The spaceship hummed softly as it cut through the silent void.
Karry and Sasha sat opposite each other, strapped into their seats. Neither spoke. Outside the small viewing window, the moon no longer looked like a distant object—it felt close, massive, and wrong.
After ten minutes, the ship slowed.
A soldier at the controls broke the silence.
"This is the place your captain suggested," he said flatly.
"Then… all the best."
Before either of them could respond, the hatch opened. Cold air rushed in.
The next moment, the spaceship lifted off and vanished into the dark.
Karry and Sasha stood alone.
Before them stretched a massive cave carved deep into the moon's surface. Its entrance was wide, uneven, and organic—less like stone and more like something that had been torn open. A strange pressure hung in the air, heavy and suffocating.
Something about the place felt alive.
Sasha's voice trembled with anger.
"I told you not to work with that guy. He's trying to kill us. I don't even know why he took me in the first place."
Karry didn't take his eyes off the cave.
"He could've killed us already if he wanted to," he said quietly.
"What I don't understand is why he didn't bring us here earlier. We already know too much."
Sasha clicked her tongue.
"I don't know. But let's finish this and go back to their base… or whatever hole they crawl back into."
They stepped inside.
The deeper they went, the worse it became.
The cave walls were slick, coated in thick, translucent mucus that clung to the surface like breathing skin. Every step made a faint, wet sound that echoed endlessly. Karry felt his stomach twist.
Then they saw it.
Blood.
Dark, dried stains smeared across the floor, leading deeper into the cave. Mixed within it was something else—a disgusting, layered covering, half-organic, half-unknown. It looked like shed skin… or a cocoon.
Neither of them spoke.
They didn't know what the killer was.
But whatever had been here—it hadn't left peacefully.
The air grew colder as they searched further, fear crawling slowly up Karry's spine. Then Sasha stopped.
"There," she whispered.
A hole.
Small. Uneven. Easy to miss if you weren't looking carefully. It was hidden behind a curve in the cave wall, almost intentional—like it didn't want to be found.
They exchanged a glance.
Then they entered.
And the moment they did, terror truly began.
[End of Chapter 17]