Chapter 10: Something Out There Part 1

  Edward monitored Kwon’s every move through the facility’s camera system, tracking his movements while keeping an eye on the monster that relentlessly pursued him. The situation was far from ideal—Edward had limited knowledge of the facility’s current condition, making it difficult to formulate a foolproof plan.

  “Darn it, how do I do this?” Edward muttered in frustration. His mind spun with possibilities. “I need to separate it... No... I need to remove it.”

  Kwon’s pace was slowing. Edward’s digital grip tightened as he watched the dog struggle to maintain his speed.

  “Darn it!” Edward cursed in his mind. It made sense. Kwon had been running for thirty minutes straight. Even though he was once a military dog, age and exhaustion were catching up to him. The monster, despite its massive size, was gaining on him. Its strength was overwhelming, and its endurance seemed boundless.

  Then, in a sudden, terrifying motion, the monster’s elongated arm curled inward. A low, cracking boom resonated through the halls.

  It was using its arm as a whip.

  The appendage snapped forward with incredible force, aiming directly at Kwon. At the last second, the dog skidded to a halt and leaped to the side, narrowly avoiding the devastating strike. The momentum carried the monster forward, causing it to crash into the wall, shattering concrete and sending debris flying. Green liquid oozed down its twisted form, but its glowing mouth remained locked on Kwon.

  Kwon didn’t waste a second. He turned and sprinted in the direction he had come from, putting distance between himself and the monster. The creature let out a deafening cry—a nightmarish blend of a howl and a screech—before resuming the chase.

  Kwon considered hiding in one of the experimental rooms but hesitated. He didn’t know what had happened to the children, but he wasn’t willing to take the risk. If the monster remained inside the facility, they wouldn’t stand a chance. He made a split-second decision: he would lure it outside.

  Meanwhile, in Edward’s control room, tension filled the air. Mira sat in silence, her hands clenched into fists. Edward’s lack of response made her nervous. The only sound was the mechanical voice of the system.

  “Decontamination: 78%.”

  Mira focused on Kai. She was relieved he was safe. Thinking about him helped distract her from darker thoughts.

  Edward, however, was panicking. “No, no, no! What are you doing, you stupid dog?!” he thought frantically. “Just hide in the room!”

  For a moment, relief washed over him as he saw Kwon approach a door. Edward prepared to close it, sealing the dog inside.

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  But then—

  Kwon veered away and bolted in the opposite direction.

  “What is wrong with him?!”

  Kwon ran toward the stairs where they had first entered. The monster was close behind, its heavy footfalls shaking the ground. Kwon zigzagged to confuse it, reading the movements of its swinging arm and dodging with precision.

  Edward wasn’t idle. He activated speakers, opened and closed doors, and triggered alarms, anything to distract the monster. Each diversion bought Kwon a few precious seconds. Edward even attempted to trap the creature in an experimental room, but it was too fast—the door wasn’t able to close in time.

  The chase had gone on for too long. The monster was relentless, but it struggled to make sharp turns at high speed. Kwon had reached the facility’s large main chamber—the room with the grand staircase leading to the first floor.

  The room was vast, lined with scattered chairs and sofas. Multiple inactive elevators stood at the center, next to the massive stairwell that spiraled both upward and deep into the darkness below. The stairs were wide—large enough for a bus to pass through, designed for the facility’s many personnel. But as Kwon glanced downward, he saw only a pitch-black abyss. He had no intention of exploring it.

  But there was a problem.

  A metal wall now blocked the path to the stairs.

  Kwon skidded to a stop, his claws scraping against the cold floor. He remembered this area. There had been no wall before.

  Edward stared at the screen in confusion. “Did it activate itself?” he wondered. Security walls weren’t supposed to trigger randomly. He tried to connect to the system again, but an intense pain surged through his mind. He had attempted to control the security system before—each time, he failed.

  “Did someone activate it?” he thought, frustration boiling inside him. “Dammit!”

  The monster was getting closer.

  Edward’s eyes darted to the inactive elevator. Thankfully, no security walls blocked its entrance. He checked the system—the elevator cab was stuck on the fourth floor.

  “Darn it, another dead end,” Edward muttered.

  Kwon, still searching for an escape, suddenly noticed the elevator lights flickering on. A voice crackled over the facility speakers.

  “Hello, Kwon... bzzz... you hear me?”

  Kwon barked in response. He recognized the voice from before.

  The elevator doors slid open—but it was empty.

  Confused, Kwon hesitated. He was about to turn away when a deafening roar echoed behind him.

  The monster had arrived.

  It charged forward like a bull, aiming to crush Kwon beneath its weight. The dog quickly positioned himself in front of the open elevator. At the last second, he jumped aside.

  But the monster anticipated it.

  It swung its arm sideways, striking Kwon in mid-air. The impact sent him crashing into a pile of broken furniture. He yelped in pain but managed to lessen the blow by rolling with the force of the hit.

  Through the dust and smoke, the monster loomed at the elevator’s edge. It had stopped itself from falling by gripping the sides with its massive, finger-nail-like claws.

  Edward saw an opportunity.

  Kwon, despite his injury, forced himself to stand. Gritting his teeth through the pain, he sprinted toward the monster and slammed his body into it with everything he had.

  The creature lost its grip.

  It plummeted into the abyss below.

  Kwon collapsed, panting. Pain shot through his back-right leg. His body refused to move.

  Then—

  A metallic screech echoed from the elevator shaft.

  The monster wasn’t dead.

  From the darkness, something shifted. A deer-like leg dangled, its grotesque form dragging itself upward. Green liquid oozed from its wounds as it clawed its way up the walls.

  But then—

  With a thunderous crack, the elevator’s metal ropes snapped.

  The cab, once held in place, plummeted at full speed.

  It struck the monster, crushing it under its weight and dragging it back down into the abyss.

  Silence.

  Edward exhaled, tension still gripping his mind. He checked Kwon’s vitals through the facility’s sensors. The dog was injured but alive.