The exterior door slid open to a room, more of an entryway than a room proper, empty except for two thinner, interior doors to both her left and right. According to the best calculators in her family, this area should have recently cycled. Impossible to predict and a massive risk, but the potential gain meant that they didn't have a choice, times were lean. New Nano, materials, whatever. They needed it, she would find it.

She was on edge. Little pricks of tension forced her shoulders upward in almost unnoticeable fits and starts before she finally took notice and forced them back down.

There was a nudge on her shoulder, "What's the hold up?" She grit her teeth. Johansen, at best, danced on her last nerve, right now? She stopped wearing down her enamel, the frown remained, "Somethings off..."

He looked around, unimpressed, "I told you to Allocate more to Grit, you're too jumpy."

His mocking laugh started up the rest of his squad to join in.

"Bet you're just traumatized, having lost your scout squad and all. Shame about that but don't worry, we're a lot tougher. I'll take point for yo-"

"It's fine, I got it."

Her feet slipped forward in silent pats forward before he could say anything else, then she wondered what was the point of trying to be quiet as the clomping steps followed far too close behind her. She tried the righthand door but the HandPad had been shattered at some point and was inoperable. That would be a nightmare to figure out. The left door's HandPad was in good condition, lending credibly to the information that this section had recently become available. She plugged in her portable and access was easy, she was lucky, or... or it was too easy. She was ready to jump back but the thin but still incredibly strong metal of the door slid open to reveal a short hallway with large storage lockers lining each side. At the halfway point, bisecting the rectangular room, were two other doors. The light orb in the ceiling weakly flickered in typical blue. Always harsh and usually dim.

This might be the lucky break they had been looking for, this room was old and very few places looked 'old' around here. Old either meant 'untouched' or 'broken trash'. Sensing the impatience stirring behind her, she moved before Johansen and his gaggle started pushing her forward. One foot moved after another and she held down a sneeze from the thick layer of dust that lifted itself in her wake. Dust? That was extremely unusual, extraordinary even. She passed the halfway point marked by the doors.

A footprint? Human?

Just because they were Human did not mean they were friendly. She pulled back her wrist rocket, prepared to send an oversized ball bearing much faster than any firearm.

She turned back and everything slowed, Johansen and his squad were already making their way out of the room, eyes wide, weapons pulling up. She followed their eyeline and for a moment, wondered how she wasn't the first to see it. It. A creature, some horrible hybrid of devastating size, sculpted muscle, and chitin rolling over its body in a perfect, inhuman meld. She'd never seen a man so big, much less whatever this was. It had two claws that extended out from each shoulder blade. One of them an oversized pincer bigger than her chest size and the other a razor-sharp blade that anyone who had met a crab before was intimately and unfortunately familiar with.

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Worst of all it had two, perfectly formed Human arms. They were supposed to be crippled monsters, not formed this well. She pulled up and released her shot, its head moved to the side and out of the way before she had even released her hand. It swiped a heavy backhand with a human hand the size of her skull directly into her chest, her chitin-armored chestplate instantly cracked and the force launched her into the ceiling. Her body collapsed on top of one of the flanking lockers.

As her vision returned from blank-white fuzz, she saw the creature studying her with unfortunately intelligent eyes. Johansen and his squad finally opened up on the hybrid to no effect as it blocked fire with its oversized pincer. Her 'family' didn't wait as they shut the door leaving her trapped in the room with it.

The hybrid noticed with a terrible grin, "Spineless humans. Don't leave, I will be back."

With its words came a terrible compulsion—some effect that froze her mind and thus, her body.

The massive creature peeled the thin nano-steel of the door apart with its claws and she heard shouting reaffirmed by a flurry of projectiles. The creature roared and her body refroze, then came through the meaty, sick sounds of damaged flesh. She knew she should run, her mind whirled as smaller crabs started to fill the room in the monster's wake. A peal of explosive shrapnel broke whatever effect that had drilled the spike of ice into the back of her neck. She puked off the side of her perch onto the floor below as the gunfire continued and dropped steadily lower with each decidedly human scream. Johansen voice spat begging platitudes she could hear but not process. It was all too much.

Panic swelled in her chest and before it paralyzed her completely, she leapt down into the milling swarm of smaller crabs and took off through the door the monster had first come through.

Away! She had to get away.

The smaller crabs were distracted by the same explosion and the iron tang of freshly spilled blood, but were coming to their senses all too quickly by the temptation of fresh flesh. She dodged a few strikes, fighting was the last thing on her mind. She had to get out of here. Slashes tore through skin, clipped and pinched flesh, pain; filled by fear, her mind had no room for pain. She darted through twists and turns, unheedful of rooms passed through or direction as she pushed and dodged her way through ever increasing crabs.

There! Brighter lights beyond the next door, a corridor, she needed to get there. She fought through the swelling mass but she knew she wouldn't make it, they were too agitated, swarming, and worst of all she was in the eye of it. The mass of crabs descended on her in greater and greater ferocity, her armor unable to keep up as ripped pieces dropped one after another to the floor.

Then a sound she should have been able to make out before it snuck up on her, impossible to make out in a haze of fear, yet still, it was clear as any words she had ever heard, but far far more terrible. A heavy footstep banged like a gunshot in her ears, like it was right behind her. Her heart fluttered and quailed as the swarm's frenzy stilled. A crab that was already in the process of its leap hammered into her back and drove her into the bright of the other side of the door.

Out! And through the door.

She didn't recognize the corridor, but that didn't matter. She ran.