Quest 50 | ONC 2024 HONORABLE MENTION ✨️✨️

Seven:

"Kill her and cut her heart!" The alien called from behind. "Do it before she forcibly takes yours! I can't save you if she does and if she does, can you save yourselves?"

What? Save us?

Inside the cave was a dark and wet entryway. The uneven floor poked at the bottom of my boots as we walked inside. My gaze panned over the jagged rocks, slightly illuminated by the tint trickles of glowing water came from the ceiling. A droplet landed on my shoulder. I glanced at it. The light blue substance was odorless and cold. I prayed it was nothing more than the natural secretions of this giant rock. And not from a beast.

"I didn't like what the alien thing said about everyone else," Damon muttered as he walked beside me. He kicked a rock with his measured steps. "It makes me think they killed everybody."

"I wouldn't put it past them." I tongued my cheek as I looked back at the cave's entrance, darkening and shrinking the further new walked. "But there were a lot of us who survived in the beginning. That's a lot of blood on their hands."

"Blood," Damon muttered. "I don't think they cared enough about who survived, they just needed to see who could."

"Well, we are." I looked into his eyes and stopped. He faced me, frowning, deep emotional lines forming around his lips. "We've made it this far playing their game. And even me," I flattened my hand against my chest, "I shouldn't have gotten here—"

"Don't talk like that." Damon shook his head. "They don't care about that."

"Exactly. They don't care, just like you said. They didn't care if I made it or if I died. They didn't care that I'm already sick. All they want is results—"

"Nina." Damon frowned.

"Results." I grabbed his arm. As much as I didn't agree with the aliens' game, I understood what they wanted from us. They already claimed this was their recruitment for this Galaxian war. Those of us who survived would become their soldiers. If I wanted to die, I would've given up on day one, but I didn't. I logged in, completed the task, and went back to bed with blood on my hands.

"We've been given the task of killing number forty-eight." My hands slid down his arm until I reached his hand. I gripped him, moving closer to him as I pulled him against me. He sighed and closed his eyes. With my other hand, still holding my weapon, I passed my fingertips over his cheeks. "We killed yesterday's boss—me and you. We can kill again."

His eyes fluttered open. "We have to," he lowered his voice, "because we're not dying here."

"I know." I held his hand tighter.

"But I admit I'm tired of it." He moved his hand to the back of my neck and pulled my face closer to his. "I want to go back to this morning; I want us to have a regular life."

I frowned and stepped on my toes, meeting his forehead with mine. "I don't think that's an option for us anymore, Damon."

As soon as the words left me, a woman's painful moan came from deep within the mountain. We both looked sharply in the direction. I held my breath as my chest tightened.

Damon groaned. "No, it isn't an option. Especially not today."

No. Today was another day for murder. I knew the aliens wanted us to believe this was a game, but after realizing these beasts had numbered names, just like the ones we were given, it made me believe they weren't creations made for us to truly. I thought they were prisoners, just like us, and within our hands, they lost their lives.

And it saddened me.

"Come on." Still holding my hand, Damon led me deeper into the cave. We reached the area where water puddled in the corners. The same glowing droplets splashed within them. I eyed the water as it spread onto the floor, but stopped moving when the moaning wail came again.

Damon was ahead of me by two or three steps. "Shit," he hissed.

"It doesn't sound as big as yesterday," I muttered.

"No, it doesn't." Damon continued forward, slowing his steps as the cave's space expanded. With the wider enclosure, the rocks were plentiful. They scattered the corners and the center, bringing a slight fear. If the battle ensued here, I'd have to avoid every pointed tip. I didn't come this far to be impaled.

The sound came again, louder than the first two times. It was softer and reminded me of a woman in danger. She might've been if my theory was right about enslaved creatures from other planets. This could be their lament for freedom.

Damon passed a hand over his face. "If they're going to cry all night, I need them to come out so I can—"

A rock moved ahead of us. It rolled across the ground until it landed in a puddle with a quiet plop. I moved beside Damon, finally letting his hand go to hold my sword properly. If the creature appeared, I didn't want to be ambushed or caught off guard. Damon did the same as I did and gripped his sword tightly.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yes," I whispered as I watched a shadow slither behind one of the rocks to our right.

I narrowed my gaze, readying myself, but nothing prepared me for the snake that emerged. It wasn't large and had feminine features. The beast reminded me of Medusa but without the snakes in her hair. Instead, she had long grass-like vines braided and twisted coming down from her head and on top of her shoulders. As she slithered, she swayed. Her grey, blemish-less skin shimmered in the slight glows from the water.

My jaw dropped. Her lips were painted red as if with lipstick. There was a hint of pink on her grey cheeks. With long dark lashes and the fierce, angry glow in her eyes, I had to admit I was mesmerized. She was beautiful, but was she dangerous? If we were told to kill her, she must have been. But the alien's words repeated in my head:

"Kill her and cut her heart! Do it before she forcibly takes yours!" What they said didn't make sense, but as the creature looked at us with glowing red eyes, I immediately thought of the stories about Medusa; how she turned men to stone. I quickly looked at Damon who hadn't looked away from her. Instead, he approached.

"Damon," I hissed, "come back. Don't look at her, don't look in her eyes."

I didn't know if that was the case. He continued without an issue. Nothing seemed different. He looked as if he'd kill her once he was close enough. Yet, as I straightened, I watched them and realized... the creature wasn't advancing. The grey pristine snake-woman swayed rhythmically as Damon got closer. A gentle moan slipped past her lips and her eyes sparkled. With her hands beside her head, she slowly moved her fingers; hypnotizing and beautiful.

I tightened my grip on my sword. "Damon," I hissed again.

Something was wrong. The monster wasn't attacking.

And neither was Damon.

"Damon!"

He sharply turned to the sound of my voice. His once bright brown eyes changed to white as he dipped his head and peered at me. He held his sword in one hand but as he rolled his shoulders back, he reached for his dagger that was nestled safely in the loop of his pants. He growled as the snake-woman approached him, wrapping a hand around his neck. Her plump red lips moved to his ear. "My love," she whispered. "Kill her for me."

My eyes widened. "No..."

He lifted his chin as she tightened her grip, pressing her long fingers into Damon's skin. "Kill her and lay with me."

Emotion swelled in my chest. This wasn't Damon. This was what the alien meant; kill her and cut her heart before she takes yours. She hypnotized Damon, possessed him, and now his eyes were on me.

The beast let him go and he inhaled slowly as he eyed me. I gulped. "Damon, snap out of it," I whispered. "This isn't you."

No, no, no!

He kept coming. His fingers rolled around the hilts of his weapons. His heavy breaths grew louder as he came closer. I moved back.

Could we save ourselves? We needed to.

A/N:

Word count: 12,2011!

I passed the 12k mark! And things have gotten...... heavy T^T.