As soon as he inserted the first power cell into the slot at the top left-hand corner of the console, the fight began.



The timer on the console flickered to life, a dull red glow illuminating the countdown. It started ticking down toward zero, pausing only when another battery needed to be inserted.

Above it, a green charge node loomed—his way out. If he could charge it, he could end this nightmare.

But first, he had to survive.

A low growl echoed through the chamber.

CatNap was coming.

He moved fast, slithering between the shadows. His skeletal frame barely made a sound as he weaved through the passages.

But it wasn’t just him—there were more of him.

The hallucinations had already begun.

Damn it.

A blur of movement in the west passage. His heartbeat spiked.



Was it real? Or just another trick?

He fired his flare gun.

The figure vanished instantly. A fake.

Another one lurched forward from the northeast, its elongated mouth stretching as if ready to swallow him whole.

Flare fired. It flickered, then disappeared.

Gotta focus.

The real one is still out there.

Then—a screech from the ceiling hatch.

The sirens blared as metal groaned overhead.

"Shit!" He whipped around, eyes locking on the rising hatch. If he didn’t act fast, CatNap would be on him in seconds.

He waited..

the metal door rising higher—

waited—his pulse hammering...

NOW!



He lashed out with the Grab Pack, yanked the hatch shut just as clawed hands reached for him.

SLAM!

For a moment, there was silence. Then, a furious snarl.

CatNap was getting impatient.

The alarm blazed—time for another battery.

He yanked one from his pack and slammed it into the console, the countdown restarting.



Four to go.

CatNap wasn't slowing down either.

West passage.



The real one? He hesitated, then threw a power cell into the wall slot.



Steam hissed out—blocking the path.

Northwest. He switched to his purple hand, grabbing the handspring on his left to launch upward. Mid-air, he swapped to his green hand, hitting the charge node to flood the corridor with burning vapor.



CatNap screeched.

Another alarm.

Battery in. Three left.



His breathing was ragged. He couldn’t tell what was real anymore. Shadows swarmed his vision, whispering in his ears. He shook his head, forcing himself to focus.

Northeast passage. He reached for the fence to his right, yanking it back to expose the charge node.

He hit it, steam pouring through.

East passage—another power cell slot.



He slammed a charge into it. The corridor disappeared in a haze of scalding mist.

The ceiling hatch shuddered violently.

CatNap was trying again.

He waited.

BANG—BANG—BANG!

Then—he struck.

Grab. Slam. LOCK.

Another alarm.

Battery in. Two left.

The room was growing darker.

The hallucinations were louder.

Every shadow looked like him.

A growl—Northeast.

He then yanked back the fence— Hit the charge node and steam poured out.

Another alarm.

Battery in. One left.

The air was thick with red smoke and burning heat. He could barely breathe.

The final alarm blared.

The green charge node above the console lit up.



This was it.

He switched to his green hand and grabbed the node—a surge of electricity ran up his arm, crackling like thunder.

Sparks flew.

His vision blurred from the sheer power coursing through his body.

But before he could react—



A deafening crash.

What the fuck??

CatNap dropped from the ceiling hatch, slamming him to the floor.

Pain exploded through his ribs, but his hand was still glowing—fully charged.

Damn it, I'm gonna die if I don't do this..

CatNap lunged.

He aimed.



Fired.

A violent bolt of electricity arced through the air, striking CatNap directly in the chest.

The monster convulsed, his grotesque body twisting and contorting as sparks erupted from his limbs.



He tried to scream, but his jaw unhinged too far, the sound warping into an inhuman shriek.

His skeletal frame seized, limbs twitching uncontrollably as the charge overloaded his entire body.



Catnap still wants to reach onto him.

He backed away immediately.

No!

Then—a final jolt.

Flames erupted across his body, consuming his fur. His elongated jaw hung open, a twisted, silent scream frozen on his face.



Finally, he collapsed.

Smoke rose from his scorched body, the embers of his destruction flickering in the dim light.

But before relief could settle in—

A long, needle-like hand descended from the darkness above. Its fingers, impossibly thin, stretched toward CatNap’s lifeless form.

Then—movement.



CatNap shuddered, his body trembling as if something unseen was pulling him back from death.

Slowly, he rose, limbs jerking erratically. And then—



he lifted his arms as if in worship, his head tilting back toward the ominous hand above.

The hand straightened, fingers tightening into a razor-sharp point.



Then, it plunged downward, aiming directly for CatNap’s wide-open mouth.

But before it could strike—

A black, chitinous tail snapped out of the darkness.

With inhuman precision, the scorpion tail coiled around the mechanical hand, stopping it cold.

CatNap staggered backward, his trembling worsening.

Fear flickered in his unnatural eyes—an emotion he hadn’t shown before.

The hand, as if tamed by the tail’s touch, slowly withdrew, retracting into the shadows above.

Never seen again.

Then—

Three large scorpion tails lunged from the depths of the Red Smoke, wrapping around CatNap with swift, effortless precision.

The creature barely struggled.

Instead, his hollow, sunken eyes flickered with recognition.

It knew those tails.

Knew her.

A low, rattling exhale left his twisted form—not of fear, but of relief.

Before he could utter a sound, the tails tightened, constricting around his skeletal frame. Then, with one powerful yank, he was ripped away, dragged effortlessly into the swirling crimson haze.

Gone.

The moment stretched, thick with unspoken tension.

He stood there, frozen.

His pulse pounded in his ears, his breath coming in shallow, uneven gasps.

What the hell had he just witnessed?

What disturbed him wasn’t just CatNap’s sudden disappearance. It was his reaction.

Catnap hadn't fought back.

Hadn’t resisted.

Had let it happen.

And that meant one thing—It knew what was down here.

No.

Probably Catnap knew who.

A shiver ran down his spine. He wasn’t just fighting monsters anymore.

Something else lurked in these depths.

Watching.

Interfering.

And worse—it had a choice in who survived.

The Red Smoke thickened, rolling in waves, swallowing the corridor inch by inch.

His lungs burned.

His vision blurred.

No time.

He turned on his heel and ran, the suffocating haze closing in behind him.