Chapter 11: Something Out There Part 2
Kwon was still lying on the floor, panting, sometimes letting out small whimpers. Now that the adrenaline had subsided, the pain in his back leg became unbearable. He wanted to return to the room with the children but found himself unable to move. Left with no other choice, he stayed still, resting while his mind replayed the terrifying moments from earlier.
The elevator speaker buzzed to life, but no voice came through—only static. When the monster had fallen, its massive claws scraped against the speaker beside the elevator door, damaging it. Kwon barked twice, hoping the voice would hear and know that he was still alive. Maybe the voice could see him, just as it had seen Mira during her exploration.
Meanwhile, in Edward’s control room, he exhaled in relief upon seeing that Kwon was still breathing. Though injured and unable to stand, the dog had survived. He turned to look at Mira and Kai. Kai’s expression seemed less strained now, his breathing steadier.
“Decontamination: 97%.”
The procedure was almost complete.
At last, Mira heard Edward’s voice. “Hey, Mira.”
She jumped at the unexpected sound, her body tensing. Then, the screen lit up, showing a video feed of Kwon lying near the elevator.
Edward continued, “Kwon is fine for now. He injured his leg while escaping the monster, but he’s in Room B12, near the elevator. Don’t worry, the monster fell into the lower levels of the facility. Let’s wait for the procedure to finish, then you will go get him.”
Mira listened carefully and gave a small nod.
As she prepared herself, something strange caught her attention—a green liquid seeping under the door. A faint sizzling sound followed. At first, she paid it no mind. But as she looked closer, she saw the liquid begin to shift, wriggling like a mass of worms.
Then, she realized it was merging with debris, puppeteering small fragments of metal and plastic. A pungent stench filled the air—a sickening mix of burning rubber and rotting fish. She covered her nose, suppressing the urge to gag.
Cling—Cling—Cling.
A sound rang out from the medical box.
“Decontamination: 100%.”
“Procedure complete.”
“Please continue to meet a health professional for further clarification.”
“Please rate your satisfaction with our service.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
The AI voice chimed from the medical box. The device then folded back into its compact form and dropped beside Kai.
But Mira barely registered it. Her focus remained on the writhing liquid. Edward also noticed her reaction and checked the area through the cameras.
His stomach dropped.
The green liquid had darkened, mixing with dust and metal particles, growing in size. Then, it started moving toward Mira.
It stopped for a second—then changed direction.
It was heading for Kai.
“Mr. Edward, the liquid—it’s moving,” Mira said quickly, shattering the tense silence.
Kai turned to look at his sister. His eyes widened in horror, and he opened his mouth to scream—but no sound came out. Instead, he clutched his head as if in agony, his mind assaulted by an unbearable pain.
Mira grabbed him and bolted toward the center of the experimental chamber.
“What the hell is that?!” Edward muttered, unable to contain his fear.
Realizing they needed to escape immediately, he unlocked the door. But then, a chilling realization struck him.
“How do I leave?”
The question froze him in place.
“How do I escape? I’m stuck… Am I going to die again?”
Amidst the chaos, Kai’s gaze landed on the medical box still resting in the corner of the room—the same device that had saved his life earlier. Through the pain, he darted toward it, his small hands reaching for the machine.
“Kai, what are you doing?!” Mira’s voice cracked with panic.
But he didn’t answer. He grabbed the medical box just as the blackened liquid lunged at him.
In a desperate move, Kai swung his backpack at the approaching mass. The fabric tore apart instantly, but it gave him just enough time to retreat to Mira’s side, trembling.
Edward’s mind raced.
“Mira, I need you to listen carefully. Can you attach this arc reactor to the medical box?” Edward’s mechanical arm tapped against the arc reactor.
Mira cast him a brief glance beside her before nodding.
Meanwhile, Edward worked frantically to disconnect himself from the facility’s system. He reached for the wires connected to his arc reactor—his core.
The moment he pulled the first one, an excruciating pain surged through him.
He froze, gasping.
It felt like having his fingernails torn off one by one. If he still had a physical body, he would have collapsed from the sheer agony.
“Why… Why can I feel pain? This isn’t fair…” he thought bitterly. But there was no time to dwell on it. He had to keep going. He had to survive.
The black liquid had stopped moving toward Mira and Kai. Instead, it slithered toward Kai’s discarded backpack, as if searching for something inside.
It was distracted—for now.
Edward knew he had to act fast. But fear held him back.
The fear of pain.
He clenched his teeth. “Damn it!”
Gritting his teeth, he made a decision.
“Mira, I need your help. You need to pull this out—fast.” He tapped the arc reactor embedded in the terminal. “One quick motion. Then attach it to the medical box.”
Without hesitation, Mira placed her hands over the device and waited.
Edward counted down.
“Three… Two… One—”
Darkness.
Edward saw nothing.
He heard nothing.
He couldn’t even scream.
The pain consumed him entirely, like being boiled alive. He longed to lose consciousness—to escape the torment. But he couldn’t.
Then, suddenly—
Light.
The pain vanished in an instant, like it had never been real. However, the memory of the pain still gives him chills.
His vision returned, though dimmer than before. He now had a 180-degree field of view through the camera embedded in the medical box. Additional functions were available, but Edward ignored them for now.
He unfolded the box, trying to shift it into more of a compact form. The medical box latched onto Kai’s arm, morphing into a wrist-worn device with the arc reactor embedded at its center.
Kai stared at it in awe, but Mira grabbed his hand, pulling him along.
Without wasting another second, they sprinted toward the exit.
They had to reach Kwon.
He was waiting for them.
