"It wasn't corrupted, it was born from pure malice and hatred..." a woman murmured, her voice even softer as it filtered through the gas mask.
Her green eyes flitted among the ancient carvings on the wall, looking at the inscription.
"The Monsters of Man were not created by the Gods; it was the culmination of all the hate Man had ever felt... and it would remain until such hate was purged from Man."
The soldiers behind her, all cloaked in black and gas masks, shifted on their feet as a loud groan filled the air.
"Miss Rosen, the structure is getting highly unstable. We know what we need; let's go."
Lieutenant, the leader of the Hound team, said in a firm tone- after all, what he was stating was fact. This newly-discovered Egyptian temple was buckling under it's own weight now of all times.
"Of course, of course, just let me get a picture really quick. It'd be a shame if the wall shattered and we lost all of... this." Amelia Rosen gestured to the giant wall of hieroglyphics in front of her; 10 feet tall and 15 feet long, covered in hieroglyphics and art from top to bottom.
"Just get it done quick. I'm not looking to be buried and crushed under sand." Lieutenant replied gruffly, moving his grip on his weapon a bit- not that it would save him from the structure collapsing, but it helped him ground himself.
Rosen just silently stood up, walked back a few steps, and took out a camera. Bright flashes lit up the room three times, and then she pocketed the device.
"Let's head back. The other teams have probably already left."
Numbers grumbled under his breath, "I wish we left with them earlier..." as he adjusted the positions of his hands on his rifle.
Braille, on Numbers' left, simply turned around and started walking away; Numbers turned around too, but waited for Lieutenant.
"Then start moving! I ain't staying down here any longer!"
He was 15 steps down the exit hallway when he disappeared in a blur and a snarl.
"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!?" Numbers shouted, activating his night vision and raising his rifle- Lieutenant did the same and Deadman quickly brought up his firearm; Moscow hardly had enough time to stand up and Zen almost punched her as she got up.
"I dunno! BRAILLE! BRAILLE!!!" Deadman shouted into the blackness- he didn't get a reply. Not even a scream.
"Alright, everybody, tight formation around Rosen! We got to get out NOW!" Lieutenant yelled, waving his arms to grab everyone's attention.
Moscow quickly shouted into her radio, rushing into position, "Operations Command, his is Hound Pack Cheshire 3, I repeat, this is Hound Pack Cheshire 3! We've lost Braille! I repeat, we've lost Braille!"
Rosen just stared at the spot that Braille previously was... she didn't even realize Zen had stepped in front of her until she was shaken by the woman.
"Rosen! Eyes open, limbs moving! We're getting gone now!"
Finally, she snapped out of her shock.
And they started running.
"Numbers! You and me, front! Zen, Moscow, flanks! Deadman, cover the back!" Lieutenant shouted, spurring everyone into their positions as they ran.
Deadman, once at the back of the group, kept on looking behind himself- and then he was slammed into the wall, torso and legs separated, while some furless wolf-like creature swallowed up his legs.
His scream echoed in both the hallway and Rosen's head.
"Rosen! Keep it moving!" This time it was Numbers to shout, although his gaze stayed ahead- Zen, on the other hand, looked backwards and shot her assault rifle.
An otherworldly shriek filled the air in the hallway as the structure groaned again; this time, sand started falling from the ceiling.
"Stairs are just around the corner!" Moscow yelled, voice strained, as she did her best to keep pace with Rosen and the others.
Then, Rosen tripped.
The air in her lungs just left her, and she didn't have enough energy to even groan.
She just collapsed on the sand floor, while the roars of those creatures came from behind her.
But then bullets clattered to the floor.
"Dammit Rosen, you're gonna kill me someday...!"
Zen's voice reached Amelia's ears, and she was suddenly lifted into the air- onto Zen's back.
More bullets clattered to the floor before Zen turned and started running, turning the corner right into Numbers.
"FUCKING MOVE! THERE'S HUNDREDS OF 'EM COMING!"
Numbers didn't need to be told twice; he turned and started hauling ass, Zen following right behind.
There. Rosen could just barely see it, but there. Light. The exit.
The structure groaned louder than before; she felt sand pour down on her back.
She heard Numbers groan and she could see the faint outline of him reaching down to help Zen up.
Then her grip on Zen's neck loosened. A lot. And she started falling backwards.
"ROSEN!"
=--=--=--=
Slowly, she blinked her eyes open, and surprisingly she was not met by the bright light of a lamp overhead.
No, instead she found herself staring into the red eyes that belonged to none other than her significant other, her many-times savior, her fiancée.
Zen.
Gone was the gas mask and the helmet; instead, Zen's brown hair fell down and created a privacy curtain effect around Amelia's face.
"You're awake." Ze said plainly, although her eyes were narrowed and her eyebrows furrowed.
"How long have you been staring at me...?" Amelia asked with a quiet, tired groan, staring at Zen with a small smirk-like smile.
"..." Zen went quiet for a second, breaking eye contact for a moment, before finally answering, "The last 3 hours..."
"Mm...I'm hungry."
Zen's eyebrows suddenly unfurrowed, her eyes unnarrowed, and she gave Amelia a deadpan stare.
"Really? You're hungry now?"
"...yes...?"
END.