Civilian tried to breathe deeply, but the air in the room was thick, saturated with dust, metal, and something else he couldn’t quite name. He stared at the screen, where waves of bluish light pulsed from the Path. With every flicker, it became clearer... They were about to do something incredibly stupid.


Then something shifted. Something wasn’t right.


The Path flared, brighter than before, and the space around it began to tremble. The Shadows, which had only moments ago been surging out toward the city, suddenly accelerated and vanished into the side corridors. Something was coming out. Something even they feared.


The first thing Civilian saw was a massive hand with long, bony fingers. Then came the emaciated body, ribcage warped and protruding like a crown of thorns.

But the worst part was the head, smooth, eyeless, marked only by strange holes rimmed with fleshy ridges. When it moved, it did so with a predator’s grace, fluid, lethal.


Civilian swallowed hard.

“Well, that’s one jumbo-sized nightmare,” he muttered, instinctively taking a step back.


Soldier exhaled slowly. “Told you it was gonna go to shit.”


Civilian shot him a look that screamed You KNEW this was coming? But of course he had. He knew the Path wasn’t just a gate, it was also an invitation. And now someone… or something… had RSVP’d.


“What now?” Civilian asked, though he already knew the answer.


Soldier studied the monitor carefully, fists clenched.

“I have to draw it away, give myself a window to reach the Path.”


Civilian let out a dry, bitter laugh. “Oh, sure. Then we’ll wave goodbye and toss it a farewell cake while we’re at it.”


Soldier shot him a sharp look, but said nothing. They both knew the solution was hanging in the air, heavy and unspoken.


“I’ll do it,” Civilian said at last, resigned.


He began rummaging through the drawers of the old desk. Eventually, he found what he was looking for, two handheld radios, probably once used by security. He pulled the batteries from the bridge remote and popped them into both radios. Then, from his pack, he uncoiled a length of rope and carefully looped it over his shoulder.


“But I’ll need your help,” he added, glancing at Soldier.


Soldier stared at him for a long moment. Then, slowly, he nodded.


It was now or never.