Page 75 of Rupture

His fingers brushed a compact box. The second device.

8:00

He swept debris from the box with agonizing care, positioning his tool against the first screw. Twice it slipped before catching. Sweat blurred his vision, but there was no time to clear it.

At last, the cover lifted free.

5:30

The wire configuration swam into focus—identical to the last one.Don’t rush. Don’t fuck this up.

One wire left. His hands trembled, a mix of cold and adrenaline making his movements jerky. The cutters hovered over the wire as he steadied himself.

Get this wrong and the Io wouldn’t be the only thing that died down here.

Rose’s face flashed into his mind. The softness of her in his hands as he’d kissed her in the moon pool.

He hadn’t planned on falling for her, but there it was—a truth that refused to be ignored. If he made it out, he’d tell her. Not some awkward half-admission, but everything. She made him feel alive again, and he was hungry for more. More time to make her smile, to learn the contours of her world, to make promises he’d damn well keep.

He exhaled slowly, forcing the thoughts back.Focus.

First the wire, then Rose.

02:36

He held his breath. The final wire parted with a clean snip.

Nothing.

An exhalation wracked him.

Five seconds. He allowed himself exactly that before moving. He bagged the device and tools, palms pressing the vent floor to retreat?—

Silt erupted around him, revealing a nightmare in white.

Cave remipede. Or millipedes in swimsuits as Luca called them. A mutated fucker. Almost a foot long, its venomous claws curved like scythes against the clouds of debris. Before he could react, it struck—fangs sinking into the webbing between his thumb and forefinger.

For one heartbeat, he felt nothing.His gloves had held. He yanked back, the creature thrashing in his grip. His knife found its mark, the blade punching through its milky, segmented body. Finn’s lip curled in disgust as he moved to push it away?—

Liquid fire detonated in his hand, venom racing up his arm like napalm.

Fuckfuckfuck.

His breath came in rapid bursts, panic flooding his system as fast as the poison.

Sweat instantly soaked him as cramps wrenched his gut.

These things were lethal at their usual size. This mutated monster?—

“This is Finn. My left hand. Been bit by a?—”

A tidal wave of nausea silenced him as his body convulsed.

“Ethan…” His tongue was heavy, unresponsive. “Liev?”

Static roared in his ears.

Another spasm hit, slamming his helmet onto the vent floor and cracking his tailbone against the ceiling.

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