NOVGO.NET Chapter 52 Stranded Ix
Chapter 52: Chapter 52 Stranded Ix
They knew that scream so well. It was Kai being dragged into the darkness, his voice cutting through the oppressive silence like a blade. Luna’s instincts took over immediately—she raised her guns and fired blindly toward the source of the sound, bullets ricocheting off unseen walls in the pitch-black corridor. But before she could empty more bullets, Adrain’s hand clamped down on her wrist, forcing her to stop.
"It’s risky and reckless," he hissed, his voice tight with urgency. "You could kill him by mistake. Or any of us. Remember, we are in the dark."
The words hit Luna like a physical blow. Her face darkened, jaw clenching as she fought the urge to shove him aside. She knew he was right, but the knowledge did nothing to quell the rage building in her chest. Kai was out there, being dragged to God knows where, and she was standing here uselessly in the dark.
She looked around desperately, her eyes straining against the impenetrable blackness. Nothing. Not even a sliver of light penetrated this suffocating void. Frustration gnawed at her insides. She needed another option, another way to see. Her mind raced back to her space, to the resources she had stored there. There had to be another damn touch light buried somewhere in that pocket dimension.
As Luna began frantically searching through her space, the men around her instinctively formed a defensive circle. They moved slowly, cautiously, edging out of the corridor and trying to follow the fading sounds of Kai’s struggle. The voice was moving, heading somewhere, and they had to keep up or lose him forever.
"Kai, we are coming!" Rowan’s voice rang out, surprising even himself with its conviction. Just hours ago, he had been praying for a moment to get rid of Kai, to have the man simply disappear from their lives. Yet here he was, risking everything to bring him back. He couldn’t see Luna’s face, but her actions and her words told him everything he needed to know. She was putting in an effort that bordered on obsession, and Rowan couldn’t help but wonder at the contradiction.
"Careful not to hit your leg," Rowan warned, his foot catching against something solid in the darkness. "There’s something here."
But Luna didn’t give a damn about hitting her leg. She didn’t care about scrapes or bruises or anything else that might slow her down. The creature—whatever it was—didn’t have the right to take anyone from her. If someone was going to take something from this group, it would be her. And it was going to be that creature’s life.
Rowan was shocked by the aggressive edge in her voice. The next thing he knew, Luna had pulled out an enormous flashlight from her space. The beam flooded through the entire corridor, illuminating every shadow and crevice with harsh, unforgiving light. What Rowan saw made his heart nearly stop.
"Fuck—turn back!" he shouted, his voice cracking with panic.
Luna slowly turned around, not ready to face whatever abomination lurked behind them. The sight that greeted her made her blood run cold. It was a lion—or what had once been a lion. Its face had peeled away, the skin hanging loosely at its chin like a grotesque curtain. Its teeth, yellowed and rotting, seemed barely attached to its gums, yet somehow held together through some unholy force she couldn’t fathom. And then there were its hands—or rather, its appendages. The motherfucker had eight arms, long and sinuous like an octopus’s tentacles, protruding from its twisted torso.
Talk about impossible. How did such a thing even come about? The meteor had already disrupted her system, but this went far beyond any mutation she had anticipated. And what could they even do against something that might not die like the zombies? The zombies required a special way of ending them, a method she had discovered in her previous life but hadn’t yet tested here because she was always too busy. But now, staring at this abomination, she wondered if that knowledge would even work against something so twisted.
Finally, she was staring face to face with the creature. Its body was bent in an unnatural way, its spine arched and contorted as if it had been broken and healed wrong. The lion’s body was still recognizable, but the octopus arms and the peeling face made it a nightmare given form. Luna’s mind raced, trying to understand how the meteor could possess so much power—not just to disrupt her system, but to bring forth abominations like this.
"You prick," Luna snarled, leveling her gun at the creature’s head. "Show me where Kai is, or I won’t hesitate to blow off your disgusting brain."
She tried speaking to it, hoping for some sign of intelligence or comprehension. Maybe it could talk, maybe it could be reasoned with. But that hope was quickly crushed. The creature merely growled at her, a low, rumbling sound that vibrated through the floor. Then, with practiced precision, it launched itself at her.
But Luna was faster. She unleashed a barrage of bullets, laced with anti-agents—special matter from her space that was meant to destroy creatures like this. The bomb-laced rounds struck the creature’s chest, but they didn’t explode. They just made it stagger, momentarily disoriented.
"I think we should run now," Rowan urged, reaching for her arm. "We need to get out of here."
But Luna was desperate to see it dead. She wanted it to explode, to turn into a puddle of flesh and bone. That was her purpose, her obsession. She couldn’t let this thing follow them.
"It would follow us, and I don’t want that," she insisted, her voice hard. "Let me kill it. I can do this."
She released more bullets, each one piercing through the creature’s flesh. It let out a terrible growl that shook the ground beneath their feet, but still it didn’t fall.
"Can’t you see that it’s not working?" Ethan screamed, his voice cracking with fear. "Let’s go!"
He didn’t want to stay here and die. If he wanted to run, he would have already, but he was thinking about the consequences—about what Luna would do to him if she survived and decided to come after him. The thought of her vengeance was almost as terrifying as the creature itself.
"If she’s not going to comply, I just don’t give a fuck," Ethan spat. "I’m going to run the hell outta here. Anything that happens here is on her. Can’t you see that it can’t be killed?"
His words seemed to reach Luna. She paused, her guns lowering slightly as she looked back at the creature. It was still advancing, still relentless. The thought of running felt like surrender, but the logic of Ethan’s words was undeniable.
Before she could respond, Rowan swept her off her feet and began to run. Luna kicked in the air, struggling against his grip.
"Don’t carry me this way! Put me down now!" she commanded, her voice seething with fury.
But Rowan didn’t bulge. He kept running, his arms locked around her as he sprinted down the corridor. Adrain was close behind, constantly looking back to track the creature’s position. It was running, but its movement was unnatural—a series of long, jumping strides that seemed to cover impossible distances.
"It’s going to hit one of us!" Adrain shouted. "We need to run further!"
His words were cut short by a sickening slash. Luna turned back, her eyes widening as she saw Adrain slowing down. Blood dripped from his side like a torn ripple, staining the floor in dark rivulets. Before anyone could react, the creature seized him by the neck and leaped through a nearby window, vanishing out of sight.
The moment imprinted itself on Luna’s mind. She gaped at the blood on the floor, at the empty window where Adrain had just been. The silence that followed was deafening.
"Now look at what you caused," Ethan said, his voice dripping with venom. "In case you don’t know, you’re the one that made him this way. If we had run earlier instead of trying to kill that thing, Adrain would still be here. Kai is probably dead by now, and Adrain... oh, he shouldn’t even be counted because he might be getting roasted as we speak."
Ethan’s grin was cruel, and it ignited a rage in Rowan that he couldn’t contain. He rushed forward, wrapping his hands around Ethan’s neck and slamming him against the wall hard enough to crack the plaster.
"You dickhead! How could you say such a thing to her?" Rowan snarled, his grip tightening.
But Ethan didn’t feel sorry. He laughed, a harsh, mocking sound that echoed through the corridor.
"After telling me all those things, it seems she’s the pathetic one here. Look at her, trying to be all leader-like, but what did she do for us? Turned us into monster food. Didn’t she say we were a team? What kind of leader doesn’t listen to its followers? We’re done for. This is just a plaything we’re doing here. Better I go there and die in that zone than get my hopes up and have them dashed like I’m some fool."
Rowan’s grip tightened, his knuckles white with fury. "You’re just important and a jackass. If the monster catches you, pray—because I will help finish you off."
As he turned to walk away, Ethan laughed harder. "So you’re not in love with her, is that it? Oh dude, you won’t get that pussy."
Luna’s fist connected with Ethan’s jaw, shifting his face with the force of the blow. Her eyes were cold, devoid of any emotion as she stared down at him.
"Let’s go get them," she said, her voice as chilling as ice.
Without another word, she turned and walked away, leaving Ethan crumpled against the wall. Rowan fell into step beside her, his expression grim. The corridor stretched out before them looking eerie but Luna’s resolve was unshakable.
She would find Kai. She would find Adrain. And when she did, she would make sure that creature regretted ever crossing her path.