Chapter 2: Surprise Visitor Part 1
Edward drifted in the void, his thoughts scattered across the incomprehensible expanse of the reactor’s system. Time passed, though he couldn’t measure it. Seconds? Hours? Days? It all blurred together in the boundless abyss. His mind replayed fragments of memories, echoes of Nala’s laughter, the warm summer afternoons they had shared, and the moment he’d last seen her, her face streaked with tears.
But beneath the memories lurked a growing awareness. Faint, pulsing signals surrounded him, distant whispers in the dark. He reached out, not with hands, but with thought, probing the strange feeling of his new existence.
Gradually, the realization dawned on him. He was inside the reactor system. His consciousness had somehow merged with the intricate digital network. He could sense the reactor’s inner workings, the faint hum of circuits and flow of energy. It was strange yet oddly comforting. But questions plagued him. What had happened to his body? To Nala? To the world?
Time drifted onward, his mind oscillating between reflections and a gnawing sense of helplessness. He wondered if anyone had survived the catastrophe. Had the Ark Project amounted to anything? Or had humanity been obliterated? What’s going to happen to him?
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Then, like a jolt in a dream, Edward felt himself stir. His awareness sharpened, tethering him to a physical sense of place. It was as if a dim light had been lit in the darkness. Suddenly, he could see again! The view was grainy, distorted, as if filtered through an old camera lens. Then the room came into focus. It was the lab where the reactor had been housed, though now it was in shambles.
Debris was strewn across the floor, the walls scorched and cracked. Flickering emergency lights cast eerie shadows. Edward’s gaze shifted, and he froze. In the corner of the room, two children and a dog huddled together, their eyes wide with fear. The older girl, her face streaked with grime, held the younger boy close, her arm protectively draped over his shoulder. The dog, a large, scarred creature with sharp, alert eyes, pressed against them, growling softly.
Edward’s confusion deepened. Who were these children? Why were they here? He scanned the room further and felt a pang of something he couldn’t name. There, in the center of the lab, lay his own body. The sight was a grotesque reminder of his fate. His lifeless form sprawled across the floor, twisted at unnatural angles. The dried-up blood pooled around his head, and the neural interface still clung to his charred skull. Shards of shrapnel jutted from his chest, and his face was frozen in a grimace of pain. The image filled Edward with a strange blend of regret and horror.
Before he could process the scene further, his attention was drawn to movement. Near the shattered doorway, something shifted. Edward turned his gaze and froze with fear and confusion. The figure standing just beyond the door defied comprehension.
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The creature was nearly nine feet tall, its emaciated frame arched like a predator ready to pounce. Its skin was taut and gray, stretched over a skeletal structure that seemed wrong, as though it had been stitched together from the remnants of nightmares. Its spine jutted sharply beneath its flesh, each vertebra grotesquely pronounced. It had no eyes, no nose, no ears. Its face—if it could be called that—was dominated by a wide, gaping slit where its mouth should have been, oozing a viscous green fluid that dripped to the floor in slow, deliberate drops.
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The creature’s limbs were unnaturally long, its arms ending in grotesque, finger-like appendages that dragged against the ground with each subtle movement. Its legs, reminiscent of a deer’s, ended in sharp, cracked hooves. The monster’s entire body twitched and shuddered as if barely containing some horrific energy.
Edward felt an overwhelming wave of dread, a primal fear that gripped his very essence. Even without a heartbeat, he swore he could feel his blood run cold. If he still had a body, the sight alone would have been enough to send him into cardiac arrest.
The monster remained still for a moment, its head tilting slightly as though listening. Then, with slow, deliberate movements, it turned and lumbered away, its grotesque form vanishing into the flickering shadows of the facility. Edward’s panic did not subside, even as silence reclaimed the room.
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Time passed, though Edward could not tell how long. His focus returned to the children and the dog, still huddled in the corner. The boy, younger than the girl, had a small backpack slung over his shoulders. Edward’s gaze narrowed. The backpack’s strap was caught on the emergency lever, the one that had likely reactivated the room’s backup systems. That must have been why Edward’s consciousness had reawakened. He pieced together the situation, though the facility was old and damaged, its advanced design had allowed some systems to endure.
Edward needed to secure the room. The monster was still out there, and the broken door offered no protection. He directed his focus to the terminal nearest the children, activating it with a burst of energy.
The screen flickered to life, displaying a simple message:
CLEAR THE RUBBLE BLOCKING THE DOOR.
The children flinched at the sudden noise, their eyes darting to the glowing screen. The girl tightened her grip on her brother, pulling him closer. The dog growled low, its ears flattened against its head. Edward hesitated. He hadn’t intended to scare them.
The girl, despite her fear, studied the screen intently. Her brow furrowed, and she glanced at her brother, then back at the terminal. After a long moment, she seemed to steel herself. She gently released her brother, motioning for him to stay put with the dog. Then, with a trembling resolve, she crept toward the door.
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The girl began clearing the debris blocking the doorway, her movements quick but careful. Edward admired her bravery, even as his fear for her safety grew. The boy and the dog remained huddled in the corner, the boy clutching the dog’s fur tightly.
Suddenly, a sound echoed from the hallway beyond the room—a sharp, rapid clatter. Edward’s dread returned in full force. The monster was coming back.
The girl froze, her eyes wide with terror. The boy fumbled with his backpack, pulling out a small object and thrusting it toward the dog. “Throw,” the boy stammered, his voice barely audible.
The dog took the object in its mouth and bolted to the doorway. It flung the object into the hallway, where it landed with a sharp clink. The device activated, emitting a loud buzzing noise and a cascade of colorful, flashing lights.
The monster appeared in the distance, drawn by the commotion. Its grotesque form moved with terrifying speed, lunging toward the distraction. The children and the dog watched in silent horror as it struck the buzzing device with its elongated limbs, green goo splattering across the floor.
In that moment, the girl finished clearing the rubble. Edward seized the opportunity, directing his energy to the control systems. The door groaned, its damaged mechanisms straining as it slid shut. With a resounding clang, the room was sealed from the outside.
Edward felt a surge of relief. If he had lungs, he would have sighed deeply. That had been far too close.
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The children and the dog remained huddled together, their breathing ragged. Edward watched them with a growing sense of responsibility. As a responsible adult, would anyone just leave the kids alone? Maybe. But for Edward, he could not just stand still and watch the kids die or worse, be confronted by that thing. They had survived this long, and he was determined to ensure they continued to do so. He was also aware that his act was not only for the kids but also for himself. He will need people’s help is there any chance to get out of this body and find his Fiancé. The world outside was a nightmare, but within the ruins of the facility, there was a group of people and a dog with hope and maybe salvation.