Kiehra paced back and forth in the Initiate locker room, thinking about the previous mission and the promotion to LV6 that came with it. She'd finally started making worthwhile progress in the Sentry, but she didn't feel any relief. Instead, there was only a dark and foreboding silence in its wake. Her promotion didn't feel right in any way. Her badge was something others wore proudly, but on her, it felt stifling. Sure she'd climbed in rank and was on the cusp of becoming a full-fledged Sentry Officer, but that suspicion that trailed after her wherever she went made it hard was still unshakeable after all this time.
In addition to her Vela and drug rumor problems, Flak had now come into the mix. Not only did Flak and some others notice her accidentally show off her strength in the Black Grove four days ago, but it seemed he had begun suspecting her of what happened during the spirit capture as well. To make matters worse, the alien boy was nowhere to be found since the mission, which made a heavy sense of dread settle in the pit of her stomach. She'd tried using her heightened senses to find him, but it was like he'd been completely snuffed out of existence.
"Things in this place keep getting weirder and weirder by the day." Three mused, sounding just as perplexed and on edge as Kiehra.
Kiehra didn't get the chance to respond before a familiar, boisterous figure broke into her field of view.
"Hey! Kiehra!" Payday called, her voice cheery and loud, breaking through Kiehra's reverie. The woman's voice was as bright as ever, her carefree energy clashing against the quiet suspense in the air. She bounded over and threw her arms over Kiehra, giving her a quick hug. "I hear ya got the promotion to LV6! That's some hard work you're putting in, girl! Just a couple of missions away from Officer!"
Kiehra gave a half-smile as she awkwardly returned the hug, noticing how the steady buzz of Three's presence in her head slowly faded away the closer Payday came. "Yeah, thanks. Couldn't have made it this far without your support" she muttered, pulling away from her with a small grin.
Payday hummed, her gaze flickering like something else was within her eyes. She lowered her voice to a whisper, her grin faltering slightly. "Vela ain't exactly happy about it you know. Word around is he's been steadily preparing some special kind of hellfire for you. Just be more careful from now on, yeah?'
Payday's warning lingered, turning Kiehra's smile into a grimace. She rubbed her forehead, nerves tingling with worry as she looked around, wondering what Vela could have in store for her. She opened her mouth to respond, but the deafening, shrill blare of an alarm cut through the air, causing her to jump.
"Attention all Phantom Sentry personnel! Immediate assembly for all LV6 and higher. This is not a drill."
Payday's grin fell completely, replaced by a chilling, blank expression. "Welp, guess that means you're needed somewhere Kiehra. See ya." she waved, and with that, she walked off and disappeared down a corner.
Alone, Kiehra took a deep breath, feeling Three return but stay eerily silent. She shook the cobwebs out of her head and let her feet carry her swiftly towards the assembly room, the sense of dread growing heavier.
—
The assembly hall was filled with LV6s and higher ranks, low murmurs of anxiety floating around the entire room. A handful of Lieutenants lined the front of the room, their faces stiff with dire expressions. Kiehra's eyes swept over the hall, eventually landing on Lieutenant Vela, who met her gaze with a blazing intensity, his dislike palpable enough to burn through her soul. Kiehra forced herself to look away, wishing that he would just up and disappear from the surface of the planet. Her life would no doubt be much easier without him skulking in the background of all her actions.
As she stood there, feeling the weight of countless eyes and baseless murmurs on her, a familiar presence moved beside her. A scornful hiss caught her attention, and she was suddenly face-to-face (more accurately, face-to-chest) with Riona. The furry woman's features were sharp, her mocking sneer twisting into something far unfriendlier.
"Like, seriously?" she scoffed, her eyes burning with disdain. "Promoted ta LV6? Can't believe a clean'a made it this far…what a joke. Ya should'a stuck ta scrubbin' tha floors. That's 'bout tha only thing ya good for anyway."
Kiehra clenched her fists, but stayed silent. Riona was the one responsible for her absolutely atrocious reputation, and the contempt from her was nothing new. It didn't stop every word from stinging every time though.
The nervous chatter died down as Rhys stepped forward. Her face was cold as ever, though a trace of apprehension softened her usual stoicism. Kiehra wasn't sure if it was her senses flaring up again, but she could have sworn the Initiate Supervisor looked paler.
"Listen up everyone, there's been a breach within our headquarters," Rhys began, her voice echoing across the hall. "An extremely sensitive file on classified spirits has been stolen. Multiple Officers have been killed or severely injured already. This is no minor incident; we have reason to believe the perpetrator is still on-site. All available personnel are to begin an immediate sweep of the premises to retrieve the file and locate the intruder. Nobody lower than a Lieutenant or me should engage the intruder on their own. Returning the file is our top priority. Understood?"
The announcement was met with quiet whispers and nervous glances, as they all divided themselves into groups and headed to various parts of the massive building. Kiehra's heart pounded as she turned to leave. This mission was far different from everything else she'd experienced so far. Her extraordinary senses could already feel it: every inch of the building held an unseen threat, and something sinister lay hidden in plain sight.
---
Moving through the empty corridors of the Hollow Wing, Kiehra allowed herself to be guided by her senses. Her mind was filled with whispers of something unnatural and indecipherable. Her instincts screamed that something terrible had taken place here, with even Three commenting that the walls were steeped in terrifying secrets.
She slipped past other groups, keeping her head low, hoping not to attract any attention. It wasn't long before she noticed Fabian ahead of her, his oversized scarf draped around him like a cloud, and his giant feathered pen gleaming with silver light resting at his side. He gave her a disinterested nod of acknowledgment when she approached, but said nothing, his focus seemingly elsewhere.
The two silently moved deeper into the Hollow Wing, the oppressive feeling of the place that pressed on them growing thicker the further they went. The shadows were thick and dripping, pulsing along the walls like the veins of some creature from hell. Fabian moved one of the shadows, but stopped, moving forward after some consideration. Three chuckled nervously.
"Good call from him. These shadows…aren't shadows at all…"
Kiehra nodded her head in silent agreement. Something hissed behind them, and she nearly screamed.
"Ya shouldn't be here," Riona spat, her expression full of contempt as she appeared from the shadows. "Wha'eva' is happening, ya mo' likely ta make it worse. If anything, it's probably ya fault somehow." She stepped closer, the disdain practically radiating from her as she sized Kiehra up. "Honestly, I got no idea why they don't just demote ya ta janitor again. Ya jus' an undeservin' waste o' space."
Kiehra forced herself to ignore Riona's taunts, though her patience was wearing thin. Fabian, remaining on the periphery, finally spoke in his quiet, detached tone.
"Enough, Riona. Let's move."
With a final glare at Kiehra, Riona huffed, but fell silent. Together, they continued deeper into the Hollow Wing, where the familiar chill of dread intensified. Each step felt like descending into a silent tomb. The air thickened with a sudden energy that made her head hammer painfully. From the puzzled looks on the other two's faces, it was clear they felt it too. The three of them halted as they came upon a hollow, darkened room, where the sickening energy seemed to be the most concentrated. Riona forced herself in and Kiehra felt her pulse quicken as they stepped inside. Within the room stood Rhys, whose figure was illuminated by dim, flickering lights.
Relief washed over Kiehra at first—and then she saw the blood. Bodies lay broken around the room, walls clawed and stained with deep gashes. Black stains decorated the floor and walls, spreading out in slick, tar-like pools that throbbed with an unmistakable sentience shared with the shadows. The worst part of the room was the person in it.
At the center stood Rhys. A dark, ink-like substance dripped from her hands and face, forming thick tendrils that coiled around her arms and neck. Her gaze was unfocused, lips moving in an inaudible murmur.
Riona cursed. "Tha fuck?"
"Supervisor Rhys?" Kiehra's voice was barely above a whisper as she stepped forward, her hand instinctively balling into a fist quivering with energy. "Are you… okay?"
Rhys's head snapped up, her gaze locking onto Kiehra's with a carnal intensity. Her eyes were pitch black pools of ink, devoid of life, her face contorted into a pained grimace. "Who's there…no…this wasn't…wasn't what they promised…" she muttered, her voice fractured and far away.
An alarming feeling of fear settled in Kiehra's stomach as she watched Rhys tremble, her fingers clawing at the skin of her face as though trying to tear away an invisible mask. All the while she continued to mutter, her words broken and barely audible. "The four-eyed boy…this…he wasn't part of it…why…"
Fabian stepped forward carefully, his hands on the hilt of his feather pen. "Supervisor Rhys, who are you speaking of?" he asked, his voice laced with a rare undertone of uncertainty.
Kiehra shuddered. Was she talking about Flak?
But Rhys was too far gone, her voice dissolving into a low, pained groan as she covered her face with her hands. In one gruesome motion, her entire face twisted, her skin stretching and contorting as her features horrifically rearranged themselves. Her jaw cracked up to where her forehead had been, and her eyes rolled backward, resting upside-down as her face became a hellish mask.
Black tears leaked from her newly positioned eyes, streaming down her face as her eyes darkened further. She clutched at her hair and pulled at it, her mumbling breaking down into anguished screaming. "I didn't…! They…they didn't tell me…!"
Kiehra took an instinctive step back, her nerves frazzled even more by Three's not-so-helpful comment on the entire situation. "Creator save us all…"
She winced, glancing at Riona, whose body was emanating absurd amounts of heat as she called forth Tartarus's powers, claws extending in preparation and fur glowing a dull orange. Despite her apparent readiness, the sloth woman's usual confidence was long gone as she watched Rhys with wide, terrified eyes.
"You… you did this to me…" the Supervisor rasped, her ink-drenched gaze flickering between the three of them. "...you…made me this…."
Fabian took another step forward, his weapon raised cautiously. But before he could speak, a strained scream tore from Rhys's throat, the ink overtaking her completely, swallowing her entire torso and twisting it completely out of shape. Her limbs snapped and cracked, painfully extending into ink-drenched claws that spasmed uncontrollably.
Kiehra's breath stopped as she stared at the nightmare before them, unable to move. Rhys's eyes were vacant now, her expression an empty mask. With a final, gut-wrenching screech, she lunged at the three of them, every shred of humanity she had erased, leaving only a monstrous shell behind.