Beyond Earth

The Nest

The following morning, I woke to find the sky covered in dark, heavy clouds. From the looks of it, another acid rainstorm was approaching, and we needed to get moving before it reached us.

Marie and I quickly packed our things, and after pulling the vehicle out of the ditch, we got back on the road. I checked the compass Daniel had given me, noticing that its beeping had become louder and considerably faster than before.

I smiled.

"We must be getting close."

Marie glanced at the device. "Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure."

I pressed down on the accelerator, hoping to reach the destination before the weather got any worse. Unfortunately, the lack of sunlight was beginning to affect the vehicle's solar panels, and despite my efforts, it gradually started losing speed.

Then the lightning began.

Massive bolts flashed across the dark sky, striking the ground in the distance as thunder shook the vehicle. Marie gripped her seat, looking increasingly worried, but I kept driving because stopping in the middle of nowhere wasn't an option.

"Albert, maybe we should find somewhere to hide!" she shouted over the thunder.

"We're almost there!"

Before she could respond, a bolt of lightning struck the vehicle, sending a violent shock through its body before the engine went completely dead.

"Damn it!"

I threw open my door and climbed out, immediately rushing around to help Marie. We abandoned the vehicle and began running as lightning struck the ground around us, forcing us to change direction several times.

Then the first drops of acid rain began falling.

They landed on my clothes with a faint sizzling sound, eating through the fabric and burning my skin. Marie cried out as the rain reached her arms, and I immediately scooped her into my arms before continuing to run.

My eyes searched the landscape until I spotted something ahead.

A massive fence.

"That's it!" I shouted. "We've found it!"

I tightened my grip around Marie and ran faster, knowing that our lives depended on reaching the entrance before the rain became unbearable.

When I finally arrived, a CCTV camera turned towards me, and a voice came through a nearby speaker.

"Identify yourself."

I looked directly at the camera, struggling to catch my breath.

"Let me in! I'm Albert, the son of Avada!"

For a moment, nothing happened, but then a heavy mechanical sound came from the fence as the enormous gate slowly opened.

I rushed inside, only to find what appeared to be an empty stretch of ground.

"Where is everyone?" Marie asked weakly.

Before I could answer, the ground beneath us began moving, revealing a hidden platform that rose from below. An elevator emerged, and its doors opened almost immediately.

I hurried inside with Marie still in my arms, and the doors closed just as the acid rain intensified.

The elevator descended, and I finally lowered Marie onto her feet. That was when I noticed the burns scattered across her arms and parts of her body.

"Are you okay?"

She forced a smile. "I'll be okay."

I pulled her into my arms, holding her close as the elevator continued its descent. We had made it, but seeing her injured because of my decision to keep driving left me feeling guilty.

When the doors finally opened, we found ourselves inside what looked like an enormous underground mansion. The place was filled with people, soldiers, and civilians moving between different sections, while several rooms and corridors stretched far beyond what I could see.

However, before I could take everything in, familiar faces came rushing towards me.

"Albert!"

Daniel was the first to reach me, pulling me into a hug while the others gathered around.

"I knew you'd make it!" he exclaimed. "I told them you were still alive, but nobody wanted to believe me."

Marcus laughed. "We weren't exactly sure you'd survive that storm."

I smiled, genuinely relieved to see them again. "It's good to see you guys too."

After exchanging greetings, Ethan glanced at the woman standing beside me.

"Who's your friend?"

"Oh, right. This is Marie. She's a friend."

Before anyone could ask another question, Rachel noticed the burns on Marie's body.

"What happened to her?"

"Acid rain. We got caught in the storm."

Rachel immediately stepped forward. "Come with me. Let's get you to the medic."

Marie glanced at me before following her, and I watched them disappear down one of the corridors.

Rachel then turned towards the others.

"Catch him up on what's been happening."

Marcus gestured towards another corridor. "Come on. Let's talk."

We walked through the crowded underground facility, passing soldiers carrying equipment, civilians gathered around food stations, and technicians working at several computer terminals. Despite the circumstances outside, the place was surprisingly organised, almost like a small city hidden beneath the ground.

Eventually, Marcus led me into an empty room containing a large table surrounded by chairs. An investigation board covered one wall, displaying pictures of several buildings, most of which appeared to be underground facilities or hidden mansions. Red crosses had been drawn over many of them, while lines connected the photographs to one another.

I took a seat and looked at the board.

"What's all this?"

Marcus exchanged a glance with Ethan before answering.

"Things have been getting worse since you left."

He explained that several Aeternum bunkers had been discovered and destroyed by unusually large Xaryth. These weren't ordinary attacks, either. The creatures seemed to know exactly where the facilities were located, and in some cases, they'd broken through reinforced security systems that were supposed to be almost impossible to penetrate.

"How many facilities have we lost?" I asked.

"More than we'd like," Ethan replied. "Several major hideouts have already been wiped out, and we've lost a lot of soldiers and civilians."

I looked back at the photographs.

"How are they finding them?"

"That's the problem," Marcus said. "The higher-ups believe someone inside Aeternum is feeding information to the Xaryth."

My expression changed.

"You mean there's a mole?"

"That's what we're investigating. Whoever it is has access to sensitive information, including the locations of facilities that aren't even known to most of our personnel."

Daniel nodded. "The attacks are too organised to be random. Someone is helping them."

I leaned back in my chair, trying to process everything.

"So what happens now?"

"The higher-ups are conducting their investigations, but until they find whoever is responsible, we can't afford to sit around waiting."

Marcus smiled.

"Besides, we have a new mission."

I frowned. "Already? I just arrived."

He laughed. "Seems like you came right on time."

Before I could ask what he meant, Rachel walked into the room and approached the table.

"Have you briefed him?"

"Yeah," Marcus replied.

She stopped beside me and folded her arms.

"Then there's something I want to ask you. How exactly did you survive that night?"

I took a deep breath, already knowing what she was referring to. I'd spent the entire journey wondering whether I should tell them the truth, but after hearing about the attacks on their facilities, I realised keeping quiet might put everyone in greater danger.

So I decided to tell them everything.

"There's something I didn't tell you before we separated," I began. "On the first night of our mission, I encountered that girl at the school. She wasn't an ordinary Xaryth. She's a hybrid, just like me."

The room fell silent.

I continued explaining how she'd revealed her identity, kissed me, and somehow gained access to my mind through telepathy. She'd been able to move through my thoughts and discover information I hadn't intended to share, including the location of Blacksite-9.

"That's how she found our base," I concluded. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I didn't understand what she'd done until it was too late."

Rachel stared at me.

"So she can enter your mind whenever she wants? Including right now?"

"No. It only happened once, and that was because I let her. Since the night we fought, I haven't heard her voice or felt her presence again."

Rachel remained unconvinced.

"How did the fight go? Did you kill her?"

"I think so. The building collapsed on both of us."

Marcus leaned forward. "Did you actually see her body?"

I shook my head. "No, but she couldn't have survived that."

Rachel gave me a hard look.

"You survived, Albert. So we have to consider the possibility that she did too."

I lowered my gaze.

"Maybe she's the mole we've been searching for," Rachel continued. "If she can enter people's minds, she might have accessed the thoughts of other soldiers and discovered the locations of our facilities."

Ethan immediately sat forward.

"We need to report this."

I looked between them. "Am I going to get into trouble?"

"We don't know that yet," Ethan replied.

The room fell quiet again as everyone considered the implications of what I'd told them.

Eventually, Rachel straightened.

"That will have to wait. We have a mission to get to."

I frowned. "What's the mission?"

She looked at the others.

"I thought you'd briefed him."

Marcus shrugged. "We were about to tell him right before you walked in."

Rachel groaned. "We don't have time for this now. I'll brief you on the way, so go and get ready."

Daniel immediately stood up.

"Come on. I'll show you where you need to go."

I followed him out of the room and towards the showers.

---

After taking a bath and changing into my uniform, I returned to meet the squad, only to realise that Marie wasn't there.

"I need to talk to her before we leave," I said.

Rachel rolled her eyes before turning towards Marcus.

"Take him to the medical room."

Then she looked at me.

"Make it quick. We're at war."

I gave her a playful salute. "Aye, Captain."

Marcus led me through another corridor until we reached the medical section, where several injured soldiers were receiving treatment. I found Marie lying on one of the beds, with bandages covering the areas where the acid rain had burned her.

She noticed me immediately and smiled.

"Well, well, well. Don't you look handsome in that."

I chuckled as I approached her bed.

"Glad you noticed. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. It's just a little burn."

I looked at the bandages, clearly unconvinced, but she smiled reassuringly.

"Really, Albert. I'll be okay."

I sat beside her.

"Good."

She studied my uniform before asking, "Where are you going?"

"I'm heading out on another mission."

Her smile disappeared.

"But we just arrived."

"I know."

She looked away briefly before turning back towards me.

"Please don't leave me alone."

I took her hand.

"I'll come back for you, Marie. I promise."

She searched my face before leaning closer, and I met her halfway, kissing her passionately. For a moment, the noise of the medical room seemed to disappear, and I wished I could stay beside her a little longer.

Eventually, I pulled away and rested my forehead against hers.

"I'll be back."

She nodded. "You better."

I gave her hand one last squeeze before standing up and leaving the room.

---

The squad was already waiting when I returned, and we soon joined a convoy of military vehicles heading towards our destination.

Rachel sat in the front of our vehicle, with Marcus beside her, while Ethan, Daniel, and I occupied the back.

"Alright, Albert," she began, turning slightly towards me. "Here's what we're dealing with."

She explained that Aeternum had received information about a spaceship that had crashed into a stadium approximately forty-five miles from our current location. The vessel was believed to belong to the Xaryth, and our mission was to investigate the crash site, retrieve anything useful, and bring back any information that could help us understand the aliens better.

"We don't know what we'll find inside," she added. "So stay alert and don't touch anything until we've assessed the situation."

I nodded.

As she continued explaining the mission, I turned towards the window and watched the ruined landscape pass by.

The acid rain had destroyed almost everything that remained outside. Roads were breaking apart, buildings had partially collapsed, and the bodies of dead chickens and goats lay scattered across the roadside.

It was difficult to look at without wondering how much longer humanity could survive in a world like this.

How long would it take before we went extinct?

After spending several hours on the road, exhaustion finally caught up with me, and I decided to take a nap.

I leaned back against my seat and closed my eyes, hoping to get some rest before we reached the stadium.

However, while I was deep asleep, a familiar voice suddenly echoed inside my head.

Albert.

My eyes snapped open.

I was no longer inside the vehicle.

Instead, I found myself standing in that strange white space again, with the hybrid girl waiting a short distance away.

I stared at her.

"So, you're alive."

She smiled faintly.

"Did you really think something like that could kill me?"

I frowned. "What do you want?"

"To warn you."

"About what?"

She approached slowly.

"Don't go to the spaceship, Albert."

I scoffed. "Why?"

"Because you don't understand what you're walking into."

I shook my head. "If there's anything inside that can help us stop this invasion, then we have to retrieve it."

She came closer, her expression becoming more serious.

"It's not too late to join us. The humans aren't who they claim to be. We are your real family."

I stared at her.

"Are you the one responsible for destroying the Aeternum hideouts?"

She didn't answer.

"You're the mole, aren't you?"

Her silence only made me more suspicious.

I stepped forward. "Well, you won't get inside my head again."

She smirked.

"That's not up to you."

Anger rose inside me.

"Get out of my head!"

The white space suddenly trembled, and cracks spread across it like shattered glass. The girl stumbled backwards, looking around in disbelief.

"How are you doing that?"

I raised my hand towards her, and an invisible force sent her flying into the darkness beyond the white space.

Her figure disappeared into the abyss.

Then everything went black.

I jolted awake, sitting upright in my seat as I struggled to catch my breath.

Marcus looked at me and laughed.

"Wakey, wakey. We're here."

I rubbed my face, trying to shake off the strange experience, before looking outside.

The stadium stood before us.

We climbed out of the vehicle and followed the others towards the entrance, with Rachel reminding everyone to stay alert as we approached the crashed vessel.

However, the moment we stepped inside, we all stopped in disbelief.

The stadium was filled with alien eggs.

Millions of them hung from the ceiling, clung to the seats, and covered sections of the field, each enclosed in a strange membrane that gave off a faint glow. Some were small, while others were almost the size of a human being, and the sight of so many of them made the entire stadium feel like a giant breeding ground.

Right in the middle of the field stood an enormous oval-shaped spaceship, its outer shell damaged from the crash.

Daniel stared at the eggs, his mouth hanging open.

"My God," he whispered. "Are they planning on reproducing here?"