NOVEL NEXT Chapter 97: Angels in the Hive
The elevator slowed to a smooth stop. The Morray Unit had arrived on the 295th floor. It was pitch black, and there was an anxious shuffle in the absence of light. Then one ranger turned their light on, the glow slicing through the void revealing the worst-case scenario for them. Fleshy growths clung to the walls in sprawling black webs; abyssal polyps bulged like diseased organs, and from every surface hung bloated cocoons, their striated membranes swelled with the struggling unknown. The sickly miasma of the Abyss had claimed this place, rooting itself deep into the steel and stone.
Morray studied the archaic growths, sinewy veins twitching in the glare of their lights. "CB Esoteric Protocols HCH… We've got a hive." — He paused."Purge Orders. Ready your M.K. gear—there's a chance we're dealing with Harvesters. Switch your visual modules to non-visual bandwidths—Nyctalopia works. Keep the cones low; anything above eleven will blind you."
The rangers began to fidget with their visual modules. Among them, Rotner struggled the most, his fingers trembling against the controls.
Morray laid a hand on his shoulder. "Slow down. Breathe with me—steady."
Rotner nodded, drawing in a deep breath. "Thank ya, sir…" he mumbled, his energy leeched by the devouring black of the backroom.
Morray turned to Romm. "I'm switching out my glaive."
"Sir." Romm swung the pack around, bracing it so Morray could dig through.
Morray switched out his gear. "We'll be treating Romm here like a payload. He's carrying gear, medical supplies, and ammo—he'll function as our anchor as we rotate. Nyrk Squad you're on point. Boreas Squad and Romm will…"
The order landed heavy. Nyrk rangers shifted, exchanging uneasy looks. One finally snapped, shoving past Melvin and another squadmate. "Why? Why send all of us up front?"
Morray let out a tired sigh."Because it make sense—"
The ranger cut him off, voice cracking."B-but since there's more of us, wouldn't a balanced formation make more sense? Some in the back? Those things…don't they ambush from behind?"
Morray studied him in silence—the tense grip, his posture, the way he crumpled like a cornered child.The rest of Nyrk squad weren't much better: heads low, fingers twitching on their guns instead of their blades. Except for one ranger, whose hand drifted nervously along the hilt of their M.K. Blade.
When he spoke, Morray kept his tone steady. "I'm not putting your squad up front because it's more dangerous, but because it makes sense. The Boreas Squad members are familiar with one another, just like you are with your squad. I'm organizing us by squads to keep this patchwork unit alive."
The Nyrk ranger remained silent, backing away to join his squad members, still clutching their rifles like lifelines.
Morray's eyes lingered on them. Something's off. Is it nerves? Inexperience? Or…
"Sir." A very cordial voice interrupted his train of thought.
"Yes?" Morray asked, turning to face ranger Tosrö.
Tosrö shifted in the gloom, his fingers restless on his gear. "Me and the other Boreas guys—we've never dealt with a nest before. We know about Harvesters, but not the details. I just don't want us making mistakes that'll get us killed."
"Good thing you asked." Morray flashed his lights towards all the rangers present, getting their attention. "I'm gonna give a quick rundown on Harvesters and Hives before we head in."
The rangers present seemed to nod along except for the Nyrk rangers.
Morray cleared his throat, gesturing to the unit to gather. "Listen up. Caused Nests are composed of three threat classes: Passive, Neutral, and Active: Passive entities won't harm us unless we take off our gear, or reduce our Kyyr mass. Neutral Entities are a step up, and will attack us if we disrupt their function in the Hive."
Morray scowled under his visor. "And finally—Active Entities, which will hunt us. And, unlucky for us, based on this hive's development, I'd say we've got Harvesters."
The rangers wallowed in the name of enigmatic creatures.
"A lot of you probably remember them from your Xenobiology classes. They're these nasty looking monsters who only appear in Hives, and their sole purpose is to gather biomass for the Cause. They prefer large livestock, but they're not exactly picky."
He exhaled slowly. "Downstairs you probably noticed how pristine and clean everything was. That silent loss goes to show how efficient they are." Morray looked up the dozens of fat pulsing cocoons lining the backrooms alone. "I was really hoping the Servinae had evacuated to the Refuge Points, but… judging by how much flesh is coating the walls, odds are they were harvested. Over a hundred thousand Servinae are unaccounted for in this building alone…" He stared into the darkness ahead, his visual nodule scanning the sinewy walls. "And I think we just found them."
The Nyrk rangers shifted uneasily, hands tightening on their rifles. The Boreas Squad stood stiff, eyes darting between one another. Romm exchanged a knowing look with Morray, shared recognition in the grotesque reality that pressed down all around them.
Morray continued. "From what I can tell, the hive's breeding Type Twos. We're in the early stages, but it's still bad. If we hold formation and avoid the Harvesters, we should be able to reach the security access at the center. But we'll have to be quick."
He leaned forward, voice dropping. "As for the lowdown on the Harvesters… They're overall creepy and nasty. They stand about four meters tall. They're not particularly fast thanks to their prehensile feet. Their jaws are probably the must fucked looking thing about them. Instead of having a mouth they've got these hand-like graspers growing out from their throats. So rather than biting, they grab you and force you down their throat—alive. Their arms are also incredibly long, and have extra joints. Actually, their entire skeleton is a fucking nightmare. It's important to know that they can compress almost every bone in their body, including their skulls. Which means as long as their jaw fits, they can hide almost anywhere." He paused, terror grappling the seasoned ranger. "But their most dangerous feature is the gas…"
"Abyssal Demnemonic," one of the Boreas rangers muttered.
Morray gave a curt nod. "The gas is twofold in its effects. It functions as a non-abyssal Kyyr suppressant, but it's also a volatile neuroalkaloid that targets certain brain receptors. It overwrites your synapses with noise, scrambling your brain, causing seizures, confusion, and… eventually, permanent memory loss."
The squad stiffened, dread tightening around them.
"Your helmet's integrity must be your individual priority. For survival: stick close, make sure to look all around you, including up. But the key thing is looking out for the gas—it's normally barely visible to the eye, but on the visor settings I shared it'll show as a white mist. If we do encounter one, aim for the gill-organs on their necks. That's where the gas is produced. And if your helmet cracks—don't panic. You've got about a minute before things start slipping away." They sat in silence for a second before Morray groaned as he stretched, rolling his shoulders. "Alright. Gather up. We've got a tower to stop." And with that the Morray Unit went into a diamond formation around Romm.
Their first steps off the elevator were met with disgust. The floor was slick with a fleshy film, a clear mucous that clung to their boots. Each step peeled loose with a wet tack before the slime stretched and snapped, only to smear again as they pressed deeper into the backrooms.
Morray checked the wrist-mounted screen strapped to his arm. The crude motion sensor spat out an incomprehensible mess of pings, each one sparked by the heaping masses of living tissue around them. He adjusted the sensitivity, narrowing the sweep, forcing the device to map not just this floor but the levels above and below.
A rough visualization began to take shape—an ugly cross-section of the hive. From the readings, they were wading through the upper end of it, the nest trailing downward another ten floors, deeper into the abyss.
Morray stared at the readings, a single word gnawing at him. "Impossible…" he mumbled.
Rotner heard him and leaned in, "Impossible what, sir?"
"It's just. The pace at which this nest must've developed is insane. All the nests I've studied took weeks to develop. And the Harvesters—they appear early in hive development, but that takes days, it's almost like someone took a nest from somewhere else and dropped it in here… but that's impossible—well, as far as I know."
The Unit reached a splitting path.
"Which way sir?" One of the Nyrk rangers asked.
Morray scanned the wall. "Well this sucks…or…hmm." He looked at the timer on his arm-mounted display. He pushed past all the rangers and put a hand on the sinewy wall. "Our way in is behind this shit—we could try to access the building from another point, but that'd waste time."
"What are we going to do, sir?" Rotner asked.
Morray took a deep breath. "Get your M.K. Blades ready, there's gonna be a ton of bloody screeching here in a sec." Morray gestured to them to step back.
"WAIT!" One of the Nyrk rangers shouted.
Vwooosh!
In a flash Morray drew his M.K. Blade and sliced through the writhing mass, the flaming arc spread along the growths as a horrid cacophony of screeches rippled through the air. The rangers stepped back in a panic as Morray swung again with far more power, this time rending the burnt flesh revealing a battered metal door. Morray changed his stance, charging his violent Kyyr into his hand as he thrust the blade straight into the wall before pulsing flames through the metal. The screeching grew louder as Morray smoothly swung the blade in a nigh perfect molten circle.
Morray turned his blade off, and moved back to his position. "Let's get a move on! Those bastards are definitely coming for us now."
Romm turned to Morray and in a hushed panic grabbed him by arm, "Are you fucking insane?! There had to be a better way! Now those things are definitely after us."
Morray smirked, and shouted over the screeching. "You're right. They're definitely coming now, so focus on your jobs."
The Nyrk rangers stared at Morray, their hands still clamped tight on their guns as the screeching tore through the building.
"What are you waiting for? Move." Morray ordered.
The Nyrk rangers turned to face the burning pathway Morray had created, the shadows casting anything past the flaming edges in black. The Nyrk rangers stood there awkwardly deciding what to do when… a waft of white gas fluttered past them from the hall to their right.
The closest Nyrk ranger panicked, "HARVESTER!" she cried, pushing past her comrades and running through the burning gateway. The others followed suit as Morray and the rest followed.
"Maintain formation!" Morray called out as the Nyrk rangers stumbled through the aperture and into floor 295, the abandoned ENN.KORR offices.
You see, long before Skolas had been reduced to a pleasure-seeking paradise, it had been an old Nomos Areopagus. These structures were once courts of justice, with each of the three buildings now holding withered purposes. Curvadoss in particular was once a repository of information and knowledge.
The Nyrk rangers rushed inside only to be greeted by a maze of hanging flesh and rows of cocoons glued to almost every surface of the office area. Morray and the Boreas group caught up, and were equally stunned by the sheer amount of biomass that the Caused had accumulated. Morray looked at his motion sensor.
"To the left! There should be some kind of open area that way!"
With little choice, the Nyrk rangers pushed forward, their breaths heavy, boots ripping through screeching flesh.
SSSSSHHHHHH…
Gas.
All around them, gas began to flood the uneven, tight flesh-halls of the nest as they pushed forward—tripping on cocoons, ripping them open as shrill screeches rippled through the air. The pink, sinewy strands writhing in the darkness.
One of the Nyrk rangers tripped, rifle and arms tearing through a cocoon as he pitched face-first into the mess of flesh.
"AAAAGH!" he screamed as his armor hissed and blistered in the burning secretion. He clawed to pull himself free—only for a malformed arm to erupt from the cocoon, grabbing him by the face and pulling him deeper into the pulsing mass. "GET IT OFF—MMMGH!" The cry broke into muffled thrashing, the sound swallowed by the flesh, while the other Nyrk rangers had already abandoned him.
Rotner lunged, wrapping both arms around the man's waist. He pulled with everything he had, but the ranger's frantic thrashing kept breaking his grip. The flesh clung like quicksand, sucking him further in.
SSSSSSHHHHHH!
The gas thickened, choking the air. Rotner struggled to pull the trapped ranger, muscles straining against the flesh. Morray seized hold beside him. "Keep moving!" he roared at Romm and the Boreas rangers. "We'll catch up!"
Morray flared his Kyyr in tandem with Rotner. Together they pulled on the Nyrk ranger, as they wrenched him free of the cocoon's grip.
"AAAAAAAAAGH!" His scream tore out in agony. His helmet's visor was gone—ripped away, replaced with spiraling tendrils. In a blind panic, he shoved Morray and Rotner aside, clawing at the pink growths fused to his face.
SSSSHHH…
Tears bubbled through the pink flesh, his hoarse screams drowned in the hive's static roar. The two watched helplessly until—
A loud resonant gurgling thrummed against their bones. Morray's eyes widened. He grabbed Rotner by the wrist and forcefully dragged him away.
From above the screaming ranger. Black spider-like appendages unfolded, wreathed in the white gas. Stretching outward like withered hands, skin pulled tight over jutting bone, grasping for him. The gas fell around them in a blissful haze as the ranger's cries collapsed into incoherent babbling. Morray fought to drag Rotner back, but the boy was transfixed.
The chaos grew dull around Rotner. His eyes lost in the Harvester's deformed maw as it descended from above, embracing the cooing ranger—consuming him in a single bite. The beast raised its head high, the ranger's body writhing down its throat, and into its guts—his hands pressing against the skin of its belly. The skin stretched and writhed for a second before coming to a stop. Only then did its empty white eyes meet Morray and Rotner as it tenderly caressed its bulging gut.
Rotner tore his gaze away and shouted, voice cracking. "WHAT IN THE HELL SIR!" he screamed, tears streaming down his face.
Morray stared straight ahead, ignoring the terror as he pulled them deeper into the abyss.
Further down from them, just like Morray had said, the Nyrk rangers were the first to arrive in a massive open area that seemed to connect to the 296th and 297th floors. It was the remnants of some kind of a plaza that was now covered in pulsing cocoons. The ground, though slimy, was now soft, and covered in what appeared to be tall pink grass. The screeching had lulled into distant whimpers, leaving the rangers to catch their breaths.
One of the rangers began to count. "We lost one. Roll call." he said nervously. "Veiga?" one of them raised their hand. "Siv?" Another raised their hand. "Druvkar, Drengr, Eirik, Drim?" But there was no response. "Shit… we lost Drim…"
They all stared at the ground until one of them spoke. "Why'd that psychopath do that?"
Another one raised their head, "You think he knows? I mean, why would he put all of us at the front? And then rip a hole in the nest!" Another ranger cried out in a panic.
"Hush. Even if he knows he's stuck with us. Traversing the hive is easier in numbers…"
"But Fenroy, what if those things already got them? Shouldn't we just fucking leave?! It took us over half an hour to get up here! We'll run out of time before this thing crashes."
"Calm down Veiga!" Fenroy said, hushing her. "We're insurance. If they somehow manage to get past the nest we'll provide support to the Cobra. And if we run out of time we can always ping it for rescue."
Veiga trembled, her eyes darting around the flesh coated plaza. "I didn't think we'd have to deal with a nest. I signed up to be security…"
Another ranger stepped in. "What if we set up an ambush? Just kill them now and leave."
Another one of the rangers shook his head. " Are you fucking stupid Siv? Where the hell are we gonna hide? One wrong step in here and those things will come and take us."
Fenroy nodded. "Druvkars right. The nest is clearly past what AEGIZ had predicted, we have to be patient."
Another ranger added, "It's that fucking Coarseblood—the beasts got these monsters working overtime." They whined. "Maybe Vizor was right—we should've killed him when we had the chance."
"Shhh!" Fenroy hushed the other rangers as he stared down the hallway they'd just come from.
Emerging from the fleshy hall was Morray, Romm, and the Boreas Squad. And no Drim. Everyone who arrived was panting except for Morray and Rotner who were hyperventilating. The young ranger turned to Morray and grabbed him by the seams of his cloak. "WHY SIR! Why'd you alert the nest like that! I heard Romm, there were other damn ways! That poor man… he…" Vomit edged his throat.
Morray grabbed Rotner by his cloak and raised him. He pressed his helmet against his. He spoke gently. "Breathe—in and out." Rotner grimaced but followed his words. "In and out." His words were deep yet soft, and then he whispered. "I need you to trust me kid, or else it's gonna be a rainy day tomorrow."
Rotner looked at him confused, his hands tight around Morray's.
"Just trust me kid." Morray said letting go. He turned to face the rest of the rangers. "I'm sorry to say but one of your friends was taken. He got hit with the gas, so at the very least he doesn't even know what's happening…" He looked at the Nyrk rangers, their hands still clamped tight around their guns. He let out a sigh before scanning the room. There were more cocoons, but on the far end there was some kind of structure protruding from the sea of flesh. "Lead the way, towards that building." He pointed. "We'll be climbing up."
The Nyrk rangers looked at each other before reluctantly pushing through the tall pink grass. They kept their formation as they crossed the field, the tendrils tenderly caressing their boots until they made it to the structure, which appeared to be some kind of cafe that the flesh had consumed.
Morray pushed past the group, and charged his Kyyr, jumping up and grabbing onto the edge of the structure before pulling himself up. Above there were two cocoons and more growths, he checked the ground and then poked his head down. "It seems stable." He extended down an arm. "I'll pull you up."
The Nyrk rangers hesitated, but Boreas Squad didn't. Morray lowered a hand, and Melvin jumped, catching his hand and rising up with ease.
Tosrö and Rotner followed, then came Romm who struggled to get off the ground with the huge pack, but just like the others he too was lifted up.
"Are you lot going to just stare? Quick, we're running out of time." Morray grumbled.
The Nyrk rangers hesitated, among them Fenroy spoke up. "Will the roof really hold all of our group? Shouldn't some of you go up to the next floor first?"
Morray grumbled, "Fair point." he turned to the Boreas Squad, "can you make it up?"
They inspected the next jump which wasn't as high. "Yes sir." Melvin answered.
"Good—" Morray turned back down, his eyes catching something on the other side of the room. "Ah fuck…" he mumbled. "Hey! You stubborn bastards hurry up!" he called down.
"We're waiting for the others to get up first." Fenroy called back.
Morray looked between them and the gas, I can't freak these idiots out. They might cause another scene… "Please, just take my hand!" he pleaded, but they didn't budge. He glanced back, to see Melvin pulling himself up and under a bent railing. He looked back towards where he'd seen the gas. Shit.
Peeking around a corner was the alien maw of a Harvester. Its pale skin contrasted against the long black digits that erupted from its throat. Its empty white eyes studying their movements from afar.
"Give your fucking hand or we're leaving you!" Morray said in a hushed scream.
The words rattled in their heads and all of a sudden the Nyrk rangers seemed a lot more receptive. "S-sorry sir!" Fenroy said, as he eagerly raised his hands like a toddler.
Morray didn't linger on their response and raised him up, then lowered his hand for the next. "Quick!" he hissed.
Another one reluctantly walked over and jumped up, missing his hand. Morray began to tremble as the Harvester slowly began to emerge from the hallways, its body compressing against the ground as it disappeared into the tall pink grass.
"Hurry up." Morray said, his voice edged with urgency.
The Nyrk rangers noticed his panic this time looking around only to see the faint wafts of gas. Morray grabbed another and raised them up. "QUICK!"
One of the Nyrk rangers in the back aimed his gun towards the gas, "Th-there's gas!" he squeaked.
Morray grabbed another and pulled them up in a panic. His eyes darted between the rangers and the mess of cocoons and grass, unsure as to where the Harvester was.
"Shit! Hurry up!" He growled, as another missed his hand. "Quick!"
SSSSHHH…
Gas burst from the grass around the last rangers. The rear man reeled into the other—still shaken after failing to catch Morray's hand. "IT'S IN THE GRASS!" he shrieked, firing wildly into the mist.
The deafening crack of bullets rang through the room as Morray finally caught the ranger and dragged him up. "STOP SHOOTING! GET OVER—"
"AAAAAGH—!" the ranger screamed.
A long, snake-like arm whipped from the haze, hooking its claws into his back and lifting him off his feet. The armor buckled and crumpled under the Harvester's grip..
"NONONONONONO!" he begged, firing wildly as the Harvester's jaws blossomed from the pink grass, like an aberrant flower. It let out a low gurgle, half between a groan and a laugh as it lowered the flailing ranger into its jaws.
"PLEASE DO SOMETHING!" he cried, thrashing as the jaws grew ever closer.
Morray put his hand on his M.K. Blade and was ready to jump down when—
BANG!
A final shot rang through the plaza as the ranger slumped in the beast's hand. Morray looked to his left to find ranger Fenroy lowering his gun. Morray turned back to see the ranger's body twitch as it was lowered into the Harvester's maw.
"I could've saved him!" Morray hissed.
"And get the rest of us killed?" Fenroy answered coldly. "Look." he pointed to the other side of the room. There, two more Harvesters were peeking out, watching them in silence. "His armor was already cracked, and there's no way we could've gotten up to the next floor in time without your help."
Morray watched in horror as the body convulsed in the rising Harvester's throat. "You could've…" he said in a deep fatherly tone, while unlatching a spherical object from his belt. His Kyyr pulsed, the sphere glowing in his hand before he threw it down into the alien grass.
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shhhhhh—FWOOOSH!
The pink grass was lit ablaze by the Kyyr incendiary, the flames consuming the flesh as it roared to life, causing the room to fill with the harrowing shriek of the infection. Down below, the grass itself seemed to squirm, writhing like dying worms as the fire stretched, catching the Harvester on fire, and forcing three more to erupt from the grass in anguish as fire engulfed the room.
Morray put a hand on Fenroy's shoulder, and leaned in, "Let's get going" he said coldly.
The unit followed in Melvin's steps, climbing up to the next floor as the horrid screeching permeated through the entire structure. Floor 296 was equally fleshy, with growths spreading across every surface. The squad fled the flames, leaving behind the screeching for the comfort of darkness.
Fortunately, their passage through this floor was brief. They soon found a stairwell intact enough to carry them up to the 297th. Up here, the corruption was thinner, the signs of infection far less rampant than below. Morray guided the unit with the motion sensor until they reached another open space, this one lined with cubicles and, of course, cocoons.
"Sssstop!" one of the Nyrk squad rangers suddenly exclaimed. "Gas—there's gas here!" He stumbled back a step.
Rotner turned, then staggered. "No, sir… gas behind us too. Ain't just up ahead."
Morray studied the motion sensor's crude map. The only alternate route led back toward the Harvesters—and time was ticking.
1 hour 4 minutes 21 seconds
Morray steadied himself. "M.K. Blades—ready! We'll push through the office. The emergency access isn't far from here…"
The same Nyrk ranger shook his head. "But there's more of those things in here!"
Morray let out a long exhale, "M—K—Blades—at—the—ready." He repeated himself, voice cold and edged with annoyance. "Do you understand?"
The Nyrk rangers, reluctant as ever, obeyed and pushed into the offices. A deep wrongness pressed down as they advanced. The cubicles and desks were older than even Morray. How long had they sat here? Centuries? No—millennia. Untouched by the remnants of humanity, these workstations clung to memories so alien to the rangers that their unease only deepened—compounded by the sparse webs of flesh and grime strung across the room.
Rotner hung his head low, his memory dragging the weight of his body with possibility. Around him, the oppressive walls of flesh covered almost every surface with translucent veils of viscous black growths that trembled as though something was just about lurch.
But nothing.
Just his own breathing, and the slithering echo of the unit shuffling along the hall of what was once human.
At the center of the formation, Romm nudged Fenroy. "Why'd you shoot your friend back there?"
Fenroy didn't glance back. "I would rather die as myself. Wouldn't you?" His gaze stayed fixed ahead, lost in the flesh.
The response didn't sit well with Romm. "I…yeah, I guess you're right…" he mumbled.
Their progress wasn't particularly fast; every few cubicles the air would grow thicker with the gas, yet there was no sign of the Harvesters—only distant shrieks, and the rumbling of something far below.
Morray's gaze darted between the beeping of the motion sensor and the anxious silhouettes of the Nyrk rangers glancing back at him. His hand drifted to his belt, searching for a small flask that he knew was empty, he scratched at it, the nothing distracting him every so often.
The journey had been slow, but they had made decent progress toward the emergency access, but there was something more pressing than the Nyrk rangers' odd behavior. Morray had been in nests before. He'd dealt with the pressing horrors before, but the Harvester's presence still bothered him.
His eyes gravitated to a particular portion of the motion detector. Above, on floor 298, there was something big. Moving around ever so slightly, it looked like nothing more than more abyssal mass——but the rhythm, the way it moved. It made his skin crawl, there was only one thing that came to mind, one sickly echo from the day he came face to face with the tragedy of the Abyss.
Ping.
The motion sensor went off.
Ping.
Another—left side.
Ping.
Right in front of them.
SSSSHHH……
"STOP!" Morray shouted, the whole unit freezing mid-step.
"Wh-what's wrong?" Romm stammered.
"Weapons—out! Now! They're here. Three—" Ping. "No, four!" Ping. "Five!? No—fuck—"Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. His grip tightened on his blade. "Form a tight wheel around Romm! There's dozens of them!"
"Whe–Where!?" One of the Nyrk rangers cried, her hands jerking as she swung her gun in every direction—only flesh and dead air staring back.
SSSHHHHH…
Gas thickened, clouding their visual modules.
"Turn your night vision off and switch to your flashlight!" Morray ordered.
The rangers scrambled to change the settings, the Nyrk rangers fumbling with their belts in a panic as they tried to pull out their M.K. Blades. Ranger Veiga in particular struggled with her trembling hands and incessant sweating, causing her to drop her M.K. Blade.
"OH SHIT!" she tried to catch the hilt, and stumbled forward, barely catching the M.K. Blade. "I—I got——
KRUNCH!
The rangers pointed their lights to the source only to find a Harvester face first over Veiga. It swung its long arm, sending the Nyrk rangers tumbling back as it raised its head. The light pierced its throat—revealing Veiga's silhouette inside surrounded by spiraling tendrils forcing her deeper into the beast.
"VEIGA!" one of the Nykr rangers screamed.
"Get off me!" Fenroy shouted from under their weight.
"Stop flailing!" Romm begged.
VWWOOOSH!
Morray ignited his blade, the blaze ripping through the dark as he dragged the flames across the sinewy wall, forcing hidden Harvesters to retreat into the shadows.
The Harvester, carrying Veiga swung an arm high, hooked claws sinking into a vent as it hauled itself upward.
"No you won't!" Morray roared, as he grabbed onto its rising leg driving his M.K. Blade up its back, the fire ripping through the flesh as he forced more Kyyr through the hilt.
Below, the Nyrk rangers scrambled through their gear, still crushing Romm and Fenroy under their panicked weight. Melvin wrenched free of the pile and lit his blade, the blaze spilling light over more Harvesters. They reeled from it, shielding their mangled faces with six-fingered hands.
Morray, still hanging from the Harvester, slashed back, causing its guts and Veiga to pour out. The monster, still alive, shoved its body inside a tight vent as it escaped with a low thud.
"HELP ME EIRIK!" another Nyrk ranger screamed as he was getting dragged into the dark by a massive clawed hand. He grabbed onto his leg, and Eirik in turn grabbed onto Romm's heavy pack.
Morray charged to help, but another Harvester lunged from the shadows, snatching at the struggling Veiga. He pulsed Kyyr into his blade and carved through the clawed hand, forcing it to recoil.
"DRUVKAR LET THE FUCK GO!" Eirik screamed, kicking the other ranger's hands, as the other ranger cried for help.
"PLEASE! NO! DON'T LET ME GO!" Druvkar wailed, his cries echoing through the cubicles.
Meanwhile, Melvin tried to swing his blade back to help, but Harvesters closed in from both sides—one clawing for Rotner, the other for the screaming Nyrk rangers.
Romm dug his hands into the sinewy floor as the Harvester pulled harder.
"MELVIN!" Tosrö screamed as another Harvester lunged from above, its claws clamping over his helmet. "HELP—PLEASE—AGH!" He lit his blade in desperation, stabbing into its wrist. The monster shrieked and dropped him, and he hit the floor with a heavy thud.
Tosrö clutched at his cracked visor, gas flooding in. His eyes blurred with tears. "NO! NO! NO NO MOM! DA—WHERE AM I?" He gagged on the fumes, convulsing as another Harvester ripped through a wall of flesh, its spidery maw clamping down over him.
"TOSRÖ!" Melvin cried out, stumbling on a fleshy growth as he tried to save his friend, the burning blade slicing forward setting more of the flesh on fire as the Harvester shuddered, pulling back into the shadows, dragging Tosrö into the abyss. "NOOOOO!"
Morray watched helplessly, his rage overflowing as he poured more Kyyr into his blade, the flame erupting into a massive display. Gritting his teeth, he swung the volatile weapon in a wide arc; creating a smoldering ring that forced the Harvesters away. One by one, they silently vanished into the black.
Morray looked around. The fire was spreading fast; the flames rapidly turning flesh into smoke. Through the plumes, he struggled to count the survivors.
Four were gone.
Harvested.
Morray steadied Veiga, her body trembling, her weight sagging into him. Her eyes were glassy, lost in the firelight. Fenroy forced himself upright, Siv still clinging to him with a painful grip. Melvin slammed his fist into the ground, choking back tears. Romm pushed himself up on shaky legs, staring into the inferno where Eirik and Druvkar had vanished, the reflection of the fire dancing in his visor. And Rotner remained slumped in place, catatonic, eyes wide and unblinking. He stared past the flames into the shadows beyond, lost in the writhing dance of fire and flesh, too afraid to look away.
Tsshhh…
The sprinkler system hissed to life, drenching the fire until only smoke and steam hung in the air.
Morray glanced down at the motion detector. The Harvesters hadn't gone — they'd only retreated, waiting in the dark.
"They're still here! Let's get a move on! And put those fucking guns away! Use your M.K. Blades!"
Veiga tapped Morray on the shoulder. "Excuse me sir…" she mumbled, staring down at the ground. "I lost mine…"
Morray exhaled. "It's fine. Take mine." He handed her the blade, then called out, "Romm, the pack."
"Y-yes…" Romm muttered, turning his back so Morray could dig through. He felt the captain's hands tugging at the straps, his own eyes drifting to Rotner—still paralyzed, staring into the black."Sir… why are the Harvesters referred to as angels in the Xenobiology books? It doesn't make any sense…"
Morray pulled another M.K. Blade from the pack. "Because…" he zipped the pack up tight. "Because it's easier to lose your mind before your body. I guess…"
Romm looked down at his hands, voice flat. "Dying as myself…"
The unit regrouped, paranoia and fear tugging at their hearts. Morray switched his visual module and swept the smoke. The sprinklers had done their work; most of the fire was out and, luckily, the gas had thinned.
"We can switch our night vision back on." Morray said, but there was little response. "We're almost there. I'll take the lead from here on."
The rangers nodded, their hands tight around their M.K. Blades—save for Fenroy, who despite the loss still clung to his gun, his finger caressing the trigger lightly.
With Morray at the front, their pace quickened. His blade carved through the flesh, fire hissing with each strike. His eyes flicked to every shadow, paranoia sharpening his focus. But his left hand strayed again and again to the empty pill canister on his belt.
Harvesters circled close, their lumbering frames little more than faint glimpses in the edge of Morray's firelight. The unit held tight; the fire offering a fragile respite against the creatures. Gas drifted all around them, clouding their visors in pale streaks. Every second stretched thin as their nerves, the rangers glued to Morray's back, weapons trembling in their grip.
Morray's gaze swept the dark, desperate for the path he hoped would be there. His arms ached, his eyes burned, the shadowed shapes pressing closer with every step. Then—at last—he saw it: the wall that wasn't.
"We're here," he said, relief filling him.
They had arrived at another dead end, but just like the one in the arcade, he slid his hand across it using the M.K. Blade to burn away some of the flesh to reveal a slight dent. With a hiss and a shudder, the hidden access slid open. Morray leaned carefully through the gap, eyes scanning every corner. Barely a trace of abyssal activity lingered—only scattered polyps and sinewy black veins.
"It's clear." He said leading the unit through a similar backroom to the one below. With a rare surge of elation, he ran to the control panel next to the elevator and called it.
It descended.
Morray tensed up. Someone's up there—no, something. He looked at the motion sensor on his wrist. There was something large on the 298th floor. The group boarded the platform, Morray once again moving to the console and selecting the highest floor. He studied the remaining rangers; their uniforms were filthy. The weight of their feet, heavy. But one still stood tall, still staring straight at Morray.
Fenroy.
Morray's hand hovered over the wet console, his visor reflecting his, when—
A droplet. Its small dark form rising into the dark.
Again?
Morray stepped back, his eyes wide as the abyssal condensation all around them began to bubble and lift. Black streaks climbing up into the dark. The storm? He slammed his hand on the controls, his gaze darting back to Fenroy. His gaze still locked onto him.
The elevator shuddered, as it began to climb—rising with the fluid.
"Morray…" Romm choked out, "The abyssal condensation—its…"
Morray raised his hand catching some of the paranormal droplets. "Something's happening outside…" he muttered. "But stay focused. Our comrades can deal with whatever's causing this."
Romm nodded solemnly as the elevator smoothly took them to their destination.
The top floor was almost barren of abyssal spawn—only a scattering of polyps clung to the walls. Morray pushed past everyone and looked at the ground outside the platform. Dust coated the ground, and in it, he saw tracks: drag marks. A single, thick line stretched from the elevator to the hidden door ahead.
"A mechanoid…" Morray said to himself. "Let's ge—
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Gunshots rang through the backrooms. Morray staggered, a round tearing into his shoulder. Pain flared hot, his face twisting into a snarl. I knew it… I fucking knew it. He gritted his teeth, choking the pain back.
"ROMM!" Rotner shouted—BANG!—another shot silenced him.
Morray slumped on the railing, blood seeping down his arm. Fenroy's voice cut through the ringing silence, sharp and manic.
"Quick! Shoot him in the head! What the fuck are you two waiting for—finish him!"
Veiga was shaking uncontrollably, her hands still holding onto her M.K. Blade as she watched Romm clamp his hands around his neck as blood streamed between his fingers. She couldn't even blink, much less scream.
"You useless bitch!" Fenroy growled, before aiming the gun at Romm, who was gurgling as blood bubbled up his throat..
BANG.
Romm collapsed, hands slipping from his neck as blood gushed freely.
Veiga fell to her knees, whimpering in terror as she watched blood puddle around her.
Melvin already lay dead, slumped against the wall, his fingers twitching with dying nerves. Rotner lay face first, blood spilling out from his chest and mixing with Romm's in a cocktail of misery.
Siv raised her gun again, sweeping the room in a panic. "Where's Morray?"
"That cunt should be—" Fenroy walked over to where he'd shot Morray. His voice spiked. "FUCK. WHERE IS HE!?" He spun, scanning every corner. "No… no, I shot him in the head! I saw it! Where the fuck—" His words broke into a snarl, spit spraying against the inside of his visor. "Overgrown roach!" He slammed his fist against the wall. "Siv! Contact the Cobra, now!"
Siv pulled out a small device and snapped it open. It hummed, then began to beep. " They should be here any second now."
Fenroy took a deep breath before kicking Rotner's body. "Fuck. If it wasn't for those Harvesters we could've killed them earlier. We barely have half an hour to get off this thing!"
Veiga cowered in the corner, her eyes drowning in the deep red pooling around her.
The door to the 299th floor slid open with a grinding hiss. Fenroy and Siv spun toward the noise. A red glow pierced through the two. Fenroy and Siv lowered their heads. Their heads bowed instinctively as a heavy screech of metal on stone reverberated through the backrooms.
When they looked up, it was there—the Cobra. A towering alabaster mechanoid, its frame sliding forward with serpentine grace.
"We disposed of all the rangers as instructed!" Fenroy practically yelped.
The mechanoid slithered next to the platform elevator, its gaze focusing on the blood and dust that trailed past it and down the hallway.
"LI-AR." it hissed, its voice spiking through its audio modules. "One has clearly escaped. Useless. Useless." A massive gun barrel pressed itself into Fenroy's gut. "Name the missing ranger."
Fenroy stared into the ivory barrel, sweat stinging his eyes. "It… it's…" the barrel dug deeper, grinding into him. His breath hitched. "M-Mo…"
The Cobra leaned closer, lenses narrowing. "SPEAK, APE."
Fenroy flinched, voice breaking. "M-Morray…"
The mechanoid recoiled, processing. "Morray Hassle—the Vileblood?"
Fenroy slowly nodded.
"YOU WASTE OF FLESH!" The mechanoid slammed its barrel into his chest, launching him into the wall with a bone-jarring thud. "OF ALL THE RANGERS TO ESCAPE—A VILEBLOOD? PA-THE-TIC. USELESS. USELESS." Its head snapped toward Siv and Veiga. "Grab your fellow ape and follow." The Cobra hissed, slithering back toward the door. "We have a Vile-blood to deal with."
Siv nodded quickly, nerves fraying. Veiga only whimpered, crumpled in the corner.
"DIS-GUSTING," the mechanoid spat as it slid from the room.
As soon as the mechanoid left, Siv rushed to Fenroy's side. . He was doubled over, clutching his gut in agony. "Ugh… what luck. We got assigned to Revenant Nostic…"
Siv hooked an arm under his shoulder, hauling him up. "Can you walk?"
"Yeah… ugh, I just give me a second." Fenroy muttered, grimacing.
Siv glanced at Veiga. "What about her?"
Fenroy sneered through the pain. "Leave her. The Harvesters broke her. If she dies up here—it's whatever."
Veiga stared through her tears, gaze fixed on Romm and Rotner's bodies. Her lips parted, but no sound came out.
Siv gave a careless shrug and dragged Fenroy toward the door. The room swallowed the sound of their footsteps, leaving Veiga alone with the dead.
"Hey…" A weak voice rasped toward Veiga."Gimme a hand…"
Her eyes went wide as Rotner rolled onto his back, blood seeping from his chest. "Dear Symbols… I'm dyin' here." he mumbled as he stared at the ceiling. "Bullets hurt miss, who woulda guessed…"
Veiga stared at him for a second, her hands trembling. Her breath grew heavy, her hand hovering over her gun.Then she broke. With tears spilling down her cheeks, she scrambled to Romm's corpse, tore open the pack, and dug frantically until her hands closed around a medkit-drone.
"I—I'm sorry…" she whispered, again and again, the words tumbling out in a panicked chant as she activated the device. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"
The little mechanoid whirred to life, injecting Rotner with painkillers as its limbs unfolded a small tent over the wound.
"Why'd they shoot us…?" Rotner wheezed, his voice weak.
Veiga hesitated, clutching her hands together to keep them from shaking. She swallowed hard. "We… it was orders."
"Orders, huh?" Rotner muttered, vision narrowing.
"Orders from who?" a deeper voice cut through the silence.
Veiga's heart lurched into her throat. She turned—and from beneath the elevator, Morray emerged. His presence filled the room, shadow spilling across her as he rose, more oppressive than ever before.
Veiga's guts wrenched, tears spilling as instinct drove her to crawl away. Morray caught her by the collar and dragged her back, his boot slamming down beside her face. He leaned in, helmet grinding against hers.
"TELL ME EVERYTHING." He grabbed her by the neck and dangled her over the edge of the elevator. "If you survive the fall the Harvesters will erase you. So talk."
Veiga trembled, her hands wrapping tightly around Morray's as she stared down into the black. "Ha-have you heard of AEGIZ?" she squeaked.
"Yes. One of Ghast's pets. A Revenant Stalker."
"Sh-she ordered our team to infiltrate tonight—to help make the towers crash! I thought our job was just security for Cobras. I swear—"Her eyes darted to the butchered bodies, and her voice broke. "I didn't know they'd…"
Morray's grip slackened slightly, but his voice stayed hard. He shook her once over the void. "Why are you working with Ghast?"
Veiga hesitated but Morray shook her again, loosening his grip, letting gravity pull her down. "Aaaaah!" she shrieked as he caught her at the last moment.
"He… he…" Veiga stammered, dread coiling around her skin, the memory of those writhing tentacles pressing into her body. "He promised a way out."
Morray tilted his head. "Explain."
"He promised… a new Translate."
Morray stared at her for a minute processing her words, before he put her down. "What? What the hell does crashing the towers into the Vivathecca have to do with that?"
Veiga rubbed at her throat, "I don't know. I'm a nobody. All my assignments come through the Endymion network. I'm not even from Nyrk Squad—I'm an ex-member from the Rokk Squad. I don't even know if they're using their real names."
Morray crouched by Rotner, checking his vitals. "What's your real name?"
Veiga twisted her hands together. "Uh… Veiga. My name is Veiga."
Even behind the visor, she could feel his stare—sharp, riddled with judgment.
"Are you some kind of moron?" He asked, walking over to the pack pulling out another med-drone, and setting its function to fast mode.
"Ah, I… I'm sorry," Veiga stammered, voice breaking.
Morray let out a pained sigh, as the drone worked on his shoulder. He leaned down, gently unstrapping Romm from the pack. For a moment he just stared at his porter's limp body, then drew him into a soft embrace.
"Thank you for your hard work ranger," he murmured. "Rest easy Romm. You can sleep all you want now." He laid him down beside the pack with care, then turned to Melvin. Kneeling, Morray whispered a few words before placing him beside Romm.
Morray took a deep breath and dug through the pack. His hand closed around a small container of pink tablets. He broke the seal, lifted his helmet, and bared his crimson-gold eyes — burning with rage. A pill cracked between his teeth. He glanced down at Veiga. "Take care of the kid. I'll handle the rest."
The helmet snapped shut as the med-drone gave a final beep, sealing the wound in his shoulder and stitching his uniform back together as best it could.
"Sir…" Rotner's weak voice called from the cold metal floor. "Knock 'em dead."
Morray nodded. "It's a promise."
On the 299th floor, the ENN.core was a massive semi-circular chamber. Rows of tanks lined the room, brimming with computing components bathed in helium coolant. And perched on the center most of these tanks connected to a submerged control panel was the Cobra. Its frame interfacing directly with the core.
This was Revenant Cobra: Nostic—a stealth unit dating back to the age of the ENN.KORR. Its frame was sleek, divided into ivory-white segments that rose into a metallic hood, arching from its spine to its head. From the hood's shadow, a single crimson light burned within a mechanical maw: an upper beak locked against a square lower jaw, forged into an obtuse blade built to shear metal apart.
Beneath the hood unfurled four pairs of tentacle-like appendages. Four ended in multi-tools, two carried guns, and the last braced its weight against the tank. Yet its deadliest feature remained hidden: panels along the hood that could spread wide, unveiling a dreadful arsenal.
"TRA-GEDY. Contact has been severed with Cetarro and Rortem. WEAK-NESS." The Cobra's head swept across the massive nexus of the ENN.Core, its crimson gaze cutting through every corner, every shadow. "APE SPAWN. Guard the core beneath my hood. Absolute obedience is necessary. Otherwise. You stand no chance against the spawn of EVE."
Fenroy rolled his eyes but raised his weapon. He scanned the semicircular chamber, sight hopping from one coolant tank to the next, bubbles churning within. Morray, he thought bitterly, was supposed to be the weakest Vileblood on Esthes-3. A loser with low Kyyr efficiency who wasted his life slaving for the Servinae.
He glanced back, his eyes resting on a screen displaying the approaching glow of the Vivathecca. Almost time…
24 minutes 11 seconds.
"MOTION DETECTED!" the Cobra roared. Its hood snapped open, barrels glowing as it unleashed a torrent into the nearest tank. Glass shattered, helium gushed across the floor, and circuits shrieked as they fried.. "Confounding data>>> ! <<< MULTIPLE MOTIONS."
"What? From where?" Fenroy snapped, scanning frantically.
The Cobra's hood flared, laser-pointers spearing through the haze to tag two darting shadows. Fenroy fired, shattering another tank as one figure slipped back into cover.
"SUPPRESSING FIRE!" the Cobra screeched. Its cannons raked the servers, bullets chewing metal and spraying coolant into the dark. One shadow staggered, collapsing behind a tank. The Cobra dragged its aim to the other, barrels vomiting heat as they tore through glass and steel.
"TARGET NEUTRAL-IZED? Apes, FETCH…" Its voice scraped like static as it shoved Siv toward one body and Fenroy toward the other.
The Cobra leaned in, its red light flaring.
"Are you sure we should go check?" Fenroy asked, "that didn't look like a person."
The Cobra leaned in, its red light flaring."Ex-PEND-ABLE, do not QUESTION. Perish for ME. Ape." It shoved Fenroy harder.
The two rangers exchanged a glance, then charged their Kyyr and crept toward the mangled wreckage, boots splashing across the wet floor littered with shattered tanks and steaming coolant.
But unbeknownst to them, on the 298th floor below, a figure waited in the dark. Abyssal polyps pulsing mechanically around him, glowing faintly in the void.
The two rangers approached the figures, their gun barrels pushing the rubble apart, revealing ranger helmets and bloodied cloaks mounted on medical drones?
Fenroy's eyes narrowed with assurance. He turned to share his findings. "They were decoy—"
The floor beneath the Cobra glowed molten orange. In an instant, fire roared upward. The mechanoid had no time to react as a geyser of flame swallowed it, dragging the machine into the depths.
"GGRRRAHHH—FILTHY//VILE//BEAST—ERRRR—>>>" the Cobra roared its steel plating warping and melting as the inferno tore it apart.
Fenroy cried out, the blaze magnified tenfold through his night vision. White heat seared across his retinas, blinding him. That's impossible! I thought that bastard had shitty Kyyr efficiency?! He stumbled back, tripping over debris, his vision seared white. "Fuck—my eyes!" he groaned, clawing at his visual module.
"You have shit aim." Morray's voice cut through the writhing screech of the melting Cobra.
"GET THE FUCK AWAY!" Fenroy screamed, blindly shooting towards the sound of his voice.
"GET OFF!" Siv cried. "PLEASE—I WAS AN UNDER ORDERS!" PLEASE, NOT IN THERE! NO—NO—!" Her voice snapped into silence, replaced by a loud splash.
Fenroy ripped off his helmet, wild green eyes darting as he searched the room. "COME OUT, YOU BASTARD!" he roared, stumbling behind a tank. "STOP HIDING, YOU COWARD!"
"Hiding?" Morray asked from somewhere in the room. "Coward?"
Something slammed into the tank beside Fenroy—Siv's frozen corpse. Liquid helium splashed across him, searing cold into his uniform's cracks. He stumbled back, gagging as her body shattered at his feet.
Fenroy's breathing grew short and sharp, he was hyperventilating, words unable to leave his mouth. His gun jerked in every direction, vision blurred with tears and frostbite. The freezing helium gnawed into his skin, causing him to panic as he fell to the ground.
"No… no no no no… not like this." He clawed forward on hands and knees, his goal a nearby exit, when—
STOMP.
A boot smashed into his back, slamming his head against the cold floor. Fenroy twisted, staring up at the towering shadow above him. "P-please—I'll tell you everything I know!"
Morray stared coldly down at Fenroy. "Thanks, but…" he slammed his fist into the back of his head, knocking him out in a single blow. "You'll be forgetting everything…"
He dragged the unconscious body away from the frozen spill and laid him beside the molten pit. Moray pushed the rubble off the main terminal enough to where he could spot the ENN.core deep in the helium coolant. He pulled a small device from his pocket. Turning it on, he slid the tank's cover off and placed the small machine in the coolant and watched it descend into the core and connect itself to the systems.
For a moment, there was only silence. Then a soft murmur crackled through his comms. Morray exhaled in relief as the sealed windows shuddered open. The crimson horizon spilled in—and slowly began to sink, vanishing as the tower rose.
Rolling his shoulders, Morray hoisted Fenroy onto his back and started toward the steps leading down to the lower floors.
"Ugh…" Fenroy groaned as he stirred, his face lit by a faint glow. It was dark all around him, except for that flame, its warmth brushing against his cheeks with grace. His eyes adjusted as he took in the form before him. "MORRAY!" he screamed, trying to run. "What the?" He looked down at his body, he was tied up with the drab remains of his cloak.
"You're finally awake…" Morray whispered, his M.K. Blade fizzing out with his words.
"Where are we? What are you doing?"
Morray stared at him coldly. "I'm just letting you get some fresh air." he said, hands sliding over his helmet's brace, clicking the latches, freeing his face from the cumbersome visor. "WHERE ARE WE—EUGH!" Fenroy gagged as the sickly lemony scent of lime and rot filled his nostrils. "N-NO!You can't do this… NOT THIS!"
Morray didn't say a word as he slammed his fist into a growth, triggering a horrid cacophony of screeching that rattled through Fenroy's skull.
"NO! PLEASE KILL ME! PLEASE BY ALL THAT'S GOLD JUST FUCKING KILL ME!" he begged, thrashing against his binds.
Morray put his hand on his shoulders and turned his mounted flashlight on, the beam piercing the dark, revealing two long arms unraveling themselves from a vent in the ceiling.
"MORRAY PLEASE! I JUST WANTED A WAY OUT!" Tears and snot poured down his face. "PLEASE, LET ME DIE AS MYSELF! I DON'T WANT TO FORGET. JUST KILL ME!"
Morray turned and walked away.
"YOU CUNT! YOU FUCKING PIECE SHIT! YOU'RE A MONSTER! A FUCKING MONSTER!" he screamed as the Harvester descended from the vent, its grotesque body unfurling before him. "NO! NO! NOT LIKE THIS! NO!"
The Harvester's jaws spread open as it leaned in, its sweet lemony breath filling his lungs as the coarse wet appendages caressed his cheeks.
"WHAT? WHERE AM I? ANNE!? MOM!? NAME? I? I—? NAME? NAME? NAME! NAME! NAME!—" Fenroy screamed as the Harvester embraced him.