Death. There is no life without it. Yet now… it feels like death itself is creeping closer, arriving far too soon.

  Jackson stands frozen, staring into the pit, his eyes locked on the spot where the hand vanished into the shadows below.

  Suddenly, a firm grip clamps onto his shoulders. He doesn’t flinch, doesn’t move. The hands shake him gently, trying to pull him back.

  A distorted, anxious voice cuts through the haze of smoke and despair.

  Jane Molera: Jackson! Come back to us! We need to get out of here!

  Still, his gaze remains fixed on the darkness, as if the abyss has already claimed him.

  Shock overwhelms him. People are scattering around him, scrambling for the remaining elevators.

  Some push past one another; some freeze in fear. Amid the chaos, Jane catches his face with both hands, forcing him to look at her. Tears streak down her cheeks, glistening in the dying light, a single drop falling to the scorched soil below.

  Jane Molera: I know!

  A pause, heavy and weighted with fear.

  Jane Molera: I know… it’s hard. But we need to go, Jack. You need to ignore it. If we stay here any longer… we might end up like them.

  Jane’s words seem to reach him. Jackson exhales sharply and nods.

  Jackson Cross: You’re right… let’s go.

  They start moving, weaving through the panicked crowd toward the remaining elevators.

  The crowd is thick now, chaotic, terrified. The once-organized group has dissolved into a stampede, people pushing, shoving, and trampling over anyone in their path.

  Jackson and Jane skid to a stop, narrowly avoiding being knocked down.

  Jackson Cross: We need to find another way. If we follow them, we’ll get crushed.

  Jackson grabs Jane’s hand, and together they sprint across the charred remnants of the farm’s burned crops. The earth quakes beneath their feet as tremors ripple through the ground, throwing them off balance with every step.

  Ahead, they spot the elevator rising into view, just in time, still about seventy-five yards away, but moving fast.

  Then, a screech cuts through the chaos.

  Sharp. Piercing. Unnatural.

  Everything stops.

  The sound slices into their ears. Jackson and Jane freeze mid-stride, every instinct screaming. The world seems to hold its breath around them, frozen in the suspended moment before the storm hits.

  Semi-translucent, gelatinous flesh.

  A circular, lamprey-like maw.

  Multiple rotating rings of teeth grinding against one another.

  Inner jaws that telescope outward with a sickening precision.

  A constant, wet clicking sound.

  The creature erupts from the earth in a violent explosion of dirt and roots, soil blasting outward in every direction. The ground splits open beneath it as it drags its massive body free.

  This is no animal found in any book they have ever read.

  Through its semi-clear flesh, muscle fibers twitch and coil beneath the surface. Digestive sacs pulse along its length, swollen and shifting, jagged silhouettes of bone pressing faintly against the membrane, remnants of prey devoured long before this moment.

  It towers before them.

  Ten… no… fifteen feet high.

  Nearly forty feet long.

  The creature has no visible eyes… yet the sensation of being watched is suffocating.

  Jackson and Jane stand frozen in shock, unable to move as they take in the creature’s grotesque size and impossible form.

  It begins to move.

  Not fast.

  Not rushing.

  It advances in a slow, nauseating rhythm, a slug-like drag fused with a serpent’s glide, its massive body undulating as it closes the distance.

  Three meters away.

  And getting closer.

  Still, neither of them makes a sound.

  Jackson sways slightly, his face draining of color, looking as though he might collapse at any moment. His breath comes shallow, uneven.

  Jane tightens her grip on his hand, her fingers pressing gently into his palm, not to pull him away, not to run…

  Just to ground herself.

  The creature inches closer.

  Jackson draws in a thin, trembling breath.

  Then, screams erupt behind them.

  The people gathered near the steel elevators have seen it. Panic detonates through the crowd as they turn and scatter in every direction.

  Jackson and Jane glance back-

  And in that split second, the creature moves.

  Its speed defies logic.

  What had crept forward in a sluggish rhythm now coils and launches with explosive force. Its massive body contracts and releases like a compressed spring, propelling itself forward at nearly twenty-five miles per hour in less than a heartbeat.

  The scene becomes carnage.

  Rotating rings of teeth spin faster, shrieking as they catch fleeing bodies. Flesh is seized and shredded instantly. People are lifted from the ground mid-scream, torn apart as the grinding maw reduces them to fragments.

  Blood sprays across the soil. The wet clicking grows louder.

  Jackson’s survival instinct snaps awake.

  He grabs Jane’s wrist.

  Jackson Cross: RUN!

  Feet pound against the earth. Soil and ash kick up behind them.

  There is no hesitation.

  They run.

  They sprint toward the steel elevator standing beside his family’s barn, the barn now burning, flames devouring wood and memory alike.

  Behind them, the sounds continue.

  Wet slicing.

  Grinding teeth.

  Screams that cut off too quickly.

  Jackson dares to look back.

  The creature is less than five meters behind them.

  And gaining.

  Time slows to a crawl.

  Jackson Cross (Thoughts): No… not like this. After everything, why now? Why does it all just disappear? Am I really… about to die?

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  The barn’s supports finally give way.

  With a thunderous crack, the structure collapses inward. Flaming beams crash down in a cascade of sparks and embers, as if the building itself is making one last defiant stand.

  Heat erupts outward in a violent wave.

  The flames surge higher.

  The creature recoils, releasing a piercing, furious screech as it jerks back, its gelatinous flesh hissing where the heat licks against it.

  Something ignites inside Jackson.

  He runs harder than he ever has before, pushing past the burn in his lungs, ignoring the cramps, the tearing strain in his legs. Sweat blinds him, but he doesn’t slow. Jane keeps pace beside him, refusing to fall behind.

  Ahead, inside the steel elevator, Aby spots them.

  She waves frantically.

  Jackson smiles in relief and lifts his hand to wave back-

  And then he sees her face.

  She isn’t waving in celebration.

  She’s waving in terror.

  Suddenly, Jane shoves him.

  Hard.

  Jackson stumbles forward, crashing onto his stomach. The impact knocks the air from his lungs. Dirt and ash fill his mouth.

  Disoriented, he rolls over-

  And the world stops.

  Jane stands a few feet behind him.

  Blood drips slowly from her lips.

  A jagged shard of wood juts through her torso, splintered and blackened from the fire.

  Behind her, the burning barn explodes outward.

  What Jackson hadn’t seen-

  The creature had smashed through the collapsing structure, sending flaming debris flying in every direction.

  Whether it was intentional…

  Or just cruel chance…

  He doesn’t know.

  Jackson’s vision blurs as tears spill over.

  He tries to speak.

  Nothing comes out.

  Only silence.

  Heavy. Suffocating.

  Jane’s legs wobble, giving way as she sinks to one knee. One hand clutches the jagged shard of wood embedded in her torso, the other presses weakly against the scorched soil to keep herself upright. She coughs, dark blood spilling from her lips, dripping onto the ground beneath her.

  Jackson Cross (screaming, voice breaking, tears streaming): JAAAANEEE!!!

  Inside the elevator, Aby sees him.

  She lunges toward the opening, desperate to reach her son-

  But others grab her, holding her back, pinning her in place as the mechanism begins to move.

  The elevator doors slide inward.

  Slowly.

  Agonizingly.

  Aby stretches her hand toward Jackson, fingers trembling, her face twisted in horror and helplessness.

  Jackson doesn’t reach for Aby.

  He only sees Jane.

  Then the doors slam shut with a heavy metallic clank.

  The elevator descends.

  Down into darkness.

  Abruptly, the creature lunges toward Jackson, drawn by his scream.

  His head turns slowly toward it, eyes wide in terror.

  Time seems to stretch, every second dragging as the monster closes in.

  Just before it can tear him apart-

  A burning shard of wood strikes the creature.

  Heat bites into its gelatinous flesh. It lets out a deafening, screeching howl, jerking back.

  Jackson blinks, barely believing what he sees.

  Jane is standing once more.

  A bloody, defiant smile stretches across her face.

  The jagged piece of wood that had impaled her is gone, torn free, now ablaze, clutched in her hand and hurled at the creature.

  The creature lunges toward Jane, its spinning teeth glinting in the firelight, each rotation a grinding promise of death.

  Jane stands her ground, a bloody, defiant smile on her face.

  Her lips move, three words forming, but the rushing wind, the chaos, and the grinding maw make them impossible to hear.

  And then…

  Before Jackson can even react, before he can see what happens…

  Blood erupts into the air.

  *It arcs in a terrible, fleeting spray, carrying the finality of something impossible to undo.

  Jackson can only stare in shock*

  Jackson slowly turns his gaze toward the burning shard of wood, still slick with Jane’s blood.

  His eyes drop to the scorched earth beneath him. His hand claws into the dirt, fingers sinking into the blackened soil.

  Tears stream down his face.

  Jackson had always been able to cry, always been able to release his feelings, always been kind.

  But this… this was different.

  This wasn’t the grief you feel when you lose someone close.

  No.

  This feeling, burning through his chest, twisting every nerve, setting his blood alight—was something new.

  *It was pure. Uncontrollable. Rage.

  Jackson rises, every muscle trembling with fury. He snatches the burning shard of wood from the ground, eyes blazing as they lock onto the creature, too consumed with feasting to notice him.*

  Without hesitation, he charges.

  He leaps onto a hay bale engulfed in flames, the heat licking at his clothes and skin.

  From the burning hay, he springs onto the creature’s semi-translucent, writhing back. Its gelatinous surface shifts beneath him, slick and unstable. He slides, almost losing his balance, but grips tightly.

  Then, he drives the searing shard deep into the creature.

  The heat burns into its flesh, and for a brief, terrifying moment, it screams, a wet, grinding sound that echoes across the burning fields.

  The creature bucks violently.

  Its slick, gelatinous skin offers no grip.

  Jackson is thrown through the air, landing hard, back first, against the splintered remains of the burning barn.

  Wood shards tear into his clothes and flesh. Blood streams down his head, slick and hot.

  For a moment, he lies still, chest heaving.

  Then he rises.

  Unflinching. Unbroken.

  The pain registers, but he feels nothing. His mind is consumed with a single, burning purpose.

  Jackson’s head tilts slightly, bones creaking and cracking under the strain. Despite the damage his body has taken, he feels impossibly light, as if the pain doesn’t exist. Fight or flight has no choice here, only fight.

  He yanks one of the wooden shards from his side, shallow enough not to be fatal, but still sharp and searing.

  The creature turns toward him, its grotesque form twisting. It lets out a bone-rattling screech, vibrating deep into his core.

  But Jackson barely registers the sound.

  The creature charges.

  Jackson leaps aside just in time.

  The beast slams headfirst into the burning remains of the barn, flames licking and charring its gelatinous flesh. It lets out another ear-shattering screech, this one drowned by the hiss and roar of boiling heat as the fire scalds its body.

  The creature bursts from the flames, charging at Jackson with terrifying speed.

  Time seems to stretch, or maybe he’s moving faster than it should be. The world blurs around him.

  Thoughts slam into his bloodied mind, but they barely register. Instinct takes over.

  The wooden shard dances in his fingers as if it were an extension of his body, like he’s been wielding it his entire life.

  Jackson waits.

  The creature barrels past him.

  And in that perfect, fleeting moment…

  He strikes.

  The searing wood bites into its gelatinous flesh, ripping through muscle and membrane, sending a spray of steam and blood into the smoky air.

  The creature’s blood is dark, black, thick like tar. A few droplets splatter onto Jackson’s arm.

  At first, it feels sticky, heavy… then-

  Searing, burning agony erupts through his skin.

  The blood reacts violently with the air, like acid eating into flesh.

  Jackson cries out, dropping the wooden shard as pain shoots up his arm. He grabs it instinctively, grunting, muscles tensing, as the agony spreads all the way to his fingers.

  Every nerve is on fire.

  After agonizing moments, the pain fades, leaving raw, blistered skin, a third-degree burn etched across his arm.

  Jackson stands, panting, shaken back into reality, every movement a reminder of how close the creature’s attack came.

  Jackson is too consumed with rage, too focused on striking the creature.

  He doesn’t see it appear behind him.

  The massive, gelatinous rear of the creature slams into his back with a sickening crack.

  The air is knocked from his lungs.

  He’s hurled through the scorched field, tumbling end over end like a ragdoll, dirt and ash streaking across his bloodied body.

  Finally, he slams into a stack of untouched hay bales, the impact jolting every bone in his body.

  Pain explodes up his left arm, he can tell instantly it’s fully broken.

  He lies there for a moment, winded, broken, but still burning with unrelenting fury.

  Jackson’s vision lifts to the creature barreling toward him, its spinning teeth grinding at terrifying speed.

  Time seems to stretch, every second dragging like molten metal.

  The approaching doom doesn’t register in his mind. He doesn’t think of the pain, the broken arm, the chaos surrounding him.

  All that exists is Jane.

  For a brief, impossible moment, that thought is enough.

  He allows himself a small, defiant smile.

  A single tear slips down his bloodied cheek.

  Jackson closes his eyes.

  One second passes…

  Two seconds…

  Then, a sharp rush of air.

  He opens his eyes.

  Someone, an unknown figure in advanced armor, dives above the creature, flipping through the smoke and flames.

  A single, precise shot tears through the creature’s semi-translucent skin, pausing it mid-motion.

  The figure lands in front of Jackson, just in time, and the armor shifts, folding into a massive shield.

  They hold it steady, bracing against the monstrous form, Jackson pressed safely behind them.

  Then, the creature erupts.

  Black, tar-like blood sprays outward, slamming against the shield in a grotesque cascade.

  Within moments, the creature goes still.

  Killed.

  The figure stands tall, and more like them appear, moving with precise, practiced efficiency.

  Cpt. Rourke: Good work, Sergeant Mara.

  Cpl. Ash: I… could have done that too.

  Sgt. Mara’s visor shifts, sliding open to reveal her face, gum mid-chew.

  Sgt. Mara: Can it, rookie. Stick to what you’re good at.

  Lt. Elias: Enough bickering. Go secure the area and check the bunkers’ status. Sergeant Keal, assist the injured.

  All in unison: Aye, sir.

  Sergeant Keal kneels beside Jackson, setting down a compact medical pack. From it, she pulls a device that looks like a gun, one meant for injection. Jackson flinches instinctively, but the movement only sends a fresh wave of pain up his broken arm, making him groan.

  Sgt. Keal: You need to relax, kid. Struggle now and you’ll only make it worse.

  He grips Jacksons shoulder firmly, guiding him as the device presses against his arm. The injection hits, and Jackson’s muscles convulse violently. Jackson grits his teeth, holding onto his arm as it twists unnaturally, reshaping itself under the mysterious treatment. Pain lances through him, raw and lingering.

  When it’s over, he stares at his arm in disbelief, it looks whole, functional, though the ache remains.

  Sgt. Keal: Don’t move. This will only help your arm. If you have any internal injuries, this won’t fix them. Just sit tight.

  Keal gives a gentle, almost playful smack to his leg before rising, then strides off to continue his work.

  Despite Keal’s warnings, Jackson pushes himself upright. Blood and sweat streak his face as he limps through the scorched field, the unknown soldiers moving efficiently to evacuate civilians from the shelters.

  He stumbles, nearly collapsing, until Captain Rourke catches him.

  Cpt. Rourke: Whoa there. You really shouldn’t be moving in the state you’re in.

  Jackson: T… that strange medicine that healed my arm… Can you use it to save someone? My friend! She… she was attacked by that… that thing.

  Captain Rourke’s face darkens, sorrow flashing in his eyes.

  Cpt. Rourke: Sorry, kid.

  He pats Jackson’s shoulder gently, then begins to walk away.

  Jackson (grabbing Rourke’s shoulder, voice urgent): Wait!

  Jackson: Please… tell me who you people are.

  Cpt. Rourke (smirking, calm and enigmatic): We are the…

  Fade to black.