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Olivia

The cold wraps around me like a familiar blanket, numbing my thoughts as I drift in and out of consciousness. My body feels heavy, sinking into soft fabric. I blink, trying to shake off the lingering fog of sedation, but something is wrong. The cold is giving way to an uncomfortable heat that seeps into my skin. A strange mix of grogginess and confusion overtakes me as I open my eyes, expecting the sterile light of a cell to greet me.

But there's only darkness.

I blink again, trying to make sense of it. Why is everything dark? My breath catches in my throat as the realization dawns. I was in a ship. A wave of panic rises in my chest, and I struggle against the lethargy, trying to sit up. The heat is suffocating now, clinging to my skin like a thick, damp layer of fear. My pod, once a freezing prison, now feels like a furnace, the air thick and stifling.

I claw at the door, hoping to push it open, but my fingers slide uselessly over the glass. That's when I notice the glass pane is no longer smooth. It's covered in breaks and dents… and dirt?

The panic surges through me in full force. My mind races, piecing it all together, a chaotic jumble of thoughts tumbling through the haze of fear and confusion.

The ship has crashed.

A strangled gasp escapes me as I push harder against the door, my palms slamming into the glass over and over. I can feel the edges of hysteria clawing at my mind as the door refuses to budge. I cough, the acrid scent of burning electronics assaulting my senses. I can't stay in here. I need to get out. Now.

Desperation fuels me as I search for any way to escape, my hands frantically scrabbling over the smooth surfaces of the chamber. There has to be something, a lever, a button. Anything. My breaths come in short, sharp gasps, and I can feel the walls closing in on me. Trapped. I'm trapped.

A loud groaning noise reverberates through the chamber and my heart leaps into my throat. My eyes dart around wildly, trying to find the source of the sound. The chamber starts shaking, and suddenly, with a crack, something gives way beneath me and I’m falling.

I scream as my chamber jerks violently, the entire pod I’m trapped in tipping forward and plunging into a gaping darkness. My body is thrown against the glass as I fall, the impact rattling my bones and slamming me back against the back and then the glass again. The world outside my pod is a chaotic blur of debris and darkness. I'm tossed about like a ragdoll as the pod tumbles downward, and with a final, bone-jarring jolt, my chamber stops.

I hit the ground hard, and the world explodes into pain and noise. Metal screeches against rock, and I'm vaguely aware of rocks and dirt pelting the outside of my chamber as it skids and rolls to a stop a few feet away from a steep slope.

I lay there for a moment, stunned, trying to process what just happened. My whole body aches and my head is pounding from where I've been slammed against the inside of the chamber. I can feel warm blood trickling down my face, sticky and uncomfortable. I groan, closing my eyes for a moment to steady myself.

When I finally manage to gather my wits, I take stock of my injuries. My muscles scream in protest as I attempt to move, and I hiss in pain as I realize I've got more than just a few bruises. Lacerations dot my face, small cuts from where I was tossed around. My head is throbbing, the telltale sign of a concussion making everything feel far too bright and sharp. But, despite it all, I can feel something tingling within me, knitting my wounds back together at an accelerated rate. The pain dulls slightly as the healing process begins, but I know it'll be some time before I'm fully back on my feet.

With a groan of effort, I struggle to sit up, my vision swimming for a moment before it stabilizes. The inside of my pod is a mess of cracked glass and twisted metal. I reach up and try to push the door open again, but it's dented from the fall, and it refuses to give. Long locks of bright green hair are wrapped around my arms, making it harder to move, but when I yank at them there is simply an answering pain on my scalp.

It’s my hair… somehow. And it’s limiting my movement.

Panic starts to creep back in as I realize how truly trapped I am.

But then I noticed something else—I'm stronger. My hands, which once struggled to make even a dent in the reinforced glass, now press with a force I never had before.

What the hell? Adrenaline?

I grit my teeth and push harder, using every ounce of strength I can muster. The glass groans under the pressure, but it's slow going. The pod was designed to keep us in, and even with my sudden strength, it's not easy to break out.

Just as I feel like I'm making progress, the ground beneath me shifts again.

"No, no, no!" I shout, but it's no use.

The shale beneath the pod gives way, and with a sickening lurch, the entire chamber starts to slide down the steep slope. I scream, clinging to the sides of the pod as it hurtles downward, faster and faster. Dirt and rocks spray up around me, and the world spins wildly as the pod careens out of control.

There's nothing I can do but hold on for dear life and pray that I don't get thrown around too much inside the chamber. Every jolt sends fresh waves of pain through my body, and I can feel another bruise forming on my already tender head as it bangs against the glass.

Finally, with one last bone-shaking crash, the pod slams into something solid at the bottom of some odd tunnel. The impact is enough to knock the breath out of me, and for a moment, I just lay there, dazed and disoriented. My head throbs painfully, and I can feel the darkness creeping in at the edges of my vision.

Not again.

I try to fight it, but the exhaustion is overwhelming, and despite my best efforts, my consciousness slips away, leaving me in darkness once more.

***

The world around me feels like it's spinning out of control, a whirlpool of dark shadows and dim, flickering lights. I'm barely conscious, teetering on the edge of oblivion when a sudden, sharp sound slices through the haze. A distant explosion? Or was it gunfire? My groggy mind can't tell the difference. Everything feels muffled, as if I'm underwater, with a thick, syrupy fog clogging my thoughts.

It occurs to me that I can no longer hear the electricity of the chamber. I’ve heard it my whole life, regardless of how many people told me that’s crazy, and the lack of it is unsettling. Especially if this chamber is keeping me alive in some sort of strange, alien environment.

Or am I on Earth?

I force my eyes open, but the effort is almost too much. My eyelids feel like they're made of lead, and the simple act of blinking sends the world reeling. The harsh contrast between the pitch-black surroundings and sporadic flashes of light strains my vision, making the throbbing in my head intensify. The cold metal of the cryo chamber is gone, replaced by a much more troubling sensation—a deep, stabbing pain right in the center of my skull.

Instinctively, I raise a hand to my forehead, hoping to soothe the ache. But as my fingers make contact with my skin, I feel something sharp and out of place—a small, jagged shard embedded in my flesh. A choked gasp escapes me as I realize what it is. Glass. There's a shard of glass lodged in my skull, a cruel souvenir from the chaotic fall. The skin around it is slick with blood, warm and sticky, trickling down in tiny rivulets.

I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to will the pain away. But it's no use—the stabbing sensation flares every time my heart beats, sending ripples of agony through my already foggy mind. Frustration bubbles up inside me, mixing with the pain and disorientation. I can't think clearly, can't focus on anything except the maddening throb in my head.

"Damn it," I mutter through clenched teeth, my voice barely more than a whisper. I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself. There's no room for fear or hesitation. Not now. With a sudden, rough motion, I grasp the shard of glass and yank it out.

The pain is white-hot, blinding in its intensity. For a second, the world narrows to a single point of excruciating agony, but then it starts to fade, replaced by a dull throb.

Damn. That probably wasn’t smart.

My vision clears just enough for me to take in my surroundings. I'm partially out of the pod. It's cracked and twisted from the fall, the once-pristine glass shattered into dangerous shards. The air is thick with the acrid stench of smoke and burned electronics, making it hard to breathe. I need to get out of here.

I push myself up, trying to orient myself, but the world tilts dangerously. My head feels like it's full of thick syrup, every movement sluggish and delayed. I blink, trying to shake off the grogginess, but it's no use.

Just as I'm about to try and stand, a sound cuts through the haze—a strange, wet, squelching noise, growing louder by the second. My heart skips a beat, and I turn my head slowly, trying to locate the source. The movement makes me dizzy, and for a moment, I have to brace myself against the side of the pod to keep from toppling over.

When I finally manage to look up through the opening above me. My breath catches in my throat. A horde of alien creatures is rushing down the slope toward me. They're like nothing I've ever seen before, their bodies made entirely of some kind of pink, gelatinous substance. They move with a sickening fluidity, undulating and shifting as they swarm closer. Panic grips me, my muscles tensing involuntarily.

I need to get out of here—now.

With a surge of adrenaline, I push open the cracked door of the pod and stumble out. My feet hit the uneven ground, and immediately, I lose my balance. My head is still spinning, the concussion making it impossible to coordinate my movements. I try to catch myself, but my legs give out from under me, and I crash face-first into the rocks.

The impact jars my already throbbing head, sending fresh waves of pain through my skull. For a moment, I just lay there, stunned, my face pressed into the cold, damp ground. The world around me feels distant, and unreal, like I'm trapped in a nightmare that I can't wake up from.

But the sound of the approaching creatures snaps me back to reality. I push myself up onto my hands and knees, coughing as I try to get air back into my lungs. My vision swims, but I can't afford to stay down. I force myself to my feet, swaying unsteadily as I try to get my bearings.

The creatures are closer now, almost upon me. I can hear their wet, squelching movements, and can feel the ground vibrating under the force of their collective approach. My heart is pounding in my chest, a wild, erratic rhythm that drowns out everything else.

I scramble on my knees for a short while, rocks cutting into me, frantic to get away, but I’m still stunned.

Just as I'm about to start running, a sharp voice cuts through the chaos. "Get down!"

I don't have time to react before someone grabs me from behind, yanking me out of the path of the oncoming horde. I'm pulled roughly to the side, and I stumble, nearly losing my balance again. But whoever it is keeps a firm grip on my arm, dragging me away from the creatures.

I manage to get a look at my rescuer—a woman, with silver hair and black eyes that gleam with intensity. She looks familiar, though my groggy mind can't quite place her. One of the other women from the ship, I think, though her name escapes me.

She's armed, holding a blocky, unwieldy rifle that looks like it's seen better days. It's not an energy weapon—the distinctive crack of ballistic fire tells me that much.

"Stay behind me!" she orders, her voice clipped and commanding. Without waiting for a response, she takes a stance at a vantage point halfway up the slope, her rifle trained on the approaching creatures.

I'm still reeling from the fall, my brain struggling to catch up with what's happening. But her words cut through the fog, grounding me in the here and now. I nod numbly, not trusting myself to speak, and scramble to find some cover behind a large chunk of debris.

The woman opens fire, the loud crack of the rifle echoing across the desolate landscape. Each shot is precise, and measured, and nearly every time she pulls the trigger, one of the pink creatures bursts into a spray of liquid, collapsing into a puddle of goo. They make large targets, with all of that wide, jiggling mass.

But for everyone she takes down, three more seem to take their place, surging forward with relentless determination.

I watch her for a moment, awe-struck by her calm under pressure, and her efficiency in dealing with the threat. But the sheer number of creatures is overwhelming, and I can see the strain in her eyes as she struggles to keep them at bay.

I can't just sit here and do nothing. I need to help.

My eyes dart around, searching for anything I can use as a weapon. That's when I see it—a rifle, lying discarded in the dirt a few feet away. It looks like it must have fallen down the steep hill, judging my how marked up it is.

I crawl toward it, my movements awkward and slow, but I manage to reach it before the creatures close in. My fingers close around the cold metal, and I pull the weapon to me, checking it over quickly.

It's battered, clearly salvaged from one of the fallen, but it's still functional. The weight of it in my hands is reassuring. I take a deep breath, trying to steady my shaking hands, and then rise to my feet.

"Cover me!" I shout to the woman, my voice hoarse and shaky.

She glances back at me, her eyes narrowing in surprise. But she doesn't hesitate. She adjusts her position, drawing the creatures' attention away from me so I can get a clear shot.

I took aim, my heart racing. I've handled weapons before, but this is different. Clearly not made for humans hands and the stakes are higher, the danger more immediate. I can't afford to miss. My finger tightens on the trigger, and with a loud crack, the rifle kicks against my shoulder.

I missed. I try again. And again, before I figure out how to aim it.

The nearest creature bursts apart, pink goo splattering across the ground. The sight gives me a surge sense of satisfaction, a small victory in the midst of chaos. Almost sexual, I realize.

I shoot again, another kill sending a shot of ecstasy through me, the junction of my thighs becoming increasingly wet.

But there's no time to celebrate. More of the creatures are closing in, and I need to keep firing.

I grit my teeth, forcing myself to stay focused. The woman is still holding her ground, picking off the creatures with a steady rhythm, but I can see the strain in her posture. She can't keep this up forever. We need to move, to get out of here before we're overwhelmed.

"We have to go!" I shout, firing another round into the horde. The creatures are so close now that I can see their slick, gelatinous bodies rippling with each movement. The sight sends a shiver down my spine, but I force myself to keep firing, to keep fighting.

"We can't outrun them!" the woman snaps back, her voice laced with frustration. She fires another shot, and another creature collapses into a puddle of goo, but there are too many of them. We're being pushed back, millimeter by millimeter, and I can feel the desperation mounting in my chest.

"Then what do we do?" I shout, my voice rising in panic. Another shot, another creature down. But it's not enough. We're losing ground, and I can see the creatures closing in, their pink bodies undulating and shifting as they swarm toward us.

The woman doesn't answer right away, her focus on keeping the creatures at bay. But I can see the tension in her jaw, the way her eyes dart around, searching for an escape route. She knows we can't hold them off forever. We're running out of time.

"This way!" she finally shouts, her voice sharp and commanding. She fires one last shot, then turns and bolts up the slope, her movements quick and sure despite the uneven terrain.

I don't hesitate. I follow her, my heart pounding in my chest as I scramble after her. The creatures are right behind us, their wet movements growing louder and more frantic. I can feel them closing in, can hear their sickening squelches as they surge forward in a mindless frenzy.

But we don't stop. We keep moving, pushing ourselves to the limit, our breaths coming in short, ragged gasps. The woman leads the way, her black eyes focused and determined when she glances back, and I do my best to keep up, my legs burning with exertion.

We reach the top of the slope, and for a brief, blessed moment, the creatures seem to falter, their movements slowing as if they're unsure of what to do next. But it's only a momentary reprieve. They'll be on us again in seconds.

"Keep going!" the woman shouts, her voice hoarse with effort. She glances back at me, her eyes meeting mine for a brief, intense moment. There's a fire in her gaze, a fierce determination that ignites something in me.

I nod, gritting my teeth as I push myself to keep moving. The ground is uneven and treacherous, but we can't afford to slow down. The creatures are still behind us, still relentless in their pursuit.

But we're not giving up. Not yet.

The woman leads us toward a rocky outcrop in the distance, a jagged formation that juts out from the barren landscape. It's not much, but it offers some cover, and a chance to regroup and figure out our next move.

We reach the outcrop just as the creatures start to catch up again. The woman spins around, raising her rifle and firing off a few more shots to keep them at bay. I do the same, my hands trembling as I take aim and squeeze the trigger.

The creatures burst into pink puddles, one after another, but there are still too many of them. They seem to realize they’ve lost an advantage and back off, finding cover while we do the same.

We can't hold them off forever. We need a plan.

"What now?" I ask, my voice shaking with exhaustion and fear.

The woman doesn't answer right away, her eyes scanning the landscape, searching for something—anything—that might give us an edge. But there's nothing. Just the barren wasteland, the distant fires of the crashed ship, and the relentless horde of alien creatures.

Finally, she turns to me, her expression grim.

"It’s time to run," she says, as if that isn’t what we’ve already been doing.

I couldn't hide my snarl even if I wanted to, "Oh, you think?!"

Then we run. And somehow live.

***

The valley is eerily quiet now, the only sound is my ragged breaths and the rhythmic thud of my heartbeat pounding in my ears. We talked a bit, shared our names, which is how I know hers is Rin, then fell silent. The adrenaline is still coursing through my veins, making my limbs shake even though we've put some distance between us and the crash site. Rin and I stumble to a halt in the shadow of yet another jagged outcrop.

The creatures, thankfully, aren't visible from here.

I drop to my knees, gasping for breath, and Rin does the same, her silver hair sticking to her forehead with sweat. For a moment, neither of us says anything, just focusing on pulling air into our burning lungs. The quiet is a relief, but the silence that hangs between us is heavy with unspoken questions. The ground beneath us is rough and uneven, the dirt dry and cracked, and I can feel every sharp edge pressing into my palms as I brace myself.

We are under a bush and fighting about utter nonsense not long after, at least until I realize I can understand when she speaks a foreign language. It helps me calm down my burning brain to focus on something else besides killer aliens.

We introduce ourselves, which is how I find out her name is Rin. Then she teaches me how to clothe myself out of… nothing.

So I am now fully clothed in a spandex suit straight out of a Catwoman comic book. Handy.

Being naked for weeks is highly uncomfortable.

Then she’s reaching her hand for me and I barely resist the temptation to shrink back. Instead, I pull from my bottomless well of useless movie facts, throw on a smile, and distract my mind from the anger.

"This makes me think of Titanic and how Jack could have gotten on the door with Rose," I say inanely, but then her eyebrows furrow.

I quickly sift through the possible emotions attached to that, hoping it isn’t anger and just let my stupid mouth keep running on. "You haven't seen Titanic ? Oh my God, have you been living under a rock?"

I let out a hearty laugh, one I’ve practiced dozens of times, playing a recording back until it was perfect and luckily it draws a chuckle from her. Good, that means she probably isn’t angry.

"I have not seen it but once I can, I will," she tells me, and I nod in response.

Then I bite my tongue and pick up a rock to ground myself, sure my mask is in place with a small smile. She probably hates me.

Ninety-five percent chance , I muse.

When I look up again she’s staring at me.

“Rin?” She doesn’t hear me and I cringe as I place my hand on her, hoping she doesn’t hit me.

"Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts," she says.

I let go of her, my smile slipping, and focus on the rock again. "I understand,” I say, voice tight with my social anxiety. “I don't mean to pull you from it."

"No, don't be sorry. I finally have an actual human being to talk to and I should take advantage of that,” she responds.

Did anyone else in the pods survive? Are we the only ones? "Am I the first human you’ve come across?" When she nods I let out an involuntary moan.

The woman with the purple hair was nice. It would be terrible if she died after trying to protect me. "So you haven't seen Ree?"

Rin gives me a sidelong glance, still frowning, but she doesn't respond. She just shakes her head, as if trying to shake off the strangeness of it all. I'm about to say something more when the ground beneath us rumbles. A deep, ominous vibration that makes my heart skip a beat.

Before I can react, the earth gives way beneath us, crumbling into a yawning sinkhole. The world lurches violently, and I let out a startled cry as the ground disappears from under my feet. Rin yells something, but the sound is swallowed by the rush of air as I fall.

I’m too scared to get angry when her hands clasp tight to mine, stopping my fall. Then her grip is slipping and I’m yelling out her name.

I can tell from her face that she won’t be able to hold me for long. She looks past me, then speaks. "I can't see anything. It's all dark."

I’m about to reply when the ground shifts again and she loses her hold on me.

I scream out a yelp as I fall, then make painful contact with the ground.

The impact knocks the wind out of me. I land hard on my back, the breath forced from my lungs in a painful gasp. Dust and grit fill my mouth and nose, making me sputter and cough as I try to sit up. Everything aches. My head, my ribs—hell, even my teeth hurt from the jarring fall.

I blink through the haze, trying to get my bearings, when something massive looms over me. My heart stutters in my chest as a huge, multi-tusked creature with bioluminescent skin reaches down and grabs me. Its skin glows with an eerie, pale light, casting strange shadows on the cavern walls. I let out a panicked squeal, the sound loud enough to make the creature wince, but it doesn’t let go. Instead, it pulls me closer, pressing me to its broad chest with an almost possessive grip.

"Let me go!" I gasp, anger surging, struggling against its hold, but my efforts are laughably ineffective. My fists pound against its chest, but it barely seems to notice. My face is pressed against its cold, hard skin, muffling my cries, and I can feel its deep, rumbling breaths vibrating through me.

Mixed in with my anger is arousal, which only serves to whip me up into a fury.

"Olivia!" Rin's voice cuts through the chaos, distant but frantic. I try to twist around, to call out to her, but the creature's grip is unyielding.

I’m sure she’s convinced I just broke my neck, so I try to reassure her.

"I'm okay," I say back, though my voice is muffled by the creature's chest. "I'm… sort of okay," I add, struggling to breathe through the tightness of its hold.

Oddly enough, the pressure is calming me down, which is the exact opposite of what I would normally feel and at odds with how freaked out I am.

What if she jumps down if I scream for help? She’d get hurt, or worse.

I wriggle to get my face in a better position to yell. “Nasrin, I’m okay. There’s… someone else here.”

“Please give my friend back, please,” Nasrin calls and my heart leaps.

Only a five percent chance she hates me , I correct myself, my mind whirling.

I feel my mind trying to slide into the stuttering, skipping thoughts from when the bugs held me captive, but resist.

The creature lets out a series of low hisses and chitters, its body vibrating with the sound. At first, the noise is just a meaningless jumble of high-pitched sounds, but then the patterns start to shift, and I can almost hear words forming in my mind. The translation is slower this time as if my brain is still catching up to the creature's strange language.

Or maybe I’m just slow in general.

"This one… belongs to you?" the creature hisses, its voice a strange mix of high-pitched clicks and deep, resonant growls.

"Zha is part of my hoard now,” the creature announces. “Go away."

Hoard? Anger flares even higher in me at its words, and I manage to pull my face away from its chest just enough to speak. "Fuck no!" I snap, my voice shaky but defiant. "I'm no one's but my own."

The creature freezes for a moment, its grip tightening slightly. Then, it lets out a high-pitched creaking sound, almost like… surprise? The sound is so alien, so foreign, that it's hard to tell, but something in the way its body shifts makes me think it wasn't expecting me to talk back.

"If… this one talks…" the creature hisses slowly as if testing the words. "Then… zha must have it."

Before I can make sense of what it's saying, the creature tightens its hold on me and suddenly takes off, sprinting through the cavern with terrifying speed. I barely have time to let out a startled yelp before we're plunging into a freshly dug tunnel, the walls rushing past in a blur.

It’s gait is odd, then I remember from the quick flash that it had three sets of limbs and shudder.

"Rin!" I shout over my shoulder, my voice barely carrying over the sound of the creature's pounding footsteps.

I almost scream out my fear, demanding help, but then I picture her bloody and broken. I would never forgive myself if she got hurt.

I pull in a deep breath, unsure how to keep her from following. “I'll be okay!" I yell out, cringing when it’s just an echo of what I said before.

She’s probably completely unconvinced.

Rin's voice echoes faintly behind us, growing more distant with every second. "Olivia!" she calls, desperation lacing her tone. "Olivia, where are you?!"

I yell back, desperate to make her feel better so she won’t break her neck. “I'll be okay, I promise. I'll find you once I can."

"No, no, Olivia, please,” she begs. “I'll dig my way down to get you out. I'll find a way. Just hold on."

"Get to safety," I yell back, suddenly realizing she must be shouting and there are enemies up there. "I'll find a way out.”

“Olivia…” she says, but the sound fades as the creature races deeper into the tunnel, and soon, all I can hear is the pounding of its feet and the harsh rasp of my own breathing.

I stop trying to shout back. There's no point. The distance between us is growing too fast, and I need to focus on staying calm, on figuring out what the hell is happening. The tunnel twists and turns, the walls a blur of jagged stone and glowing lichen as the creature barrels forward with inhuman speed. My head is spinning, my mind struggling to keep up with the sheer madness of it all.

What is this thing? Where is it taking me? And what the hell did it mean by “zha must have it”?

Questions race through my mind, but there are no answers, only the hot, suffocating grip of the creature and the endless, twisting tunnels stretching out before us.

And of course my impotent, murderous rage.