Chapter 5: Shadow of Fear Part 1

Yumi was the first to touch the ground alongside the others. Taking a flashlight, she scanned the area and found debris and signs of explosive residue. She walked forward and saw the ground in front of her was caked in blood and dirt. Odd went to go find the power, Aelita alongside him, carrying an M249 SAW.

"This is some bullshit" said Yumi as she walked through the dark corridors. The emergency lights were on, a sign that the power to the base was out. She and the others raised their rifles and went into the darkness. Something moved in the darkness, barely illuminated by the lights, scaly and quick. A scream was heard, a gunshot rang out and one member of the team was found with their ribcage torn open.

"Everyone stick together, form a circle, we're going further. Aelita come in, have you found the power?" Yumi said. There was silence on the radio. In front of them, a scientist ran into the open, his arm had been torn off and he was bleeding.

"Thank god, are you the rescue team? We've got to get out of here. Asset 071A has escaped. It's somewhere in the base. We've got to get to the panic room. Here, take this key. I'm getting out of here"

Before Yumi could so much as stop the man, he turned a corner, screamed and bright crimson blood splattered onto the wall as a literal raptor stepped out of the darkness, its teeth still wrapped around the severed head of the scientist. Then it began to speak.

"So you found me at last. You are a persistant bunch of troublemakers. Kadic wasn't my first you know. I remember the taste of these fools, they that locked me in a box and kept me shadow, in a constant state of torment. Your friends are quite a...peculiar distraction. My kin have disabled the power. You will find survival impossible. But, I have news for you. We seek the Flood. If not for their leader, we'd not be here. Gravemind seeks the end of the human race and we can't have that. Kill them my children"

The lights came on and the raptor disappeared. Suddenly the radio went ballistic as screams of horror and gunfire filled the air along with the roar of something inhuman.

"What in God's name is that. They're coming over the walls. We need more ammo. Kill it, KILL IT! Call it in! Thunder, we ne-"

"Watch out, cover left. Somebody get that fifty firing! We're almost out of amm-"

Silence for the longest time, then a voice spoke into the radio:

"Can we not have peace you and I? Come, step out of the bunker. Submit to me and be free of this mortal shackle. I am peace everlasting, I am hope eternal. Let us join together and be one"

Odd ran back with Aelita's dead body. His eyes were bloodshot and heavy. He looked pale and ready to faint, only running on adrenaline. Aelita was limp and Odd was covered in blood.

"What did you do?" roared Yumi, striking him to the ground

Odd protested

"It wasn't me! this- this isn't Aelita"

Ulrich jumped between them just as Yumi raised her gun to shoot him.

"wait, let him speak"

Odd continued in a hurried tone, glancing at the darkness in abject terror.

"We were walking along, she fell. Her-her skin was bubbling, then she went silent. I assumed she was dead but she-she turned into one of them. She screamed, exploded and then this thing wormed its way onto the floor, convulsing and contorting like a jellyfish. It reformed into her but it's not her! This is not Aelita I swear to God!" said Odd, who was catatonic, rocking back and forth with his eyes locked in a horrified stare. Ulrich sat down beside his friend and consoled him. Odd screamed and the others turned around. Something moved in the shadows. Odd could be heard rocking back and forth in shock. He turned to Aelita and said in an panic:

"I think...I think there's two of them. And I think one of them is still alive. Still alive, still alive Oh god. Kill me please"

Odd made for the gun and pressed it to his lips. Before he could fire, Ulrich tackled him. Odd was shaking in mortal terror as Ulrich held him down. He turned his head and his eyes went wide.

"Get away from me!"

Aelita had walked in.

"Is everyone ok?"

Yumi was the first to notice and leveled her gun at Aelita.

"Stay back! How do we know that you aren't one of them?"

Aelita was taken aback

"I'm me. Jeremy you know me! I was lost in those halls for hours."

Odd was impossible to calm and he kept repeating the same words: "SOS, SOS, eleven is lost, SOS"

"They react to light, they hate light" Odd muttered anxiously.

Yumi shined a flashlight at Aelita and she screamed. Yumi saw tendrils rip from her arms and reform into a raptor. Bloodied, jaws like sharks, it raced towards Yumi who shot it dead with one squeeze of the trigger.

Odd was a blubbering mess when they got the power on. All around them were dead bodies, with all the cages opened and a thumb drive.

"We're done here. Come on Odd. ODD! We're getting out of here. Wait...no, I'm getting something on the radio, S...O...S. I think there may be survivors. Get Odd to safety and a med check, the rest of you with me. Set up a perimeter in the area and wait for reinforcements. Thunder, send reinforcements to our location, setting beacon"

Five pods touched down, each carrying ten marines. With an O.P established, Yumi and co headed into the darkness of the bunker to search for survivors.

One of the marines played a message. Once decoded it read:

Asset containment has periodic measurements of activity related to SOS beacons. we've ignored them for safety reasons but it has come to our attention as to the meaning. Not for help, but for invasion. There is an army somewhere below us. Do not open those doors, do not engage. we've blasted it shut but they're still coming. If you read this, don't attempt to open the doors, there is an army of monsters from another dimension inside there. Liandra lied to us, they said it was safe. I guess it's true, the Vaults were never meant to save us. Everyone is dead, sacrificed to that monster. Eleven bears witness to hell itself. God save us. End log.

"Y-Don-Vault is com-"

Yumi stopped.

"Repeat your last"

The marines repeated:

"Vault 11 is compromised. Get out of there now!"

Before they could do anything, the fake Aelita was sucked into the darkness, Odd's throat was ripped out and Ulrich was pulled screaming into the darkness. Pure light burned the monsters to cinders and Aelita appeared in glowing light. The other monsters began screaming in terror before falling silent. A river of blood flowed out of the room.

"Release them" she commanded. The final monster resisted but was burned until it complied. Aelita bought Odd back to life, taking on his memories to save his life.

Yumi was dumbfounded

"how?"

Aelita snapped her fingers and they were back on the ship

" That creature killed me. But I have a mission from a higher power and have been commanded to obey. Much is at stake and more is at work here than you can comprehend. We are at a crossroads: Both of our worlds are about to be destroyed."

Yumi was confused but she was shushed by Aelita

"Even now, Gravemind seeks to open the pits of Hell and unleash the devil from his prison. We are to deal with Liandri, the others will deal with the flood, for now. Give me your weapons. We're going off world"

Yumi spoke up

"why? What's more important than Asset 071A? What are you not telling us?"

Aelita sighed and spilled everything.

" You want answers? Here's your answer: I died but was saved by angels, they tasked me with killing off Gravemind but changed orders when Asset 071A broke out. As of now, we are to travel to another place to stop a planned invasion. Odd and Ulrich might have better luck than us. I trust you are familiar with Unreal Tournament?"

Odd stood up and grinned. He was an avid fan of the series.

Aelita continued.

" Well, we've got a problem. The Liandri Corporation is hosting its annual tournament, but it needs Kadic sterilized. We're to board a ship headed back to earth and destroy it from the inside out. Yumi and I will kill the leadership. Odd, you and Ulrich need to place 1st in three deathmatch rounds. Ulrich is going to face Xan and Odd will assassinate Akasha. I've already sent an alert to the Pentagon and other world governments. This is no longer about 071A, we need to clamp this down now! As we speak, both forces are massing outside Kadic. It will be an all out war unless we stop this invasion in its tracks. Captain, set time: 2552 V 9"

The ship went into lightspeed and they landed on Vesuvies 9. They were immediately captured and separated. As they were led inside, A flood ship could be seen in the distance.