The air was suffocating, thick with a rancid smell of decay that seemed to crawl into their lungs. The chamber was pitch black, save for the weak, flickering glow of their helmet lights. The silence was not comforting—it was the kind that pressed against their ears, amplifying every slight creak, every shuffle in the darkness. Alvarez's pulse thundered in his ears as he tried to steady his breathing. Beside him, Rae clutched her plasma cutter so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
"I don't think we're alone anymore," Rae whispered, her voice trembling, almost drowned by the oppressive stillness.
Alvarez scanned the room, the beam of his light bouncing off jagged, obsidian-like walls that seemed to ripple when illuminated. The shadows weren't static—they shifted and quivered at the edges of the light as though alive, recoiling from the illumination yet never retreating far.
Then came the sound. A low, guttural rasp that seemed to echo from every direction. It was wet and hollow, like something trying to breathe through water.
"Did you hear that?" Rae's voice cracked as she instinctively took a step closer to Alvarez.
"Stay close," Alvarez murmured, raising his weapon. His finger hovered over the trigger, his muscles taut.
The rasping grew louder, punctuated by faint, irregular tapping—sharp, like nails against stone. Alvarez swung his light toward the source, but the beam revealed nothing. Only more walls, more writhing shadows.
"Don't look too long," he warned Rae, his voice tight. "The darkness here… it's not normal."
But Rae was already staring at the walls, her light fixed on a specific point. Her breathing quickened. "There's something in there," she stammered, stepping back. "It's watching us."
Alvarez followed her gaze and froze. Two pinpricks of light blinked in the shadows—eyes, glowing faintly, like embers barely alight. The rasping turned into a clicking sound, faster, more deliberate, as if whatever lurked in the dark had decided to move.
A sudden screech tore through the silence, high-pitched and unearthly, like metal scraping against bone. Alvarez and Rae flinched, their lights swinging wildly, catching glimpses of something shifting just beyond their reach.
And then it came into view.
The creature was no longer a fleeting shape in the corner of their eyes. It was there, fully revealed, and it was wrong. Its form twisted and contorted with every step, limbs bending in ways that defied logic. Its skin was translucent, revealing pulsating veins filled with a sickly black ichor. Its head tilted unnaturally, eyes burning with malevolent intelligence.
"What… what is that?" Rae whispered, her voice barely audible.
It didn't answer. It didn't need to. The creature lunged, its movements impossibly fast. Alvarez fired, the plasma bolt illuminating the chamber in a blinding flash. The creature shrieked as the blast tore through its side, but it didn't stop. It recoiled only to twist and dart around them, its claws scraping against the ground with an ear-splitting sound.
"Run!" Alvarez shouted, grabbing Rae by the arm and pulling her toward the far end of the chamber. The ancient door loomed ahead, its glowing symbols casting faint light into the abyss.
The creature didn't chase directly. It circled, its screeches echoing from every direction, disorienting them. Shadows peeled away from the walls, forming grotesque, humanoid shapes that staggered toward them. Each step they took reverberated like a drumbeat, shaking the ground beneath their feet.
Rae fired blindly, her plasma cutter tearing through the nearest shadow. It collapsed into a writhing puddle, only to reform moments later. "They're not stopping!" she screamed.
"Keep moving!" Alvarez yelled. He aimed at the door, his mind racing. If the sigils on it were intact, maybe it was some kind of seal—a way to stop the madness.
The door wasn't far now, but the creatures were closing in. The original monstrosity lunged again, its claws raking across Alvarez's shoulder. He stumbled, hissing in pain as his suit's integrity alarm blared.
"Alvarez!" Rae turned back, firing wildly to drive the creature away. It screeched in frustration, retreating into the shadows.
"I'm fine! Get to the door!" Alvarez barked, forcing himself to his feet.
They reached the massive structure, its surface pulsating faintly with an eerie, golden light. The symbols carved into it seemed to writhe as if alive, their patterns impossible to follow for more than a second without inducing nausea.
Alvarez pressed his hand against the surface, desperate to find some way to open it. His fingers brushed a central sigil that flared at his touch. The ground beneath them quaked as the door groaned, its ancient mechanisms grinding to life.
Behind them, the creatures screeched in unison, their cries filled with rage and fear. The largest of them stepped forward, its form swelling as if feeding off the darkness itself.
"Hurry up!" Rae yelled, her plasma cutter overheating as she struggled to hold the line.
The door cracked open, releasing a blinding light that momentarily forced the creatures back. The air around them seemed to vibrate, the oppressive weight lifting slightly.
"Inside!" Alvarez shouted, pulling Rae through the opening just as the creatures surged forward.
The door slammed shut behind them with a deafening boom, cutting off the screeches and plunging them into a different kind of silence—one heavy with anticipation.
Alvarez collapsed against the wall, his breathing ragged. Rae slid down beside him, her hands trembling.
"What was that?" she whispered.
"I don't know," Alvarez admitted, his voice hollow. "But we're not safe yet."
The room they had entered was vast and circular, lined with strange machinery and towering statues of humanoid figures, their faces obscured. At the center of the room stood a massive pedestal, upon which rested a glowing artifact, pulsating like a heartbeat.
Alvarez's stomach churned as he approached it, the whispers returning, louder than ever. They spoke in a language he couldn't understand, but their intent was clear.
This was no sanctuary. It was a trap.