftwaffe Squadron 33 Unit localised in Site-DE-19-B, Büchel Air Base. ]
His eyes widened as he read further. This unit had the capability to deploy the American nuclear weapons stationed at the base as part of NATO's collective defense strategy. The weight of responsibility suddenly felt much heavier on his shoulders. The crisis may have been over, but the war and conflicts on the horizon were only just beginning.