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Jayas cupped my face, forcing me to meet his gaze. “Listen to me,” he said softly but firmly. “I would never, ever put you in danger. Trust in us, trust in our bond.”
I nodded, trying to muster up courage. “I’m just scared of going back into something like that. It feels so… final.”
He took a deep breath. “These pods are different. They’re escape pods. They’re our way off this ship. We just need to set the right coordinates, and we’ll be on our way to safety.”
The assurance in his eyes was palpable, infectious even.
Taking a deep breath, I took a tentative step towards the closest pod.
Just as I was about to reach out and touch it, an unmistakable sound echoed through the room — a low growl, followed by a sharp, scraping noise.
Both Jayas and I whipped around in unison, our eyes widening in shock.
Dropping from a large air vent in the ceiling was the final beast from the game — the one I’d seen battering its pod with its massive fists.
He landed with a thud, his scaly skin dripping wet with moisture, eyes blazing with an unholy fire.
The creature was even more imposing up close, its snarl revealing rows of sharp serrated teeth.
My heart raced, each beat echoing the reality of our dire situation.
Before, in the game, we’d been granted chances, opportunities to restart or reset.
But here, in this cold corridor, we were met with a stark reality: no do-overs, no second chances.
Just one life.
And the beast before us seemed determined to ensure it was a short one.
* * *
Frozen in place, I could feel Jayas’s protective stance solidifying beside me.
The raw tension in the room was palpable.
It was one of those moments when every sensation is heightened — the hum of the ship, the glow from the emergency lights, and the unmistakable, looming presence of the beast before us.
The creature, wet scales glistening, slowly sized us up with its intense amber eyes, nostrils flaring.
“Listen,” Jayas began, his voice steady, cutting through the stifling tension, “we don’t need to do this.Neitherof us do.”
The creature cocked its head, a gesture so oddly human that it threw me off guard for a moment.
“We can each go our separate ways. You can return to wherever you call home, and we can do the same. The Malquarans won’t control us anymore. We can befree.”
It was a desperate plea, one which I silently willed the beast to consider.
But as the creature’s eyes shifted between us, I couldn’t help but doubt whether such reason would reach it.
Was there a conscience beneath that hardened exterior?
Could it even understand the weight of Jayas’s words?
For a heartbeat or two, the creature remained still, the only sound being its labored breathing.
My heart held onto a fragile hope, but that hope was shattered when the beast let out a deep growl, taking a menacing step forward.
“No,” it hissed, voice distorted but filled with a raw emotion I couldn’t quite place.
