In the beam of light, the massive insects seemed to multiply, swelling in size...
Until they felt like they were mere inches from their faces.
Throwing every shred of dignity out the window, the two women scrambled toward the open window on their hands and knees.
Driven by primal terror.
They fought each other like wild animals.
The window wasn't opened very wide to begin with.
They shoved, clawed, and trampled over one another, both desperate to squeeze through first.
Ultimately, they both tumbled out in a tangled, pathetic heap, crashing into the dirt outside.
Ignoring the bruising pain, they kept crawling frantically across the ground.
"What's going on?"
"Who's screaming?"
"Don't tell me The Dreamscape Initiative is throwing another tantrum?"
The commotion was impossible to ignore.
By the time the two women scrambled blindly away from the lab...
Bright flashlight beams cut through the darkness, pinning them to the ground.
"Who's there?"
Security personnel swarmed the area, instantly forming a perimeter around them.
In the distance, the other competitors who had thrown on their jackets to watch the drama unfold arrived just in time to see...
Two disheveled, wild-haired women scrambling across the dirt on all fours like frightened dogs.
They crawled right to the boots of the security officers.
Still on their hands and knees, they craned their necks up and shrieked hysterically. "Bugs! So many bugs! They're everywhere!"
"Hurry! Kill them! They've mutated—they're ten times the size of normal bugs!"
"The whole island is infested, it's completely... I need to get off this island! I'm leaving!"
Listening to their frantic babbling.
The surrounding competitors couldn't help but suck in a cold breath.
More bugs?
Why did the members of The Dreamscape Initiative seem to act as human magnets for every pest on the island?
The crowd peered past them.
They didn't see a single bug trailing behind Bianca or Isabella. What they did see, however...
"Holy shit! Did they wet themselves?"
A ripple of chaotic laughter tore through the crowd.
"Are you serious? Grown women pissing their pants?"
"They literally scared the piss out of themselves!"
"Where are these supposed bugs anyway? Why do they attract pests wherever they go?"
"Pissing themselves over some bugs? Hahaha, this is absolute gold!"
The competitors craned their necks, murmuring and laughing among themselves.
Captain Jude Lawson frowned, glancing in the direction the women were wildly pointing.
One of his men flashed a heavy spotlight toward the building.
The lab was completely empty.
"Quiet!"
Jude commanded coldly, his face darkening. "Competitor Bianca, Competitor Isabella. It is exactly 10:40 PM."
"As per island regulations, all participants are required to be secured in The Dormitory Block after 10:00 PM."
"Care to explain why you are out here?"
The two women were far too
hysterical to process his words. Huddled together, they kept pointing wildly at the Apex Research Hub. "You have to go in there and catch then there are so many of them and they've all mutâted! If you don't kill them now... they're only going to get bigger and deadlier!"
Jude's brow furrowed tightly as he barked an order. "Cut the crazy act and tell the truth. What were you doing out here? This is the private lab assigned to The Hope Initiative."
He paused, his eyes narrowing dangerously as his voice dropped to a glacial chill. "And how exactly
you know there were bugs ind
The Hope Initiative's Tab? Did you break in?"
The question hung in the air.
The surrounding crowd immediately erupted into a shocked uproar.
"He's right! This is the perimeter of the Apex Research Hub. What were two competitors from The Dreamscape Initiative doing sneaking around someone else's
turf?"
"Sneaking into the top-ranked lab on the island in the middle of the night... what else could they be doing?"
"It's obvious! Their team of losers couldn't figure out the data themselves, so they came here to steal Serena's research!"