"Come on, we need to get out right now!" Chen dragged Skyy back by the arm as they watched the small, leaf-like creature being slowly devoured by the black, liquid-like mush.
The strange substance crawled over Leaf's little body, swallowing it inch by inch. The creature struggled beneath it, its branches twitching desperately as the black mass continued to spread across the floor.
"What is that?! Why is it—"
"I don't know, okay?! I just don't know!" Chen snapped, his eyes fixed on the horrifying sight. He quickly reached into his clothes and pulled out a small bomb. "But it can't live."
"Wait!" Skyy grabbed his arm. "Kyle is still there. They are still there!"
He desperately looked toward the other end of the corridor.
Kyle and Kaden were still inside the base.
He couldn't just leave them behind.
But Chen didn't give him a chance to argue. He pulled Skyy into his arms and held him tightly before throwing the bomb toward the black substance.
"Run!"
Chen immediately turned and made a mad dash toward the stairwell, carrying Skyy with him.
"Wait! Chen! Kyle is still—"
"Unless you want to die too, shut up and hold on!"
Skyy reluctantly wrapped his arms around Chen's neck, but his eyes remained fixed behind them.
The bomb had landed directly inside the black liquid.
For a few seconds, nothing happened.
The black substance simply swallowed it.
Skyy's eyes widened.
"Did it…?"
A faint hiss suddenly came from behind them.
"Hssssss…"
Chen slowed down for half a second and glanced back.
The black liquid had completely covered the bomb.
Smoke began leaking from beneath its surface, but instead of exploding, the substance seemed to be absorbing it. The smoke slowly expanded outward, trapped beneath the strange black membrane.
Small holes began forming across its surface.
Through those holes, tiny sparks of light flickered.
Skyy stared at it in confusion.
"It doesn't look good…" he whispered before his expression changed. "It looks like it ate it!"
Chen's face went pale. He stared at the growing mass for a moment before gritting his teeth.
"Fuck."
Suddenly, movement caught Skyy's attention from the opposite corridor. Two familiar figures came running into view.
Skyy's heart nearly stopped. "Kyle!"
Kyle and Kaden had heard the commotion and were running toward them. But the moment they saw the black substance spreading across the corridor, Kaden grabbed Kyle and immediately pulled him in the opposite direction.
"No! Go the other way!" Kaden shouted.
"Kyle!" Skyy screamed.
Kyle looked back. For one brief moment, their eyes met across the collapsing corridor.
Skyy reached his hand toward him. "Kyle! Come here!"
But Kaden was already dragging him away. "We need to run!"
Skyy struggled in Chen's arms, desperately trying to reach toward Kyle. "Kyle!"
Then the black substance suddenly trembled.
A deafening hiss erupted from within it.
"HSSSSSSSSSS—!"
The entire corridor shook.
Chen's eyes widened. "Hold on!" He tightened his grip around Skyy and sprinted toward the stairwell.
Behind them, the black mass suddenly expanded violently, spreading across the walls and ceiling as though something inside it had finally awakened.
The tiny sparks that had been flickering through its surface became brighter.
Brighter.
And brighter.
Skyy looked back one last time. He could no longer see Kyle or Kaden.
The entire corridor had been swallowed by the black substance.
Then—
BOOOOOOM!!!
A massive explosion ripped through the base.
The force threw everything into chaos.
Chen's arms tightened around Skyy, but Skyy couldn't feel anything anymore.
All he could see was a blinding, terrifying bright red glow consuming everything in front of him.
He heard someone screaming. He couldn't tell whether it was Chen or himself.
Then the sound disappeared. The red light swallowed his vision.
His body felt strangely weightless.
And then—
everything went blank.
A small squeak was heard, followed by scratching. Something soft rolled over his face. Blinking, he gazed into the eyes of a furry, fat gray rat that was sitting on his nose, looking down at him. Chen just blinked.
"Trexa?"
"Squeak~" The little rat let out a happy squeak, hugging his nose with its small paws.
"What are you…" He sat up.
But a weight on his chest made him pause. Looking down, he saw a young man lying on top of him.
"Skyy!" He pulled him close.
The young man's clothes were burned at the back, but he didn't seem to have come to any harm.
"Skyy." He gently patted his soot-covered face.
The young man let out a soft groan and opened his eyes, blinking in astonishment.
"C-Chen?"
"Fuck, you're alive…" Chen let out a loud sigh, closing his eyes in relief. He pulled the man close, hugging him tightly. "I thought you died, man…"
Skyy got up from him, peering down at him unblinkingly.
"What…" He looked around.
They were in a lush forest. Green stretched everywhere they looked. And they were in what looked like a ditch.
"Where are we?"
"I would like to know that too." Chen helped him sit up as he sat up as well. "Trexa might have helped us get away from that explosion." He pulled the little rat close.
Skyy peered at it.
"Is that the rat from the lunar base? Is it still alive? I thought it had died?"
"No, she has the power to go back in time. She literally can't die. If she ages, she just goes back in time." Chen said, fondling her little cheeks. "Thank God I had her in my pocket when it happened…"
"But what about the others…" Skyy looked at him, biting his lip anxiously.
"I bet they survived. Don't worry." Chen assured him, but even he did not know what could have happened. "Let's see where we are first. Then let's get back to base."
He stood up, looking around.
The ditch they were in was very deep. Even if he jumped up, they couldn't reach the mouth of it. Gritting his teeth, he tried it. But it was hopeless.
"I can lift you up. Try and see if you can reach the top."
He pulled the young man up and helped him climb.
But even that was useless. Skyy was not able to grasp the edge.
"So… we are stuck here." Chen mumbled, looking around the lush cave.
No one knew what kind of danger lurked in here.
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