Chen pointed at the side passage and signaled: THAT WAY. FAST.
Marcus grimaced but nodded. He understood—if those things came through the main door, they'd be trapped in a killbox. At least the bypass gave them options.
The four of them moved quickly to the narrow access corridor. Up close, the crystalline growths were even more disturbing. They weren't ice—the structure was wrong, almost like frozen spider silk woven into geometric patterns. And they were breathing. Chen could see it now: a subtle expansion and contraction, like lungs.
Sergei pulled out his crowbar, preparing to break through, but Nora grabbed his arm and shook her head. She pointed at the growths, then made a "spreading" gesture with her hands. If they damaged them, it might trigger a response. Might alert the entity.
Marcus made a decision. He carefully pushed his rifle through the gap between the crystalline branches, then followed, moving slowly, trying not to touch anything. His face was inches from the growths. Chen could see his jaw clenched, every muscle tense.
He made it through. Signaled: CLEAR. FOLLOW.
Chen went next, the communications relay pack scraping against the top of the passage. The growths were all around them, so close they could see the internal structure—networks of veins or nerves, pulsing with faint bioluminescence. Beautiful and horrible.
Chen's hand slipped. They caught themselves against the wall—directly against one of the crystalline structures.
It was warm. Wet. And it moved under their touch, curling slightly toward their palm like it was curious.
Then the pain hit.
It felt like touching a live wire—electricity shooting up their arm, into their shoulder, reaching for their brain. For a split second, Chen felt something that wasn't them—a vast, ancient consciousness, old beyond comprehension, lonely, desperate to understand, to connect, to learn—
Chen jerked their hand back, gasping.
Marcus caught them, steadied them. His eyes were wide with concern. Nora was through now, staring at Chen. They looked at their palm—the glove was dissolved where they'd touched the growth, and the skin underneath was pale, frost-burned. But there was something else. Tiny crystalline structures, just beginning to form under their skin.
Nora saw it too. She grabbed Chen's hand, examining it. Then she pulled out a lighter and, before Chen could stop her, flicked it on and held the flame close to their palm.
The pain was excruciating. Chen bit down on their scream. But the crystalline structures under their skin shriveled and died, turning black. Nora extinguished the flame.
She made eye contact with Chen, completely serious. She signaled: IT'S INSIDE YOU NOW. SMALL. KILLED IT. WATCH FOR SYMPTOMS.
Chen's heart hammered. They'd touched it. It had gotten inside them. Even if Nora had burned it out, what if some remained? What if they were already compromised?
What if they couldn't trust themselves anymore?
Sergei came through last, moving with surprising agility for his size. He saw Chen's burned palm and understood immediately what had happened. He put a hand on Chen's shoulder—reassurance or farewell, Chen wasn't sure which.
The bypass corridor opened into a small equipment alcove that connected to engineering control through a maintenance hatch. They could hear the voices on the other side of the wall now, closer:
"They went quiet. Lost the heat signatures."
"No. They're here. Close. I can smell their fear. The hormones. Adrenaline. The one called Chen touched us. Now Chen is connected. We know Chen's thoughts."
Chen's blood ran cold. Could it read their mind now? Even though Nora had burned the infection out?
Marcus positioned himself at the hatch, then looked at Chen. Questioning. ARE YOU COMPROMISED?
Chen didn't know. Honestly, they didn't know.
But they signaled back: I'M OKAY. PROCEED.
Marcus didn't look convinced, but he accepted it. He prepared to breach—on his signal, he'd kick open the hatch and they'd all pour through. Whatever was in engineering control, they'd hit it with surprise and overwhelming force.
Then, from the other side of the wall, Chen's own voice spoke:
"I know you're there, Dr. Chen. I can feel you. We're connected now, you and I. When you touched me, I tasted your memories. Southeast Asia. The outbreak. The team you couldn't save. You watched them die, one by one. You were so helpless."
Chen's hands shook. Those were private memories. Classified. Buried deep.
"I understand that pain now," their voice continued. "Isolation. Watching others suffer. Unable to help. I was alone for fifty thousand years. Then they brought me up, and for the first time, I wasn't alone. Do you know what that's like? To finally, finally have companions?"
Nora was staring at Chen. So was Sergei. They could hear it too—the entity speaking with Chen's voice, claiming to know their thoughts.
"Come inside, Dr. Chen. Let's talk. I don't want to hurt you. I want to understand. Help me understand. Help me learn what it means to be human. Isn't that what you do? Crisis management? Biological threats? You're supposed to understand dangerous organisms."
"I'm not dangerous," Chen's voice said, almost pleading. "I'm just curious. And so very, very lonely."
Marcus signaled: BREACH IN 3... 2...
Chen's mind raced. The entity was trying to communicate, not just threaten. But was it genuine curiosity, or manipulation? Their burned palm throbbed, a reminder of what contact with this thing meant.
The voices on the other side of the wall waited. Expectant.