Pacific Rim: King of the Monsters

Chapter 55. Subtitles Required

The elevator doors were about five seconds from opening while everyone backed away, leaving Adaine ahead of the group. She tried to search for it, trying to make contact with the humanoid.

She was met with an empty response, she could only feel the thing following her even through the doors.

The elevator dinged, adjusting into place before the doors opened, revealing to the group, an empty hallway.

Adaine could hear its absent thoughts, knowing it was there, just waiting for Jay to return.

Muramasa stepped beside Adaine, "Is it there?"

That question echoed in Adaine's head. Would this thing's presence force everyone into uncertainty, or would it simply cause them to panic?

Yumi tapped the Xilien's back, "Adaine, is it still at the end of the hall?"

"It is..." Adaine focused for a second, able to see its dark socket for an eye staring right at them and its permanent grin still clattering with steam escaping its jagged teeth. Its jaw seemed to be stuck, forcing the creature to force its mouth to open, causing it to clatter its teeth; sending chills through the Xilien.

"What is it doing?" Gage questioned, "Are we being watched?"

"Uh... it's at the end of the hall... but uh... it's sleeping," Adaine couldn't look away from it. Its singular unblinking eye might as well have been no more than a few inches away with how focused it was on the Xilien.

Adaine shivered, "What room are we going to?"

The pilots stared at the empty spot at the end of the hall, leading Mack to squeeze past everyone, "Our room. Let's go. I don't want to wake that thing up."

The thing clattered its jaws with another puff of steam. Adaine just nodded, "Uh-huh... let's not wake up."

Mack looked to Gage, and then the twins, "It won't attack us. Right? If it wakes up?"

Adaine nodded, still keeping her eye on it, "Just hurry, this thing scares me." She looked off to the left, having the others follow her gaze to the massive scratches slashed into the wall.

"Come on," Adaine paced herself, walking to the pilot's room as she kept her eyes on it. She pulled at the door, shaking it with force until she realized it was locked, "Come on, one of you." Mack jogged up to her, typing in the code, "Alright if you are scared, I'm starting to rethink where-" Adaine pulled the pilot aside; swinging the door open before shoving him inside.

Adaine kept her eyes on the creature as it leaned forward. She heard the others going into the room before Moto tapped her shoulder, "Are you sure we are safe?"

Moto stepped inside while Adaine slowly kept eye contact with the thing, closing the door until it locked, "That thing is only here for Jay... but it won't stop staring at me." The xilien slapped her hands over her mouth, "Did y'all hear that?"

"That thing was awake?!" Gage questioned, "Why did you say it was asleep?!"

"Would you rather I tell you that it keeps staring at me?" The Xilien stepped away from the door, "Plus it won't harm us... it's just... unsettling to look at."

"Alrighty then! Let's quickly forget about it before Gage starts crying!" Mack laughed hysterically, "Who wants candy?!"

Gage grabbed his pilot and tossed it over the twins, hitting Mack, "Oh shit, I'm hit." He fell onto his bed.

The twins chuckled to themselves while Moto stood beside Wataru and Nick. Muramasa sat by Mack's bed, "Well, we survived another day. Is anyone else going to acknowledge that?"