Chapter 2

Eli awoke to silence.

Thehis first thing he noticed was the grass beneath him—soft, cool, and faintly shimmering in the moonlight. He sat up slowly, body heavy and disoriented. The air smelled different here, clean and sharp, with an undercurrent of sweetness that felt almost otherworldly.

He scanned his surroundings, his pulse quickening. Trees towered around him, their trunks twisted and bark shimmering faintly. The sky above was unfamiliar, dominated by two moons that cast an eerie glow.

“What the…” Eli muttered, his voice hoarse, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to make sense of it all.

Eli’s mind was racing, trying to piece together what had just happened. Distant voices broke through his thoughts—the grad students. They were scattered around him, disoriented and shouting, panic rising as they realized the lab, the experiment, everything familiar was gone.

That’s when he saw movement beyond the tree line. A low, guttural growl echoed, and Eli’s stomach dropped as he spotted several creatures slinking into view, their eyes glinting with feral hunger. The animals resembled tigers, but their bodies were leaner, with rat-like faces, oversized teeth, and long, wiry tails that flicked and twitched. He dropped to a crouch, instincts kicking in, but the students—still yelling and pointing—didn’t see the danger.

“Where are we?”

“The machine—what did it do?”

“Liam, fix this!”

Liam, for once, had no snarky comeback. He stood frozen, staring at the swirling sky, his mouth moving but no sound coming out.

Eli’s heart thundered in his chest as the tiger-rat creatures prowled closer, their sinewy bodies low to the ground. Their glowing, silted eyes reflected the twin moons’ light, casting eerie, shifting shadows across the clearing. Muscles rippled under their mangy fur, and their long, whip-like tails twitched with predatory anticipation. Their guttural growls rumbled through the air, low and menacing, vibrating through Eli’s chest.

The clearing was alive with tension, the students’ shallow breathing and shifting footsteps betraying their fear. Eli gripped his makeshift weapon tighter—a jagged tree branch with bark splintering under his fingers. Blood from his scraped palms mixed with the sap, the stick sticky and rough against his skin. The metallic scent of fear and sweat clung to the group like a suffocating fog.

Then it happened.

The largest creature sprang first, a streak of muscle and fangs. Sam was closest, his eyes wide with shock as the beast crashed into him. Its claws ripped across his chest with a wet, sickening tear, sending strips of bloodied fabric fluttering to the ground. Sam’s scream pierced the night, raw and primal, as he staggered backward.

“Sam!” Sarah’s voice cracked.

Eli lunged forward, instinct taking over, but it was too late. The beast lunged again, knocking Sam to the ground with a bone-crunching thud. Its jaws clamped down on his throat, cutting off his screams with a grotesque, wet gurgle. Blood sprayed across the forest floor, staining the grass in dark rivulets.

“Get away from him!” Sarah screamed, her voice sharp with desperation. She grabbed a fallen branch and charged, swinging wildly. The wood connected with a hollow thud against the beast’s ribs, forcing it to snarl and turn its glowing eyes toward her.

Eli’s muscles burned as he stepped forward. “Sarah, get back!” he shouted, but she was already swinging again, her strikes driven by sheer adrenaline.

From the shadows, another creature pounced. Raj, trembling but determined, intercepted it with a jagged stick he’d wrenched from the ground. The point sank into the beast’s throat, spewing black ichor that hissed and smoked where it hit the dirt. The creature let out a blood-curdling screech, thrashing violently before collapsing in a heap.

Raj barely had time to take a breath before another beast barreled into him from behind. Its claws raked down his back, shredding flesh and muscle in long, jagged lines. Raj’s cry was strangled, his knees buckling as blood soaked his shirt and dripped onto the grass.

“Stay with me!” Sarah dropped beside Raj, her hands pressing futilely against the wounds on his back. Blood seeped between her fingers, warm and slick. Her breaths came fast and shallow, panic written across her face.

Kelly bolted, her fear overriding any semblance of strategy. She tripped over a root, hitting the ground with a painful thud. Before she could scramble to her feet, one of the beasts was on her. Its claws raked across her side, slicing through skin and ribs like paper. Kelly’s screams were sharp, desperate, echoing into the night as the creature tore into her flesh. It clamped its powerful jaws around her collarbone and shook her violently, a sickening crunch reverberating through the clearing. Her movements slowed, then stopped entirely, her lifeless body slumping to the ground.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“Over here!” Marcus roared, hurling a rock with all his strength. The jagged stone smashed into the creature’s head, making it recoil with a snarl. Marcus charged, his face twisted with fury, and tackled the beast. He hammered its side with another rock, his strikes wild and relentless. But the creature lashed out with its claws, slashing across his abdomen. Blood sprayed from the deep gashes, and Marcus stumbled, clutching his stomach as he fell to his knees.

Eli didn’t think—he just moved. He swung his branch with a feral cry, the jagged edge splintering against the creature’s ribs. It snarled, snapping at him, but Marcus grabbed its hind legs, holding it down despite his bloodied hands slipping. With one final strike, Eli drove the branch into the beast’s skull. Its glowing eyes dimmed as it twitched once, then went still.

More snarls filled the air. A beast lunged at Sarah, who had her back turned as she tried to stem Raj’s bleeding. Its claws slashed across her shoulders, sending her sprawling forward onto Raj’s unconscious form. Blood sprayed across the grass as Sarah screamed, the sound raw and filled with agony.

Eli’s vision narrowed, his heartbeat pounding like a war drum in his ears. The clearing was a cacophony of snarls, screams, and desperate cries, and every breath felt like dragging air through a furnace. A burning heat rose in his chest, fueling a feral determination he didn’t recognize in himself.

Gripping the bloodied branch tighter, Eli charged at the creature pinning Marcus. He swung with everything he had, slamming the jagged wood into its ribs. The beast let out a guttural snarl, staggering from the impact. Its glowing eyes locked onto Eli, its maw curling into a snarl.

“Move!” Liam’s voice rang out from behind.

Before Eli could react, Liam lunged forward, a pen gripped tightly in his hand. The beast twisted toward him, but Liam jabbed the pen with wild desperation, driving it deep into the creature’s throat. Black ichor sprayed from the wound as the beast let out a bone-rattling screech, its body convulsing before collapsing in a lifeless heap at Liam’s feet.

Liam stumbled back, clutching his side where three ragged gashes dripped blood down his torso. His breaths came in short, pained gasps, and his face twisted in agony as he fell against a nearby rock.

Nina dropped to his side, tears streaming down her face. Her hands trembled as she tried to press against the bleeding wounds. “Liam! Don’t you dare die!” she sobbed, her voice breaking.

Across the clearing, another creature lunged at Sarah, who had been shielding Raj. She swung her branch in a desperate arc, the force of the impact cracking against the beast’s jaw. It staggered, stunned but not defeated.

Marcus, groaning in pain, forced himself to his knees, his eyes blazing with determination. His fingers closed around a jagged rock, and he crawled toward the creature. With a hoarse cry, he drove the stone into the side of its skull. The beast let out a final, gurgling snarl before collapsing onto the blood-soaked grass.

Sam’s killer still prowled, blood dripping from its maw. It turned toward Kelly’s limp body, as if drawn to her motionless form. Sarah and Marcus, too battered to react in time, could only watch in horror.

But Raj, unconscious moments before, surged upward with a guttural cry. His face was pale, his back shredded with blood, but his hands gripped the broken stick he had used earlier. He plunged it deep into the creature’s neck as it lunged. The beast thrashed violently, clawing at Raj’s chest, but he didn’t let go. With one final wheezing snarl, it collapsed on top of him.

“Raj!” Sarah crawled toward him, her hands shaking as she tried to push the lifeless creature off his body.

Eli barely registered the sounds of his friends as another beast advanced on him. Its glowing eyes narrowed, its muscles tensing for a leap. His entire body burned, his muscles screaming in protest as he gripped his branch. He swung wildly, the jagged wood slicing the air and striking the creature’s snout. It recoiled, snarling, but the attack had only enraged it.

The beast leapt again, and Eli ducked, the air above him slicing as claws swiped inches from his face. He spun and struck again, this time connecting with its ribs. His arms felt heavy, the branch unwieldy as he prepared for the next attack.

Then, the final beast charged.

Eli planted his feet, raising the branch with what little strength he had left. As the creature lunged, the world seemed to freeze. A surge of heat crackled down his arms, sparking along his fingertips. Violet energy pulsed through the branch in an electric hum, meeting the beast mid-leap.

The explosion of light was blinding. The creature flew backward as if struck by an unseen force, slamming into a nearby tree with a sickening crack. Its body crumpled to the ground, lifeless, the glow fading from its eyes.

Eli stumbled, his knees buckling. He dropped the branch and fell backward, his body hitting the grass with a dull thud. The world spun above him as he stared up at the two moons, their silvery light cold and distant. His breaths came shallow and uneven, each one pulling at the gashes on his ribs. Blood pooled beneath him, warm against the cool earth.

As he blinked, struggling to stay conscious, something flickered in his vision. A faint green bar hovered at the edge of his sight, translucent and surreal. It was nearly empty, a sliver of light trembling as if it might disappear at any moment.

“What…?” he rasped, barely able to form the word. His head lolled to the side, his vision swimming, but the bar remained. Below it, words shimmered faintly, their meaning sliding into his fractured mind like pieces of a puzzle.

“Activate Copper Level Healing.”

Eli’s lips parted, his voice weak and broken. “Activate…”

Warmth blossomed in his chest, spreading outward in soothing waves. The pain in his side dulled, the fiery ache in his limbs replaced by a gentle pulse of energy. The green bar in his vision began to fill, its glow steady and reassuring.

The moons above loomed closer than ever, their craters sharp against the dark sky. Eli’s breathing slowed, his chest rising and falling in time with the rhythmic pulse of the light. His eyelids grew heavier, the warmth enveloping him completely.

As the world faded to black, the last thing he saw was the green bar flickering one final time.