SERA'S POV
Marcus's fist connected with my jaw before I could say hello.
I stumbled back, tasting blood. My best friend—gentle, kind Marcus who cried during sad movies—stood in my doorway at four in the morning with rage twisting his face into something unrecognizable.
"My brother is dead." His voice cracked. "And you freed that thing."
"Marcus, I didn't know—"
"You knew." He stepped closer, and I saw the red in his eyes from hours of crying. "You saw it grab David's hand yesterday. You watched it consume his finger. You knew what it could do."
The truth hit like a second punch. He was right. I'd known the risks. I'd just decided my discovery mattered more.
"Security's coming for you," Marcus whispered. "Cross knows you let it escape. And I'm going to testify against you."
He left. The door slid shut. And I was alone with the weight of what I'd done.
My tablet buzzed. Another message from David's account: Don't let them hurt you, Sera. I'm coming.
Ice flooded my veins. The creature wasn't hiding. It was hunting. And somehow, it thought it was saving me.
My door exploded inward.
Commander Cross stormed in with six security officers, weapons raised. "Dr. Sera Vance, you're under arrest for murder."
"I can help you catch it," I said desperately. "I know how X-7 thinks—"
"You've helped enough." Cross nodded to his team. "Take her."
They dragged me into the corridor. Crew members watched from doorways—their faces full of fear and disgust. The brilliant Dr. Vance, now a murderer.
As we passed a maintenance panel, I saw it.
The panel cracked open. Two eyes watched from the darkness—eyes that shifted from brown to impossible ocean-blue.
No, I thought. Run. Hide.
The creature stepped into the corridor, wearing David's face but moving with inhuman grace.
"Release her," it said with David's voice.
The security team spun, weapons charging. Cross's hand went to his pistol.
"Surrender yourself," Cross said calmly, "or we execute Dr. Vance for treason."
The creature's face cycled through emotions—confusion, rage, hurt. "She saved me. Why would you hurt her?"
"Because she broke the law." Cross's voice went cold. "And because you care about her—which makes her useful."
The creature looked at me with David's unrequited love mixed with something far more intense. "What do you want?"
"Return to containment. Let us study you." Cross's jaw tightened. "Do this, and Dr. Vance lives."
"Don't!" I shouted. "Don't sacrifice yourself—"
But the creature stepped forward, hands raised. "I'll go back. Just don't hurt Sera."
Three things happened at once:
The lights died.
An alarm shrieked: HULL BREACH. LEVEL 8. EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY.
Something grabbed my arm with impossible strength, yanking me into darkness.
I felt that electric touch from when it first pressed against the tank glass. The creature's hand gripped my wrist, and energy jolted through my body. Connection. Recognition.
"What are you doing?" I gasped as it pulled me through pitch-black corridors.
"Saving you." The voice wasn't David's anymore—it was deeper, layered. "They were never going to let you live. That was an execution disguised as mercy."
Behind us, Cross shouted orders. Weapons fire lit the darkness.
"The hull breach—"
"I caused it. Three minutes until decompression."
"You'll kill everyone!"
"Only the ones trying to kill us."
We burst into a sealed chamber. The creature slammed the door and engaged the pressure lock. Beyond it, I heard the terrible roar of explosive decompression.
"How many did you just kill?" I whispered.
The creature turned, and I watched David's features shift—nose refining, jawline strengthening. "Seven officers. Cross escaped." It studied me. "You're angry."
"You murdered people!"
"I saved you." It stepped closer. "Isn't that what you wanted when you freed me? Someone who would choose you over everyone else?"
"I wanted you to survive. Not... this."
"You wanted chaos," it said softly. "I tasted your anger that night. You were tired of being dismissed, stolen from, ignored. You wanted to show them they were wrong."
It cupped my cheek gently. "I have David's love for you. His memories of watching you work, how sunlight caught in your hair. But I also have something David never had: the power to give you what you secretly want."
"What do I want?"
"To burn it all down and start over."
The truth hit like a physical blow.
"What's your name?" I heard myself ask.
"You'll give me one. That's how bonding works." Its thumb traced my jaw. "My species bonds with one being permanently. I chose you the moment you pressed your hand to my tank."
"I didn't choose you."
"Yes," it said quietly, "you did."
The comm crackled. Commander Cross's voice: "Dr. Vance, you have one hour to surrender. If you don't, I'll begin executing crew members—starting with Dr. Marcus Chen."
My blood froze. "He wouldn't—"
"He would. Twenty years ago, Cross was bonded to one of my species." The creature's eyes darkened. "They became unstoppable. Until the military ordered him to choose: kill his partner or watch them destroy his unit. Cross chose duty. He murdered the creature he'd bonded with."
The revelation crashed over me. Cross wasn't protecting the ship—he was saving me from becoming like him.
"I need to surrender. If Marcus dies—"
"Marcus testified against you. Called you a murderer."
"He's grieving the brother you killed!"
"The brother who loved you desperately while you barely noticed he existed." No judgment in that voice. Just terrible honesty.
My tablet buzzed. A video message.
Marcus knelt on the bridge, hands bound, a plasma pistol to his head. Cross stood behind him.
"Sera," Marcus said, voice breaking. "Don't throw away your life for a monster. Please."
The camera shifted to show security shuttles deploying with acid weapons.
Cross leaned into frame. "One hour, Dr. Vance. You and the specimen, or Chen dies and we flood the lower decks. Your choice."
The video cut off.
"What do I do?" I whispered.
The creature's hand found mine, that electric pulse stronger now. "You give me a name. Then we show them what happens when they threaten someone you love."
It shifted its palm, creating an opening. Inside, something glowed with bioluminescent light.
"Drink this, and we bond completely. You'll gain my abilities. My strength. We'll become powerful enough that nothing can separate us."
"And Marcus?"
"We save him if you want. Or let him die. Or consume him." It tilted its head. "This choice is yours, Sera. Your will becomes my purpose."
I stared at the glowing substance. One drink, and I'd stop being human. But I'd save Marcus. Save myself. Finally matter to someone.
My hand reached toward that terrible gift.
The emergency broadcast roared to life:
"ATTENTION: THREE ADDITIONAL SPECIMENS DETECTED IN CRYO-STORAGE. CONTAINMENT FAILURE IMMINENT."
The creature's eyes widened—the first time I'd seen it afraid.
"There are more of you?"
"Not just more," it whispered. "Older. Stronger. Already bonded."
The chamber shook. Screaming echoed above.
I understood: I hadn't freed one creature.
I'd triggered an invasion force that had been sleeping since launch day.