"Helen! You need to wake up!"

A blinding headache pierced her head, wincing in pain, Helen opened her eyes. "Green?" She mumbled.

"Thank whatever Elder Thing is out there!" Michelle sighed in relief. She was over Helen, desperately shaking her friend in an attempt to get her to wake up.

Sporadic gunfire could be heard off in the distance.

Helen tried to figure out what had happened, only remembering when the portal was opened. Thinking about the experience made Helen's stomach drop. As she tried to get up and her fingers felt the ground, the texture of the floor made her eye snap open.

"I know, Liam!" Michelle turned her head back towards the sounds of gunfire.

"Request to connect." A voice was heard.

Pulled in various directions, Helen shook her head.

"Request to connect." The same monotone voice nagged.

Ignoring everything, Helen went to look at the floor she was laying on. It felt different from the floor in the basement area of PentaSoft. Turning her head to her hand, a green rocky floor was seen. A feel of primitive design came was the first thing to spark in her mind.

"Why is the world green?" Helen failed to understand.

As if sensing her frustration, the same monotonous voice interjected. "Would User like to disable night vision?"

"Night vision?" Helen tested the words. It was a moment, but a click in her mind connected everything. "The world isn't green but instead it's the mask making the world appear a different color..."

"Request to connect," It continued as if not allowing her to forget.

Using her free hand, she placed it on the bottom of the mask, thinking of ripping it off to get away from the voice. Helen stopped when she remembered the reason why the mask was there. Sighing, "What is this request to connect?"

"Request has been made to connect User with the local group communication network. Would User like to connect?"

Hearing several an increased level gunfire, "Yes. Connect me."

Before she was ready a voice yelled, "Concentrate fire on your left side!" Judging by the voice, Helen connected it to Bella.

"Squad Leader! More are approaching your position!" The woman's voice overlapped Helen's.

Looking to see they were in some stone hallway, Helen could see more flashes followed by weapon fire.

Michelle had gotten up and stood next to the wall. "She's awake, though I think she got a good thumping." There was a pause, "I don't know! Do I come over there?"

Listening to half of the conversation, it gave evidence to their situation not being a stable one. "Is there a way for me to chat with Catharina?" She figured bothering Bella wouldn't be a wise move.

"Helen?" Catharina's voice sounded strained but relieved at the same time. "Are you okay? I heard you had some kind of concussion."

Shaking her head, "I'm okay. What's happening? Where are we?"

Over the link, the rapid sounds of an automatic weapon were heard. "It's the place the portal led to. We're not sure what this place is, possibly an underground structure?"

"Are you, guys, shooting at something?" Helen was desperate for information.

Heavy breathing was heard over the line, "Strange lizard creatures appeared and are crawling all over. We're managing to hold them back, but we going through bullets quickly."

"Girl, you awake?" Katya's voice forced itself into Helen's ears.

"How's it looking over there?" Catharina didn't seem to mind the interruption. "How deep are you?"

Sounds of curses were heard, "I'm pretty deep inside of this group of creatures. Getting a little tired, but I've been able to keep their numbers down." Katya's breathing quickened. "There's something strange about this place."

A pause, "What do you mean?" Catharina's voice sounded worried and surprised.

"Where are you?" Helen tried to keep up with the conversation.

More cursing, "I'm in the middle of this bloody wave of monsters. Hurry up and get over to where the others are, girl." Addressing Catharina, "The bodies are fading away after they're killed. Also, I'm seeing strange items, like swords, armor, and other objects. I feel like I'm in a fantasy book, right now."

Helen was confident enough to slowly get to her feet. Though she still felt some lingering effects from the portal, the idea of her friends trying to fend off monsters invaded her thoughts. "This isn't the time to be slacking," Helen unclipped one of the automatic pistols from its holster.

"Hey! Hey! I don't know if that's a good idea." Michelle rushed towards Helen with both hands raised, as if expecting Helen to topple forward.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Appreciating the concern, "We don't have a choice. I get the feeling our friends are going to be overwhelmed if we don't go there."

Michelle was quiet, hearing Helen's words.

"What's up?" Helen sensed a change in mood with Michelle.

"You might be right about that. I don't think you understand the number of those things were coming at us." Her friend shuddered, shoulders hunched from the memory.

Sensing something must've happened, "We got this, Michelle. Let's go."

Receiving the pep talk, Michelle straightened herself. Nodding her head, she pulled out her automatic pistol.

The two ran towards the flashes, not taking too long before they heard the roaring of the monsters. Two groups could be seen, one on the left and the other on the right.

"Need more ammo!" One of the women in the special unit yelled out.

Catharina lowered her weapon and rushed back to where their packs were placed, up against the wall. One of the packs was opened, magazines sticking out ready to be grabbed.

Before Catharina reached the packs, she noticed both Helen and Michelle running over. "Helen! Stick by me, I'll help walk you through with using your weapon." Waving her hand, "Help me gather up these magazines!"

Helen hurried and observed Catharina inserting magazines into the various pouches in her suit. When she filled up her pouches, she turned to Helen.

"You're going to need to put these on," Reaching into another back, Catharina pulled out straps with additional pouches. Waving to Helen, she opened up the straps to reveal arm hoops.

Clipping on the straps and tightening them, Catharina grabbed some magazines and began inserting them into the numerous pouches. It wasn't long before Helen felt the additional weight.

Holding up the weapon, Catharina looked at Helen. She aimed down the hallway they came from, both arms extended with one hand wrapped around the grip and the other cradling the other hand. Her feet were about shoulder length apart and knees slightly bent. "This is how you should hold the gun. Make sure you pay attention to the direction you point your barrel. Breath in and when you exhale, you'll pull the trigger." The gun in Catharina's hands fired several rounds. Tilting the gun, she pressed a button on the side of the gun and the magazine slid out. "This is how you unload your weapon." She pulled back the top of the gun and a bullet was ejected, smoothly she caught it and fingered it back into the magazine. "When you're empty, you'll need to slide the magazine into the gun and pulled back to load in the round." It took seconds for her to demonstrate the process.

Helen quickly followed the directions given by Catharina, getting into firing position. Controlling her breathing, she pulled back the trigger and felt a violent kick.

"Try again! You'll need to anticipate the kick and not let it affect your aim." Catharina moved to Helen, standing behind her and putting her hands on top of Helen's.

With Catharina holding the weapon, Helen repeated everything. This time when she pulled the trigger, the gun didn't jerk as violently. Catharina moved back from Helen, while Helen went through the process of unloading the clip and reloading it.

"Hey! Where's the ammo!" Someone yelled at them.

Feeling like she was ready, Helen nodded to Catharina. Turning towards where the others were fighting the monsters, running, Helen pulled out a magazine and handed it to one of the women.

The woman grabbed the clip and reloaded it, immediately firing at one of the large lizards climbing on the ceiling towards them. It fell and landed just a foot away from where Helen was standing.

Staring at the corpse, "Fuck." The woman stared at the lizard getting so close.

As the woman acquired a new target, Hen continued staring at the body of the monster. She remembered the words Katya had said about how items were left behind whenever the monsters died, their corpse disappearing.

She ignored the chaos around her, eyes locked on the lizard. Sighing, "Maybe only certain ones disappear."

As her eyes were about to focus on fighting off the creatures. Movement caught her eyes, looking back at the lizard, it quickly faded and left behind a sword, spherical object, and coins.

"What's that?" Helen moved towards the objects, disregarding the shouts.

Her eyes locked on the sphere, her body felt a desire for the object as if pulling her towards it. She didn't understand what she was doing, not even noticing her hand reaching out.