“I realize we might just be guests in this valley, but would you mind explaining to me why you would allow someone who assaulted a foreign dignitary’s staff to just leave as if nothing happened?” Charlie Devos said, a vein pulsing in his forehead.

“Mr. Devos, I just saved your life, and any chance of one day joining your superiors in the next.” Clara replied calmly.

“Pray tell Miss Thompson, how so?” Charlie all but snarled.

“That was the Apprentice of the Titan.” Clara explained harshly and Charlie’s face dropped, the situation setting in as he looked at his men on the ground and his assistant gasping for air with indignant tears in her eyes as she stared after the distantly disappearing young woman.

***

Tessa stepped out of the town car which had driven her home and immediately stopped, looking at the mess around her.

Tracks showing the spiderbots had swarmed covered the ground everywhere she looked and as she neared the cabin, she found a ramp built onto the porch stairs and wheel tracks leading to and from the caves.

“What the hell?” Tessa muttered, looking at the small ramp.

When she went inside, she caught Agda at the tail end of a flinch as the ancient Sentire looked wide-eyed at the door, although not at eye level, but instead staring at Tessa’s feet before quickly looking up and composing herself.

“Close the door. You’ll let all the heat out.” Agda chided Tessa.

“Grandmother, that one is adored by the drones. Please don’t make things any worse.” Sophia sighed from the livingroom couch, making Agda wince and go upstairs in defeat.

“So... I guess a lot of stuff happened while I was out?” Tessa asked.

“Oh, yeah.” Sophia replied, stressing the words.

“She finally went outside, huh?” Tessa said, shrugging off her coat.

“Yup, and now she can’t leave the cabin.” Sophia sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Your little day trip go okay?” Sophia asked, sounding as if she needed something to take her mind off on.

“Uhm... Yeah, pretty well.” Tessa replied, a little apprehensive.

Sophia instantly caught on and narrowed her eyes.

“What happened?” She demanded.

“I might have gotten into a tiny little fistfight.” Tessa replied, wincing.

“A fistfight?” Sophia repeated incredulously.

“Someone from my school days saw me. She was horrible as always, but weirdly enough, I wasn’t scared of her. Anyway, she came at me and I think I might have cracked her ribs. I only hit her once though, and only to defend myself.” Tessa explained.

“And?” Sophia pushed.

“N-Nothing.” Tessa replied, stuttering and drawing out the word.

“So when Clara called to ask me whether to evacuate the Devos’s from the valley, that had nothing to do with you?” Sophia asked sweetly.

“Okay, so there might have been a couple of bodyguards, but I didn’t even break a sweat.” Tessa said, feeling oddly proud.

“Goddammit.” Sophia swore. “The first thing he does is pick a fight with the reds... And she does the exact same thing.” Sophia grumbled to herself.

“Okay, here’s what you do.” Sophia said, raising her head and looking tiredly at Tessa.

“You don’t mention a word of this to you know who because he’ll go on a tear just for the fun of it. Second you need to realize you’re on a different level now, I heard you practically crippled two of the guards, the girl is in the hospital with a punctured lung, you need to be more careful, or you might actually kill someone, and I doubt you’re ready to shoulder that weight just yet.” Sophia admonished.

Tessa looked at the floor, suddenly feeling silly for being proud of violence.

Until another pair of feet stood in front of hers. She looked up in time to see Sophia hug her.

“But you should never feel bad for defending yourself. I just don’t want you to have to live with those kinds of regrets. I know how that feels and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.” Sophia said, standing on her toes to reach around Tessa.

***

I looked down at Sophia and Tessa hugging as they finished their conversation.

“You’re gonna burn and pillage the Devos Court as soon as you can walk, aren’t you?” Natasha asked, leaning on my chair.

“It’s Pillage and then burn... But yes.” I whispered in reply.

***

Tessa walked upstairs to go change out of her clothes while deep in thought.

Thinking about the lack of consequences her actions now had, she had just assaulted someone in broad daylight, and there was no threat of prison or punishment, simply because a few people believed her actions to be the right ones.

“You better have made it fucking hurt.” She heard Mr. Titanos say, and as she looked up she saw him sitting in a wheelchair by the top of the stairs.

“We don’t repeat ourselves. The lesson needs to be learned the first time it’s taught. So you better have made sure they never make that mistake again.” Mr. Titanos explained.

“Sir, there’s something I’ve been thinking about.” Tessa broached nervously. “You’ve placed shadows with me, yet none came out, even when they pulled guns on me?”

“It was daytime, and they had orders to only step in if you were in trouble... Were you ever in trouble?” Mr. Titanos asked, as if knowing the answer.

“No.” Tessa replied confidently... There hadn’t been a single moment where she had felt even remotely worried she might not be able to handle herself.

“Exactly. I hope you’ll excuse my prying, but I took the liberty of getting a play-by-play of the fight. You utilized your innate powers beautifully.” Mr. Titanos praised, and Tessa felt a warm sense of pride in her chest, straightening her back as she stood tall again.

“Thank you Sir.” Tessa replied.

Mr. Titanos seemed to hesitate for a moment, wanting to say something, but wavering.

“Tessa... Sophia is only ever worried about you. She cares for you because she sees a lot of her younger self in you... So do I.” Mr. Titanos said softly, before rolling away.

***

Michael Devos looked out through the window of his hotel suite.

“I can’t help but be jealous of this land, ours having been nothing but desert before we got there.” Michael said.

“Sir, it was already over once I got there.” Charlie Devos tried to explain.

“Yes, I’m sure it was... Do you remember what I told you and everyone else before we entered this valley?” Michael asked.

“To keep our-“

“TO KEEP YOUR PEOPLE IN CHECK!” Michael roared turning around, his eyes black and his skin squirming.

“Do you have any idea of the damage you’ve caused? Of the damage your little pet has caused?! You were supposed to receive the gift upon our return, eternal life!” Michael explained, before taking a deep breath.

“I spoke with someone close to the Titans’ territory. They said the girl your people attacked is favored by his specters, adored by them even. She is on par with the Eve Prime Heir.” Michael stared at Charlie, his expression resentful.

“I can make this right.” Charlie pleaded.

“Oh, you will. Even if you have to sacrifice yourself to those dark things to make amends, you will do so.” Michael demanded.

***

The quarantine zone had taken the shape of concentric, gradually shrinking circular perimeters, security increasing inversely.

At the edge of the destruction were mild blockades meant to keep out reporters and civilians, but as you moved further inward, hip height barriers became chain-link fence and barbed wire, which became massive concrete partitions more than twelve feet high.

The final barricade being less than four miles from the facility at the heart of the restricted area.

This was where the heaviest concentration of armed personnel patrolled and the temporary HQ was located.

You’d need military clearance to get this far, but you’d need a direct order from the top to move beyond it.

Something Miller and his team didn’t have, something they were never meant to have, as they were meant for total deniability.

It was a moonless winter night, with no stars in the sky, spotlights trying desperately to chase the dark away, but leaving far too many shadows to hide in.

Thomas felt the struggling guard beneath him as he rested his knee against the soldier’s neck, the slim combat blade piercing his heart, quickly draining the life from him.

His team leader moved ahead, slowly finding a way forward.

He silently gestured towards a guard above them in a tower. Thomas didn’t have to turn as he expected the two quick suppressed shots behind him, the sound like a hammer on stone, but drowned out by a passing truck.

The guard slumped, and the spotlight ceased moving.

They moved forward in pairs, careful and unseen. Upon reaching the wall, Thomas and another stepped back before throwing a hooked rope ladder over the top, quickly pulling it taut, making sure it was secure with a few good tugs before starting their climb.

The rest of the team covering their ascent before following them.

Dropping on the other side, the team could breathe easy. Even when their infiltration was discovered, they’d already be too far to pursue, especially with the orders issued regarding entering the zone. They wouldn’t be followed.

They pulled off their packs, changing their gear out for a mix between hazmat and assault, clipping small sensors to their harnesses, a barely audible static in their ears indicating a lack of the energy signatures the anomalies emitted.

The team packed up and continued moving forward, there was another three miles to the facility and no telling of what they’d run into along the way.

As expected, roaming abominations of flesh became an almost common sight the closer the team got to the epicenter of the zone, slowing their advance to a crawl as they were forced to take cover until each of the abominations passed their location.

Images via drones had showed a previously underground portion of the facility accessible from the surface of the crater created by the blast, the team aiming to enter through there.

The team was inching towards the lip of the bowl-like crater below them, their sensors letting out an increased but still acceptable level of static, telling them they were in the clear for now.

“I see structures below, maybe a possible entrance.” One of the team spotted.

“That’s our entry point. Let’s move.” Miller ordered.

The team slid down the side of the crater and moved towards the exposed concrete structure seemingly sheared clean through, where it met with the crater’s surface.

Large letters adorned the wall inside saying Maintenance.

The team moved down the hall, finding a shaft; the cable connected to an elevator snapped and the box itself stuck some ways down after the emergency breaks had kicked in.

“We’ll have to repel.” Miller observed after dropping a chem-light down the shaft.

The team began setting up the rigging to go down the shaft when Thomas stopped and looked at the wall, confused.

“Thomas! We don’t have time to go sightseeing, get a move on already.” Miller snapped.

“Sir. I think you should see this.” Thomas responded oddly, not acknowledging the ass-chewing he was about to get.

“What in the hell?” Miller said, looking at the same simple map on the wall Thomas had been staring at.

“Site SS-23-6 is only supposed to have 6 levels sir... It’s in the name.” Thomas stated uneasily.

“Get back to the team.” Miller ordered.

“But sir-“ Thomas started but was silenced.

“Now!” Miller barked.

Thomas silently returned to his team to finish setting up the gear for their descent.

Miller leaned in closer so his body cam could focus on the schematic.

It showed a map of the floors accessible by this elevator, and it continued into the hundreds, the names growing stranger and more bizarre the further down the list you went.

“Rigging ready, sir!” someone informed him over their comms, and he turned away.

***

Floors zero to two were destroyed in the event, rubble closing off the remains of the shaft above and the elevator below them was blocking off access to the sixth floor.

The team descended into the shaft in pairs, one prying open the sliding doors to each floor while the other covered them.

The layout inside seemed completely alien to the facility Thomas remembered. It was still cold steel and concrete, but the aesthetic had changed to something familiar yet entirely different.

“Sir.” Thomas started nervously.

“I know. We keep moving.” Miller replied with the same troubled expression.

They finally reached the elevator, Thomas drawing the short straw of having to test whether it was stable.

About three feet off the top of the metal box, Thomas released his slack and let himself fall, slamming against the elevator with an echoing thump He looked around for a moment holding his breath, before looking up and giving the sign that all was well.

That’s when the sound of grinding metal whined throughout the shaft and the elevator broke free from the bent rails the emergency breaks were clamped onto.

Weightlessness fluttered Thomas’s stomach as his footing dropped beneath him.

He desperately grabbed at his line to slow his descent, the friction of the rope burning his gloves.

But his fall was stopped, he dangled taking quick panicked breaths looking below himself, seeing the still falling chem-lights in the distance. It took almost two minutes before the thundering impact filled the shaft.

Thomas looked up wide eyed, his team nearly indiscernible through the dust and lowlight. The only sign they were still there was the waving chem-lights.

“THOMAS, STATUS?!” Miller yelled.

“I’m okay, sir!” Thomas replied.

“We’re coming down. Try to get to the nearest floor!” Miller said before the sound of repelling could be heard.

Thomas ascended and gripped hold of a service ladder, his team joining him and helping him pry open the door to the floor they’d found themselves at, a large sign on the wall beside the doors reading Floor 15 – Flesh that bleeds, Testing and Tasting.

Thomas felt goosebumps break out across his skin, and by the worried looks of his team, they weren’t doing any better.

“We’ll have a look around this floor, then return to the surface. Let the eggheads pour over our footage while we drown out this shit at the bar.” Miller informed them.

The prospect of drinking this memory away didn’t lift team morale for long though, as everywhere they looked, things were eerily off.

The problem wasn’t that things looked different; it was their sinister similarities that threw the team off.

Like drawing a picture from memory, small details were missing, giving them all a sense something was terribly wrong, like realizing you’re dreaming before waking up.

The world around them just seemed wrong somehow.

However, the facility’s similar construction meant that Thomas began noticing familiar patterns in the design

“If this is the Main research labs, then secure storage should be...” Thomas thought as he moved his light along the corridor they were passing, and sure enough a heavy steel door with a scanner and keypad came into view.

“Sir.” Thomas notified his team leader.

The team moved towards the door.

“I brought the demo kit, but I doubt it’ll even leave a scratch on that thing.” Their demolitionist stated knocking on the metal, getting a dull clang.

Thomas removed his combat glove and reached out hesitantly, placing his hand on the scanner, not truly thinking it would work... but it did.

The light turned green, and the keypad requested an access code. He typed in what would have been today’s code along with the syntax and Facility signifier and held his breath.

The keypad turned green; the door depressurized and unlocked with a hiss.

“How’d you do that?” Miller asked suspiciously.

“I didn’t... It’s the Facility area-code and the syntax which would have been used if we’d had to store anything,” Thomas said in a daze.

Steam slowly flowed out as the door opened automatically.

“You four stay out here, Thomas and Mark, with me.” Miller ordered before moving through the door.

Inside was like any other storage room for undocumented or currently researched materials.

But the contents of the room were anything but standard, the meters in their suits going haywire as they passed an unsealed container.

Pulsing crystals and Artifact-like items littered the room in sealed leaded-glass cases.

Thomas moved towards a nearby terminal, usually housing information regarding the items in storage, but the words were a jumbled mess and his eyes had difficulty tracking the letters as they moved across the screen like ants

He finally gave up and looked away with a groan and a mild headache.

“Okay, bag what you can.” Miller ordered.

Their team had come prepared, carrying lead-shielded bags with them, once their haul was packed away, their sensors returned to a bearable crackling.

The bags weren’t perfect and their range of detection would be reduced significantly, but it was better than nothing... Or so Thomas thought.

As the three of them moved out into the hallway, joining up with the rest of their team once again, their sensors started picking something up, the static increasing until it finally cut out completely once more, telling them there was something close by.

Except they couldn’t find anything, the team forming a defensive perimeter with their backs to each other standing at a junction of hallways.

The eerie sound of liquid dripping caught the teams attention and put them on edge.

Thomas backed up and turned to Miller to requests orders, but as he did so something slimy hit his face, he wiped it with his glove holding his hand in front of his flashlight to see what it was.

The light revealed a thick, dark red liquid smelling of decomposing flesh.

Thomas looked ahead to see Miller staring at him in shock, then they both looked up, already expecting what they’d find.

“ABOVE US! SCATTER!” Miller yelled as the team dove out of formation while he and Thomas opened fire.

A misshapen mass of fused flesh and white coats dropped down, it was quadrupedal with a wide maw like someone had tried to combine three human heads by mashing them together side by side.

It let out an unintelligible but vaguely human sounding scream before leaping at the nearest of them, biting into the soldier’s torso with its wide mouth, ripping off a length of flesh and fibers from beneath his shoulder to his hip.

He screamed in agony as the bite hadn’t reached more than a couple of inches inward, far from enough to kill him quickly, but enough to spell his eventual end.

Ribs and intestines were visible through the wound.

The team fired everything they had at the abomination, trying their best to put the damned thing down, but their bullets just tore into the soft cancerous flesh, spilling more of the indescribable liquid onto the floor beneath it, the smell choking the air.

“MASKS!” Miller called out, each member taking a turn to put on their hazmat mask, thankfully reducing the retched odor.

The creature struggled forward until its last breath before it fell over with a wet, nauseating sound.

Their medic rushed to their downed comrade, but he was incensed from pain, screaming and clawing at his quickly blackening skin, blood no longer leaking out of his wound, instead turning dark and viscous.

Miller pushed aside the medic before putting a bullet in their downed comrade’s head... A mercy killing at this point.

“Evac to the shaft.” He huffed out through strained breaths, the team not hesitating as they took off down the way they’d come.

It wasn’t long before the cacophony of disjointed footfalls echoed behind them, uneven in rhythm... maybe even number.

They reached the shaft and hooked onto their lines one at a time, ascending the ropes as quickly as possible.

The sound of the last man clipping on was all they heard before they were thrown against the walls, their harnesses the only reason they didn’t fall as their climbing gear locked onto the rope, keeping them from falling.

Thomas’ vision doubled as he peered down, the rope slick with a familiar odorous fluid. Their final man was nowhere to be seen, but an impact too loud to be made by a single body told them where he’d gone.

The team continued their ascent, not pausing until they reached the surface.

The adrenaline masking their fatigue and mental strain, leaving the men numb. It wasn’t until they reached the surface that Thomas noticed the itching on his right cheek.

The sensation started out not unlike a mosquito bite before turning into a burning sensation, when he finally climbed out of the shaft and into the exposed hallway he ripped off his mask and scratched at the patch of skin, his fingers sinking in like mud.

Thomas turned to his team while on his knees, the last thing he saw was Miller aiming his sidearm at his head.