Chapter 23

A faint noise came from deep within the zone—it seemed something alive was scurrying away. The subtle crunch of flesh grinding against glass shards rustled faintly yet distinctly. It occurred to Elara that she probably shouldn't continue any deeper. She stopped and silently stuck herself against the wall, trying her best to make herself unnoticeable. The floor reflected shimmering water and distorted shadows. Lifting her gaze, she saw a towering glass structure at the corner, stretching over 30 feet. Inside, the corpses of several researchers in their silver-white uniforms floated in the dark blue seawater. Some corpses were relatively intact while others were mangled. Elara clapped a hand over her mouth and tried to stifle the bile rising in her throat. She carefully hid herself—there were many unknown dangers lurking in the darkness. Unexpectedly, her phone rang just then. She instantly answered it and covered the wrist-mounted device as she held it up to her ear. The piercing so