Soon, the forest vegetation became less dense, and we emerged onto a large green clearing, right in the middle of which was a perfectly round blue lake. It looked as if it was a crater formed by a meteor impact, filled to the brim with crystal-clear water. Some of the ridges around it had collapsed, creating a smooth and convenient path. Perhaps the heavy splashing sounds were the result of one of these collapses.

The clearing itself was dotted with smaller depressions filled with rainwater. It was likely that fragments of the meteor had scattered around, shaping the unusual landscape. At least, that was the image forming in my mind.

"Well, here’s the lake. And you didn’t want to come," I said, my mood instantly lifting. It felt like a success, and now it seemed that our water problem was solved. This source could last us for a long time, if not for the rest of our lives.

"Yes," Neight replied curtly.

His voice sounded focused and thoughtful. I noticed that he was turning his head, as if analyzing the area around us. It seemed that the lake itself wasn’t his main concern. But what was he thinking about?

"Is something wrong?" I asked, trying to understand what was bothering him.

"It’s the terrain… It looks strange, but I can’t figure it out yet…"

Neight’s vague and unclear answer made me feel uneasy too. He was usually more calm and confident. Shouldn’t we be celebrating this incredible discovery right now?

"I don’t know. Doesn’t it look like a huge meteorite fell here many, many years ago?" I tried to say this as casually as possible, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Maybe… But… I don’t know, I have a bad feeling. Something’s off here…"

Neight sighed heavily, then released my hand and commanded, "Be ready. Draw your weapon and take off the safety. I’ll take a sample, and you’ll cover me."

His voice now sounded firm, dry, and confident, just like always. I never ceased to be amazed at how he managed to stay so calm in situations like this and quickly regain control of his emotions. Just a moment ago, he seemed uncertain, but now he was full of determination. I was sure he knew what needed to be done. I, on the other hand, was his complete opposite.

His command threw me off again, and I hesitated for a moment. I wasn’t ready for this turn of events. A moment ago, I had been more relaxed, enjoying the beautiful nature around us, mentally celebrating the victory of finding a water source. Now I felt tense and burdened by a sense of responsibility, as if the real battle was still ahead.

Taking the weapon from my back, I assumed a stance and pressed the red button to disengage the safety, just as Neight had ordered. He glanced at me, sighed in frustration, then silently came up beside me and began adjusting the position of my hands, pressing the stock firmly against my shoulder again. When he touched me, I flinched in surprise and almost pulled the trigger.

Just a little more… Ugh, that would’ve been embarrassing…

At that moment, I felt incredibly awkward and was glad I had my helmet on, so Neight couldn’t see how red my face was with embarrassment.

"There, that’s better. Try to remember what I’ve taught you. It’s a good thing you didn’t run into anyone while you were alone," he said once he finished correcting my stance and grip.

"Yes," I responded meekly.

"Follow me, but keep a distance of three meters."

"Got it."

"And don’t point the gun at me. Walk slightly to the side, so you have a clear view of the space in front of me."

"Understood."

I didn't argue and listened to him attentively. After all, he was more experienced than me. However, something was bothering me, and my curiosity wouldn't let me stay silent.

"Neight... Do you trust me?" I asked timidly.

Could it be that after everything that’s happened, he still believes in me? And isn't afraid I might accidentally shoot him...

Neight looked at me again. I bet I caught him off guard with my question once more. But this time, I had no intention of provoking him, exposing anything, or manipulating him in any way. I just really wanted to hear that despite my recent outburst, he was still willing to give me a chance.

"Why are you asking?"

And yet, he decided to dodge the question... I thought, disappointed.

"Oh, it's nothing... Forget it..."

He looked at me for a few more seconds, then shrugged and turned towards the lake.

"Okay. Let's go," he ordered and cautiously started moving forward. I followed him.

We made our way through round water-filled pits, sometimes almost making full loops to walk on dry ground. Sometimes we had to walk right along the edge, as some of the pits were close to each other. They didn’t seem deep, so maybe we could’ve gone straight through, but Neight didn't want to take any chances. As a result, our path was longer than it could have been. These puddles, though much smaller than the main lake, were still impressively large. I estimated their diameter to be at least three meters. As we moved forward, I noticed another detail: they were all nearly the same size.

The rain had stopped.

We were on the final stretch, just a little more to go before reaching our destination. The blue lake looked calm and peaceful. Nothing disturbed its smooth surface. I felt a sense of relief and allowed myself to relax a little.

"Well, here we are by the water. And you were worried," I said cheerfully.

But it seemed Neight ignored my words. He stopped and stared intently at the water near the shore. At that moment, I also noticed something rising from the depths. It was coming closer to the surface, stretching the water’s surface before swelling into a large bubble, then bursting with a splash and a gurgle.

It's just an air bubble, I thought, calming down after a moment of tension.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

The next moment, Neight bolted towards me, grabbed my arm, and jumped to the side, pulling me with him. We both splashed into one of the nearby mini-pools as, with a loud splash, a massive dark-gray creature surged from the lake, making a sharp lunge towards the spot where we had just been standing. It slammed down with a thud, shaking and compressing the ground beneath it. I watched in horror as the giant creature, resembling a worm with thick, wrinkled skin like that of a hippo, slowly slithered back into the water, then reared up like a column and let out a piercing shriek, revealing several rows of sharp teeth. The sound made everything inside me tighten. I was literally paralyzed with fear and couldn’t move until the creature went quiet and began swaying from side to side, as if trying to locate us.

We have to run! was my only thought, but just as I was about to spring up and run for my life, Neight stopped me.

"Don’t move," he whispered. Though he spoke quietly, I could still tell something was wrong with him. "All these pits around us were made by that thing, which means it’s long enough to reach that far. It won’t let us escape easily... I won’t be able to for sure…"

It dawned on me that in my fear and panic, I hadn’t even thought about him, and I finally looked at him. Neight was lying still next to me in the muddy puddle, clutching his right shoulder, which was covered in a cast.

Damn it... He must be in unbearable pain...

"What are we going to do, Neight? What do we do?! It’s going to eat us!"

"Calm down and don’t make any noise. For some reason, it hasn’t noticed us yet. Most likely, it reacts to sudden movements. It’s better to wait it out, and then slowly get out of here."

Meanwhile, the giant worm rose a little higher out of the water and sniffed around, squealing. I held my breath in fear. My heart pounded wildly as the huge creature loomed right above us, casting a massive shadow.

It saw us... This is the end...

At that moment, I was on the verge of bursting into tears, practically feeling death's breath on me, but I held on with all my might and lay still, just as Neight had asked. The monster clattered its teeth in the air above us, squealed in frustration, writhing in different directions, and then retreated back into the water.

When the worm disappeared into the lake, the surface of the water remained disturbed for a while before calming down as if nothing had happened. A few seconds later, another bubble of air surfaced and popped, leaving behind ripples that soon faded away as well. We lay motionless for probably another five minutes, making sure it was safe.

"Do you think it's gone?" I asked cautiously, still not fully recovered from the shock.

"I hope so. We need to get out of here."

"Can you stand on your own?"

"Yes... I mean, no... Actually, I'll need your help..." he admitted reluctantly.

"Alright. I’ll get up first and then help you."

"Just, please, no sudden movements..."

I slowly rose to my knees and then to my feet at a snail's pace, making sure not to give us away. I was still terrified that the creature would burst out of the water again and this time crush us for sure, like small bugs, and then devour us. Or maybe it would just eat us alive right away. In any case, it would finish us off in an instant, so fast we wouldn’t even have time to scream. We were way too close to the water.

Once I was standing firmly, I slowly extended my hand to Neight to help him up. And after much struggle, we were finally ready to move. We advanced even more cautiously than before, navigating between the round puddle-filled pits.

We approached the treacherous area where the path was narrow. And while we had crossed it with ease before, now that we knew the cost of any mistake, it had become a real obstacle. I felt like I was walking along the edge of bottomless pits rather than small holes, making my legs weak with fear. My subconscious played a cruel trick on me, and I slipped. My foot slid forward, and I fell backward before I could even let out a sound. However, instead of hitting the ground, I felt myself bump into something behind me and saw a hand wrap around me. There was a painful groan. Neight had managed to run over and catch me before I fell, but unfortunately, my mistake didn’t go unnoticed.

A splash of water sounded from behind us, and the giant worm emerged once again with a wild roar, ready to strike. Neight reacted quickly, leaping to the side with me in tow, cursing words I’d never heard from him before. After landing, we rolled for a while as the monster crashed into the ground nearby, once again missing us. Judging by its reaction, it was furious. It screeched even louder than before, thrashing about like giant squid tentacles, smashing the ground where we had been as it blindly searched for its prey. Chunks of earth and grass flew in all directions. It was only a matter of time before it found us.

"Shoot it!" Neight shouted frantically, lying next to me.

"W-what?"

His words didn’t register with me at first. Everything felt like a blur. I was in deep shock, deafened by the chaos unfolding around us.

"Shoot it, or we're dead!"

This time, something clicked in my mind, and I quickly aimed the weapon at the gray mass that was still furiously pounding the ground nearby. My hands were shaking, and more than anything, I feared missing. But there was no time to think or hesitate, so I immediately pulled the trigger. I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder from the recoil, but at the same time, I saw a bright energy stream shoot out from the barrel and hit the worm's body. There was a loud boom followed by a furious roar. The blast hit its mark, causing the creature to convulse and thrash in all directions. But I felt no joy when I saw only a small wound where the shot had landed.

The skin is too thick...

Watching the worm slowly calm down, I was ready to give up and admit defeat. There was no way to pierce it with this weapon.

"Aim for the mouth," I suddenly heard Neight give a new command.

"Are you crazy?! There's no way I'll hit it!"

"Listen, you can do this... Just focus..."

"I can't!" I cried out in despair.

We both went silent for a moment, which felt like an eternity to me. I was terrified. I was in pain. I couldn't think straight. Then Neight, using his good arm, sat up and removed his helmet. His expression wasn’t calm so much as resigned.

"Come here and sit. Lean on me."

His words confused me.

"B-but won’t it hurt you?"

"Don’t think about that," he replied calmly, "just do what I’m telling you."

I obediently crawled over to him and sat down, leaning my back against him. He took off my helmet and pressed closer to me, grabbing the foregrip of the gun with his left hand. Then he pulled the weapon tighter, pushing the stock firmly into my shoulder... and I pressed even closer to Neight. I felt incredibly awkward being in such an intimate "embrace," and a shiver ran through my body when he rested his chin on my left shoulder.

"Shoot when I tell you, okay?" he said softly, as calmly as possible, right next to my ear, but his voice trembled slightly. No matter how hard he tried to hide it, he was scared too. "You won’t have to aim. Just pull the trigger, okay?"

"Mm-hmm..." I responded shortly, feeling my face flush.

I was absolutely not prepared for this invasion of my personal space. He was too close. So close that I could clearly hear his breathing.

Meanwhile, the worm had fully recovered and seemed to have spotted us. It froze in place, then recoiled slightly like a spring, preparing to strike. Drool was slowly dripping from its half-open maw in anticipation of its prey. Time slowed down, and I felt like these could be my last moments.

Why is Neight silent? Why aren’t we shooting while this thing is still?

I could hear Neight’s steady breathing and feel how he was adjusting the barrel, aiming at the monster. He was obviously waiting for the right moment, and I was going crazy inside. The tension was unbearable.

"Shoot!" Neight commanded firmly as the worm opened its maw wide and lunged at us with a deafening roar.

I pulled the trigger, and a bright blast of pure energy shot forward, straight into the creature’s throat. It was so close I could feel its disgusting, nauseating breath. Along with the blast came a howl, which turned into a piercing screech that made my ears ring. The worm stretched upward, then recoiled, and began thrashing violently, smashing into the ground in random spots all over the clearing, even on the opposite shore of the lake. I couldn’t move as I watched this spectacle. All I could do was pray that, in its convulsions, it wouldn’t hit us. This went on for a while, until the creature’s movements began to slow down. Finally, it curled up over the water, hung there for a moment, and then collapsed into the lake with a splash, sending water flying everywhere, soaking us in the process.