Kate's POV
{Three hours before the incident}
"We'll be using maroons for signals due to our distances apart. The green maroon is to indicate success in reaching the checkpoint, the yellow is to indicate contact with alien bodies beyond a team's control, and the red is to indicate serious casualties upon encounter with the anomalies," the captain instructed, his voice steady but his eyes a bit downcast.
I watched as the crew absorbed the weight of his words, their expressions darkening as they imagined the worst-case scenarios. I tried to keep my gaze from betraying my own unease, glancing downward as I tucked my hands into my pockets, suddenly feeling exposed in this wasteland.
Burns continued talking, explaining tactics, but I was lost in my thoughts. This mission had felt off from the start. Danger was always a part of the job, but this place—it was different. The whole planet seemed… alive, watching. The silence between the alien monsters that haunted the night and the eerie stillness of the day left a crawling sensation in my spine.
I pulled away from the group, moving toward Burns. His broad shoulders turned as I approached, but I tugged at the edge of his shirt, stopping him.
"Yes, Kate?" he asked, a half-smile that didn't reach his tired eyes. He was trying to placate me, I could see it, but I wasn't buying it.
"I know the plan looks good on paper, but I have a bad feeling about splitting up. We don't know what's out there—no idea what these creatures can do or what they're capable of."
Burns raised an eyebrow. His smile faltered, but his eyes sharpened with a flicker of something—annoyance or maybe concern. "Why now? You agreed to the plan yesterday."
"Yeah, but things are different now. This place feels wrong, Burns. We don't even know what the hell we're up against." I swallowed, trying to keep my voice steady.
He shook his head, and his hand came to rest on my shoulder in what was meant to be a reassuring gesture. "We've got abilities. Symbiotes can pierce their skin. We're covered. Relax."
I brushed off his hand with more force than I meant to, anger surging beneath my skin. "I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the feeling in my gut. Something's wrong, and you're just—"
But I couldn't finish. Because he was right. Going back wasn't an option. The mission had already begun, and my concern wouldn't change anything. I had to let it go. But I wouldn't stop being vigilant. I couldn't.
I tried to focus. I tried to push the unease aside, to fall in line like the others. But deep down, I knew—this was going to be bad.
{Presently}
I should've trusted my instincts.
My thoughts were in shambles, staring at the dismembered parts of what used to be most of my team, before something erupted from deep within my belly, followed by the loud sound of retching as I passed out a brown fluid and bile.
The ground trembled as the massive, seven-foot-tall beast charged at me, its monstrous form barreling toward me like a freight train. Its fangs gleamed in the dim light—longer and sharper than any creature I'd ever seen on Earth—and its eyes were a sickening shade of red, bloodshot and wild. The thing's claws were stretched out, reaching for me with predatory precision.
My heart pounded as I barely managed to dodge its first swipe. The monster was so fast, its weight slamming the ground as it surged forward. Adrenaline spiked, and I gritted my teeth, trying to ignore the terror bubbling up in my gut.
I pulled at the symbiote, twisting it into a longbow with practiced precision. The tension of the string snapped as I yanked it back, forming an arrow that solidified into existence with a hum of energy. My hands were shaking, but I forced them still, pulling back the bowstring and releasing with all the force I could muster.
The arrow flew, a streak of silver cutting through the air and slamming into the beast's chest.
It screeched—a guttural, haunting sound that sent a chill down my spine. The arrow exploded through its thick hide, leaving a gaping wound that splintered the monster's ribcage. It staggered back, howling in pain, but I wasn't finished.
Before I could even think, I fired again, the second arrow whistling through the air and sinking deep into the beast's skull. It dropped to the ground with a sickening thud, lifeless, its form crumpling like a ragdoll.
For a moment, everything was silent. I stood there, chest heaving, heart still racing.
But then the world exploded around me.
A massive force collided with my chest, and I was flung backward like a ragdoll, soaring through the air for what felt like an eternity. I landed hard, the ground cracking beneath me. Pain erupted in my chest as something—something impossibly strong—had slammed into me. My body felt like it was breaking apart, each rib on fire with sharp, searing agony.
I gasped for breath, but each inhale felt like a knife slicing into my lungs. My body shook as blood spilled from my mouth, thick and metallic. The pain was unbearable. It felt like my ribs were being pushed into my organs, like they were trying to tear through my chest.
What the hell had just hit me?
Was it a Negron? No. This… this wasn't a Negron. Negrons weren't like this. The force… the power behind that strike—it was too much. Too precise. I could barely keep my eyes open as everything around me blurred, but I managed to glance up.
And that's when I saw it—another figure. Not a monster. Not a Negron.
It was a man—no, a thing, clad in heavy, gleaming steel armor, it's figure almost towering as it sliced through the monsters with ease, a blur of motion and death. It's helmet was featureless, a cold mask, but the way it moved—each swing of it's sword decimating everything in it's path—was unnerving.
It approached me, and I felt a sense of dread wash over me. My vision was fading, but I forced my eyes to focus. It removed its helmet, but it's face was obscured. I couldn't make out the details, not with the world closing in around me.
Everything was silent. The pain in my chest was a constant, unyielding presence. It rang in my mind, in my ears. The last thing I saw before my consciousness slipped away was it's eyes, dark and unreadable.
And then, everything went black.
--------†††
By the time I regained consciousness, I was tied to a tree in the middle of an unfamiliar forest. The searing pain in my chest had dulled, leaving a lingering ache that reminded me of just how close I'd come to dying. It was almost as if I had been healed, but not entirely. Something felt wrong, and the puzzle pieces of my situation didn't quite fit together.
I tried to remember how I got here, but the events from earlier were a blur. The fight, the beast that hit me with an impossible amount of force, the stranger—then nothing. Just the blackness.
Where am I?
I scanned the surrounding forest, trying to make sense of everything. The towering trees. The soft rustling of the leaves. I had to have been unconscious for hours, maybe even longer, but how had I gotten so far from where I'd last been? Had I been carried? By who? The stranger?
My heart raced, but there was no time to dwell on the questions. Just then, I saw them. The same figures from before. The ones who had attacked me, or at least, one of them had.
They approached slowly, and my body tensed in response. There was no way I could take them both on, not in my current state. I couldn't move freely, my arms bound to the tree with what felt like thick ropes. Even if I managed to break free, I doubted I'd stand a chance.
They stopped a few feet from me, their eyes locking onto mine with an unsettling intensity. My body instinctively stiffened, and I prepared myself for whatever was coming next. They were murmuring to each other, their voices low and guttural. At first, the words made no sense at all.
"Frit sene xe fe g," one of them said, the language foreign and alien to my ears. My mind raced as I tried to comprehend the sounds, but they slipped through my grasp, like water flowing through my fingers.
I frowned, straining to understand. It felt like I should be able to hear something familiar, anything that could give me a clue. But all I could hear were disjointed sounds, words that weren't words at all.
"Xe veer konat?" The other one asked, the same strange tongue wrapping around the syllables. My pulse quickened. What were they saying? Were they talking about me? Were they deciding my fate?
A cold shiver ran down my spine. I struggled against my restraints, desperate to make sense of the situation. They were speaking something, but it wasn't in any language I recognized. Not the guttural growls of the Negrons. Not anything remotely human.
I opened my mouth, unable to stop myself. "What... what are you saying?" The words came out as a broken gasp, but they didn't seem to notice.
"She can't understand us, clearly," one of them muttered, shaking his head. The words were laced with a tone I didn't quite grasp, but there was an undertone of curiosity.
I frowned, my mind working in overdrive. It was as though something was slowly clicking, a faint echo of meaning creeping into the edges of my consciousness. My eyes widened as the words began to take shape.
Frut sene xe ge f
I stared at the man, his face hard and unreadable, as I concentrated. My mind strained to put together the pieces of the puzzle, to grasp at the meaning.
It was like a fog lifting. Suddenly, it was as if the words had a rhythm to them, a structure. And then, slowly, it clicked. "What... are you?" The question slipped from my mouth, the strange, foreign words now unmistakably clear in my head.
"Wait," the figure said, surprised. "You can understand us?" His hand jerked to his chest in disbelief, pointing at himself as if trying to confirm the impossible.
I blinked. "What...?" I said, the question thick in my throat. I hadn't expected them to actually speak. I had no idea why I was suddenly understanding their language, but the realization sent a wave of unease through me.
"You... understand?" the other one asked, his voice tinged with awe. He exchanged a glance with his companion. "Impossible. We've never... never met one like you before."
I blinked again, my head spinning from the sudden shift in comprehension. I could hear them now, understand them. But why now? Why had their language suddenly made sense?
Before I could respond, the first figure turned to the other. "Let's take her to the commander. Maybe he'll have some answers."
They both nodded in agreement, and one of them stepped toward me, reaching for the ropes that bound me. But before I could fully react, a sharp pain bloomed in my head, and the world once again went dark.