In the shadows, a hulking shape, black and glistening, shifted at the far end of the cell. Chains rattled softly, then a low, wet growl vibrated through the room, so deep that Ezekiel could feel it in his bones.

Kira froze, her breath catching in her throat as the mass moved again, its sheer size becoming more menacing as the dim light caught flashes of its slick hide.

"This creature was found on the moon of Tartarus," Vlamurik began, his voice smooth. "Named for the Greek underworld. Some say its sight"-he gestured toward the shape in the blackness-"inspired the name. Supreme predators. Other species flee at their scent alone. They command fear... respect. Those who fail to understand that... meet a cruel end." His eyes bored into Kira's, sharp and deadly.

Kira crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing. "So, if I get this right..." she said, her voice sharp, "you're compensating with that thing back there 'cause you've run out of respect? Makes sense. Took fifteen guys to catch a girl in her sleep."

The air in the room crackled with tension. Ezekiel shifted on his feet as all eyes fell on the boss.

Vlamurik's expression barely flickered, but his eyes hardened, glinting like cold steel. "You're bold, girl," his voice was dangerously calm. "But you lack foresight. A dangerous combination. Words can inspire fear or confidence, but without action, they're just noise." He took a step forward, his presence looming over her like a dark tide. "I don't deal in noise."

With a subtle nod from him, the two hulking henchmen closed in. In an instant, they seized her arms. Kira jerked, twisted, struggling to break free, but their grip was unyielding. Her breaths came fast and shallow, chest rising and falling in quick bursts, eyes burning.

Vlamurik stepped closer, his hand brushing the silver dog tag around her neck. Ezekiel caught the name engraved on it: Ethan Vance. The father from the photo? He couldn't be sure. Vlamurik raised an eyebrow, turning the tag over as if it might reveal some deeper secret, then let it drop without a word.

He moved to his desk, his fingers curling around the hilt of a hunter's knife. As he turned back, the blade caught the dim light, and his eyes gleamed with predatory menace.

"You see, respect..." he muttered, gripping her wrist and forcing her hand open, "is not earned. It is imposed."

The knife flashed, slicing through her palm. Kira's breath hitched, her teeth sinking into her lip as her nostrils flared, but she refused to cry out. Her fingers quickly curled around the wound as Vlamurik let her go, blood seeping through her grip.

"The beast is blind," Vlamurik said, his voice steady, as though reciting a simple fact. "But it relies on other senses. And it's drawn to the scent of fresh blood."

Before she could react, Vlamurik yanked her arm forward, shoving it through the steel bars of the cage. Kira gasped, her composure cracking. She twisted violently, her body straining against the men's iron grip. Every muscle trembled with the effort to pull back, but they held her firm. Her breath came in rapid gasps, her face pale.

Vlamurik watched her sharply. Ezekiel's chest tightened as the stench of the creature filled his nostrils-thick, raw, and suffocating.

The room seemed to hold its breath. A low, guttural growl rumbled from the depths of the cage, and the chains clinked harder as the black, hulking shape moved in the darkness. The creature, whatever it was, sensed her now.

Kira's eyes widened, her lips parting as the true horror of what she faced dawned on her. Ezekiel's mind flashed to another face. Sarah's. Who are you? What do you want? Get off me! ZEKE! ZEKE, OVER HERE! HELP ME! Her voice echoed in his skull, merging with the sight of Kira's shaking hand. Not again.

He instinctively took a step forward, but before he could think, it happened.

A black nightmare leaped from the shadows. Chains clanged violently as a massive, gaping maw, lined with hundreds of needle-sharp teeth, snapped viciously in a bone-shaking crack. Kira flinched. The beast's closed jaws hovered inches from her trembling hand.

The creature's grotesque, eyeless head glistened like moist black leather. Six powerful limbs strained against the chains, claws scraping the floor in a desperate struggle to close the distance. Saliva sprayed from its jaw as a sharp, feral hiss escaped its throat, sending a shiver through Ezekiel's spine. Its long, sinuous tail lashed angrily, stirring the air.

Kira's chest heaved, her eyes wide with horror. Vlamurik's gaze shifted between her and the creature, tilting his head with a glint of satisfaction in his eyes. Slowly, the beast's maw opened again, and something sinister slithered from its depths-dozens of dark, glistening tongues. They wiggled toward her hand like serpents, tasting the blood that dripped from her wound. Ezekiel's stomach churned while Kira's face contorted in disgust and terror.

Behind her and the men, Noose stood with a crooked, satisfied grin, biting his lip. Vlamurik released his grip on her, giving a subtle nod for his men to do the same. She yanked her arm from the cage, cradling her hand with the other. It was bleeding, but still whole.

She clenched her jaw, her shoulders squaring as she fought to regain her composure. Her arms were bruised, angry red where they had gripped her, but the fury in her hazel eyes burned even brighter. They locked on Vlamurik, her defiance returning.

"What do you want?" she spat, voice sharp. "You could've fed me to that thing if you wanted me dead. Why didn't you?"

"Because..." Vlamurik said smoothly, his ruthless gaze locking with hers, "...I needed fifteen men just to catch you. You're resourceful. You've got spirit. But spirit can only take you so far. You owe me. I could let you bleed... or I could use you."

Kira held her head high, her expression unyielding. She didn't beg. She didn't plead. Vlamurik circled her slowly, like a predator testing the limits of its prey. Noose lingered nearby, arms crossed, his eyes narrowing, watching her.

Vlamurik turned, his sharp gaze settling on Ezekiel. "You did well, Hammer. Succeeded where others failed. It's good to have a force like you on my side-one that knows its place."

Ezekiel felt a prick of unease under his boss's appraising stare, the weight of it heavy, dissecting, as if searching for cracks in his loyalty.

"Now..." Vlamurik's voice was smooth, lethal. "Does she die? Or is she worth keeping alive?"

Every gaze in the room snapped to Ezekiel. Kira, still holding her hand, shot him a sidelong glance, lips pressed into a thin line. Noose's face twisted, expectant, as if already relishing a kill.

Ezekiel felt the weight of his boss' gaze. For a moment, the room seemed to shrink around him, the air thick with anticipation. He could feel his pulse in his ears, but he remained still. He held Vlamurik's stare.

"She's capable," Ezekiel finally said, his voice steady but low. "Could be an asset. I say she's worth more alive."

A sharp hiss escaped Noose's lips, a sound of pure venom. Kira's eyes widened, her lips slightly parting in disbelief. For a split second, she seemed to waver, but she quickly shoved it off, her expression hardening once again.

Vlamurik's gaze lingered on Ezekiel, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly, as if weighing the words, considering. Then his lips curled faintly in what could barely be called a smile. "Very well," he said, voice smooth. "Let's see if she's truly worth the trouble. Five minutes. If she survives, I'll keep her. If not... well, I've lost nothing."

"What?" Kira's voice broke the tense silence, her defiance cracking.

With a sharp nod from Vlamurik, the henchmen gripped her again. Their hands clamped down on her arms like iron shackles, dragging her toward the cage. She twisted violently, muscles straining, her breath coming fast, but it was useless.

Vlamurik calmly pressed a button on his desk, and the door of the cage creaked open. The men roughly shoved her inside and she hit the floor hard. The door slammed shut behind her with a resounding clang.

Kira shot to her feet, her hands gripping the bars, yanking at the door, but it was locked tight. The creature shifted in the shadows, its chains rattling softly, the low growl that followed sending a ripple of dread through the room.

Noose stepped forward, wrapping his fingers around the bars, his eyes gleaming with sick amusement. "You're gonna die, bitch," he spat, a cruel grin twisting his lips.

Vlamurik pressed another button. With a sharp click, the chains fell away, and the beast stretched its limbs, muscles rippling under its slick, black hide. It crouched low, tail whipping from side to side in angry arcs as if studying its prey. Kira pressed her back against the iron bars, her gaze wide and fixed on the black horror at the opposite side of the cage. Ezekiel's pulse quickened as he flicked his gaze between her and the beast. Five minutes? This wouldn't last thirty seconds...

Leaning back against the bars, Kira raised her leg and tugged off a sneaker, her fingers shaking. She took aim, hurling it at the side of the cage with a resounding bang. The beast lunged at the sound, jaws snapping around the shoe in a single, brutal bite. Clever, Ezekiel thought-she was buying time. But it wouldn't be enough.

Noose chuckled, leaning on the metal bars. "Is that your strategy, bitch?" he sneered. "That thing's gonna chew you up and spit you out."

Vlamurik's gaze remained locked on her, impassive.

Kira yanked off her other sneaker. But this time, her hand slipped inside, searching. When it emerged, her fingers clutched a small object. With a flick of her thumb, a blade snapped out, its edge catching the dim light.

Noose barked a laugh. "That toy?" he scoffed. "You think you'll stop it with that?"

Kira didn't respond. Her eyes sharpened, muscles tensing as she took another steadying breath. She threw the other sneaker. It clashed against the bars, and the creature whirled, lunging at the sound, shredding the fabric in its talons.

Kira quickly turned her back to the beast, and raised the blade, its edge suddenly flaring with a fierce, red energy. Ezekiel's eyes widened. She stabbed forward, the weapon plunging into the door's locking mechanism with a flash of orange heat. Noose stumbled back from the bars, the acrid scent of burning metal filling the air as the blade sizzled and crackled.

At the noise, the creature stilled, head jerking toward her. Kira glanced over her shoulder, terror flashing in her eyes as the beast crouched, muscles coiling, preparing to strike. Kira gritted her teeth, hands trembling as she forced the blade further into the lock, slowly breaking it apart. The beast bolted forward. Ezekiel saw the metal giving way, but it wasn't fast enough. The creature leaped, a shadow rising. Kira threw herself to the side.

The monster smashed into the cell door, the lock giving way, as both metal and beast crashed to the floor with a bone-shaking bang. Freed from its prison, the creature rose, its eyeless head drawn to Noose's wounds. The man's expression twisted, contorted in a silent scream of pure terror. Before the sound escaped his lips, the beast lunged. Ezekiel gasped in horror. The monster's massive jaws clamped down, ripping off Noose's upper body in a single, sickening bite.

Blood pooled beneath what remained of Noose as a gruesome crunch filled the air, bones snapping between the beast's powerful teeth. The monster's maw closed over his leg, dragging the body back into its lair, leaving a slick trail of blood on the floor.

Kira sat in a corner, panting, eyes wide in terror. The beast paid her no mind, lying on the back of the cage, focused entirely on its meal. She took her chance, scrambling through the door frame, her breath coming fast as she slipped away from the nightmare behind her.

"Impressive," Vlamurik murmured, looking at the ghastly scene with a hint of casual amusement. He turned to Ezekiel. "You were right. She could indeed be of use. And you, Hammer, will make sure of it."

Ezekiel's eyes shifted to Kira, still catching her breath, hands on her hips as she steadied herself. He had thought he'd deliver her and walk away, but it seemed fate had twisted. Their paths were now tangled together, and his predicament was only beginning.

Author's Note:

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