HOST IS DEEMED SUITABLE.
SYSTEM IS NOW PREPARING TO COMMERCE TRANSPLANT IN ORDER TO FULLY CARRY OUT REINCARNATION PROTOCOL.
REMINDER; SECOND EVOLUTION PROTOCOL NOW RUNNING AT EIGHTY FIVE PERCENT (85%)..., EIGHTY SIX PERCENT (86%)..., EIGHTY SEVEN PERCENT (87%)...> The box informs.
"Is… everyone alright?" Chloe, the first to regain consciousness asked. Her voice breaking the silence. She slowly pushed herself up, one hand pressed to her temple before slowly glancing around at the others.
"Uuunnnghh… my head. What… what happened?" Max groaned. His movements were sluggish, unsteady, as if the ground beneath him refused to stop spinning. He pressed a hand to his forehead, grimacing, before managing to push himself to his feet.
"What was that?." Rhoda's questioned as if trying to remember something, her voice soft and almost distant. She pressed her palm against her chest, trying to steady her breathing. "Last thing I remember was—"
Her words trailed off as her eyes widened. A vivid memory crashed back into her mind: the strange box, appearing out of nowhere, and then...
A blinding surge of energy, that hurled at them, exploding outward and throwing them aside like rag dolls as it barreled straight towards me.
"The kid!" Everyone one exclaimed, turning their gaze to me except Chloe who called me by my name. Their voice carried trace of worry and concern.
I couldn't move, not after being slammed into a pillar. My vision was gone, my body heavy… and yet, their voice,—shaken, filled with worry—still managed to reach me.
"The box! It's already began its count down. Everyone! Get as far away as you can from that box!" Chloe ordered, alerting everyone as she made her way for Damian, running over to him as she squats besides him.
"Damian, hey… Damian! Come on, wake up already." She called, her voice steady but edged with worry.
"It's no use. According to the text on the runes, that box would rewrite existence itself. It doesn't matter how far we get away from here, we'll still be affected. We're out of options here." Max informed quickly.
"Speak for yourself, I always have an option." Rhoda replied, picking up a pickaxe lying next to him and charges forward aiming for the box.
"No don't!" Chloe yells, trying to warn him.
He however ignores her, charging in as he go for the strike. However, his attacks never reached asthe box puts up an energy field.
"Self-defense protocol, what's that?" One of the military personnel who tagged along the crew asked.
"Who cares, just open fire at it." Rhoda ordered, trying to stand back to his feet.
At his command, the six military personnel standing by all opened fire, firing endlessly at the box. However, all their efforts would prove fruitless as the box simply shields itself with an energy field.
The room begins to quake as several walls began to emerge from the ground moving around, as it built some sort of maze around the crew in attempt to separate them. However, this fails as everyone is now trapped in the middle of the maze.
The box soon let's out another wave of energy blast which spread to the far ends of the room this time no one was knocked away or attacked by the wave. Relief by this, they all let out a sigh of relief which echoed throughout the room.
Crack! A sudden crack sound could be heard coming from the walls, everyone turned around to see what seemed like a humanoid figure emerging from the walls. Seeing this, everyone slowly backed away from the closest wall to them as this occurs with another wall. Soon the room is filled with these strange massive humanoid statue creatures, forcing the crew to circle up in the middle of the room as these humanoids like statue slowly approach them.
In a flash, one of the statues appears behind one the military personnel, making a vertical swing with its hand, severing his head from his neck causing blood to splatter out, raining across the place. Everyone is in shock and terror as the blood of the military personnel rained on them.
Like a knife, another of the statue runs its hand through the body of another crew member, before severing her in half. The third statue forged a sledge hammer from itself, lifting it up and bringing it down with a powerful vertical stroke, squashing to paste another of the crew member.
Enraged and frightened, the remaining military personnel opens fire at the statue, but their efforts would once again prove fruitless as their bullets bounces off the body of the statue leaving no scratch. In a flash the statues gruesomely murdered all of them leaving no survival.
Seeing as how all the military personnel and most of the crew had easily been taken out, Rhoda decides to make a run for it. Only to discover the entrance was now missing due to the room pattern constantly changing. However, upon trying to escape, a stone carved spear went right through his body, stabbing him and pinning him to a wall causing him to bleed out from his mouth and his chest where the spear had pierced out from. He struggles but manages to look back at the direction where it came from only to see more statues arriving at the scenes. Just then, one appeared before him, reaching for the spear, it merely swing the spear, sever Rhoda in half.
Meanwhile Chloe and Max had managed to escape with me as I was still unconscious, they hid in another part of the maze contemplating as they try deciding on their course of action. Just then my body began to glow as slowly it began to levitate above the ground, soon moving towards the direction of the box as if I was being pulled towards it.
Chloe and max seeing this, tries to stop me as they held on to me firmly, pulling with all their might. The two gave it their all but their all wasn't enough as they both would lose their grip.
"God damnit!" Chloe yells, rushing over to catch me as she once again pulled back.
"If he merges with that box it's all over." Max informs grabbing on to me as the two would try to pull back only to once again lose their grip.
"You don't think I know that already?" Chloe replied, chasing after me.
But before she could even cover a considerable distance, a statue appears behind her with a vertical swing aiming at severing her in half. However, she is pushed out of the way by Max who sacrifice himself to save her as his body split in half.
Chloe eyes widen in disbelief. Pained she briefly shut her eyes, accepting the death of her comrade, only to once again opening them as she looks over to me now held by two of the statues and dragged me on my knees, down to the alter where the box was seated.
At that point, I had finally regains consciousness, awakening to the sight of what could only be described as bloody massacre.
Seeing this I couldn't believe my eyes as they widen in fear, terror and disbelief. Multiple unanswered questions ran through my mind and for the first time in my life I had experience fear, not just your regular fear but real fear, so terrifying it instantly had me paralyzed. I could literally see my life flashing before my eyes and I must say it was nothing much more than a sad, disappointing one.
"Run! Run!" I could only tell myself, but for some reason I was unable move. It was as if my legs had been paralyzed or something.
"Damn legs why won't you move?" I kept asking myself as the box drew closer, only stopping few inches away from me.
"This is it for me, I'm dead, aren't I? I didn't even get to live life to the fullest or even get to say a proper farewell to my family."
Well they did say when a man is on his death bed only, then can he see what truly he is. Well I guess the only thing I can do now is to accept my death with an open hand.
Wait! No, if this thing wanted me dead, it would have killed me like the others, if so, why? Why me? What does it want for me? I couldn't help but wonder.
Chapter 10 - Count down
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