“Soph- we need to -”

“- Stage name! We're practising!”

“Ugh… Rio, we should be out, relaxing! Your fingers must be killing you by now.” Karla shook her head, as she watched her partner dance her digits across the keyboard, twiddling over a couple of high notes.

“We need to nail this piece. I'm still unsure about the bridge, and I know I'm going to mess it up if I don't -.”

“Sophia. You need to rest. We've been playing for six hours straight, I'm surprised the guards haven't asked us to keep it down yet! You know I want this to be perfect as much as you, but you haven't eaten since breakfast.” Karla lowered her guitar and pressed a couple of buttons on her tech gauntlet, deactivating the surrounding speakers and amps. “You gotta have hands like stone right now. My shoulders are aching from this fucking -”

Sophia winced from behind the keyboard.

“Sorry. Heckin' strap. Let’s just... let’s just get some food, okay? Half an hour break, then back to it?” Karla tilted her head, half pleading with her partner; her own stomach rumbled loudly as she began to think about the food that Barru X had to offer.

“You promise it's just food? Not one of your schemes to try and get me out?” Sophia sank a little in her chair, staring at the door to their room in a defeated fashion, slumping from hours of concentration.

“Promise. Let’s just -” Karla paused, and glanced behind her. Someone was coming. The sound of distant, heavy thudding was getting louder, approaching their door. It sounded… unusual, its gait and presence wrong.

“Karla... are you okay?”

“Shhh! Either someone very heavy and very drunk is coming, or we're finally getting a guard visit, and they're in power armour!”

Sophia twitched as she picked up on the thudding coming towards their door.

“I'm sure it's nothing... But can you deal with it...? Please? I just... I need to freshen up.” Sophia stood from her chair, her back creaking as she stretched it out and waddled over to the bathroom, just off the side of the front door.

“Sure. You know you don't need to ask.”

“Thanks Karla, I won't be long.” Sophia gently closed the door behind her and the sound of running water could be heard shortly after.

The thudding continued to close in, the noise coupled now with a raspy, filter-distorted exhalation. Karla approached the door to look through its peep hole, then jumped back upon as she saw a shadow darken the base of the door. Its breathing was loud and crackly. The noise drowned her senses, making her feel small and defenceless.

Her body began to shudder, like a sixth sense had a sickening realisation that her brain was still catching up with. Her legs were frozen in place. A brief glimmer of blue reflected through the peephole. Karla turned her head towards the drawer of her bedside table.

“MUSIC?!?”A warped voice called through the door.

Another obsessive fan...? No, I'm not going through this again. Karla thought as her heart raced in her chest. No... this feels different. She fought against her instincts telling her to stay still and heeded instead to her gut feeling, turning slowly, quietly, and creeping towards the drawer. One foot at a time, softly on the carpet.

A sickening crunch rattled through the room as a large hand punched through the wooden panels and clumsily grabbed at the chain, tearing it free from the wall in a single tug. The door slammed open, revealing Plasia in her full masked glory. She stared at Karla’s shocked form through her damaged lens.

“MUSIC?!? YOU PLAY FOR ME! NOW!” Plasia screamed at the terrified czarite, rapidly approaching and cornering her in the far side of the room, goo spurting from her mask filter as she panted in excitement.

“Y-you want me to play?” Karla's mind raced as she realised she was still a few paces away from the drawer and the massive blue czarite was already within arms reach, towering over her, menacingly. “I-I mean, I’m the only one here right now, so I can only play you some s-solo stuff -”

As she spoke, she noticed the mortified face of Sophia peering around the bathroom door, staring at Plasia from behind.

“I can do some of our hits? Get down and dirty? Play, Help, fight? Leave me alone? Now the party starts? A-any of those take your fancy, miss?” Karla's eyes darted between Sophia's face and Plasia's mask as she hoped her message was understood. Barely visible, Sophia nodded and crept out of the room, heart racing in her chest.

“PLAY BETTER WHEN YOU'RE ONE OF MINE! MINE-MINE-MINE-MINE-MINE!”

Sophia bolted down the corridor, turning her head back towards their room multiple times but forcing herself forward. The sounds of struggle, clawing and fighting rang out behind her… and desperation. The colour drained from her face as she heard Karla crying out.

We need help... The guard room! I think there was a camera room just down the corridor...

She noticed the blue luminescent smudges on the walls had a sickly sweet smell to them, as she fled down the carpeted corridor. There was damage to the walls, drops of blood on the carpet... As the corridor opened into the lobby, Karla paused, then took a sharp left, towards the security office’s old wooden door. The walls felt as if they were closing in on her as time ticked away. A small sense of relief passed through her as she approached.

Sophia sprinted over to the door, but as she approached, her eyes landed on the door handle. Something wasn't right; it was damaged and bent out of shape... she could hear moaning from inside, gentle at first, but with each step she took, closer, the person inside shifted. She stopped a few feet from the door, and her confusion morphed into panic as the door suddenly shook. It sounded like someone was pounding on the back of it, their groaning aggressive and hungry.

That's... that's not right at all... I am NOT going in there. I think they had a break room back there...? I'll check that.

She turned heel, padding away quickly and quietly as the door rattling intensified behind her. She went back to the crossroads and carried straight on, her hands nervously fidgeting around herself as she went.

She froze on the spot, she saw something glittering in the carpet ahead, dark red dots speckled over the walls.

She couldn't help herself, she knew there was nothing good ahead but she had to check, for Karla's sake. Her body quivered, her head shaking as she began to pick out more detail. Glass was strewn over the floor, blood splattered everywhere...

The guard break room was directly connected to the corridor, with several glass panels with blinds that interlaced with the otherwise featureless walls of the long stay wing.

Every single one was smashed to pieces and within, the break room lay in gory ruins.

One guard hung loosely from the ceiling, an arm missing and face broken, caught within the ceiling grid.

Another laid smothered on the sofa, its fabric stained with a sanguine hue around him, torso pierced by his own solid baton, pushed forcefully through his chest and pinning him to the upholstery.

Two more were crushed into the walls, their armour holding their broken forms together, but there was no mistaking them for anything other than lifeless.

The last one was laid out on the floor, her arm reaching out towards the door, legs shattered and broken, blood smeared over her visor.

Words couldn't find a way into her brain, she was struggling to process the scene in its full, brutal glory.

There was no help to be found here. Not fast enough to save Karla. She had to take things into her own hands.

She stepped into the room shakily, keeping her eyes down and away from the gory detail and reached for the dead guard's side arm, pulling it from her damaged holster and briefly checking it.

Safety off... It h-has ammo. It has to be enough. It can't end like this.

Her stride was weak, the gun clattered in her hand as her finger wobbled against the trigger.

I-I’m coming Karla! Please... please still be alive...

A harrowing noise echoed down the corridor as she approached... skin impacting skin, liquid dripping and the muffled rush of the bathroom tap that she'd left running... but not so much as a whimper from Karla's mouth now.

Getting closer to the door, the noises suddenly stopped and a growl saturated the air, rumbling through her chest, nearly shaking the gun out of her hand as she held it up and pointed at the door.

She heard the figure thumping around in the room, and then…

Nothing. Just the quiet rush of water from the bathroom.

Steadying herself, she approached the door slowly with her weapon raised and peered around the corner. Her eyes scanned the room, trying to locate their intruder. Her heart crawled into her throat as she saw Karla's collapsed figure on the bed, luminescent sapphire slime splattered over her skin, clothes torn open and her body exposed.

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I need to know if she's still alive... I just... That creature is still in there, I know it is... I can't go in!

*CLACK*

All around her, all the lights suddenly popped and died. She stumbled backwards, bumping into the wall opposite the room and held her weapon up, her eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness.

From within their room, she could see a blue glow coming off of Karla's body. All around, she could hear commotion rising, feet stumbling. Something splintered and broke in the distant darkness, back where she had just come from.

A figure stumbled into the corridor, his face glowing from the same blue goo over his lips. A grey face against a black background, his expression blank but his eyes clearly focused on Sophia despite the complete lack of light.

More figures appeared down the other end of the corridor, their feet soft on the carpet but audible nonetheless. Several rabbits, barely visible in the dark by the soft blue glow of the goo, soaked into their grey fur and splattered around their nethers. Their eyes were focused. They were staring at the doors to the other rooms of the wing.

I need to get out of here! Sophia tried to turn and leave, but her body wouldn't let her. I-I can't leave until I know if Karla is alive!

Several loud crashes rattled down the corridor, drawing a shocked gasp from Sophia. Down the corridor, the rabbit's began kicking down the doors, the blue glow disappearing as they charged into the rooms one by one, screaming and yelling filled the wing.

People yelled for help, she could hear fighting from inside the rooms, in the pitch black of the corridor where the only light she could see was from the cruel sapphire glow of the goo along the walls. She jumped again, suddenly; the running water ceased without warning. The gentle white noise it had been providing had been cut off at the source. She gripped the pistol tightly and watched closely as another glow slowly emerged from the inside her room.

The gas masked intruder, electric blue eyes piercing through the darkness, glared down at Sophia with a desperate hunger.

Plasia surged towards her in the blink of an eye, faster than Sophia could react.

In the darkness of the wing, she cried out; just another in the horde’s chorus of screams.

*

The sound of rushing air, followed by a shill silence, repeated over and over in her head, flashes of bone chilling cold pierced deep into her body, and then faded into nothing, as though someone were injecting icy water into her spine. All in all, it left her feeling quite sick.

HOW DO I MAKE IT STOP?!?!

Seeth trembled as her body manifested in locations all over the station, blurry rooms appearing and disappearing in the blink of an eye; it felt like she was falling, but without moving.

One moment she was staring into an empty warehouse, the next revealed a darkened supply room, the next an empty hotel bathroom.

She blinked, warping again and suddenly, a frightening warmth blasted her skin, her eyes opened to complete darkness. She was being pressed down in all directions; not crushed, but confined.

Am I… in a wall?

The cold returned and she warped once more, lost and out of control.

*

In the main security office, Venner sat back in her comfy chair, rubbing her forehead roughly and staring down at the floor with deep concern. A guard popped his head around the door as she tried to scrape together her thoughts.

“Hey, Ven, the lines to the office are completely full. We're getting reports all across the station, passengers are reporting assaults, rapes and weird looking people. We're spread thin enough as it is, we can't respond to all of them! There's a flood of them from the long stay wing, any idea why they aren't contacting the local team?”

“Not sure yet... I hear you though, give me a few minutes and I'll come up with a plan.”

A light blipped on her computer; the display showed it an incoming external communication coming through. A shot of adrenaline rippled down her back as her eyes scanned through the caller’s details.

It was coming from the lost freighter.

Her finger hovered over the decline button, then sharply dropped, and she accepted the call instead. The office darkened and a projector shot the incoming view onto the blank wall by her side.

Moltezz's face fizzled into existence, her sharp glare quickly looking around, but Venner’s display remained blank.

“You've not elected to display your side of the call. Understandable, I suppose.” She huffed loudly.

“State your business, czarite.” Venner said sternly, taking in Moltezz's details, her voice disguised by her tech. Another light blipped on her desk computer, her fur standing on end as she realised what the alert meant. A huge ship had just entered the range of the station's short range scanners.

“Let me state your situation for what it is. Your time is running out. We have detected that you sent out an SOS signal to surrounding stations for help. The closest station to here is Mesa Sigma, correct?”

“Correct.”

“Mesa Sigma is fourteen hours away even in a remarkably fast scout vessel. We are two hours away, and counting. It will take me less than half that time to finish what Plasia has started, but let's be generous and say you have three hours, at most. I'm sure we've just entered your short range scanner by now, I encourage you to check it and verify that I'm telling you the truth.”

“You better not have called me just to count down your arrival.” Venner growled back, pulling up the emergency control panel on her computer.

“I have not. I have contacted you to offer you a deal.”

Venner sighed and shook her head dismissively. I think I've had quite enough of deals for this lifetime.

“Some time ago, a party boarded your station, consisting of two large czarites and a black-skinned coralith komodo. Seeth, Plasia and Diego, respectively. Plus some other bodies. If you turn over Seeth and Diego to me, I will permit the evacuation of your station, uninterrupted by Plasia's forces from within.”

“You'll call her off, you mean? The big blue one and her horde?”

A concentrated effort without needing to spread my men thin would allow us time to fully evacuate the station within those two hours... But I don't even know where Diego and Seeth are! She shook her head again. No, no trades. Even if they were here, I'm not screwing this up even more.

“Yes. We will still be seizing the station you understand, but I will allow you to focus your efforts on evacuation and afford you some... mercy.”

“Okay, deal. Get Plasia's horde to back off and stop the attack on my station, and I'll get Diego and Seeth ready to pass over to you.” Venner stated blankly, trying to sound cool and collected.

Moltezz paused, her eyes narrowing. Despite her having nothing to look at, Venner still felt like she was being watched.

“You know, if you want my mercy, I wouldn't advise lying to me.”

“I'm not. Diego and Seeth are in the security office right now, we apprehended them recently due to the... ongoing situation.”

“That was better disguised, a truth mixed with a lie, but you're playing with fire right now.” Moltezz paused again, her fiery gaze intensifying as she stared at her blank screen. “Do you even know where they are?”

“Are you going to call off the horde or not? It's all very well you throwing a temper tantrum because you think I'm lying but you have your own side of the deal to uphold, unless you're just projecting your own behaviour onto me.” Venner replied, dodging the question, concerned that this lady would pick up on more details she was seemingly giving away.

“Avoidance. Typical. So little honour these days. The deal is off. You're lying through your mousey little teeth...” Moltezz articulated every word spoken with venomous precision.

Venner shuddered in her chair upon hearing the latter part of Moltezz's communication. M-mousey?! Can she see me?! H-how is this unfolding so badly?! Why doesn't she believe me?!

“We can get to know each-other better when I arrive in a couple of hours... if you last that long. Plasia informs me that you've just lost your long-stay wing. Busy little creature isn't she? Better use those two hours wisely. See you sooooooon.”

The display flickered off and the lights raised back to their normal levels, leaving Venner rooted in her chair, stomach in knots, with no idea what had just happened. She turned her gaze back to the emergency panel on the computer.

Lock-down saves more passengers now and lets my teams deal with the corrupted people in smaller numbers... but there is no way we can evacuate the station with it in lockdown... If we choose to evacuate now, we'll lose more people during the chaos but we'll be able to get more off the station...

Venner's weighed heavily upon the options, the local lockdowns or a staggered evacuation, but there so little time to organise and every second was precious.

Wait... Plasia is still the main cause of our issues... If I can take her out, it might relieve pressure on the evacuation.

She stood from her desk and marched over to the door, pulling it firmly open and raising her hands to her mouth.

“I NEED MY KILL TEAM READY TO GO, WE'RE BEGINNING FULL EVACUATION PROCEEDINGS IN FIVE MINUTES!”

*

In the midst of the mall, Oxyi walked slowly, her head twisting in every direction as she searched desperately.

“Diego?! Are you there?! Can you hear me?!” She called out, cupping her hands around her mouth.

Her shotgun was slung around her shoulder, and a couple of other weapons were strapped to her legs. She kept a steady pace, and mentally checked off where she'd looked already. Other passengers were talking in large groups, worried about the rapidly spreading rumours that the station had been compromised. The few guards that were available on the floor were desperately trying to keep the crowd calm, but a sizable minority of passengers were already making their way back to the hangers...

Oxyi's armed presence did not go unnoticed, and several loud arguments began to break out around the crowded guards. The lioness stayed focused, looking around for her friend.

I-I'm not losing him again... c’mon Diego! You're around here somewhere, I know you are...

A chest-shaking thud rumbled through the mall. The crowd turned towards the adult wing, which had been sealed off with a massive silver metal shutter, several black and yellow caution strips crossing over its bulk.

The shutter thudded again, causing the once loud and bustling mall to fall into a concerned silence. The guards inched forward, drawing their weapons and stepping through the crowds.

Oxyi did the same, pulling her shotgun up to her shoulder.

Not again... Oxyi's heart shuddered in chest, her tongue resting uncomfortably in her mouth.

The shutter shook violently once more, some of its caution strips falling off and floating to the ground.

An inhuman, unified bellow from behind the shutter made the metal vibrate with a stomach-churning screech, and it began to deform. The metal was being pinched and pulled in different directions. The guards ordered the crowd back and aimed their weapons at the door as the unrest intensified, both within the mall and behind the shutter.

As the shutter rattled loudly, the station was suddenly bleached in red light and a loud alarm blared throughout.

“Attention all passengers, the station is compromised and a full evacuation is in effect. Please return to your vessels in an orderly fashion and depart the station immediately. If you do not have a vessel, please go to Hangar Bay Two for evacuation.”

The warning went to play again, but it was drowned out by a bloodied arm being punched through the shutter, its fingers scrabbling at the metal for a brief moment before quickly retreating back through the hole.

Oxyi raised her shotgun and watched in horror as several more arms burst through the metal in similar fashion. Several of the hands were crushed by the impact of their strike, dripping blood over the metalwork and station floor.

“D-Do we shoot? Venner, they're doing something to the shutter at the intersection! Shall we open fire?!” One of the guards shouted into his communicator. The crowds rapidly fell back and began to push towards the hanger, but every one of them had their eyes glued at the violence unfolding in front of them.

“Negative, open fire if they're away from the shutter, but don't risk damaging it further.”

“Roger that.”

More hands squeezed through the holes that were made, pushing up to their forearms from behind.

The shutter began to screech.

The arms heaved and pulled up together, the jagged metal cutting into their flesh.

The mechanism groaned under the pressure and slowly, the shutter ascended.

It crept up inch by inch and, within the crimson glow of the mall's blaring alarms, revealed a wall of hungry, open mouthed faces, already pressed to the floor and ready to crawl through the second the shutter was high enough....