The cavern erupted into chaos.
The first of the cocoons split with a wet, tearing sound, spilling its occupant onto the ground in a flood of black ichor. The creature that emerged was no longer human. Its limbs were too long, its joints bending at unnatural angles. Where its face should have been, skin had stretched and melted, leaving only a gaping maw lined with jagged teeth.
It shrieked. The sound wasn't just noise—it was a vibration that made the bones in Min-joon's chest rattle. More cocoons burst open, one after another, until the cavern floor was a seething mass of crawling, twitching, shuddering bodies.
Dozens. Then hundreds.
"Shit," Keller hissed, snapping his rifle to his shoulder. He fired three rounds into the nearest creature. Bullets punched through its chest, spraying ichor across the stone floor. The thing staggered but didn't fall. It lurched forward with jerky, spiderlike movements.
