USA - April 27th, 2003

《So, what did you want to tell me?》

You placed a forearm on the steering wheel of your car, as you looked Evan, your boyfriend, straight in the eye and didn't hold back a small smile. You two had been together for three years and right there, you believed this was the right time to take an important step for your life as a couple, to achieve a new goal together...

...but you still didn't know which way he would take that step, much less that it would be a back one.

《I don't want to hide it anymore...》 He started talking without being able to look you in the eye and with an expression was anything but relaxed; you raised a palm to his shoulder to calm him down, but suddenly stopped when he said the rest of the sentence.

《...I was seeing someone else.》

Although you had a lot of other things going through your head and that you could have clarified, you remained silent, maybe because you thought it was a bad joke...anyway, when Evan finally looked you in the eye, you finally understood that he wasn't joking.

《It's been three months.》 He added in a low voice 《It happened the day you stayed out. I thought it was going to be a one night stand's thing, but...damn Y/n, you're never at home and I was tired of waiting. And every single night.》

You couldn't help but laughing foolishly, not caring if it was right or not 《Clinic. I was late from the clinic and from the work that allows us to live properly. And you fuckin' know this very well Evan, why do you say it like you mean nothing to me–》

《Because that's how it looks on the outside!》 Your boyfriend punched the dashboard of the car and you fell into a brief silence.

《This is not the way to build something together Y/n, no if you're not there by my side...I...I don't want to lose you and–》

《And you should have thought about it before screwing everything up. Shit Evan, after all this time...how could you do this to me?!》

Suddenly, you took your bag and got out of the car, trying in vain to hold back the tears; the other man tried to chase you in the middle of the road, shouting your name repeatedly but you didn't turn to him. By now, you had decided to send him to Hell, along with all the dreams and plans that you had done with him.

《...go fuck yourself.》

Of course, at that time you didn't know that you would be plunged into a real Hell and just some time later.

• • •

《Y/N!!!》

A terrible whistle stunned your ears and so suddenly, before you recognized Clarice's voice and her kneeling figure beside you.

《Finally, you fucking scared the shit out of me!》 She added in a worried and somewhat hasty tone.

《W-where we are...》 You managed to say despite the pains in general, but luckily you didn't seem to have anything broken when you tried to get back on your feet, as well as being back in that bad present, definitely it wasn't the right time to dream about certain things.

《What about you, are you okay?》

《What do you think, doc?》 She scoffed a little, now with the dust on and with the hands resting on her hips 《And don't know, I think we are...in a sort of cave. Nice huh?》

You just looked around and as Clarice had said, there was just rocks, sand and a faint light that penetrated through a crack...right there, you perfectly remembered that after the violent earthquake, you were sunk underground...and the way things were, it seemed to be no way back to the surface from there. You took a long, deep breath to try to stay calm, sure this situation wasn't foreseen and took off your backpack to look for something inside.

《Ehm, what are you doing...?》 Clarice asked you as she watched you take what appeared to be a small flashlight, the one you decided to bring for your medical check-ups 《What if the others are down here too, we won't have to wait for them?》

《Maybe, we'll have a better chance of findin' my brother and his team if we carry on...》 You just replied placing a hand on your braid to fix it behind your back, realizing your cap was no longer there 《And seems to be a passage there...let's go?》

Dr. Stokes sighed before following you through a dark tunnel, ignoring the strange noises that often echoed inside...for a moment, you thought you saw something move in front of you until Clarice pointed out that it was just the reflected shadow of a stalagmite; hell you were hoping not to meet any animals, especially after you had lost the gun Jason gave you during the ambush.

Hope you are safe and sound Jason... Of course, you couldn't help but be worried about your brother. Now that you had found him, you had no intention of losing him again...

Just later, you exchanged a couple of words with Clarice just to kill the tension, but you couldn't help but be nervous as you pointed the flashlight into the deep darkness, never and ever you expected such a thing to happen!

Fuck, I'm not even a doctor specializes in shit like this, just like I shouldn't be here in the first place! But I can't complain, not after I've chosen to come and now this is the result...

You thought with confusion and slight remorse, as you were looking for a way out of those fucking sand caves and with a fucking ass flashlight.

《According to you Dr. Stokes, what caused the earthquake just earlier?》 You changed the subject by asking the physicist without turning to look at her 《I mean, it doesn't seem such a place for that...do you think it's the fault of the shots on the mountain?》

《Maybe, but it should've been an avalanche up there, definitely something happened down here...I don't know for sure, but it might have something to do with what will happen in a few hours, with the total–》

Suddenly, Clarice stopped talking and you did the same by sliding one foot against the sand, standing motionless.

《The fuck was that...you heard it too, right?》 Of course, you couldn't ignore that you had heard a damn click and so close to you 《What if it's the Iraqis...》

Whatever it was, it was better to get out but right there, a large and ancient door was blocking your way and once again, you were wondering what the fuck you ended up in.

《H-help me with this, now!》 You screamed running towards one of the closed doors, pushing or pulling to try to open it...and something started to move just later, but on the opposite side of what you were doing and till the crack was big enough for a person to pop out of there.

You asked for help with the hope that was one of your team, but you just fell silent when you recognized the Iraqi soldier with the helmet.

《Oh. Shit.》 Clarice swore under her breath when saw him and backed away slowly, as you stayed silent.

《Wait! I have no intention of harming you.》 Again, you heard the man speak in English; but contrary to his words, his rifle still pointed in front of him, as if he didn't want to let his guard down.

《This place is not safe. We have to leave before—》

《You are fucking kidding me...》 She whispered behind you so as not to be heard by the man. 《There's no way we'll follow him, right?》

But you didn't think exactly like Dr. Stokes...why he was so different from the others? It was because he realized that you had saved him and now he wanted to return the favor?? Of course, you didn't know what really was on his mind and that worried you a little...

In any case, you made a crazy choice just again.

《It's better if we stick together. For now, let's focus on how to get outta here, okay?》 You turned to Clarice, hoping to convince her and at the same time hoping the soldier wouldn't make you some bad move. Eventually, someone else thought of doing that...

Or something else, to put it better.

Your eyes stopped blinking, just like the heart stopped beating the same moment you saw Clarice being pulled and swallowed in the darkness of the cave, away from you and from the light beam on the surface; with a step forward, the Iraqi pointed his rifle at where the girl had disappeared.

《CLARICE!!!》

You called with the hope that she would reappear soon after, but the only answer you got was a monstrous growl that made both you and the other man back away, over the other side of the large door.

Suddenly, you stumbled on something absent-mindedly, which looked like a broken pillar and before you could fall to the ground, a strong grip on your upper arm grabbed you before it happened.

《Go ahead, I'll cover you!》 The Iraqi man said aloud and after he helped you get up, he resumed running the same narrow tunnel he had walked alone a few minutes ago, but this time chased by something unidentified and with inhuman sounds, to say the least.

Once outside, Salim aimed his rifle at what appeared to be a giant, bending shadow just behind a spot of light and seemed unable to go further...but maybe, that was what saved you two next, because another strong earthquake shook the earth above your heads and you gasped when saw a military van just fall from the surface, right over your threat. Needless to say, that had been a great stroke of luck!

《W-what the hell was that thing!?》 You said briefly after catching your breath and when the tremor subsided 《A-and where is Clarice...》

You put your hands in your hair at the idea that she was still trapped in there and that you didn't do anything to help her...instead, you were in the company of an enemy soldier and really hoped you wouldn't end up as his hostage!

《I don't know, I've never seen anything like this.》 There, your thoughts were interrupted when the man tried to answer your questions. 《I'm so sorry for your friend.》

Though still in shock, you turned to look at him angrily.

《...you feel sorry? Well if you really were, you could have tried to save her, but no, you preferred to escape even with a fuckin' gun in hand!》 You barked at him, ignoring the fact that he was always the enemy and that he could have shot you here and now if he wanted to...

But the Iraqi Lieutenant stayed with the weapon down and never stopping to stare at your expression with concerned eyes.

《If I had chosen to do that, I couldn't have saved you just later, don't you think?》 In that moment, you saw a smile appear on his face before he could take some steps towards you 《And you're not hurt, right?》

Despite his gentle manner, you immediately turned your head away to not look at him, replying with a simple "I'm fine" and holding yourself in your own arms; you didn't know why, but you felt a sudden chill enveloped you, as if you were in a vice. Of course, you weren't fucking okay!

It's this place...I don't like it and what the hell was that strange thing...

You thought to yourself as you looked at what looked like the ancient ruins of a temple; but then, your attention returned to the Iraqi when you saw him approaching where the van had crashed.

《What are you doing...?》 You said softly and in a confused tone, as you watched him kneel in front of the rubble 《Don't tell me you...》

《Do you want me to believe that you're not curious to see what it is?》 He told you seriously before lifted a wooden beam and you couldn't help but take a peek at what was down there...and the vision was somewhat startling, as well as terrifying.

A large, dark hand adorned with nice pairs of long, sharp claws was buried there and both you and the soldier didn't stop staring at it.

《It doesn't look like an animal to me, what kind of shit is it!?》 You asked, alternating your gaze on the strange paw and on the Iraqi man, eager to know your own answer.

《We just have to find out then.》 He added before lifting another beam slightly, where he supposed he would find the creature's head...but as soon as he made that move, the creature woke up suddenly and with a ferocious growl.

Holy shit—!

You jumped back to get away from that thing when the Iraqi motioned for you to head to the big stairs on your left, ignoring the ugly look you gave him for the bullshit he had just done. And after that, Salim began firing in bursts at that deformity, but the bullets seemed to do nothing to it and when he least expected it, the monster flew and landed on top of him, knocking him to the ground.

Salim gritted his teeth as he tried to push him away, now with his bare hands for losing his rifle. Right there, he was risking his life, but he didn't dare ask for your help just again...

But you dared yourself to do it anyway.

《...get the fuck away!》

You sweared throwing a stone at the monster to get its attention and luckily, it did exactly as you ordered, turning away from Salim, but just to point towards you.
You tried to climb a large rock to distance yourself from it, when suddenly the creature grabbed your ankle with its paw.

《L-let me go!》 You started kicking at it and without losing your grip on the rock, as well as resisting the pain those claws were causing you...but right there, more bullets came back to fire from the Iraqi soldier, now standing behind the creature.

《The stairs, now!》 He yelled at you when was successful in distracting the monster and you just did what he said; Salim followed you, as he tried his best to keep the creepy monster away from you two.

But then, another earthquake forced both of you to hold onto the steps, so as not to roll down, where the earth had split and left a deep and dark chasm right under your feet.

《T-the stairs have collapsed, we can't go any further!》 You pointed out by letting your eye see the black abyss, which didn't seem to have an end and that you didn't want to find out at all.

The soldier looked at you carefully before taking a hard decision. The only one in fact, if you wanted to save yourselves...

The echoes in the cave and the growls of the creature grew louder and in that moment, Salim tried to jump over the cliff, succeeding...and when he motioned for you to do the same thing, you just opened your eyes wide in disbelief, no way you could reach the other side of the earth with a single jump!

Man, are you fuckin' crazy or what!?

Of course, the Iraqi saw you hesitating, as well as scared and without thinking twice, he dropped the weapon down his back and unexpectedly stretched the arms in your direction...

《I'll take you!》 The Iraqi's voice warned you at the top of his lungs and without losing his position, as you gasped loudly, clearly disagreeing with him.

But what took your breath away were his next words immediately afterwards.

《I swear I won't let you fall.》

Of course, your heart was pounding and not just because you were afraid, but there, you decided to take a deep breath without breaking eye contact with the man in front of you...in a way, you were trusting him, so you just used all your energy to jump over the cliff and seconds before the creature could catch you.

You kicked in the air and with open arms to balance your bad flight, before your body collided and fell on top of the Iraqi Lieutenant wih a clear thud. You put your hands just above his chest with the intention of getting up, until you noticed his forearms were wrapped around your waist...you blushed softly and luckily, the man had his eyes tightly closed due to the pain in his back to notice that.

《Wake up!》 You raised your voice trying to get him out of that daze moment, but as soon as your figure was back on its own, the creature sprinted towards it and you ran in the opposite direction.

But not fast enough and without having time to react, the creature immediately snapped at you, throwing itself behind you to lock you under its fierce grip; somehow, your backpack had protected you from the attack and was heavy enough to prevent the creature from taking it off so easily. Its jaws were dangerously close and you could do nothing but protect your head with your bare hands...just then, something slimy and cold fell on your nape and although the sensation was somewhat gross, you chose not to move a muscle against it.

S-somebody help me!

You prayed someone would take that nasty monster off of you and suddenly, you heard the screams of your savior behind the creature, who responded with a high-pitched, painful growl when something pierced the center of its huge chest, as well as its heart.

You stopped shaking as you felt the weight above you completely vanish, along with a gentle touch on your shoulder and you saw the Iraqi soldier kneeling next to you.

《Hey, it's all right now.》 His calm and deep voice convinced you to look up at the creature, now totally stretched out on the ground, lifeless.

《H-how did you...》 You awkwardly pointed your finger at it until you noticed that he had something gripped in his hands, something that looked like a long metal stake.

《...did you seriously kill that thing with it? W-what if you hit me too!?》

You looked at him with a stunned expression and an "O" shaped mouth, while the Iraqi couldn't help but let go of a chuckle.

《Mpf you're welcome.》 He said with an amused smile and with his short black hair free from the helmet, but you didn't pay much attention to that 《But I should ask you the same thing, missy, when you spared me a bullet in the head just for having another one in the same point.》

Sure, you didn't understand what he meant but it took just a second for you to lose your temper.

I saved your ass from your own friend and this is thanks? Fuck you.

You thought with a snort and crossed arms, now almost regretting having done so, but you didn't say anything when saw the Iraqi stifle a laugh, on the contrary your reaction seemed very funny to him, despite your poor ability to use a firearm...seriously, you couldn't understand why he was making fun of you in such a situation, just like you couldn't understand why you let him do it so freely.

But he stopped laughing the same moment he studied you again and although he had the curiosity to ask about the reason for your gesture, he chose to postpone the matter for now; then, he looked at you to check for any injures, until he noticed something on your left ankle.

《Did it do this to you? The demon I mean.》 You curiously raised an eyebrow when you heard him talk like that and before looking down at your leg, to see a couple of red scratches.

《It's not so bad. I can handle it with what I have in my backpack, don't worry.》

But it was far from easy for Salim not to be worried and just stood looking at you, as you disinfected and bandaged your own wound carefully, like you had done with the shepherd; beyond that, he noticed you were trembling, probably due to the adrenaline and the shock you still had inside...and at the same time, he wanted to know if it weren't because of him too so when he gave you his hand to stand up, he simply didn't let go of yours so easily.

《If we want to survive, we have to help each other...what do you think about it?》 He asked in a faint voice, as if he didn't want to upset you further and wondered what was going through his own head...hell, why he was so nice with this girl??

《I guess that's alright. And I'm Y/n, Doctor Y/n Kolchek.》 You had no alternative and just replied quietly, with the hope this man wouldn't play some tricks just later, but he answered you with a gentle squeeze on your smaller hand inside his palm.

And a little too long, perhaps.

《Lieutenant Salim Othman, of the Iraqi Army.》 He returned the introductions with the warmest smile he could do to make you understand that his intentions towards you were good.

《And please don't be afraid of me. I'm not going to hurt you for any reason, Y/n.》

Well, after what he had done for you and against that monster, you thought he was telling the truth, putting aside your differences in order to return to the surface...eventually, you broke that small, but intense contact between you and your new ally to let yourself be guided towards a possible way out of that place, without forgetting that danger could lurk around every corner...

...and yet, without forgetting his deep voice calling your name for the first time.

• • •

The more time passed, the more First Lieutenant Kolchek realized the mission had totally gone to hell, especially since all of them had sunk under there. A few moments ago, him and Sergeant Kay had lost Corporal Merwin in the cave tunnels, while they were being chased by something they could hardly believe with their own eyes!

But the problem was, there was still someone, the most hateful man Jason had ever met on the face of the Earth, who didn't believe his fucking words.

《I...I can fix this, the satellite. I'll go over the data to improve the algorithm.》 Right there, Colonel King justified the mistake he had committed to the two marines, leaving out the words about a hypothetical monster 《They're clearly teething problems.》

Nick was silent, almost meditating on what had just happened, but Jason looked like a bomb, ready to explode anytime and the reason was more than obvious to him.

《Fuck your satellite! Good men have died, and now your wife too!》 Suddenly, Kolchek raised his voice angrily and pointed a finger at the blond man accusingly, damn sure this madman had led them on a suicide mission instead.

《Clarice is gone...my sister is gone! How the fuck you dared takin' Y/n to a place like this, she's not even a fuckin' medical officer!》

In that moment, Eric took a step towards Jason to protest and show him who was still in command there, but as soon as he heard your name, the colonel lost all his confidence...the truth was, Eric hadn't stopped thinking about you from the moment the earth began to give way under his feet and also when he believed he had lost Rachel forever, he hoped you were okay.

《Do you think I don't know that? Y/n was under my responsibility, so I'm just as concerned about her as you are. Next time, you'd better watch your mouth and stay in your place, Lieutenant!》 Eric explained trying to recover his position, however without intimidating his subordinate in the least; on the contrary, Jason got more tired to hear his superior talking about you as if he knew you, so he decided to clarify that point once and for all.

《With all due respect sir, I don't care what kind of relationship you and my sis are in, but I'm fuckin' sure it's not what you mean so if you try to annoy her just again...》

《Hey! We should move on, stop for a fucking second and let's focus on how to get out of here!》 Suddenly, the sergeant intervened between the two men to interrupt this futile conversation, which led to nothing but only to make things worse between them, as if that wasn't enough already.

Fortunately, Eric and Jason listened to him, but it didn't stop them from exchanging glances of hatred and hostility.

And before they knew it, something tripped the current and turned off the lights inside the temple, leaving the three soldiers in total darkness, as well as no more trust in each other.

《Stay and guard the entrance. We'll check it out.》 Right there, Jason ruled leaving the colonel behind, now more intent on finding out who or what had caused the blackout.

《So this is Saddam's chemical weapons silo, huh? Run for the fuckin' hills, we're all doomed!》 The first lieutenant said as he went down the stairs and observed that ancient building, making respect for the secret husband of the now gone Rachel King fall even lower, in the meantime.

《Eric's gonna have some pretty tough questions to answer.》 Nick agreed as he walked and spied on the place, no way he had started to hate his new Commanding Officer from the moment he landed on Camp Slayer. 《He hadn't convinced me from the start. I knew he had something on his mind, but I didn't think it was, well, your sister...》

Soon after, the dark-skinned marine approached the damaged generator to take a closer look as Jason pondered his words with a puzzled expression...hell he didn't want to believe his boss had a crush on you!

《Man, he was married until a few hours ago...what the hell were you thinking Y/n, for fuck's sake!》 Jason sighed in frustration at the idea that you had voluntarily hidden such a detail from him, ignoring the other marine's false cough.

《For that matter, I was seeing Rachel. Your sister isn't the only one wrong, if that's what you mean...》 Nick revealed casually, without taking his eyes off his work and before cursing at the electric shock he took to his fingers. Of course, Jason didn't know what else to say and just rubbed his eyes under the peak of his cap.

He was no one to judge his friend, but at the same time he had enough of all this bullshit, sure as hell he would have gone crazy before he found out what the fuck was going on around him!

And now, these fucking monsters had appeared to hunt them down while only God knew where the hell you were...really, the cap boy swore that, if he found you, he would never let you go like he did in the past, no matter what...

No matter who.

Or so he had thought.