"Shh… be quiet," Siya whispered urgently. "There's someone else here besides us. This place is a trap. If we make too much noise, it'll hear us."
Ali swallowed hard. "The lights… they're flickering. I can't see anything."
Before anyone could speak again, a horrifying sound echoed throughout the laboratory—a deep, wet growl that didn't belong to any human. The walls seemed to vibrate with it.
A chill ran down my spine.
"That… that wasn't human," I said.
"What was it?" Ali whispered. "Some kind of animal?"
Then we saw it.
Something moved in the darkness, breathing heavily. The stench of rotting flesh filled the air, making me gag. It had no arms. No legs. Instead, several thick tentacles dragged across the floor. We didn't know what chemical experiment it was born from—only that it reacted to sound.
Even the slightest movement made it growl louder, as if it had been waiting for us all along.
Suddenly, Andy's voice came from outside the room.
"Are you guys okay?"
The creature turned toward the door.
Andy began trying to break it down.
"That's our chance," I whispered.
I didn't think—I acted. I plunged the knife straight into the creature's head. It screamed, a sound so sharp it hurt my ears. Ali slashed at its tentacles, cutting them off one by one. I told him to try opening the door while I distracted it.
But the creature was stronger than I expected.
It attacked me again, throwing me backward. Every strike left another wound on my body. My vision blurred, but I forced myself to stand.
Then I noticed something near the ground.
I grabbed it and smashed it directly into the creature's mouth.
A deafening bang filled the room.
The creature exploded, its remains splattering across the floor.
For a moment, everything was silent.
Then the lab alarms went off.
Gas began filling the room.
My chest burned as I struggled to breathe. We held our breath, choking, suffocating. Just when I thought I'd collapse, I noticed something glowing faintly in the corner.
A pipe.
"Ali!" I shouted. "Over here!"
We pried it open and crawled inside. The tunnel was narrow and dark, but it led us away from the lab. After what felt like forever, we emerged at a construction site outside.
We called Andy and prepared to leave—but Ali suddenly stumbled.
He looked pale. Weak.
"Ali, are you okay?" I asked.
He nodded slowly… and then collapsed.
Now we're hiding in a quiet countryside area. We can't move with Ali in this condition. I keep wondering if he inhaled the gas—and what kind of gas it was.
Just then, George's voice came
"There's not much time, Siya. I can't explain everything right now, so listen carefully. A virus has been injected into Ali. That virus will soon transform him into a mutant."
My heart nearly stopped.
"Since Ali isn't a normal human," George continued, "he'll become a hundred times more powerful—and far more dangerous—in a matter of minutes."
My hands trembled.
"This was a trap," he said. "They were trying to catch you, and they succeeded. They don't know about Ali yet, so you must leave immediately. You're all in danger. I'll meet you at the secret base with the vaccine."
I turned to Ali, lying unconscious beside me.Then Siya broke the silence. "Come on, we have to move. We'll cross the border through the tunnel—otherwise we'll get caught. Grab Ali."
Andy hesitated. "Do you really trust him?"
"Yes," I said firmly. "I trust him. He helped us escape from the lab. Besides… we don't have any other option."
We reached the secret chamber, hiding along the way. Ali's condition worsened with every step. Watching him suffer was unbearable. I couldn't just sit there.
I placed my hands over him and began channeling my supernatural powers, pouring my spiritual energy into him to ease his pain and slow the virus.
Andy grabbed my arm.
"You've gone mad! If you keep giving him your soul energy like this, you could fall into a deep sleep forever. Do you understand that?"
I looked at Ali's face.
"So what should I do?" I asked quietly. "Watch him die little by little? If anything happens to him… I'll hate myself for the rest of my life."
Andy turned away, thinking to himself—
Will he really come?