Why could Kevin command these things?
Damn it!
Even if I died, I refused to become one of those disgusting creatures!
Whoever wanted to be its mother could volunteer. He was a motherless thing anyway!
A fierce anger erupted in my chest. I raised my ice axe and charged at the creature.
The creature seemed afraid of injuring me — probably because damaging me would prevent my transformation into its mother. It dodged my axe, leaping side to side, trying to capture me alive.
Marcus saw our struggle and abandoned his fight with Kevin, sprinting over to help me.
Kevin was right behind him.
Two ordinary humans couldn't possibly defeat two monsters. Kevin and the creature blurred together, and I could barely tell them apart.
They moved with terrifying speed. Their claws sliced through the air, and when they struck the ice axes, sparks flew!
Suddenly, one of the creatures spun around and drove its claws into Marcus's jacket.
Panic seized me. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine..." Marcus gasped, clutching his stomach. "The jacket's thick. Didn't go through."
One successful strike, and the creature bounded away, toying with us like prey.
They were certain we couldn't escape this place.
And they seemed to be right. Against creatures that were impervious to weapons and capable of rapid regeneration, Marcus and I were utterly helpless.
Let alone the fact that we had no idea how many more of them lurked below ground.
One or two might be manageable. But...
What if there were more?
My heart sank. Marcus and I pressed our backs together.
Marcus's movements grew increasingly sluggish. He was panting, struggling for breath.
If this kept up, we were both dead. My mind raced but found no answer.
The creature detected our helplessness and launched itself at us!
"Chloe, stop struggling. Do you think Professor Marshall brought you here for nothing?!"
"You are destined to become the new 'Mother'!"
My heart lurched. What did Kevin mean?
Was Professor Marshall one of these creatures too?
Just as we were at our most desperate, the ice floor — weakened by our prolonged fighting — gave way beneath us!
Marcus and I dropped into the new opening before we could react.
The chute was long and dark, like a slide. We slid and slid with no end in sight.
There were multiple forks in the tunnel. We smashed against the walls until our bodies felt like they'd been taken apart and reassembled wrong. We had no idea where we ended up.
Down and down we went. After who knew how long, Marcus and I slammed hard onto solid ice.
The slope was gentler here. The fall hurt, but after a moment I managed to stand.
"Marcus?"
"Yeah." His voice was weak.
I exhaled in relief and scrambled over to him. "How are you? Can you get up?"
Marcus was silent for a moment. He tried to speak, but only managed a violent cough, his throat gurgling with liquid.
Fear coiled in my chest.
Had that creature's blow actually not pierced Marcus's jacket after all?
Those claws could slice through steel.
I scrambled toward him, afraid to touch him. "Marcus! Marcus, what's wrong?"
Marcus coughed for a long time, then wiped his mouth with his hand.
His voice was faint as a broken bellows, drifting through the darkness.
"Well, damn. I've been cut."
My tears came instantly.
This whole time, Marcus had been shielding me — blocking attacks, putting himself in harm's way.
With his strength, if he hadn't been protecting me, he never would have suffered these injuries.
When Kevin pushed me, Marcus could have escaped. Instead, he'd jumped in after me without a second thought.
And now he'd been wounded protecting me again.
The metallic smell of blood filled the air. My hands trembling, I reached for him and found that his wound was deep — hot blood welling up like a spring, impossible to staunch.
I yanked off my jacket and pressed it against him, holding it down with all my strength.
But the jacket quickly soaked through and froze stiff.
My tears fell non-stop, freezing into tiny ice pellets that pinged against the ground.
I kept working mechanically, pressing uselessly against his unstaunched wound.
Deep down, I knew that a person who'd lost this much blood couldn't survive.
Let alone in this underground ice cavern where we didn't even have bandages.
But I couldn't accept that truth. I just cried and begged him:
"Please. I'm begging you. Don't die!"
"Stop." Marcus weakly raised his hand and patted me.
His hand was as cold as ice. No warmth at all.
"Don't be scared. Kneel and bow to me, and my spirit will protect you on the way out. How about that?"
I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood, my hands shaking uncontrollably.
In that moment, despair swallowed me completely.
When we got separated from the expedition team, I hadn't cried.
When we encountered the creature, I hadn't cried.
When Kevin tried to turn me into the "Mother," I hadn't cried.
But now, my tears flowed like floodgates opening, as if every last hope of survival, every desire to escape, was draining away alongside Marcus's life force.
I sobbed, nearly hysterical, wanting to pour every drop of blood from my body along with my tears!
I even thought about lying down beside him and dying here, just like he'd said — waiting to be dug up ten thousand years from now and made into a movie!
In a few short seconds, I prayed to every god I could think of.
I was an atheist, but now I desperately wanted some higher power to grant me a miracle just this once.
"Don't die, please..." My lips trembled as I whispered my plea.
Marcus managed a painful smile. "I ask you to bow and you start bawling."
"Alright, alright, you don't need to bow. I'll protect you on the way out. Come on, get going. Move."
I didn't speak. I sobbed and clutched his jacket, refusing to let go.
As if letting go would mean he'd truly be gone.
Something touched me from behind.
I'd lost the capacity for fear. I turned around blankly.
Kevin's pale face appeared behind me.
His expression held a choreographed sadness. His split mouth opened and closed:
"I told you this would happen. Wouldn't it be better if everyone just stayed alive?"
"I don't want to kill you — we've been classmates for two years. There's a bond."
"All you have to do is become 'Mother,' and everyone can live happily."
I didn't say anything. I turned to face him directly.
Fear and grief burned away, replaced by rage.
I would kill him. I told myself quietly.
Kevin saw my lack of reaction and stepped closer.
"My condolences, Chloe. There's preservation fluid down below. If you can't bear to leave Marcus, we can turn him into a specimen to keep you company."
"Come on. You're the perfect host. You'll become the most powerful 'Mother.' You don't understand yet, but you'll thank me."
My fist clenched so hard it hurt.
That face was so loathsome. I wanted to peel the skin right off it.
"Will I?" I said quietly.
"Yes. Don't resist. You—"
Before he could finish, my hand whipped out, dousing his entire face with green liquid from a vial.
Kevin seemed not to process what had happened. He froze for a second.
Three seconds later, the corpselike whiteness rapidly drained from his body. The gash on his face sealed. His legs straightened. His human features slowly returned.
The black-hole eyes reverted to deep brown. The massive slit mouth shrank back into a pair of pale lips.
The formula seemed to burn through his remaining human vitality like fire.
Kevin gave me one dazed look, then went limp and collapsed to the ground, motionless.
I regarded him coldly.
It had been a last, desperate gamble.
Back in the ice chamber, the creature that had chased us inside had been wary and refused to approach — and the only thing behind us had been the case of vials.
Later, Kevin had also shown disgust toward the contents of my bag.
They were afraid of the green liquid in those vials.
It really did work against the creatures.
Too bad my brain was too slow. Otherwise Marcus might not have—
The thought of Marcus struck like a blade through my chest. I turned to him quickly. "Marcus, Marcus, I'll get you out. Just hold on—"
Silence.
Marcus didn't respond.
My sentence hung unfinished as I fumbled for the backup flashlight.
It took forever to dig it out. I was weeping with frustration, so I dumped everything on the floor and grabbed the light.
In its white beam, Marcus lay peacefully, eyes closed.
His long, dark lashes were frosted with a thin layer of ice.