NOVGO.NET Chapter 106 House exposed!
Chapter 106: Chapter 106 House exposed!
Miles finally helped Astrid back onto his feet and guided him toward the dining chair where he had been sitting before everything went wrong.
Astrid dropped heavily into the seat, one hand still pressed against his chest as he tried to steady his breathing.
His body was exhausted.
His neck still hurt.
And his mind was even worse.
He couldn’t stop thinking about what had just happened.
The blood.
The things moving beneath his skin.
That black puncture at the back of his neck.
And the fact that whatever had been done to him was apparently much worse than he had originally imagined.
Miles stood in front of him for a moment before crossing his arms.
"We seriously need to talk."
Astrid slowly lifted his eyes.
Miles’ expression was unusually serious.
"When you were telling us about the experiments earlier, I didn’t realize it was this severe. I thought maybe they did something to your body that affected your awakening, but this..."
His gaze moved toward Astrid’s neck.
"This is different."
Astrid’s fingers tightened against his chest.
Miles continued.
"The fact that you’re carrying something creepy inside your body means we don’t know what it can do. It could destroy you, or it could get out and infect people around you."
Astrid’s eyes widened.
His expression immediately hardened.
"So that’s what you’re saying?"
Miles frowned.
"What?"
"That I’m something evil that’s going to cause damage?"
Astrid pushed himself straighter in the chair.
"This isn’t even my fault!"
His voice rose.
"I was forcefully experimented on! I didn’t ask them to put whatever the hell that thing is inside me. I didn’t ask to become an awakened. I didn’t ask for any of this!"
He pointed toward his own body.
"Look at me! I’m already more miserable than ever, and this is how you’re going to tell me about it?"
Astrid’s breathing became heavier.
For a second, he seriously considered standing up and getting the fuck out of Miles’ face.
The guy was pissing him off.
He had just gone through one of the most terrifying experiences of his life, and instead of asking whether he was okay, Miles was already talking about him like he was some biological weapon that needed to be monitored.
Miles watched him silently.
Then his sharp eyes softened.
"That’s not what I meant."
Astrid scoffed.
"It sounded like it."
"I was being pragmatic."
Miles sighed.
"We don’t know what you’re carrying, Astrid. We don’t know what it can do, how it got inside you, or whether it can spread to someone else. If there’s even a possibility that it’s dangerous to the people here, then I have to be careful."
Astrid’s expression remained cold.
Miles continued.
"That’s not me calling you evil. It’s me saying we don’t know enough."
Astrid stared at him for several seconds.
Eventually, he nodded.
"Fine."
But there was no forgiveness in his expression.
"Good thing you’re being careful."
He pushed himself out of the chair.
"Now go and protect the empty couches since that’s clearly what you’re more concerned about instead of the pain I’m in."
"Astrid."
"I’m going to my room."
He turned away.
He didn’t want to argue anymore.
He didn’t want to explain himself.
And most importantly, he didn’t want anyone watching him after what had just happened.
He needed to be alone with his thoughts.
Maybe if he closed his eyes, he could pretend none of this had happened.
Maybe he could convince himself that there wasn’t something unnatural hiding inside his body.
But he had barely taken two steps when Miles spoke again.
"You can’t be on your own."
Astrid stopped.
"We don’t know if that thing is going to happen again."
Astrid’s jaw tightened.
Miles continued.
"We’re supposed to stay together and watch the base. That’s the entire reason Luna left us here. If something happens to you while you’re alone, how am I supposed to help?"
Astrid slowly turned around.
"You really don’t know when to stop, do you?"
"I’m being reasonable."
"And I’m not a fucking course specimen!"
His voice echoed through the mansion.
"I’m not some experiment for you to monitor every second!"
Miles blinked.
Astrid’s eyes were red with frustration.
"I’m a human, Miles."
He pointed at himself.
"A fucking human. Can you give me a damn break?"
The moment his words left his mouth—
BEEP!
The monitor suddenly flashed.
Both men turned.
The screen that had previously been displaying the camera feeds immediately switched to a warning message.
[TRESPASSERS DETECTED.]
[MULTIPLE HOSTILES APPROACHING THE ISLAND.]
Astrid froze.
Miles’ expression changed.
All their previous argument disappeared instantly.
Miles rushed toward the monitor.
Astrid followed.
"What the hell?"
The cameras displayed several figures approaching the island.
Four of them.
Two men.
Two women.
They were dressed in the same green government-issued uniforms that Astrid had seen countless awakened wearing before.
The government flag was embedded across their chests.
Their movements were calm.
Professional.
There was nothing uncertain about them.
They weren’t coming to negotiate.
They weren’t coming to investigate peacefully.
They were coming with a purpose.
And judging from their expressions, killing whoever stood in their way was probably part of that purpose.
Astrid stared at the screen.
"Damn."
Miles looked at him.
Then his eyes narrowed.
"Damn those awakened."
Astrid turned.
"What?"
"This is because of you people."
Astrid’s expression immediately darkened.
"What did you just say?"
"If you had minded your own business, we wouldn’t have the government constantly watching this place."
Miles pointed toward the screen.
"They’re back already!"
"Don’t blame me for that!"
Astrid stepped forward.
"How the hell was I supposed to know there was a safe shelter hidden here?"
"I didn’t build the damn shelter!"
"And I’m not the one in charge!"
Astrid’s frustration exploded again.
"So because things are bad now, you don’t get to dump every problem on my head as if I caused all of this!"
Miles scoffed.
"If you’re that sure, then look at them."
He pointed at the monitor.
"They’ll locate us soon. It’s only a matter of time."
Astrid looked at the screen.
Miles’ voice became more serious.
"And didn’t you tell Luna that the government would probably send a stronger group after the first one failed?"
Astrid’s expression changed.
"Yes."
"Then what do you think this is?"
Miles walked toward the monitor and leaned closer.
"Luna hasn’t even been gone that long."
He stared at the four government awakened.
"They’re already here to clean up the mess their predecessors couldn’t."
Astrid swallowed.
The timing was too fast.
Far too fast.
His eyes shifted toward the ocean—or rather, the enormous absence where the ocean used to be.
The cameras showed the massive empty area surrounding the island.
The sea had disappeared.
Only the gigantic abyss remained.
The government group had clearly noticed it too.
Their vehicle hovered above the ground.
It looked almost like a strange hybrid between a boat and a rocket, except it wasn’t touching the water because there was no water left.
The machine moved through the air with powerful engines, circling the island.
"They saw it," Miles muttered.
Astrid nodded.
"They’re probably wondering what happened."
Miles adjusted the camera.
Fortunately, Luna had upgraded the surveillance system before leaving.
The original cameras could capture images from far away, but the audio had always been terrible.
After several encounters with invaders, Luna had realized that watching people from a distance wasn’t enough.
She needed to hear them.
So she had upgraded the cameras through the supermarket system.
The new system could pick up sound waves from a much greater distance, process them, and transmit the audio directly through the monitor.
Now they could hear the four government awakened clearly.
The group had stopped near the edge of the island.
One of the men looked around.
"Should we report what we saw?"
His voice came through the speakers.
"The sea is completely gone."
He looked toward the massive abyss.
"This is beyond ordinary."
The others exchanged looks.
One of the women shook her head.
"You know this mission is do-or-die."
She folded her arms.
"If we don’t get this right, we aren’t going to be spared."
The other man glanced at her.
"It’s the end of the world. Nothing here is ordinary anymore."
He looked toward the empty ocean.
"If anything, things are getting worse."
"I know we’re in the apocalypse," the first man replied, still staring at the abyss, "but a sea disappearing?"
He shook his head.
"I know this island. There should be an enormous body of water here."
He looked around.
"So where the hell did it go?"
Nobody answered.
The silence lasted several seconds.
Then the leader finally spoke.
"That isn’t our business."
His voice was cold.
"I don’t want to die. We were ordered to find out what happened to the previous team and identify whoever is responsible."
His eyes hardened.
"That’s what we’re going to do."
He looked toward the mansion.
"And we’ll kill anyone who stands in our way."
Astrid’s blood ran cold.
The leader continued.
"Fuck the apocalypse. Fuck whatever is happening to the sea. We have a mission."
He turned toward the red-haired woman.
"Stella."
The woman stepped forward.
"You know what to do."
She nodded.
"Stamp out the frequency."
The leader’s expression remained emotionless.
"Deactivate every security system you can find."
Astrid’s eyes widened.
"No."
Miles looked at him.
"What?"
Astrid suddenly stepped closer to the monitor.
"No, no, no..."
He recognized that look.
The woman called Stella walked to the edge of the island.
Her red hair moved with the wind.
She was beautiful.
Almost unnaturally so.
But her smile was wrong.
It was too perfect.
Too robotic.
There was no warmth in it.
She lifted one foot.
Astrid’s heart slammed against his chest.
"Stop her!"
Before either man could do anything—
Stella slammed her foot against the ground.
BOOM!
A strange vibration spread through the island.
There was no visible attack.
No explosion.
No flash of light.
But the air itself seemed to tremble.
A low, deadly frequency traveled through the ground and surrounding structures.
The mansion lights flickered.
The monitor glitched.
One camera after another went black.
Astrid grabbed the table.
"What the fuck is happening?"
Miles stared at the screens.
The security system was collapsing.
One by one.
The cameras shut down.
The alarms went silent.
And then—
The invisible shield protecting the mansion disappeared.
Astrid’s eyes widened in horror.
"They did it."
Miles looked toward the windows.
The mansion was no longer hidden.
The four awakened outside immediately looked toward the mansion.
They had found it.
Astrid’s stomach dropped.
"They can see us."
Miles slowly turned toward him.
Neither of them spoke.
Outside, the government squad prepared their weapons.
The leader raised his hand.
His voice came through the remaining speaker one final time.
"Kill anyone you find."
He paused.
"Bring only one survivor."