The bunker proper was a sparce chamber. Maybe some 900 square feet or so. With pastel walls and a whole bunch of heavy blankets stacked up atop a few couches.

  Each of those walls also had a series of metal lockers and padded surfaces. The latter could be stripped and use as additional blankets or improvised bedding, while the former contained emergency electronics. Powerful radios to send updates to the nearest station.

  Not that they’d be of any use.

  The storm outside was blowing even more ferociously now. The chill so powerful that it bit deep into the bones of my unusual companions. The water that had drenched their fuzzy pink fur had turned frigid within a minute. From there, it had quickly begun turning into icicles that weighed them down. Stiffening the hairs and squeezing the warmth from their bodies.

  That would have been it for a normal human. It didn’t matter how much muscle someone had on them nor how much insulating fat they had to keep them warm. Being drenched in freezing water was a death as certain as any other. Slower than most, though no less cruel.

  A part of me had imagined that Dereng and Ertie and Yoko might have some biological mechanism to stem the drop in temperature.

  That was soon proven false, as I was forced to put more of myself into supporting the three of them at the same time. Carrying them upon my back like sacks of potatoes. Dereng and the others responded by spasming wildly. Their limbs twitching as if trying to shake off the strangling hold of a hundred serpents, choking off their air supply.

  Appropriately, their breaths became shallower as more water showered down from the fire-safety system. To freeze over on the floor and the bodies of my charges.

  The rapidly solidifying moisture was a killer, as foul as any gnome. Slicing through warmth like icy knives. Puncturing the core of my mighty body like a spear.

  Against this, my body summoned Psy. And my cells began sweltering. My own body’s radiating heat turning chips of ice back into cold water, until those droplets fell onto the floor and began to freeze over once more.

  ‘There go my free points.’ I bemoaned. ‘I should have spent them as soon as I got them.’

  ‘Next time.’ I told myself. ‘There will soon be a next time. Besides, perhaps this is a good thing. The guys might very well have died and turned to popsicles if I wasn’t making as much heat.’

  By the time we’d reached the inside of the bunker all three were little more than corpses. Unable to summon the strength to dress themselves in the water-proof blankets or to dry themselves off with towels.

  So, it was up to me to throw several layers of towels on top of them. Following that up by cracking open heat packs before throwing them on top of the towels.

  After that, I rushed out of the bunker. Past the slightly elevated entrance that kept most of the rushing water at bay and into the cafeteria. There, I found four survivors, where there had been five. I went to lift them up and then tried to bring them all back to the bunker, despite the freezing surfaces on the floor and the debilitating gusts of wind now rushing past the cavernous halls.

  Two were still alive when we reached the bunker once more, and even then, it was a close thing. Their consciousness having long fled as their bodies shook and shivered violently. Their eyes glazed over in a semblance of inebriation.

  My body was not exactly exhausted, but the constant rain of freezing water made for a terrible hazard, such that it got me another level, whose 8 points all went to the same power.

  I shut the bunker doors then. Keeping out the worst of the cold. Then following that up by breaking over three more heat packs and dividing them between the new arrivals and myself.

  Not that I needed it, but it was better to keep up appearances.

  ‘Though I don’t know why I bother.’ I thought to myself sullenly.

  The current turn of events made the design of the instance even more of a question. If someone had asked me to design a place where Shifters could excel and try new approaches, my first thoughts would have gone to some enclosed series of biomes, filled with wildlife. Perhaps an island filled with tropical rainforests or a valley bordering a desert and a few rugged mountains.

  This kind of space was too easy. Too simple. Even with me going out of my way to make things harder on myself by playing the part of a common soldier.

  If the goal was to defeat the enemies placed here, which I suspected was the case, then it was a poorly-thought up mission, as the researchers in their paranoia were much more likely to kill each other.

  Indeed, all of these people would be stiffening corpses right now if it wasn’t for me and I didn’t even do anything to cause the breach in the compound’s walls or trigger the fire alarm.

  Part of me felt bad for them, and another, much quieter part shushed the impulse that had gotten me to carry these people to safety in the first place. If I were being objective, then the smartest course of action would have been to make my way to the bunker alone. Or perhaps, to simply take on the freezing water directly and use it to get as many levels and points as I could before the last researcher kicked the bucket.

  ‘Perhaps that might even have been kinder.’ I mused internally. ‘I will have to tear them apart eventually, and while I already got something really nice through [Social Infiltrator II], I expected a lot more for something that received so much praise from Hazimon.’

  I mulled the question over the minutes. My eyes watching all the five survivors quietly, while they twitched and spasmed through the cold.

  To make matters worse, none of them were armed anymore. I hadn’t seen the need to bring the wrenches along when I carried my three over and the other two had long since abandoned their petty knives before I got to them.

  ‘They are suffering.’ I reasoned. ‘And they aren’t real besides. The poor souls are not long for this world no matter what I end up doing. Let’s say I leave after a short while and end up back in the sandpit with Hazimon. That would leave the fools just as dead as if I’d struck them down. I am not going to save them because I cannot save them. What even is the point of keeping this farce going? I already killed Garko after all. Okay, so I didn’t strike him down myself, but my actions led to him dying all the same. What am I even doing?’

  All the same, I hesitated.

  While I hadn’t spent too much time with Dereng, Yoko and Ertie and found out far too much about the former to ever like him, I would be lying if I said I felt entirely comfortable killing them.

  While I was thinking, one of the bodies stopped shivering for a moment and even regained consciousness for long enough to cough and wheeze and let out a few words.

  “Wh-what? Whe-where am I? Mother…!”

  “You mother is not here.” I said plainly. Walking over to him.

  “Who are you?”

  “Restu.” The man replied. “Restu Mafrod. Ch-chief of…” He hacked out a cough and collapsed in place. “The dig teams.”

  I nodded along.

  “I see. Sorry that you had to wake up like this Restu.” I told him softly. “What is your plan right now?”

  “Plan? What…?”

  “Yes, Restu. Your plan to live moving forwards. What do you plan to do now that you’re here and safe to stay alive? What can you do to keep death at bay?”

  The man looked utterly flummoxed. Looking at me as if I were speaking gnomish. In the end, he collapsed again and started whispering nonsense about phones.

  I looked over at the electronics and peered a bit closer.

  The machines were a mesh of wires and circuit boards. Connected to an isolated power source in the form of a generator that ran on gasoline. A quick gaze at the tanks let me know that the thing might be able to produce power for roughly 12 hours. After that, the scientists would he hard-pressed to get any kind of message out.

  ‘Maybe I can see how this all plays out.’ I thought. ‘Maybe there is something I’m missing.’

  It was another two hours before the rest of the scientists awoke.

  “How did we get here?” Dereng asked as soon as he regained his senses.

  “I brought you here.” I told him bluntly. “Had to drag you here when you collapsed. I was even afraid that you might die.”

  Dereng nodded and helped Yoko to her feet. Though they both collapsed into a heap when all their legs gave out underneath them.

  A look over at Ertie showed me that he wasn’t doing much better.

  “How did Restu and Guva get here?” He asked waspishly. His own arms squeezing the thick waterproof blankets around him.

  “I carried them here.” I told him. “I found them in the cafeteria.”

  He sniveled. His fuzzy pink face having turned a deep morbid blue.

  “So you brought us here and then went out again to find others.” He sneezed. “I take back everything bad I said about you. You’re a true hero. The thought of bringing anyone back here, would never have occurred to me in the first place. We’re lucky you lived at all.”

  ‘Yes, lucky.’ I mused. ‘Who knows what might have happened if I wasn’t here.’

  “Okay.” I began again. “What is the plan going forwards?”

  He shrugged in his own alien way. A gesture that was more akin to a shaking of the hips in tandem with the chest.

  “We have to use the radios to escape.” He said plainly. “And by that I mean that we’ll have to wait until the storm has passed before we go on to call for help.”

  He sighed in defeat.

  “Dear Gozo. To think the director was an alien and even sabotaged the compound.” He chuckled in self-depreciation. “Forget what we were saying about living through this and becoming heroes. We’ll be lucky to find jobs as toilet cleaners if the Crown is angry about their shiny new compound getting buried in snow. I don’t know about you guys, but they made me sign all kinds of documents before I got here. Then a general sat down with me and had a very scary talk. I can’t imagine this ends well.”

  I nodded along while following his logic.

  “I see, and how long before we can call the authorities?”

  Ertie shrugged again.

  “I don’t know. Hours at best. Days more likely. Weeks at worst.”

  Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

  I nodded again.

  “One more thing. Why didn’t the defenses activate when the compound was breached?”

  Ertie snorted.

  “And do what, exactly? Shoot at the sky? Expend all the oxygen in the halls with flamethrowers and set the halls on fire? The whole reason that the sprinklers are running is that the breach was caused by an explosion and therefore a fire.” He explained.

  “The designers thought that a fire was more of a threat than an intruder. After all, a fire might destroy our research. Yes, the sprinklers might kill us all, or at least those who couldn’t make it to the bunker in time, but the research would still be intact when the temperatures rose and backup arrived. We’re not even the first team of researchers to come here you know. There have been two other teams. One of which vanished in the middle of a storm, never to be seen again. Who knows what happened to them?”

  “But what if an intruder attacked through the outside walls? What’s the protocol then?” I asked him.

  “If an intruder did attack through exploding part of the compound’s exterior, then they would die at the same time as us when the water from the sprinkler system froze over. That is, assuming they had some means of making it out of the storm. Regardless, the traps will only activate if we die by violent means, not inflicted by each other. So the defenses won’t go off so long as we die from things like exposure.”

  He huffed.

  “Small mercies I suppose. With how bad everything turned out, the last thing we needed was the machine guns throwing lead around when we were trying to hide.”

  “The rounds will penetrate the bunker?” I asked.

  “No.” He assured me. “Or at least, they aren’t supposed to.”

  “I see. So in short, we are all stuck here, with no way to defend against aliens and no hope of recovery?”

  Ertie was about to protest. No doubt thinking back to the timetable he’d set out with possible rescue attempts. However, even he deflated once he considered the storm. Despite not having seen it firsthand, the fact that a single breach on the topmost level had caused most of the water in the entire building to freeze within minutes could not be overlooked. The temperature would have been enough to kill even a well-dressed man thrice over and the gales showed no sign of abating.

  “What is the average duration of the storms?” I asked again.

  “It’ll be fine.” Dereng interrupted. “We can still make it if we start arranging trips to the cafeteria. As long as the bunker doors are closed, we can keep in the heat and we can then go outside to get supplies as needed. The bunker is also close to the geo-thermal generator that powers the rest of the compound, so the temperature here will not be an issue if we only open the doors on occasion. If me ration out our supplies well-enough, then all six of us can make it.”

  “How long?” I insisted.

  “Two months.” Ertie spoke somberly. “The longer ones usually last upwards of four months, but they usually run two months at a time during the winter seasons.”

  I nodded again. Making sure to put up a mask of quiet despair in the last moments of theatre.

  When no more levels were forthcoming, I turned to [Predator’s Instincts] and began to consider the aliens as possible prey, instead of people to be fooled.

  The change to my mindset was extraordinary.

  At once, my mind went from a semblance of empathy to the cold calculus of survival. My brain leading me to their exposed necks and arteries that lay beneath the wet fuzzy fur and to the calories each body would provide.

  My stomach growled by itself and the others took notice.

  “You should have brought something to eat when you took us out of the cafeteria.” Guva chastised me.

  “I did bring something to eat.” I said softly. My words leaving me before I had a chance to consider them.

  Guva looked at me in apparent confusion. Apparently not realizing the danger.

  “Great! That’s great actually! Bring it out so we can share it! Ladies first, as always. We’ll be taking a larger chunk because of seniority too, but I’ll make sure you’re rewarded!”

  I nodded at her. Then I turned my head to Ertie, Dereng, and Yoko.

  Staring them in the eyes as they too waited for me.

  The Psy within me that had been pulsing as an organ, shifted gears. From looking to blend in, to becoming a predator once more. To analysing the dangers they might bring to bear and the chances for success if I attacked.

  I ran Psy through the ability, while also running Psy through [Social Infiltrator II]. Feeling them both pulse and reach out at more or less the same time. Until at last they beat in unison within me.

  Then, I quickly spent the last three points I had to acquire [Incorporate Mineral], [Incorporate Liquid] and [Incorporate Gas].

  Shoring up my already formidable defenses.

  I gazed over all the abilities I now had and the two combinations I gotten ahold of.

  It still wasn’t as much as I’d hope to get, but I supposed that managing to get a Tier 4 ability wasn’t nearly as easy elsewhere in the Labyrinth. Others might look at what I got and drool with envy. Though the Drake would not be among them.

  He had blitzed through the second and third Tiers when he first entered the maze and he did not begin slowing down until he got to the fourth.

  ‘It will have to do.’ I finally concluded. ‘Keeping them alive like this won’t give me anything I don’t already have and I’m not looking forward to spending another few weeks starving in here, just for all of them to die a slow, agonizing death from starvation.’

  I stood. Slowly at first, then more decisively.

  “I have something I’d like to say.” I told the group.

  “Yeah, I can guess.” Guva interrupted. Looking at once to Restu.

  “You will be well compensated for the food.” The older man assured me.

  I didn’t say anything else, but allowed the transformation to fade. My body turning back to that of a human.

  Restu stared.

  Guva stared.

  Ertie stared.

  Yoko stared.

  Dereng stared.

  “I replaced Garko’s sample with mine.” I explained.

  Ertie swallowed a lump in his throat.

  “Y… you know. Maybe I was a bit… overly… um… mean. When I was talking about primates. Why, I love primates. You are the best-looking primate I’ve ever…”

  “Ertie.” I interrupted him. My eyes finding his.

  “I am sorry. For what it’s worth. But I can’t have you alive.” I looked at the others afterwards. “I can’t have any of you alive. So here’s what I’m going to do. I will sit here and wait five minutes. In that time, you should all be running for cover or for whatever weapons you can scrounge up.”

  I grew [Claws] and sank them into the blast-proof doors. My cells becoming riled up as they rushed to drink in the metal. I felt it coming into my own body. Like little streams of cooled blood. Inching their way in slowly, until they entered into my bloodstream and from there, my heartbeats pushed more of the metal onwards to every corner of my flesh and bone. The latter were re-enforced at once. Their makeup changing to fit the newly-integrated compound. The former started to bring in the metal closer to the surface of my skin and eyes and hair. Tinging them silvery, metallic colors.

  The others did not fail to notice the changes.

  “I’d start running if I were you.”

  Ertie didn’t need to be told twice.

  At once he was leaping clumsily to his feet. Scrambling around despite the wetness of his pants and making for the blast-proof doors.

  Yet, in some cruel twist of irony, the power was out of the console. Its own systems running off the electricity of the compound at large. All while the generator was off and silent.

  “Turn on the generator.” I told him. “I’ll wait.”

  “No” Dereng spoke. His voice cutting through Ertie’s panic, despite the latter wheezing in terror.

  “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but it’s over. The generator requires a passcode to start properly and I won’t give it to you.” He stared me down.

  “All of us may be dead, but this is as far as you go. You’ll still be stuck here when re-enforcements arrive.”

  He closed his eyes and leaned back against a wall as if in resignation.

  “That will have to be enough for me.”

  For my part, I nodded.

  Not saying anything.

  Then, I fought against the seal placed on my Tier 10 Shifter abilities. Forcing Psy into them and growing my body to twice its usual size, while my muscles and bones thickened and twisted thanks to [Solomon’s Protean Form X].

  Afterwards, I braced myself against the floor and threw a punch at the blast-proof doors.

  The impact rocked the chamber. Sending all within tumbling back to the floor.

  When I withdrew my fist, a small crater had appeared. Cracks splintering in spiderweb patterns away from the edges.

  I looked back at my hand and saw that it wasn’t even bleeding.

  Then I overcharged the ability to draw in more metal. Much more. Until it suffused the outsides of all my veins and arteries and until small tensed cables of the stuff lined my muscles.

  I punched again and this time, the door’s hinges gave way. The massive slab cracking even further, before falling to the floor. Cold winds rushed in, along with small trickles of whatever water had not yet frozen on the floor or on the pipes that fed the sprinkling system.

  I turned back to the others and saw Ertie’s jaw hanging there. Motionless. His eyes wide as saucers as his pants became ever more soiled.

  I stepped aside and gestured for him.

  “Four minutes.” I spoke.

  That was enough to snap him out of whatever stupor he’d been in and he was the first to run. The others followed him shortly thereafter. Rushing past with blankets still wrapped tightly about their persons.

  All but Dereng. Who stayed motionless. Eyes still staring at the hole I’d made.

  “Why?” He asked.

  “Why what?”

  “Why did you save us, only to kill us now?”

  I shrugged. Making sure to do it in a way he would recognize.

  “I was trying to see what else you had up your sleeve to be honest.” I said calmly. “I wasn’t expecting you guys to do most of the work among yourselves. You may not believe me, but I hardly did anything until now. Since it has come to this, I figured I may as well speed things along.”

  Dereng nodded, but made no other motion.

  “Aren’t you going to run?”

  “Is there even a chance of me escaping?” He asked instead.

  “No.” I answered him truthfully.

  Dereng nodded and then he relaxed.

  “Please make it quick, at least.”

  I agreed and followed his last request.

  No sooner had he crumpled to the floor, than another alarm blared throughout the building.

  “Foreign agent detected. Death of staff through foreign agent detected. Secondary power source, online. Level 1 security systems, online. All staff please make your way to the Blast-Proof Bunker at once.”

  I snorted and sat back down to wait the remaining 3 minutes. Hoping that the traps would live up to their name.