Sophie ignored him and continued until she was less than a foot away from the woman. She brought her finger to her helmet, motioning the girl to remain silent. Instead, the girl’s eyes grew wide and bulged from her head. Her lips began to quiver and move, splitting open in the process. Blood seeped down her chin, and a scratchy moan escaped her throat.

“No. You have to be quiet,” Sophie said, bringing a finger to her helmet again. But it was too late. The woman erupted into a sub-human scream, the noise echoing off the concrete walls.

Sophie craned her neck and watched the Spiders begin to churn. Their claws slid across the concrete as they woke up.

Scratch, scrape, scratch, scrape.

A wave of fear washed over Sophie as she turned back to the girl. With an audible pop the girl’s eyeballs exploded, spraying a bloody mist onto Sophie’s visor. Stumbling backwards, she grabbed her rifle. She tried to balance herself, but slipped on a sack of gore.

Her helmet hit the concrete with a thud. Stars filled her vision. Even with the padded support of the helmet, the trauma from the fall sent pain racing down her spine. She lay staring at the concrete ceiling, watching the Spiders crawl across it, their glittering eyes studying her from all directions.

She tried to sit up, but as the blood rushed to her head she was forced back down, gripping her helmet with both hands. Everything seemed to slow down when the first plasma rounds tore through the air above her. She watched the streaks of fire trace through the air and tear into the weak flesh of the Spiders. Their shields were still down, she realized, recharging from their recent feedings.

Sophie pushed herself up and stole one more glance at the woman, who was now disintegrating in the pool of liquid inside the orb. Sophie watched her disappear, knowing that it was a sight she’d carry with her for the rest of her life—however long it happened to last.

The high-pitched screams of the Spiders ripped through the silence and yanked her from her trance.

“Let’s go, Doc!” Overton screamed, squeezing off another few rounds at the rapidly approaching Spiders. Sophie shook her head one last time and sprinted for the stairs, climbing them two at a time.

Overton kicked the door open, and they were blasted with the astonishingly bright sunlight. Temporarily blinded, Overton blinked several times to tint his visor. He closed the door, shoving his combat knife between the two handles. The door shook violently as the creatures crashed into it from the other side. Their shrieks pounded inside Overton’s helmet, drowning out the sound of his thudding heartbeat.