119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZVVwfMxPQ5
The wind howled through the trees, its shrieking wails blending with something far worse—a scream.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe2DAlTiRXN
Sophia jolted awake, her breath ragged, her pulse hammering against her ribs.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdVJOvztXPZ
I'm alive?
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKtOu7et5OX
The gun—she remembered pulling the trigger, the cold steel against her skin, the explosion, the anticipation of darkness swallowing her whole. But she was still here.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBuGotIoRdm
Sweat drenched her body as she scanned her surroundings. The island was eerily silent. No sign of the monstrous boy. No shadows creeping toward her. No gutted corpses of her crew.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnjOO8zWgV6
She swallowed hard, her throat dry as sand. Instinct told her to stay down, to pretend she was still dead. Slowly, she sank back onto the ground, pressing her body against the damp earth, steadying her breath.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHgx21hwZev
Then—
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡroLeV1gqDc
A blink.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡycwboqDFI1
And suddenly—
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2zsRXhUWRA
It was there.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu1RGxBKNpS
Abaddon's face hovered inches from her own.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡStkWVg9M23
All of its eyes stared into her.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIgALHZ6ajg
Not at her—into her.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzybpqoFh2A
Sophia's breath hitched in her throat. Every muscle in her body....screamed for her to run, but she couldn't. She wouldn't dare move.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡALJ3S7m2kO
She clenched her eyelids shut, but it made no difference—
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsVwxsmyNTq
She could still see it.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZYP9YFUJrs
Even in the absolute darkness behind her eyelids, Abaddon remained. Watching. Smiling.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOZNl6MfEJV
Terror seized her. She willed herself to move—to push herself away—but something was wrong.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9YLNsZss9G
Her legs—
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡliHgYK0UR6
They were gone.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhPHMAVhksO
Her lower half no longer existed as it once had. In its place, something long and coiling slithered against the dirt. A tail. Her flesh had twisted, reshaped, contorted into something inhuman.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTS55jBzf3P
Panic exploded in her chest. She clawed at the ground, dragging herself forward, her nails snapping against the stone. Her arms burned as she hauled her body forward in a desperate, pitiful crawl.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7iGAf4M0S7
And then—
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU6jmob6NkP
"Sophia, run!"
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5NcelRnrGA
The voice struck her like a bullet.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnMKPnzTcZe
Dr. Elias Montgomery.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQrtW8tZMzG
Her breath froze.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFdEg6q6Lvu
The scream that ripped from her throat was unlike any human sound—a raw, broken thing filled with nothing but utter despair.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfUYeDi1FmM
He was dead.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQNx1GLKdfE
She had seen them take him.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpbqRsbNveb
And if she was hearing his voice now...
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFb57FRqxO5
Her head turned slowly, trembling, as she looked up.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYttyvFNNb0
Dr. Elias stood before her.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHrd8DdIyjs
His features were perfect, unchanged, his eyes filled with urgency. His voice was desperate, pleading. "Sophia, we have to leave—now!"
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIcQEmMHE81
But she knew.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvwJvtehyBv
She knew the truth.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡReTLitY98T
Abaddon was not just a monster.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMH8QECqWkq
He was a mimic.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrNPqr2WVaS
A being that did not just devour flesh—but consumed existence itself.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkoFLGuV7H5
Everything Elias had been—his mind, his knowledge, his voice, his very essence—was now part of Abaddon.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOK1c9upwGs
And with that realization came an even greater horror.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsPqER2QXsn
For the first time—Abaddon understood her.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEdX9eX0p8E
He could think as Elias once had.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhqIMRjY2ZJ
He could speak.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKGPt7cOZPw
He could learn.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAHek3VxOpX
And now, he looked at her with something new.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJPSwymeEyk
Recognition.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwJ184KUfQH
Sophia opened her mouth to scream, but the sound never came.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSXLlHga8uA
Abaddon smiled.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFqImbx6NnE
And he spoke.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1PyB2odbTv
"Don't be afraid, Sophia. I know everything now."
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡftSGEumgvs
Sophia clenched the jagged stone in her trembling hands.
She had to do it.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcmHo1OqRVT
There was no escape. No salvation. No hope.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAw5NLk7s0L
She thought, I would rather die than see through this hell.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb5norSUhky
With a sharp breath, she raised the stone, ready to drive it into her own throat.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEnUQl3syg9
But before she could move—
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxOU9p8yiDg
"It’s of no use."
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQGbaCSDbzL
Abaddon's voice slithered through the air, creeping into her bones.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbC65eQCbwu
Her hands froze.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfVBIoIJlEa
His words wrapped around her like iron chains, cold and unyielding.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8AD7rDL3sW
"Killing yourself won’t solve anything," he continued, his tone almost amused, "for you’ll never die. You and I are one and the same. My very blood runs within you."
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxTr6eZkqM6
Sophia's heart stopped.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBK4LrrnvcJ
No—no, that wasn’t possible.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOl5RQGXFfX
He stepped closer, the grotesque mass of his shifting form contorting as he grinned.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB9rzBdLkmi
"No matter what you do, you’ll never die. The bullet you shot into your brain didn’t kill you. Why would stabbing yourself with a stone be any different?"
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡibsmXqKS6K
Her fingers loosened.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkl4q1qIO8F
The stone fell to the ground with a dull thud.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv2htbYL52R
A chill crawled up her spine, suffocating her.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNNACKQxOa9
Abaddon could mimic. He could become anything he devoured.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMXQLCysw6S
But now—she realized with horror—
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1qJ9AVbI8A
He could do more than that.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVRN9pLZL76
He could read minds.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3NyLuItIt4
Her very thoughts—her fears, her desperation—were laid bare before him, like an open book he could flip through at his leisure.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡySyJMch5G7
There was nothing she could do.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmeuzp4qA0Y
Nothing—
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡswjd0oU0Ll
Except cry.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxIklGUvmXy
And that was exactly what she did.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIJUebkOD8v
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR8xoxhLlTr
---
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjdb8jQNGsr
Three Days Later
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxHCKj0Lalv
Sophia hadn't eaten.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoL0c4aZoqa
Not once.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdu3UgtT3IP
Not because she refused to. Not because she was afraid. But because—
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ73VvqwNFK7
She never felt hunger.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ9ZuWSAOGk
She never felt anything.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk1DwZT1nLJ
Pain, exhaustion, the aching of an empty stomach—they were gone.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8QCs8O2TJg
And in their absence, something else had taken root.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8LpQ1WRlRi
She could hear everything.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8oBzau4k2d
Every rustling leaf. Every insect burrowed beneath the soil. Every heartbeat of every living thing on the island.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1FCDbiLSFr
She was changing.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4w9s9rDh4p
And Abaddon knew it.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEKSB9qwrra
He watched her with his thousand shifting eyes, something resembling satisfaction flickering across his inhuman face.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡooFuW5sZHY
Then, finally, he spoke.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbsUWqpRIFx
"We are going home."
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPnlSOFKnxB
Sophia’s breath hitched.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQB8pRod3Rj
Home?
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYuYsmDryxO
She barely had time to comprehend what he meant before she felt it—
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpBz68rc4Tv
A sudden, horrible shift.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyP3d2DRl0P
Her body lurched forward as a sickening sensation overtook her. Her legs—her cursed, twisted legs—snapped back into place.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCugPHfxLKT
She could stand.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8jde3j5Iq8
She could walk.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzhVeSttQ0x
The earth beneath her trembled.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgHuLqaeVf9
And then—
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡovZvak59pq
It collapsed.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRVjLNCWUgE
The entire island—it was alive.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu8ykun73Ch
It convulsed, the ground splitting apart, the trees twisting and bending unnaturally. The sky seemed to spiral, as if the very air around them was warping.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfgC7VImPHT
The lush paradise they had landed on was never an island at all.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMEeOwGuNn3
It was part of Abaddon.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOfYPOerGAP
The ground beneath them rose, shifting and reshaping itself into something colossal.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6NjjVKps97
Something impossible.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbGBqBLSn7O
What had once been land became a ship.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNBeSoQ90hw
A grotesque, living vessel, forged from the very flesh of the creature that had lured them here.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyyNoOFlqmZ
The trees, the flowers, the very life that thrived on this so-called paradise—
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZYxInV3xyf
It had all been a lie.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB191VmWyf8
And now, it was setting sail.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx38fYoKiAS
Sophia turned, staring at Abaddon in mute horror.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQqJWmv6qiO
This island—this monster—
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOmcFAjdqs4
It was going back with her.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ982ub1LkZH
Back to her world.
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZaDHTPhidG
And nothing would ever be the same again.
ns216.73.216.6da2
