Chapter 270: The Defiance

Aaron remained sprawled at the edge of the hole, staring down at the place where Eric had disappeared.

The white mass had already swallowed him completely, leaving no trace except the faint ripples spreading across its surface.

Aaron could still hear Eric’s scream, even though the chamber had fallen silent again.

His fingers slowly curled against the stone. Then he slammed his fist into the ground.

"Fuck! This monster! I swear I will destroy you!"

The impact sent pain through his hand, but it did not ease the pressure building inside his chest.

He struck the ground again, harder, and this time his balance gave way. His forehead hit the stone, filling his vision with a brief flash of white.

He stayed there, breathing heavily, until the pain finally reached him.

Eric was dead.

Aaron had been holding his wrist. He had been close enough to pull him back, yet the tendril had still taken him.

Worse, the C4 had gone with him. The hive mind had not only killed Eric. It had taken the weapon they had brought into the mine. They were smart, they would use that.

"Fuck! Fuck!"

A faint sound reached him from behind.

Aaron lifted his head and listened. There were too many of them, coming from the tunnel in a slow, uneven rhythm. He pushed himself upright and turned around, his rifle still clutched in one hand.

They were people, no, the infected. They filled the passage dressed in civilian clothes, though their clothing was torn and stained with dirt.

White growth covered their faces, necks, and arms, spreading beneath their skin like something moving through their veins. They stood close together, blocking the only passage out of the chamber.

Aaron forced himself to his feet. His legs trembled from exhaustion, but he raised his rifle anyway.

"What do you want? You want me dead, huh? Joke on you, I’m not in the mood for that."

The infected stopped several meters away.

For a moment, they only stared at him. Then their mouths slowly stretched into smiles, all of them moving at the same time.

Aaron felt the back of his neck grow cold.

One of the infected stepped forward. His head was tilted at an unnatural angle, and white fluid dripped from the corner of his mouth.

"You brought the weapon."

Aaron’s gaze shifted briefly toward the hole. "The C4?" He chuckled.

He indeed has it, in team A only he and Eric trusted to bring it.

"I’d rather destroy it and bring this whole place down than let you use it."

He immediately reached for the charges strapped to his vest and began tearing at the wiring.

"Stop!"

The command came from several infected at once. Their voices rose into a frantic scream as they rushed toward him.

Aaron ignored them. He crushed the detonator against the stone, then ripped the wires apart until the device gave one final electronic chirp and went dead.

He looked up at the approaching infected. "Too late."

The nearest infected lunged at him.

"You ruined the key!" it screamed.

Aaron tightened his grip on the rifle. "Then find another way out."

He laughed again and started to fire. The first burst struck the infected in the chest and threw him backward.

Two others stumbled over his body, but the rest continued forward without hesitation. Aaron stepped back and fired again, this time aiming at their heads.

One infected collapsed with half his face torn away. White tissue immediately spread across the wound, pulling the broken flesh back together.

"What the hell? Regeneration?" He clicked his tongue, feeling his old self back.

The one who didn’t care about anything, the one who acted without thinking. Reckless because he didn’t need to protect other people.

They all died, he failed. At least he would die in this dark mine successfully making his enemy next move harder.

"Eat this shit you brainless parasite! Kill me if you could, but I would rather die than join your stupid cult!"

Aaron continued firing until the rifle clicked empty. The infected were already too close. One lunged toward him, and he swung the rifle into its face, crushing its nose.

Thick white fluid splashed across his arm, followed by a foul smell that made his stomach turn.

Before he could strike again, a hand seized his shoulder.

Another caught his wrist.

"Get the fuck away from me!"

Aaron twisted and drove his elbow into the nearest body, but the infected barely reacted. More of them crowded around him, grabbing his arms and vest while he struggled to break free.

"Let go of me!"

He kicked one of them away, but something brushed against his boot.

Aaron glanced down and he saw a thin white strand had slipped through a crack in the stone and curled around his ankle.

He kicked at it instinctively, only for the strand to stretch with his movement before tightening around his leg. Another strand emerged beside it and wrapped around his other boot.

"No..."

He struck at the growth with his empty rifle. The white material split beneath the blow, releasing a splash of pale fluid, but the torn edges quickly pulled themselves together.

Aaron’s breathing became unsteady. He tried to take a knife from his pocket, to end this, to kill himself but he was too late.

The infected forced him down onto one knee.

Their hands pressed against his shoulders and arms while the white strands crawled beneath the edges of his boots. He felt them slide beneath his trousers, then into the seams of his equipment.

The sensation was cold and wet.

It moved across his skin with a slow, clear purpose.

Aaron thrashed harder. "You guys don’t even let me kill myself, huh?"

"You have nowhere to go," one of the infected murmurs.

The words were followed by another voice.

"You destroy the weapon... we at least need to punish you."

A strand slipped beneath Aaron’s armor and curled across his stomach. Another pushed under his collar, brushing against his throat.

He jerked his head away, but an infected hand immediately caught the back of his neck and forced him down.

The white growth climbed over his chest and spread beneath his gear. Aaron could feel it searching through every opening in his clothing, pressing against his skin as though it were looking for a way inside.

"Shit! Just kill me! Kill me already!"

A thin strand crawled across his cheek.

Aaron squeezed his eyes shut and turned his face away, but the infected held him still. The strand brushed against his eyelid before sliding beneath it.

Pain burned through his eye.

Aaron screamed and tried to wrench his head free. At the same time, another strand slipped into his ear, sending a sharp, nauseating sensation through his skull. His vision blurred, and the chamber seemed to twist around him.

"Aaron..."

The voice came from everywhere.

He could hear it in the chamber, in the mouths of the infected, and somewhere inside his own head.

"You are tired."

Aaron clenched his teeth and fought against the hands holding him down.

"You lost your team."

"You could not save Eric."

"You let him fall."

"Shut up!"

The strand inside his ear moved deeper. Aaron’s body convulsed, and his rifle slipped from his hand. He tried to reach for it, but an infected pressed his wrist against the ground.

The white growth continued crawling over his face. It spread across one eye, dragged itself along his cheek, and pressed against his lips. Aaron could taste something bitter and rotten as it pushed into his mouth.

He bit down.

The strand burst between his teeth, filling his mouth with a foul, metallic taste. He spat it out, coughing, but another strand immediately brushed against his jaw.

"You do not need to fight anymore," the infected whispered.

Aaron shook his head violently.

"You do not need to make another decision."

"Fuck you!"

"You only need to join us."

The infected pressed him flat against the stone. Their hands held his wrists, shoulders, and legs while the white growth spread beneath his armor and clothing.

Aaron could feel it moving everywhere, against his skin, inside his ear, and beneath his eyelid.

It was not dead tissue. It was alive. It was aware of him.

"You will hear us," the voices murmured.

"You will remember us."

"You will become part of us."

Aaron struggled until his muscles began to burn. His breath came in short, desperate gasps, and his vision had become almost useless on one side.

Still, he forced his head upward.

"Gideon! Fuck, he-help me, damn it! You were always helping everyone... So why..."

The infected tightened their grip.

"He cannot hear you."

Aaron pulled against them, but their combined strength kept him pinned.

"GIDEON!"

"He is not coming."

"He left you here."

"He let Eric die."

Aaron’s chest tightened with rage.

"Shut up! He will come, he always comes! He is a show off!"

The white growth pressed against his mouth again, and he turned his head violently to escape it. The infected only held him tighter.

"You are alone, Aaron."

Aaron’s eye burned. His ear throbbed. He could feel the parasite crawling beneath his skin, and panic threatened to overwhelm him completely.

But he still had one thing left to do.

He drew in a breath and screamed with everything he had.

"GIDEON!"

The sound echoed through the chamber.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then a deep crack split through the ceiling.

The infected froze. Dust began falling around them, followed by small pieces of stone.

Aaron looked upward as the white material covering the ceiling trembled and pulled apart, revealing the fractures beneath it.

Another rumble rolled through the mine making the ceiling collapse.

A massive section of rock crashed down behind the infected, crushing bodies beneath it and sending a wave of dust through the chamber.

The hands holding Aaron loosened as the infected turned toward the falling debris. Several were buried beneath the stone, their screams mixing with the violent sound of the collapse.

Aaron dragged himself away, coughing as dust filled his lungs. The white strands still clung to his body, but he barely noticed them. He could only stare through the settling dust as a figure emerged from the ruined passage.

Gideon stepped into the chamber with his sword in his right hand.

In his left, he held Jasper by the collar. His face was swollen mess.

Gideon look at the state of him and said, "well, guess I’m a little bit late. Sorry."