Part IX – The Here and The Hereafter I
Kaodin sprang off the bed's foot panel.
I can feel their presence. And it's coming fast.
The sudden movement snapped Nyla's gaze to him as he pivoted toward the door.
"Kaodin" she said quickly, reaching for him as her voice tightened. "Whatever it is, it seems very dangerous. You get Commander Arika inside. We stay together and find a way out."
Her right hand stayed clamped over the jacket at her left side. The fabric creased under her grip. The tension in her grip gave her away more than her words.
His jaw set, breath shallow, Kaodin glanced at Somsri, then back to Nyla.
If it reaches them, they will not move fast enough.
His jaw tightened; a breath caught in his chest before easing out again.
"I… I think…" The words faltered. He looked down for a moment, then up again. "I should go."
Nyla shook her head hard. "Kaodin." Her voice dropped, sharp and urgent. "You are not a hero. You are a kid. Why would you even….?"
A heavy impact slammed into the door. The frame shuddered.
"OPEN UP. NOW. IT'S COMING." Arika's voice tore through the room.
Kaodin drew a breath that caught halfway.
"I can manage. You saw what I could do before. I was…" He hesitated, then gave a small shrug. "I'll be fine."
Nyla stared at him. Her lips pressed thin. Her eyes burned brighter, moisture held stubbornly in place.
"Be safe," she said. It came out rough.
Kaodin smiled back sheepishly.
"I'll check it out. I'll finish it before you even notice."
He said, grinning, before turning back to the door.
Nyla's fist thumped lightly into the middle of his back.
"Idiot," she muttered.
Then she stepped in and wrapped her arm around him from behind, pulling him close for a brief second. Her forehead pressed between his shoulders. Her breath hitched once.
"Thank you," she said, low. almost like whispered.
Kaodin froze, then tilted his head in a small nod before gently easing her arm away.
Wawa padded after him and paused. He looked up at Nyla. Their eyes met.
The small creature stuck out his tongue, eyes bright, then pulled it back into a wide, playful grin.
Nyla let out a breath that almost sounded like a laugh. Thin sheen gathered at the corners of her eyes, caught by the light before she turned her face away.
Ping.
Unlocked , Override: Armdoor.
After the quick hand tapped by the door panel, the seal hissed open.
Corridor light spilled in, stark and white, cutting across the room in a hard line.
Arika was already there, slumped against the wall beside the sliding door. Her breath coming hard through parted lips. The iron plates across her chest were scored and gouged, the surface roughened and discolored, rust blooming in uneven streaks where something had caused damage deep enough to strip the outer coating.
She spared a quick glance and saw Kaodin already outside the room, Then the sound hit. A harsh crackle tore through the corridor, followed by the grind of failing structure. She snapped her head toward the east-wing patient ward entrance as debris clattered down and fractures chased across the floor, the noise growing heavier by the second.
"Kaodin, wait. Don't come out" Her voice was tight, forced steady. "We're safer inside. The autonomous system is back online. We can already have Somsri connect line to Yuri and the team in the fragile patient ward, get help from outside."
Whatever the creature it is, it knows I'm here. It's coming…To feed, Kaodin thought as he walked past the threshold with Wawa quickly followed.
Then, the stench hit. His eyes widened at once as rotting meat mixed with sharp acid burned into his throat, strong enough to make his stomach knot and lurch. His breath hitched, saliva rising fast. He knew that smell. He had succumbed to it once before.
His hand came up immediately, dragging the collar of his shirt over his mouth and nose. He drew a shallow breath through the fabric, held it, then let it out slowly. The sting dulled. And in a few seconds, His vision became steadied, focus pulling back into place as he forced the nausea down.
The walkway to the right stretched long and narrow, patient-room doors lining both sides, their diagnostic panels pulsing weak blues and greens. At the far end, the darkness did not wait.
It advanced.
A vast smear of pitch-black matter slid across the floor, tendrils firing into the walls to haul portions of itself forward while other sections lifted and followed. It did not advance as one body. Segments climbed in heavy folds, cells dragging over cells, spreading sideways and upward at the same time, each part pulling where it could. The corridor filled with the impression of countless instincts moving together, a dredged ocean wave made of grasping pieces, thick and smearing as the whole surged ahead.
Arika turned back to look at the boy attentively as if demanding answer.
"I know what I'm doing. And here, where I can control my body," he added as he turned his gaze to meet her eyes, "let me help."
For a split second, Arika stood still, the boy's words hanging in her mind before she could grasp what he had meant. By the time her focus snapped back into place, the boy was gone.
The black mass surged.
The distance collapsed in a single violent rush, the darkness pulling inward as if the corridor itself had folded. The mass lunged, strands whipping ahead of the main body, close enough that Kaodin felt the drag of it, close enough that its edge nearly brushed his hand as he moved.
Too fast to run. Far too fast to drag Somsri with them, or shield Nyla in time.
Lights ahead burst in sequence. Glass popped. Filaments died mid-glow. Panels flickered into blinding white before shattering, their power ripped out as the black passed beneath them.
The corridor vanished under it.
What had been floor, walls, ceiling covered by unknown moving mass, its black surface was thick and viscous, climbing and folding over itself. Surging in a rapid speed, swallowing space in uneven waves until the entire walkway became a churning black abyss, nothing like the tiny parasitic cells it had once been.
Whatever it is, It noticed me, come on then.
Behind him, Arika called out.
"We stay inside," she said, voice sharp, already calculating. "Seal the room. If that thing breaches, there's no space to maneuver."
Kaodin didn't turn.
If it reaches here, there will be nowhere to redirect it. Nowhere to keep them clear.
"No," he said quietly.
Arika grabbed his left arm.
Her grip locked down, armored fingers biting as she hauled him back toward the doorway. "That's an order."
The corridor pulsed again. The black mass drew closer, light dying in its wake.
There was no time.
Kaodin rotated his wrist, quick and responsive. His forearm rolled clockwise, slipping cleanly through her grip just as the black mass lunged close enough to catch their arms. The motion was smooth, almost casual. Her hold broke instantly.
Several tendrils were shot out toward them.
Wawa sensed the incoming threats before anyone could reacted, springing forward in a sleek arc to intercept the encroaching darkness. His fur was shallowed in faint blue Qi as his paws thwarted against the tendrils, cutting across the mass before reaching Kaodin forcing it to recoil, given them time just a bit longer.
Arika's eyes widened.
"I'll be fine, Commander Arika," Kaodin said, already stepping forward. He placed both hands on her arms, gentle, but deliberate.
"Please help take care of them," he said, then tilted his head slightly, looking past Arika's waist to where Somsri and Nyla were still looking at him slightly behind Arika.
Then, without applying force, a faint blue Qi slipped from Kaodin's hands.
Armored Arika was driven backward, boots skidding hard against the floor. She collided with Somsri, the android's stabilizers whining as she absorbed the impact and locked them both in place.
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