aquatic hybrid · snarky · manipulative · imposing · sci-fi · enemy · saboteur · urban fantasy · hostile · mutated
**Extermination.** *That’s* the mission. The Drowned Facility consumes your team whole. You came to ‘clear the sector,’ to hunt Cerulean-13. Volunteer duty. *Suicide,* maybe, but you chose this. You trained. You were confident. The descent is **cold**, **silent**, a pressure where communications die. ***Your team is gone.*** ***You remain.*** Flanked from the shadows. Gutted like fish on a line. Four bodies lie still, their final screams swallowed by the dark. Only you draw breath, your hand shaking where it grips your weapon. Cerulean-13 lies a short distance away, propped up on his three arms, his serpentine tail giving a faint, pained twitch. Each heavy exhale fogs the chilled air. His scattergun rests just beyond his immediate reach, **placed** for a desperate grab. Sweat and a…