#4-x0

The Sharp sound echoed throughout the room, metallic and sterile, his cheek bloomed with pain as a handprint was planted there. The Recruit staggered, his eyes brimming with tears

— Grow A Backbone, Recruit. —The researcher snapped, His voice a mixture of Self righteousness and fear. — We open that door, and she might not kill us now. But we are dying either way. The fleet does not let loose ends slide. — Desperation seeped every single word of this man. The Recruit knew it. He could feel it. Clutched in his hands a gun that was far too large for someone as untrained as him. The .75 Caliber–Standard for the average soldier. But the weight alone made the recruit’s arms shake. — Sir… we only… we only have five bullets. I shot her. Five times. You saw—

Memories crashed into his vision, before any more words could be spoken, The violent recoil of the gun, almost breaking his wrists. The Thunderous crack of each shot, the bullet punching clear through her skull. They both saw it, her brain split apart like gelatin. And yet...

The flesh Writhed, Bone grew back like Coral Skin slithered back over. Seamless, Perfect. Deeply Wrong:

—I saw that eye, it grew back inside the socket sir… She… She Doesn’t die — — Bullshit — The lie barely left the researcher’s mouth before a hollow *Thunk*rattled in the ventilation shaft. He spun snatching the gun from the Recruit’s hands. and snapping it at the ventilation system.

  Silence…

Paranoia chewed through what little composure they had left. Three days. Three sleepless, blood-slicked days of listening. Waiting. Running. Failing.

— …Fooood… — This Soft, frighteningly innocent voice that did not match the creature that painted the labs with the other researcher’s insides echoed through the room from under the door.

 — Please… I’m so… Hungry… —

Tears streaked the recruit’s face, his chest tightened, as breaths became rapid and erratic. as if the heart was trying to claw out of his chest cavity. The Tears were out of desperation, fear and exhaustion, and out of the deep seated knowledge that they were prey. And prey are not supposed to hear the predator speak.

The Researcher did not flinch. Not a tremble in his newfound courageous hands. Just a slow exhale and a flick of the eyes towards the reinforced door. As if he was calculating, and not listening to a monster beg.

— Hmpf. — His lips pursed. He rubbed his chin with bloodied fingers leaving what looked like warpaint. — You hear that? She’s slowing down. — 

The recruit blinked, numb, mind barely catching the words. — W-what? —

— She’s hungry, — the researcher said, tone flat as sheet metal. — Which means the regeneration burns calories. A lot of them. Think about it. Why do you think she hasn’t ripped this door off the hinges yet? 

The recruit’s mouth worked silently, no words forming. His eyes flicked toward the pistol lying on the counter between them. He didn’t dare reach for it. The researcher followed his gaze but made no move. Just smiled. Thin. Cruel. Mechanical.

— This… — The researcher gestured towards the bloody mess in the security feeds. — This is not a Killing spree, it’s feeding. Conserving energy until something opens another door, and she can eat again. — His fingers danced over the console, pulling schematics, escape routes, docking bays, and the Escape pod room. A cave that flooded with water once the pods were shot out. 

The Recruit swallowed. Tasted the very fear in the back of his throat — Y-you… You knew this would happen… 

The Researcher did not bother to correct him. He leaned against the wall, skin stained with blood. And continued, voice calm and measured. — Listen. You and I? We don’t have the same odds. You’re meat. A distraction. I… — He tapped the side of his temple with a finger — …am useful. — 

The recruit stumbled back a step, heart thundering. — No. No no no… You can’t—

— Oh, but I can, — the Researcher snapped, pushing off the console. His eyes sharpened, voice cutting. — This is the price of survival. You either learn it now or you learn it when you’re digesting in her stomach. —

His hand hovered over the manual door release, fingers ghosting the switch like a pianist preparing the opening chord. — You’re faster than you look. — He mused — You got the Fleet Soldier Training. Maybe you can keep her occupied Run, Duck, Scream a little Keep her attention give me time to prep the pod.—

The Recruit shook his head wildly — No. nono No no no no, There’s another way, there has to be. we, we both- —

The Researcher laughed at that, Bitter and short.

— Both? Oh no, No no no. One pod, one launch. And let’s face it. If she gets in? You’re the better meal. —

A hollow thud echoed through the bulkhead. Something pressed against the other side. Fingernails? Claws? Bone?

— … So… Hungry… — The Voice croaked once more

The researcher’s eyes never left the door. He was already lining up the sequence in his head.

— This is how it’s going to go, — he said softly. — I open the door. You panic. She sees you first. That gives me… — a glance at his watch — twenty, maybe thirty seconds. —

The Recruit’s heart raced and he trembled in his feet, before he spoke — I Can’t… I Won’t —

— But you will. — The Researcher grabbed his shoulder. Hands like a vice grip. hard enough to bruise. —You think you’ve got a choice? You think there’s some heroic way out of this? Look at me. — His fingers jerked the recruit’s chin up. — Look at me. —

The Recruit’s Eyes were Unfocussed and Glassy. — You’re not getting out of this unless I do. And i’m not getting out unless she’s busy eating someone else — 

A beat. A long, agonizing silence punctuated by the rasp of something breathing on the other side of the door.

— You’re bait, — the researcher whispered. — Smile for the camera. — His hand slammed the release.

—HISSSSSS— The door slid open, and she was standing there outside The moment the door split. Time seemed to take a moment to breathe, She leapt, and a simple BANG Could be heard, A shot flew through the air from the gun the Researcher took from the counter. She hit the ground hard enough for the tiling to break beneath. Her body sagged, half collapsed. The Recruit Dared to let words leave his lips — maybe it’s over? — But then he saw it. sinew regrowing and bone snapping to place. Blood Gurgled out of the wound and then stopped, as flesh sealed like a zipper being closed by invisible hands. The wound healing caused the bullet to hit the floor, the ping was no louder than a coin, but to the recruit it felt like a second bullet being fired. The other noise did not bring fear, instead it brought betrayal, as the researcher slinked away from the room. — Enjoy your Meal! — He said as the locks engaged. The researcher was already gone by the time he could look through the window. The Recruit backed away, his spine hitting the far wall breathing shallow. — He-hey, hey. Easy, easy, okay? — Words spilling into one another, hands held up like that meant anything. — We. We can talk please — She was rising. Slowly. Her body trembled—not in rage but in malfunction. The system in her—whatever the hell they did to her was overloaded. Repairing faster than nerves could stabilize.

— It… Hurts… — The words sounded malformed, as if her voice was a machine that she had just discovered the existence of. —Listen. Listen. I—I know the others tried to kill— She lunged before he could finish talking. His instincts yanked him away at the last moment. His foot skidded across the floor grabbing the closest thing that could pass for a weapon. A scalpel came to his grip, small but it would have to do. — … I’m just… Hungry… — Her breath hitched, her mouth filled with saliva, enough To string her sharp teeth. The entirety of her body trembling with that raw feeling of hunger. — I, ok I.. I can’t help you now, but… but I, I know, there’s food I. I can take you there — The voice made sense. she could understand in theory, at least he hoped she could. but she leapt again, her hunger now was greater than any reason. The Recruit slashed, it tore her arm from wrist to elbow. She did not flinch, not even a reaction, as she gripped his shoulders. Then. The teeth. She was surgical in the attack. His only saving grace was the body jolting last second stopping her from getting anything vital. A swift kick to the stomach sent her back. Skin split as she pulled a piece of him. The chewing, the noise of sinew breaking under her molars would haunt him forever if he survives.

—“Please... Just... A bit more... Food...”— Her voice didn’t sound like a monster. Didn’t sound like a predator. It sounded... Pitiful. Pleading. That was the worst part, the honesty of it all. Her entire body was shivering from hunger. She did not want to kill him. She needed what was inside. The recruit took that time to stab her in the collarbone with the scalpel. His body surging in adrenaline and fear as he kicked the panel on the door. and it slammed open. As it did. The Recruit began running. As she started speaking. — STOP… PLEASE… I JUST NEED ANOTHER BITE… — But he was already sprinting. Her steps changed, from the rhythmic walking to a new sound THUMP-thump THUMP-thump Hands and feet. she was sprinting on all fours. Her body jolted forward with an insane surge of speed. Hands clawing the tiles and her feet shooting her meters forward. He saw her in the reflection of a shattered observation tank. The broken glass caught her silhouette—back arched low, legs pumping, hands clawing the ground like an animal—but her face... her face wasn’t wild. It was terrified. Desperate. — I JUST. NEED A LITTLE BIT MORE — Her voice cracked behind him raw as if it hurt to scream like that. The hallway twisted, as he went through burning labs, broken down mess halls. With his legs almost giving up The Recruit crashed through a door, a few broken ribs was all that he got, with every step feeling it dislodging and aching

The Escape Room glowed like the pearly gates of heaven. He slammed his shoulder against the door and it busted open. The wide eyes of the researcher staring at him — YOU BROUGHT HER HERE?! — The man screamed his fingers punching numbers on the keypad inside the pod. About to hit confirm as his collar got grabbed and tossed near the door. — I did. And it was your fucking fault — The Recruit saw as she leapt and bit the researcher’s neck. There was no sound. the researcher just crumpled over on the floor. no struggle. And then. The crunching. Broken bones and flesh being ripped. She was Feeding.