A throaty, chant-like tune escaped from Jessa's sealed lips. Almost as if she wasn't speaking at all, but humming a melodic hymn that subdued anyone in the vicinity.

Anyone but Kera, it appeared—she, unlike Miles and Vick, was unaffected by Jessa's presence, by the spell she seemed to weave through her pressed lips. Kera remained with her back against the cavern's wall, struggling through the various wounds inflicted on her by the island and its supernatural inhabitants.

Miles couldn't think. The more Jessa sang, the more his mind scrambled with thoughts that weren't his own. Thoughts of blood and sex and death, of hairy monsters biting into faces, of ominous, smoky shapes fizzling to life before him.

He forced his eyes open, attempting to look at Jessa in her hypnotic chanting. There had to be a way to break her spell, to knock her off balance. To stop her from summoning the alien gods he'd made clear he wanted to destroy.

Vick was stiff as a statue beside Miles, unmoving. Miles couldn't quite move his head to the side to verify that he was still alive. The only way he knew for sure was that Vick would have fallen face forward onto the sand were he dead. Right?

At this point, I don't know what is what.

"Yeah," said Kera, her voice loud enough to cover up Jessa's eerie incantation. "That's not a godly tongue I've ever read about or studied." She wriggled about, figuring out how to get on her knees, instead of sitting on her behind. "You were right—they're not gods. These things are fakes."

Miles glared at her, thinking shh, be quiet, she'll hear you; but Jessa had no reaction to Kera speaking. She continued on, undisturbed by any presences around her.

Could he speak, too? Miles felt weighed down by tons of bricks, crumbling beneath Jessa's spell. Like if he tried to open his mouth, his jaw would break off and collapse.

Why wasn't Kera affected? And how could he combat this, like her?

He dared to open his mouth, despite his fear of losing his jaw. He let out a breath, let out a few half words to test his speech—and smiled when realizing he could talk.

"Why aren't you... fucked up like us?" he said, addressing Kera, who was progressively crawling over to him. She struggled, wincing with every movement, every breath, her injuries likely too deep for her to be moving about at all.

"Because I'm already fucked up." She jutted her chin towards the entrance behind Jessa. "I'm already on my way to becoming a monster. I don't think whatever she's doing is going to do worse to me."

She stopped inches away, managing to straighten up. She was on her knees, too, but so much smaller than Miles. So tiny, so frail, and in need of medical care in haste. Yet he couldn't provide it; he couldn't do anything in his current state of mind.

"Ugh," Vick nudged him with his elbow, "this is... not fun."

"You're okay?" Miles gritted his teeth and tried one more time to turn and look at Vick, but his muscles refused to obey him. "You're alive?"

"Barely. It's... strong." Vick's voice was frail, almost muffled. He elbowed Miles again, but Miles thought he might not have been doing it on purpose.

"He's convulsing," said Kera, as Vick fell forward and rolled over to his back. He was, as Kera implied, violently shaking, foaming a bit at the mouth.

"Help him!" Miles couldn't move his arms or legs, so he pointed at the suffering Vick with his chin, which seemed to be the only body part he had control over. "Kera, do something! If he chokes on his spit, he'll die!"

She cringed as she leaned over him, tipping his head to the side to ensure the foam frothing at his mouth wouldn't choke him, as Miles suggested. He slobbered, saliva dribbling from his mouth, and his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

No matter how many times he'd cursed his name and called him a moron, Miles loved Vick. He was his best friend, his ally, his partner-in-crime; and he was about to witness him die right before his eyes.

And there's nothing I can do. I can't move.

Somehow, the shock that had plagued Vick started to dissipate. His eyes returned to normal, and though he was deathly pale and still shaking, foam stopped spilling out his mouth and he lay on his side, panting.

"She's..." He closed his eyes. "She's got a hold of me, man." His eyes jolted open, wide, and fixed on Miles. "I'm succumbing to her."

Miles sensed his fingertips twitching, coming to life. "What are you talking about?"

Vick snickered. "It's... what she's saying... it's part of the process." His cheeks were red, but the rest of him was ghastly, paler than Miles had ever seen him—and he'd seen him sicker than a dog on many occasions. All the partying, the drugs that Vick indulged in—none of those had hit him as strongly as this.

"You understand what she's saying?" Kera glanced over at Jessa, who began to levitate an inch or two off the ground, encircled by purple smoke. "You know what she's doing?"

"She has to..." Vick gasped, "she has to find someone to share her power."

Heat spread up Miles' arms, and he could move them, though with difficulty. He reached forward, but his legs still wouldn't obey him. "What are you talking about? How do you know this?"

"You," Vick managed to point at Miles, "you gotta get her," he looked at Kera, then back at Miles, "and yourself out of here. Find a way to... fuck this place up. Finish these... asshole aliens. For good. You hear me?"

"Vick." Miles' neck warmed up, and he was able to move it; though he no longer needed to, as Vick was sprawled out before him, next to Kera. "You're coming with us. I'm not leaving you here."

"But she... she has me," said Vick, growing increasingly weak, his skin paler and paler by the second.

"Miles," said Kera, so softly he barely heard her under Jessa's chanting. "He said she needed to share her power..."

"With me," added Vick, flinching. "It's me she chose, it's me she... wants."

"No." Miles regained sensation of his legs and launched forward to grab Vick, to shake him. "No, she can't have you. She can't have any of us. I'm not letting this happen."

He should have known when he started regaining consciousness and Vick was slowly losing it. He should have seen it, sensed it; Jessa had latched on to Vick, she'd made her choice. If what Vick said was true, she did want Vick, and she'd kill him to take possession of his body. Because Jessa wasn't Jessa—she was the ruler, a representative of powerful aliens who were mad with the government, mad at humans.

And probably super mad at these three down here trying to escape them.

But it wasn't like Vick to give up, and less so to sacrifice himself for anyone, let alone the greater good.

"It's too late," said Vick, his voice transforming into a loud whisper. "She wants me. She has me. So..."

"Miles," Kera tugged at Miles' sleeve, "he's giving us an out."

Miles hadn't even realized she'd gotten closer to him; or had he gotten closer to her? The air in the cave was heavy with confusion, growing blurry and difficult to breathe in.

"No," said Miles, shaking his head. "No, I can't."

"There's no way around it, man." Vick grabbed Miles' knee, squeezed it with as much pressure as he could muster; it felt like a slight pinch to Miles. "She needs me, and if I let her take me... it gives you a chance. She'll be distracted."

"Miles." Kera's hairy hand rubbed over Miles' arm. "Listen to him."

"She needs my body," said Vick, setting the back of his head onto the sand as he peered up at the crystalline ceiling.

"So you'll let her engulf you, whatever the fuck she wants? You'll comply with her?" Miles wanted to yell, but he worried if he was too loud, he'd break Jessa's incantation and then she'd choose to take his body, too.

"I already have," said Vick, making eye-contact with Miles—long enough to show that he was serious. That he meant what he said, and he'd made up his mind. "This is how she summons her gods; the ruler. Yeah, I know she's been creeping into Jessa, taking her over... I-I blacked out. A lot. When I'm with her... I'm not me."

Miles scoffed. "Yeah, I figured as much. But you'll help her bring those things here?"

"I'll delay her, so you can leave before they arrive." Vick coughed; blood trickled out his mouth.

He's dying. She's destroying him from the inside so she can take over. But why does he need to be dead?

"She needs... a mate." Vick coughed again; more blood. Kera used her sleeve to wipe it from his mouth. "And I'm her perfect mate. Together, we can bring them here. They won't come otherwise. I'm remembering it all now." He returned his gaze to the ceiling. "She whispered this to me. The ruler... can possess one body, but if she gets her hands on two, she's stronger. And while she absorbs me... you guys can run. Hide. Get out."

"We can't get out; we're stuck here, remember?" Miles didn't see any ingenuity in this plan. It was flawed, and only accelerated their time of death. Once the alien gods were here, they'd kill Miles' group, starting with Kera.

"Then you hide. You brainstorm. You go back to Mr. Reynolds and pray he..." Vick's coughs were deeper, more pronounced. "Pray he can get you out, like he said."

Kera gave Miles a look, that even while wounded, he had no trouble understanding. "Mr. Reynolds? Getting us out? Wow," she snorted, "I sure missed a lot."

Miles shooed her off. "All in due time. But Vick, dude, no. There... there has to be another way."

"There isn't." Vick held on to his side and clenched his jaw. "I don't want to do this, but fuck if I'm gonna let us all die," he wheezed, "or transform into monsters. Not if there's a way... for some of us to survive. So just," he issued the creepiest of smiles, showing his teeth stained red, "make sure you tell everyone. It was me, the hottest one of the bunch, that saved everyone's ass."

His body shot up a foot into the air, sending both Kera and Miles reeling away from him. He was half-conscious as Jessa stretched her arms out and drew him to her, depositing him softly on the sand at her feet. She radiated with waves of purple, pulses of her power, and her chanting became louder, screeching, akin to nails on a chalkboard.

She peered down at Vick, who was bleeding all over the sand, by that point—and she smiled. She raised her hands over Vick's body, and blasted rays of violet light into his chest and head.

"You are ready," she said, her voice multiplied, sounding like three different people were speaking. "You're ready to be my mate."

She got to her knees and pressed a kiss to his forehead, before setting her hands on his temples and charging him with more of her power.

"Miles," said Kera, jamming her fists into his middle. "Miles, hurry."

He'd been so absorbed in the scene between Jessa and Vick that he'd lost track of time, of himself, of what he had to do. In one fell swoop, he hopped to his feet, plucked the lightweight Kera from the ground, and carried her towards the entrance. Jessa was so focused on Vick that she didn't even flinch when Miles and Kera crept past. Her eyes were closed and she was infusing Vick with blindingly purple lightning, causing him to convulse as he had earlier.

I'm sorry, Vick. I hope you rest in peace.

He'd have time to mourn later, but only if he got himself and Kera out of there in one piece. So he held on to her tight, heaving her down towards the water, then onto the strait of land that'd lead them outside of the cave. The monsters weren't there, clogging about the area waiting for them—they'd vanished when Jessa had started her spell.

Kera was light as a feather, but her wounds were scraping over Miles' skin, and she wriggled in his arms as he ran along the sand. He saw the forest ahead, preparing to dash into it, to find some place to set Kera down so they could discuss plans.

A figure broke out from the trees, heading right for them.

Vision still foggy from the events inside the cave, Miles couldn't tell who was running full speed towards them. A monster? One of Jessa's other minions? One of the alien gods themselves? It wasn't until the person was a dozen feet away that Miles relaxed, recognizing Patrek.

But Patrek's clothes were smeared with blood, and he had bruises on his face and neck.

"What the fuck?" Miles slowed down, keeping Kera close to his chest. She'd seen Patrek, too, and gasped, nuzzling her nose into Miles' arm. "Patrek, what happened? You okay?"

Patrek stopped, panting, and bent forward to catch his breath. "I tried... to stop her," he said, vaguely gesturing towards the cave behind Miles. "She went berserk, man. Dragged us all from our cabins, asking where Vick was. And then you. And when we wouldn't answer, she got all volatile. Said she smelled shit going on and went crazy-eyes, I tell you." He straightened up and grimaced. "I tried to fight her, but she was too strong."

Miles' eyebrows lurched up.

If he tried to fight her, and lost... how is he still alive?

He quit running and squeezed Kera tighter. "Is that your blood?" He squinted at Patrek. "Are you real, or magical, or one of the gods in disguise? If you pissed off Jessa, the ruler, you should be dead."

"I said fight her," Patrek scoffed, "but what I really meant was fight her army. She'd already hurried off; this?" He pulled at his bloody t-shirt, sneering down at it. "It's not mine, no. It's Taryn's. She and Lorenzo were trying to protect Jessa. I said fuck that, and fuck you, too, Taryn. So I sliced her throat."

Kera shuddered so violently Miles almost dropped her. Then he realized he'd been the one shuddering.

Patrek, slitting throats and pissing people off? It didn't feel real. It didn't feel right.

Patrek seemed to understand Miles' concern. "I told you I was fed up, didn't I?" He huffed. "Everyone always underestimates me. They chose me to be here for a reason, and it's not because of the drugs. I can be violent, too, I just choose not to. But today? Today I'm fucking done. Today, I chose to give those aliens their favorite dessert on a silver platter: blood." He swiped a hand through the air. "So yeah, I slit Taryn's throat, I knocked Lorenzo out, and I came running here because I had to make sure you were still alive. And I see that," he glanced at the exhausted and wounded Kera in Miles' arms, "you found Kera, too. So we're good? Do we get to get out now?"

"Fuck," Miles spat, depositing Kera on the sand, as far away from the water as possible. The waves were angry, lashing up well past their normal limit. The sky had turned blood-red again, with streaks of purple lightning shooting down from the skies; not unlike the lightning Jessa had been infusing directly into Vick's brain. "The thing is, I met with Mr. Reynolds. I told him the truth—I showed him the notebook. And he's furious. He was lied to, like us, it seems. And he wants to help us get out. Which we need to, since we've all been revealing ourselves as doubters, now. Kera's been badly hurt, and she needs a doctor."

"Weird as fuck, but whatever," said Patrek, turning to head back towards the forest. "I think we all need medical attention, so let's get going, then. The sooner we're out of here, the better."

"But there's a problem," said Miles, as Patrek flipped back around, and Kera gaped up at him in awe. "He's not meeting me at the barrier until tomorrow, and we have no means to contact him until then. So unless we're lucky and we actually make it to that barrier without being torn into by monsters, and then we scream our lungs out until he comes to us... we're not going anywhere anytime soon."