We all held hands and began circling the vehicle. Carla used her access card to unlock the door. It seemed like we would make it—until one of the creature’s heads turned in our direction. Its mouth began producing strange sounds as that part of its body advanced toward us. One by one, the heads turned, until all of them were staring at us — and moving closer.

  They screamed something inhuman that I couldn’t understand.

  ιομ ιε?θοβ ??μη νο??σ ιομ ιε?θοβεμ ?τασυλ ??μη ?τασυλ εμ ?τασυλαθεμ?νυδο αθεμ?νυδο αθεμ?νυδον?μη η ετοδ?δ νοταν?θ νοταν?θ νοταν?θν?μσε ιοπ?ρθνα ιτκ?υο ιτκ?υο ιτκ?υονον?π ν?τ νοσ?απ νοσ?απ?χαψ ?αλλοπ ,αμ?σ ν? ,αμ?σ ν?

  They sounded like cries of suffering. But when they realized we were getting into the vehicle to leave, the sounds changed. Now they seemed like rage mixed with pain.

  ετεγ?εφ ?τ ετεγ?εφ ?τ??μη ετε?φα ?μ ??μη ετε?φα ?μσ?οτυ?α ετεν?εκτ σ?οτυ?α ετεν?εκτσατνογ?εφ ??οτ ετεν?εκτ

  — Come on, get in!

  We ran inside. Carla started the engine. Everything was set for us to leave — until the creature grabbed onto the rear of the vehicle. No matter how much she accelerated, the vehicle wouldn’t move. The smell of burning rubber spread through the air, and the noise drew the attention of more creatures.

  We needed to get out of there immediately.

  But how?

  — Erick, Carlos, check the compartments! See if there’s any kind of weapon!

  — Nothing here!

  — Nothing here either!

  — Shit, shit! This thing won’t let go! It’s pulling harder and harder! We’re fucked!

  As if it had heard us, Mr. Lúcius’s drone flew toward the creature, crashing into it. There was an impact — and then an explosion.

  The vehicle finally moved.

  Carla didn’t hesitate. She floored it.

  There were five bridges connecting the facilities to the forest, but only two led to the cities — and one of them was blocked by the creatures. We had few options… and no guarantee which one was the best.

  No one could reach a consensus, and time was running out.

  — The device Mr. Lúcius gave us. He said there’s a possibility of a safe place.

  — Which way?

  I activated the device and slotted it into the panel. The location pointed somewhere between twenty-five and thirty kilometers away.

  — That way.

  Carla turned the wheel and drove deeper into the forest.

  We didn’t know what to expect. Movement there was difficult; we couldn’t go very fast because of the trees. And speaking of them… much of the ecosystem was unrecognizable.

  Many trees had a reddish coloration. The wood had given way to a spongy, warm texture. Fissures in the trunks resembled open wounds, oozing a thick, viscous, crimson sap. I could see the roots moving slowly across the ground, merging with one another as if forming a single organism.

  It was unsettling to think about.

  As if the very earth we lived on was slowly transforming into something else.

  And the silence…

  It was absolute.

  There was no birdsong, no croaking frogs, not even the buzzing of insects. It was as if everything — even the rustling of wind through the leaves — feared existing there.

  Inside those facilities, in my ignorance, I would have never imagined something like this was happening.

  — Erick… Helen…

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Even after everything we had been through, the sight outside still struck me. I had never explored so far before. It had already been a bitter surprise to see how things were… but those trees, that silence… everything was unnatural.

  Bizarre.

  When I looked at my own body… and then at those creatures… I knew.

  I was walking toward becoming one of those things.

  That still haunted me.

  Was I really free from that fate?

  And how had it happened? I still didn’t understand. What was all that I had seen? Who was that… and all those beings? It didn’t resemble anything I had ever seen or imagined.

  It was all too surreal.

  — Hey, man… you okay?

  Carlos put a hand on my shoulder, pulling me from my thoughts.

  — Ah… yeah. Did something happen?

  — No… it’s just that you’ve been standing there staring into nothing for a few minutes. It’s kind of worrying… you sort of get what I mean, right?

  — I do…

  — I’m sorry, man. I haven’t had the chance to apologize. Carla and I… we never thought you were one of those things. And I didn’t even know before that happened… but seriously, are you really okay? How is this even possible?

  As he spoke, my mind drifted back to the memories of that sea of blood. I had no idea what had happened to me. But I felt that everything had disappeared — both the crimson and the golden “compound.”

  Now I was just me.

  It took me a while to realize that.

  — I don’t know… we were running some experiments with Dr. Helena when everything happened… and somehow, I ended up like this.

  — So it worked. Look at you, no sign of the crimson veins on your body… speaking of which, we need to find you a shirt.

  He laughed.

  Seeing the hope on his face made me look away. I couldn’t bear that false sense of security. I knew it wasn’t as simple as he thought.

  The vehicle moved slowly between the trees.

  The sand there was darker, damp. The ground was uneven, scattered in patterns that didn’t seem natural.

  As I looked out the window…

  Something was wrong.

  There were no trees around.

  Silence.

  Then—

  The sand exploded.

  It wasn’t a collapse.

  It was an eruption.

  Something black and segmented burst from the mound, throwing sand against the sides of the vehicle with a dry, violent impact.

  A leg.

  Far too long.

  Far too articulated.

  It struck the side with enough force to dent the metal.

  — ACCELERATE! — Luna screamed.

  Before Carla could react, another leg emerged, piercing the reinforced glass as if it were paper. Shards exploded inside the cabin.

  The air filled with dust… and something else.

  The smell of iron.

  Blood.

  Organic.

  Rotten.

  The creature emerged.

  Its body resembled a spider — but deformed. The carapace was cracked, split with irregular fissures, as if something inside was too large to fit.

  Something was moving in there.

  Pushing.

  As if it wanted out at any cost.

  The legs moved in uncoordinated spasms, as if they didn’t obey a single mind.

  Or as if multiple wills were fighting for control.

  One of them drove into the roof of the vehicle.

  The metal groaned.

  The entire vehicle sank a few centimeters under the weight.

  There was a sound.

  Coming from inside the creature.

  A wet movement.

  Crawling.

  Then the spider’s body split open a little more.

  And I saw.

  Giant larvae writhing inside it.

  The body pulsed as it spilled a wine-colored viscous liquid.

  Carla finally slammed the accelerator.

  The engine roared.

  The tires spun, spitting dirt — but there wasn’t much we could do against that thing.

  I looked at Carlos. His face was pale. Even though he was military, he had spent more time in theory than in direct combat against those creatures.

  My fear was that, with that thing so close, the miasma and terror would trigger symptoms in all of us.

  By its size… it had to be close to a Grade 2.

  Or maybe even… Grade 1.

  — ERICK, ARE YOU OKAY BACK THERE?!

  Luna shouted. The desperation in her voice was obvious.

  — YES!

  — WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE! — Carlos yelled.

  — We have to abandon the vehicle!

  — And why are you all screaming?

  Carla spoke with absurd calm. As if this were a walk in the park — and not a monstrous spider embedded in our roof.

  We all looked at her.

  — Abandon? Are you sure?

  — Yes. We won’t last long in this tug-of-war. When I unlock the doors, everyone get out. And go as far away from that thing as possible.

  — Right… but what about you?

  — Don’t worry. I have a little surprise for it.

  She smiled.

  And that smile scared me.

  — No. You can’t. Have you lost your mind? What do you think you’re doing? There’s still time for us to leave together!

  — No. I need to do something first. And besides… that’s an order, soldier. And you will obey.

  Now she was cold.

  Different.

  She turned away and left us there. Carlos tried to argue, but she didn’t listen.

  We prepared ourselves.

  As soon as she unlocked the doors, we jumped out.

  We ran.

  Three…

  Six…

  Nine…

  Twelve meters…

  We didn’t stop until we were about thirty meters from the vehicle.

  BOOM.

  The explosion tore through the forest’s silence.

  Hot air replaced the damp cold. Points of light appeared everywhere. Roots and branches recoiled, as if making room for something.

  We ran and hid inside a hollow trunk over three meters tall. We improvised something to block the opening.

  The interior was empty.

  The forest, once silent, was now filled with diffuse echoes coming from all directions.

  My body trembled.

  The fear was irrational.

  No matter what I thought or did — it wouldn’t stop.

  Carlos was devastated. Sitting on the ground, staring into nothing.

  I wanted to approach him.

  But there was nothing I could say.

  Moonlight filtered through the cracks in the trunk, illuminating everything with a pale glow.

  When I looked at Luna, she was frozen, peering through a small opening.

  I moved closer.

  She signaled for me to stop.

  Then she turned, pale.

  She brought a finger to her lips.

  Silence.

  And pointed outside.

  The noise was increasing.

  As if the number of creatures was growing with each passing second.