Free Web NovelChapter 15: The Thing Behind The Wall
The corridor wall exploded inward.
Metal tore apart with a deafening scream as something massive slammed through the reinforced structure hard enough to send debris flying across the flooded floor.
Everyone moved instantly.
Finally.
No standing dramatically during danger.
One guard was thrown sideways into the opposite wall before he could even react.
Another shouted:
"CONTACT—"
Something black hit him mid-sentence.
Fast.
Far too fast.
The flashlight he carried spun violently across the corridor before crashing into the water with sparks.
Seraphina saw claws.
Long.
Sharp enough to tear steel apart like paper.
Then Kael grabbed her waist and pulled her backward so suddenly her feet left the floor entirely for half a second.
The creature crashed into the space she’d occupied a moment earlier.
Water exploded upward around it.
Seraphina stared.
"...Absolutely not."
The thing slowly lifted its head.
Humanoid.
Mostly.
Tall enough that its shoulders nearly scraped the damaged corridor ceiling.
Black armored skin covered parts of its body unevenly like corrupted metal fused directly into flesh.
One arm looked almost normal.
The other—
far too large.
Distorted.
Covered in jagged protrusions sharp enough to punch through reinforced walls.
And its eyes—
wrong.
Bright silver glowing through the darkness unnaturally.
The creature tilted its head slowly toward them.
Then smiled.
Seraphina immediately pointed.
"WHY does it have human expressions?!"
One of the guards fired instantly.
The bullet hit the creature directly in the shoulder.
Nothing happened.
The creature looked mildly offended.
Then disappeared.
Not literally.
Just fast enough that Seraphina lost track of it completely.
A scream echoed behind them.
Everyone turned.
Too slow.
The creature had crossed half the corridor already.
One guard crashed through a wall hard enough to leave a crater in the metal.
Alive probably.
Hopefully.
Kael moved immediately.
No hesitation.
No warning.
One second he stood beside Seraphina—
the next he slammed directly into the creature hard enough to shake the corridor floor.
The impact exploded water across the walls.
Seraphina blinked rapidly.
"...I keep forgetting he fights like a natural disaster."
The creature slammed Kael into the corridor support beam instantly.
The metal bent inward violently.
Then Kael grabbed the creature’s distorted arm mid-attack and twisted hard enough to crack something inside it.
A horrifying sound echoed through the corridor.
Not mechanical.
Bone.
The creature actually staggered backward.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Seraphina pointed dramatically.
"HAH. Get structurally corrected."
The creature immediately looked toward her.
Silence.
Then Kael stepped directly between them.
Dangerous mistake.
The creature lunged again.
Kael met it head-on.
Their collision cracked the floor beneath them hard enough that water surged violently through the corridor.
One of the ceiling lights exploded overhead.
Celestine calmly stepped aside from falling debris while watching the fight with visible fascination.
"Remarkable adaptation speed."
Seraphina stared at her.
"THIS is your reaction?!"
"What reaction would you prefer?"
"Fear?! Screaming?! MORAL REGRET?!"
"That seems unproductive."
"You are psychologically terrifying."
Another violent crash echoed through the corridor as Kael drove the creature through one of the sealed containment doors.
The reinforced metal dented inward immediately.
The creature recovered almost instantly.
Too instantly.
Its distorted arm shifted unnaturally before snapping back into place with a wet metallic crack.
Seraphina physically recoiled.
"No. No thank you."
One guard backed away slowly.
"...That thing regenerated."
"Naturally," Celestine replied.
Everyone looked at her.
Seraphina pointed aggressively.
"STOP saying nightmare things casually."
Theren finally moved forward sharply.
"Sedative units. Now."
Two guards immediately raised strange silver weapons Seraphina hadn’t noticed before.
The creature turned toward them.
Bad decision.
Very bad decision.
Kael used the opening instantly.
He grabbed the creature by the throat and slammed it into the flooded floor hard enough to crack the metal beneath the water.
The corridor shook violently.
One guard fired.
A silver projectile pierced directly into the creature’s shoulder.
Then another.
For one second—
nothing happened.
Then the creature screamed.
Not loudly.
Wrongly.
The sound distorted through the corridor like broken machinery mixed with human pain.
Seraphina’s entire body shivered automatically.
"That sound should not exist."
The creature’s movements suddenly became unstable.
Slower.
Jerking unnaturally.
Kael immediately stepped backward toward Seraphina again without taking his eyes off it.
Protective.
Automatic.
Again.
Annoying.
Very annoying.
The creature twitched violently against the floor.
Then slowly looked upward.
Toward Kael.
And smiled again.
This time Kael’s expression changed completely.
Not anger.
Not focus.
Recognition.
Seraphina noticed instantly.
Oh no.
"Oh absolutely not," she muttered immediately.
Kael didn’t answer.
Which was worse.
Much worse.
The creature suddenly spoke.
One broken sentence.
Distorted.
Barely human.
"...same..."
Silence.
Even Celestine stopped looking amused.
The creature’s glowing eyes remained fixed on Kael.
"...same..."
Then it laughed weakly.
Seraphina stared in horror.
"No."
Kael’s jaw tightened sharply.
Theren’s expression darkened instantly.
And suddenly—
Seraphina understood something terrible.
This thing wasn’t random.
Noctaire made it.
Or tried to.
The realization hit hard enough to make her stomach twist.
The creature jerked violently against the sedatives embedded in its body.
Its distorted arm smashed into the floor hard enough to send cracks racing across the corridor again.
The entire structure groaned dangerously.
"Sedatives destabilizing," one guard warned immediately.
"Of course they are," Seraphina answered automatically.
Then the creature’s silver eyes snapped toward her again.
And suddenly—
it stopped struggling.
Just stared.
Like it recognized something.
That somehow felt worse.
Way worse. freēwēbηovel.c૦m
Celestine stepped slightly closer.
Interested again.
"Curious."
Seraphina looked horrified.
"You are banned from saying that word."
The creature slowly tried reaching toward Seraphina through the flooding water.
Kael moved instantly.
Fast enough that even the guards flinched.
His hand closed around the creature’s wrist before it could touch her.
And for the first time since this started—
Kael looked genuinely furious.
The corridor temperature somehow felt colder instantly.
Even the creature paused.
Kael’s voice came out dangerously quiet.
"Don’t."
The creature stared at him silently.
Then unexpectedly—
its expression changed.
Not violent.
Not monstrous.
Sad.
Seraphina froze.
What.
The creature’s distorted voice crackled again.
"...hurts..."
Silence hit the corridor like a physical thing.
One of the guards lowered his weapon slightly.
Another looked visibly shaken now.
Even Theren’s expression tightened.
And suddenly—
this stopped feeling like a monster attack.
It felt worse.
Because monsters were easier.
Seraphina slowly looked toward Theren.
"...What did you people do."
No answer.
Which was answer enough.
The creature suddenly convulsed violently.
Its body spasmed against the sedatives while silver light spread beneath the cracks in its corrupted skin.
Warning alarms exploded throughout the corridor instantly.
"Biological instability reaching critical levels."
"Containment failure imminent."
The guards stepped backward immediately.
One shouted:
"It’s overloading!"
Seraphina blinked.
"...That sounds bad."
"Very," Celestine replied calmly.
"There you go again!"
Kael immediately grabbed Seraphina’s wrist.
"We leave. NOW."
This time nobody argued.
Not even Seraphina.
Because the creature’s body was literally starting to fracture apart with glowing silver cracks spreading through its distorted limbs.
The corridor lights flickered violently.
Metal screamed somewhere overhead.
Then the creature looked directly at Kael one last time.
And whispered:
"...run..."
Kael froze for half a second.
Only half.
Then he pulled Seraphina into motion immediately.
Everyone sprinted through the flooding corridor as warning alarms screamed around them.
Behind them—
the creature started laughing.
Weak.
Broken.
Painfully human.
Seraphina hated that sound more than the screaming earlier.
The corridor shook violently beneath their feet as they ran past flashing containment doors and collapsing support beams.
One guard shouted directions ahead.
Another dragged the injured personnel from earlier.
Water splashed violently around their legs.
Steam burst from broken pipes overhead.
The entire lower facility was dying now.
Not slowly anymore.
Fast.
Dangerously fast.
Then suddenly—
Seraphina heard Celestine laughing behind her.
Not loudly.
Amused.
She twisted around while running.
"...WHY ARE YOU ENJOYING THIS?!"
Celestine avoided falling debris gracefully without slowing at all.
"I haven’t felt this entertained in years."
"You are clinically concerning!"
Unexpectedly—
Celestine smiled wider.
"Yes."
That answer somehow scared Seraphina more than the creature did.
