The temperature in the control room plummeted, the cold so intense it seemed to seep into their bones. Corey stood by the door, gripping his machete so tightly his knuckles were white. The tension in the air was palpable, everyone in the room bracing for the inevitable onslaught.
Dr. Moloi and Palesa worked furiously at the control console, their eyes darting between the flickering screens and the various power switches. The monitors showed the creatures moving swiftly through the facility, their glowing eyes fixed on the control room.
"How long do we have?" D’Souza asked, his voice steady but filled with urgency as he positioned himself near the door, his pistol drawn.
"Not long," Corey muttered, his eyes flicking to the monitors. The creatures were almost at the final hallway, their movements eerily fast, their forms blurring in and out of the shadows.
“I’m almost done!” Dr. Moloi shouted, sweat beading on his forehead despite the freezing cold. His fingers danced across the controls, the dormant systems groaning to life as he forced them back online. “We just need a little more time!”
But time was a luxury they didn’t have.
The creatures were in the hallway now, moving with an unnatural grace, their glowing eyes reflecting in the cold light of the monitors. Corey’s heart raced as he saw them—four of them, their twisted forms like silhouettes of humanity, but so much worse. Their skin was stretched tight over their skeletal frames, and their movements were disturbingly fluid, almost too fast to follow.
“We’ll hold them off,” Corey said, his voice tense but determined. He turned to Ornelas and Ntlentle. “Stay close to me.”
Ntlentle nodded, gripping a small blade in her hand, while Ornelas drew his bow, his face set with determination. Corey felt a surge of protectiveness for both of them—they were in this together, but he knew he would do anything to keep them safe.
The first creature appeared in the doorway, its eyes glowing with that familiar, malevolent light. It stood there for a moment, watching them, its lips curled into a twisted, unnatural grin. Then, in a blur of motion, it lunged forward.
D’Souza fired his pistol, the sound deafening in the confined space. The bullets struck the creature, but they barely slowed it down. It staggered for a moment, its skin rippling where the bullets hit, but then it kept coming, faster than ever.
Corey moved instinctively, swinging his machete at the creature just as it reached him. The blade connected with its arm, cutting deep, but the creature didn’t even flinch. It snarled, its jagged teeth bared, and swiped at him with its other hand.
He barely managed to duck the blow, the creature’s claws whistling past his ear. Ornelas fired an arrow, the shaft sinking into the creature’s chest, but it wasn’t enough to stop it.
“They’re too strong!” Ornelas shouted, his voice filled with panic.
“Keep fighting!” Corey shouted back, his heart pounding as he swung his machete again, aiming for the creature’s head. This time, the blade sliced through its neck, severing the head from the body in one clean motion. The creature collapsed to the ground, twitching violently before finally going still.
But there wasn’t time to celebrate. The second creature was already on them, moving with terrifying speed. It knocked Ornelas to the ground, then tried to bury its claws into his arm.
“No!” Corey yelled, lunging forward and driving his machete into the creature’s back. It howled in pain as it turned its glowing eyes toward Corey, hatred burning in its gaze.
Ntlentle leaped into action, her blade flashing as she stabbed the creature in the side. The distraction was enough to stagger it, and Corey yanked his brother free, pulling him to his feet.
“Are you okay?” Corey asked, his eyes scanning Ornelas for any serious injuries.
Ornelas winced from the pain of being knocked to the ground, but nodded. “I’m fine. Let’s just kill this thing.”
The creature lunged at them again, but this time Corey was ready. He dodged its attack, slashing at its legs, while Ornelas fired another arrow, this one hitting the creature square in the eye. It screeched, stumbling back before collapsing to the ground.
Two down.
But the third and fourth creatures were already charging into the room, faster than the others, their snarls echoing in the freezing air.
“We can’t hold them off forever!” Palesa shouted from the console, her voice shaking with the cold.
“Just a few more seconds!” Dr. Moloi replied, his fingers flying over the controls. “I’m almost there!”
Corey gritted his teeth, knowing they had to hold the line. He swung his machete at the third creature, but it ducked under his attack, its claws raking across his chest. Pain flared through him as he staggered back, but he forced himself to stay upright. The creature was relentless, its eyes locked on him with deadly intent.
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Before it could strike again, D’Souza fired another round, hitting it in the leg and slowing its advance. Corey took the opportunity to strike, driving his machete into the creature’s side. It howled in pain, but even wounded, it kept coming.
Behind him, the fourth creature charged at Ntlentle, its glowing eyes fixed on her. She barely had time to react as it knocked her to the ground, its claws raised to strike.
“No!” Corey shouted, rushing toward her.
But before he could reach her, Ornelas fired an arrow, the shaft piercing the creature’s arm. It screamed, distracted long enough for Ntlentle to roll out from under it and stab it in the chest with her blade.
The creature shrieked, convulsing as Ntlentle twisted the knife deeper. Finally, with one last gurgle, it collapsed beside her, its glowing eyes flickering and going dark.
Ntlentle scrambled to her feet, breathing heavily, her eyes wide with shock but alive with determination. “I’m okay,” she said, more to herself than to anyone else.
Corey nodded, his heart racing. “One more.”
The third creature was still fighting, though it was clearly weakening. D’Souza fired one last shot, hitting it in the chest, and Corey drove his machete into its neck, finally bringing it down.
The room was silent, save for the sound of their ragged breathing. Corey looked around at the others—D’Souza, Palesa, Ntlentle, Ornelas—all of them still standing, but barely. They had survived, but only just.
“I’ve got it!” Dr. Moloi suddenly shouted, breaking the tense silence. “The refrigeration units are online! I’m activating them now!”
The hum of machinery filled the air as the refrigeration units kicked into gear. The temperature in the facility dropped even further, frost beginning to form on the walls. Corey could feel the cold biting into his skin, but he welcomed it. The creatures were vulnerable to extreme cold—this was their chance.
Dr. Moloi turned to the group, his face pale but triumphant. “It’s done. The cold will spread through the facility, weakening any remaining creatures. We’ve bought ourselves time.”
Corey collapsed into one of the chairs, his body aching from the fight. “What now?”
“We need to regroup,” D’Souza said, his voice steady despite the exhaustion in his eyes. “This will slow them down, but it won’t stop them forever. We need to find a permanent solution.”
“There’s more in the data,” Palesa added, glancing at the console. “Information on how the virus mutates, how it adapts. If we can understand that, maybe we can figure out a way to stop it for good.”
Dr. Moloi nodded. “We’ll keep searching. But for now, we’ve won a small victory. Let’s take it.”
Corey leaned back in the chair, his heart still racing, but for the first time in what felt like forever, there was a flicker of hope.
The cold might have given them a temporary advantage, but the virus—and the creatures it created—weren’t finished yet. They had a long fight ahead of them.
But they were still alive. And as long as they were alive, they would keep fighting.
***
The cold seeped into every corner of the facility, frost clinging to the walls and machinery as the temperature continued to drop. It was a temporary reprieve, but the silence that followed the battle felt heavy with the knowledge that this was only the beginning. They had weakened the creatures, but the virus that had created them was still evolving, and time was running out.
Corey sat by the window, still nursing his wound from the fight, staring out at the mist-covered mountains. The fight had left him bruised and physically exhausted, but his mind wouldn’t rest. The images of the enhanced creatures, their glowing eyes and twisted forms, replayed over and over in his thoughts. He knew that even though they had survived the attack, there were more of them out there—mutating, growing stronger.
“We need a long-term solution,” Corey muttered, more to himself than anyone else.
“Agreed,” D’Souza said from across the room, where he and Palesa were examining the data they had pulled from the facility’s servers. “The refrigeration units will keep this place safe for a while, but those creatures aren’t the only threat. We’ve bought time, but we haven’t won. If we want to make this a permanent base, we’ll need something more definitive.”
Dr. Moloi stood beside them, his face tight with concentration as he scanned through pages of information. “There’s something here,” he said, his voice low but filled with urgency. “The research files from Project Lazarus—they were trying to find a way to control the mutations. It’s incomplete, but there are fragments that suggest they were close to developing a stabilising agent, something that could stop the virus from mutating further.”
“A stabilising agent?” Ornelas asked, his back still sore from being knocked down. He stood near Ntlentle, who was quietly sharpening her blade, her eyes distant. “You mean a cure?”
“Not exactly,” Dr. Moloi explained, pushing his glasses up his nose. “It wouldn’t reverse the mutations that have already occurred, but it could prevent the virus from spreading and evolving. If we can find the rest of the research and recreate the formula, we might be able to stop the enhanced creatures from growing even stronger—and halt the virus’s progression.”
Corey’s heart leaped at the idea. A way to stop the virus from evolving—if they could manage that, it would change everything. But he also knew that nothing came without a cost. “Where’s the rest of the research?”
Dr. Moloi exchanged a glance with Palesa before answering, “There’s another facility. It was attacked early in the outbreak, but according to the data, that’s where they were testing the stabilising agent. It’s located about a hundred miles east of here, buried deep in the mountains.”
D’Souza rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “So, another trek into hostile territory? What’s the catch?”
“The facility is sealed,” Dr. Moloi said, his voice grim. “It’s underground, and the entrance is likely blocked by debris or the reinforced doors they used to quarantine it. We’ll have to find a way in, but that’s not the worst of it.”
Corey’s stomach tightened. “What’s the worst of it?”
Dr. Moloi hesitated. “The last communication from the facility indicated they had lost control of the test subjects. We have no idea what we’re walking into.”
The room fell silent as the weight of his words settled over them. Corey exchanged a glance with Ntlentle, who had stopped sharpening her blade and was now listening intently. There was fear in her eyes, but there was also a fierce determination.
“We’ve been climbing an uphill battle,” Corey said, breaking the silence. “This will be no different.”
Ornelas nodded, his jaw set with resolve. “If this is our best chance at stopping the virus, we have to try.”
D’Souza sighed, running a hand through his hair. “We’ll need supplies, weapons—everything we’ve got. This mission will be more dangerous than anything we’ve faced so far. But if it means stopping this nightmare... I’m in.”
Palesa stood up from the console, her face serious. “Then it’s settled. We go to the facility, find the research, and bring back the stabilising agent. But we need to be prepared for whatever’s waiting for us.”
Dr. Moloi began gathering the data they would need for the mission, his mind already working on how to access the facility once they arrived. “There’s no turning back now.”
Corey stood up, feeling a sense of purpose wash over him. “We leave at first light.”