Chapter 53 Stranded X

Chapter 53: Chapter 53 Stranded X

To say that Ethan’s words hadn’t gotten to her this time would be a joke. They had burrowed deep, sinking into her mind like parasites. Her hands were shaking as she walked, trembling so violently that the flashlight beam danced erratically across the walls. Her thoughts were scattered, out of place, as she searched every room, every corner, every rows for any sign of Kai. But there was nothing. Just empty spaces and oppressive darkness that seemed to mock her efforts.

Rowan followed close behind, with Ethan trailing silently at the rear, watching Luna’s frantic movements with an unreadable expression. She was going through the dark corridor with her flashlight, dragging open doors and slamming them shut when she found nothing. The sound of banging echoed through the halls like a desperate heartbeat.

"Let’s talk this out," Rowan said carefully, his voice gentle but firm. "You’re doing this because of rage. I know he annoyed you, but don’t believe that you’re anything like what he said."

Still, Luna kept looking. She pulled open another door, found nothing but empty shelves, and slammed it back with enough force to crack the frame. Her breathing was ragged, her movements increasingly erratic.

"Archhhhhhhhh!" The scream that tore from her throat was primal, raw, curling through the air like a wounded animal’s cry. It made Rowan shudder and even Ethan flinch.

"Where have they gone to?" Luna’s voice cracked, desperation bleeding through every word. "I just can’t think of another place else. What do I do, Rowan? What do I do?"

Rowan’s eyes widened at her words. This was the first time he had ever heard Luna ask for help—genuine, unguarded, vulnerable. The realization struck him like a physical blow.

Luna went from searching around to pacing frantically, her boots scuffing against the floor as she wore a path in the dust. Her mind raced, calculating and recalculating every possible location, every potential hiding spot.

"Any second here risks their lives being in danger," she muttered, more to herself than to anyone else. "I can’t be standing here when I know all too well what the creatures would do. I swear if they harm them, I will burn them all. I will burn this entire building to the ground if I have to."

She was about to explode right there, her composure shattering like glass, when Rowan’s eyes twitched and he tilted his head.

"Oh my gosh, I heard a scream," he said, his voice urgent. "It’s sounding exactly like that of Kai. It’s coming from that way."

Luna’s body reacted before her mind could catch up. She was about to take a step when she suddenly shook her head, her expression shifting from hope to suspicion.

"This is a planned work," she said, her voice hardening. "They’re trying to kill us all, and bringing you in through Kai’s voice is the perfect bait. I’m not sure it’s him."

Her mind was in disarray, thoughts colliding as she tried to determine the next step without getting eaten, taken hostage, or killed. The weight of leadership pressed down on her shoulders, and for the first time, she felt it might crush her.

"We don’t have any other options," Rowan replied grimly. "All roads lead through here."

It was another dark path, an alley leading down to what seemed to be a basement—a darker part of the skyscraper that felt more like a tomb than a building. They were about to reach the doorstep that could bring them outside, but the path they were on was the only one leading to Kai’s voice.

Ethan walked behind slowly, his face now showing a mixture of sadness and regret that didn’t concern anyone at that moment. His earlier bravado had evaporated, replaced by something hollow and uncertain.

By the time they reached the basement, the touch light went off once again, plunging them into absolute darkness. Luna’s foot caught on something, and she tripped, falling forward as something tentacle-like wrapped around her ankle and dragged her down. She tumbled down the staircase, her body bouncing against the steps, each impact sending shockwaves of pain through her skull.

She kept falling, hitting her head repeatedly until she finally reached the floor, where she lay sprawled and gasping for breath. The world spun around her, colors and shapes dancing in her vision as she tried to orient herself.

Luna attempted to push herself up from the ground, but the throbbing pain in her head refused to let her move. Her fingers found her forehead, and she felt a trickle of warmth—blood. She sighed, a sound of pure exhaustion and frustration.

"This is just so ridiculous," she muttered to herself.

The fact that she was here, crawling through the darkness, risking her life for Kai was almost laughable. Yes, she needed him. His knowledge, his skills, his presence in their group was valuable. But was it worth sacrificing her life for? The question hung in the air, unanswered.

Luna looked around, trying to spot Rowan and Ethan. They had hit their heads too hard as well. Ethan had fallen forward, landing in a crumpled heap, while Rowan lay nearby. Strangely, Ethan wasn’t bleeding at all, but Rowan was shedding so much blood that it was slowly forming a small pool around his head. Through the darkness, Luna could see the glistening liquid spreading across the concrete floor.

Then the snarls came.

They came from all around her, ballistic and deadly sounds that she had never heard in her life before. Primal. Hungry. They echoed off the walls, surrounding her in a chorus of menace. Still trying to locate her flashlight, she reached out blindly and found something solid. She picked it up, tapped it, and the light fell on the creature that screeched.

Luna almost fell back in shock. The thing before her had tentacles made of sharp claws, reaching for her with deadly precision. She dodged, her body moving on instinct as she jumped and rolled, employing the combat techniques she had learned so rigorously in her past life.

In that previous existence, she had understood the brutal truth: without self-defense, she would die. When her sister had thrown her out from the safe zone, she had undergone grueling training, pushing her body to its limits and beyond, hoping to at least die with dignity. But even that hadn’t stopped her from dying in the end. Now she had to repeat those same techniques, hoping they would save her life this time.

Based on what she was seeing, the creatures were a nightmare given form. There were four lion-octopus hybrids, their bodies twisted and wrong, tentacles writhing like serpents. A giant snake had become almost fatter, its body distended and unnatural, with hands and legs that belonged to an antelope—how the pieces had joined together was baffling. The sight was so unsettling, so terrifying, that Luna didn’t want to look at it. And the last two creatures were ants, both huge, with massive pincers aimed directly at her head.

One of the tentacled creatures held her tight, its grip like iron as she struggled against it. Then the massive pincers of the ants came for her neck. But luckily for her, she dodged, twisting away from the floor where she was pinned. The pincer slammed into the ground where her head had been, shattering the concrete into chunks. Luna gulped, thinking about what it would have been like if her skull had been caught like that.

Behind one of the monsters—no, two of them—she saw them. Adrain and Kai. Kai was held by the snake, wrapped in its coils, being prepared to be swallowed whole. Adrain, who wasn’t conscious anymore, was still bleeding out, his life force dripping away with every passing second. Luna could see that he would die from it soon if she didn’t act.

Her gaze swept across the creatures, and something caught her eye. A crystal embedded in each of their foreheads, glinting faintly in the dim light.

"Wait," she breathed. "Isn’t that part of the meteor?"

The realization hit her like a thunderbolt. An idea sparked in her mind, a desperate plan that might just work. She brought out her guns, her movements fluid as she summersaulted, throwing herself out of reach of a grasping tentacle. She fired, aiming directly at the crystal in the creature’s forehead. The bullet struck true, exploding the crystal and shattering it into pieces. The lion fell flat, its body convulsing before it turned into a normal, decayed lion.

It worked.

Luna grinned, a savage expression that held no warmth. "Fuck you all."

Then she fired mercilessly into the air, each bullet finding its mark, each crystal exploding in a shower of fragments. One by one, the creatures fell, their twisted forms reverting to ordinary dead animals. She was on the verge of destroying them all when the building shook dangerously. The entire structure groaned, and everything began to fall apart. The ground split open, a massive hole tearing through the floor beneath her feet.

Luna was thrown into the abyss, the monsters falling with her as she plummeted into the darkness. She screamed, her voice swallowed by the void, her limbs flailing uselessly as she fell.

Then a hand gripped her midair.

She looked up and saw Ethan, his expression placid as he pulled her up with surprising strength. He landed on solid ground, and she crashed into him, her body frozen with shock. She lay there, sprawled on top of him, trying to process what had just happened. How she had almost died twice in the span of minutes. How her life had flashed before her eyes again.

The silence stretched between them, broken only by the distant sounds of collapsing building. Ethan said nothing, simply stared at the ceiling with that same unreadable expression. Luna’s heart pounded against her ribs, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

She had come here to save Kai. She had almost died trying. And the person who had saved her was the one who had taunted her, mocked her, called her pathetic just moments ago.

The irony was not lost on her.