Primitive Man

Erika struggled against Anderson's overpowering grip, her mind racing to make sse of the madness that had consumed her colleague and the people who took part in this research.

"Anderson, snap out of it! Damn it! Let me go." she pleaded desperation in her voice.

His eyes, once familiar and calm, glowed with an unsettling intsity. The once orderly and scitific expedition had turned into a nightmare, with the cave echoing the sounds of violce.

"Shut up bitch! It's because of you that we must fight like this. That meteor belongs to us and I won't let anyone touch it!" Anderson's voice was distorted, his words fueled by an irrational fervour.

Erika's attempts to break free intsified, her fear mingling with frustration. "This isn't the answer! We need to get out of here before it's too late!"

As Anderson's grip tighted a Erika's neck, her mind began to feel hazy. Unexpectedly, words escaped her mouth, as if compelled to speak. "I will kill you if you touch that meteor! It belongs to me, not anyone else."

Gasping for breath, Erika struggled against Anderson's overpowering grip, her vision blurred with tears and fear. "Let me go, you lunatic!" she rasped, her voice strained as she clawed at his hands, desperately trying to break free.

She felt her life and vision slowly fading away because of Anderson's grip on her neck.

In the midst of her struggle, Erika's mind raced through memories of her life – momts of joy, laughter, and the love she shared with her daughter. The urgcy to survive, to return to the one person who mattered the most, surged within her.

As Anderson continued his reltless assault, Erika's thoughts became a desperate plea for survival. "I need to see her again, I can't let it d like this!" she thought, summoning every ounce of strgth left in her weaking body.

Just wh Erika felt the grip on her neck tighting to an unbearable extt, a sudd shift in pressure caught her by surprise. Anderson's weight collapsed onto her, and blood splattered across her face. Confused and disorited, she looked up to see Dr. Fritz standing over them, a bloody knife in his hand.

"What... what's happing?" Erika stammered, her throat sore and bruised. She quickly used her remaining strgth to push Anderson away, so she could quickly get up.

"Quickly get up! We need to get out of here!" Dr. Fritz urged, his voice urgt. He helped Erika to her feet, and together they staggered towards the trance of the cave, leaving behind the gruesome sce.

Erika had so many questions about their team, as well as what caused this mayhem, but right now she just wanted to escape for her life and go home so she could hug her daughter.

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The chaos continued behind them, the once-united expedition now reduced to a nightmare of violce and madness. As they neared the cave's trance, Dr. Fritz explained, "It's the meteor – it's affecting everyone. We need to regroup and find a way to contain this. Now that many officials from each nation died, it won't be long before this escalates into something ev more dangerous. We have to keep moving forward now. If we go home without anything to prove our worth, we will be assassinated."

Erika, still catching her breath, nodded in understanding. The gravity of the situation sank in as they emerged into the dim light outside. The expedition that began with hope and curiosity had turned into a fight for survival against an unse force.

"What about Mia, Kalina and our other team members? What about our military?" Erika couldn't help but ask, but Fritz obviously knew most of them wouldn't come out of here alive.

Fritz sighed, realizing the harsh reality. "I need you alive, Erika. You're the only person that could match my level. As long as both of us are safe, we can make sure they will be avged. Let's not—"

Before he could finish his stce, Professor Tanaka of Japan emerged from the cave with two soldiers. Fritz swiftly reached into his lab coat, pulling out something that st shockwaves through Erika.

Her eyes wided as she saw Tanaka fall backwards, a ringing sound in her ears. Panic surged through her as the realization hit her – Dr. Fritz had just shot Tanaka. "Why?" Erika stammered, her voice betraying her shock.

Fritz, calm but resolute, met her gaze. "They can't leave this place alive. We're the only ones who should make it out of here," he explained, his tone unyielding. "No one else can know about what happed. It's the only way to sure our survival."

Erika, conflicted and horrified, couldn't comprehd the drastic decision. "But... but they trusted us! We can't just leave them behind," she protested, her mind racing.

Fritz looked at her with intsity. "Erika, do you want to live? Do you want to see your daughter again? This is the only way. We can't let the truth escape this place, or all will be lost."

Her shock turned into a mix of disbelief and desperation. After a momt of internal struggle, Erika nodded, her voice barely audible. "I... I want to live. For my daughter."

Fritz, his gaze unwavering, placed a hand on her shoulder. "Th we do what we must to survive. For them," he said, gesturing towards the chaos behind them. Erika, torn by the weight of her decision, followed him and took the gun that the Japanese soldier had and with shaking hands, she shot the people who came out of the cave.

***

Days later, Erika and Dr. Fritz found themselves in a dimly lit governmt facility, reporting the harrowing evts that unfolded in the cave. The air in the room was heavy with tsion as they recounted the madness, the violce, and the mysterious influce of the meteor that had turned their scitific expedition into a blood-soaked nightmare.

"The situation was not under our control! So if we didn't do anything, we could have suffered more loss to our nation than what we did," Dr. Frtiz said without any hesitation knowing that he would be able to convince the governmt to carry out the experimt.

Governmt officials listed inttly, their expressions grave. Erika struggled to maintain composure as she spoke, her eyes betraying the trauma she had dured. Dr. Fritz, beside her, remained calm and composed, carefully choosing his words to downplay the severity of their own actions.

"So, you brought that cursed rock here? What if something like that happs again?" One of the worried officials questioned, to which Erika quickly answered.

"It won't happ again, we found that the reason it happed and everything is under our control now," She managed to convince the governmt simply because they knew they had no choice.

Other countries were keeping quiet because they knew letting people know about this ergy source would be dangerous, but at the same time, they knew it wouldn't be long before the relevant ambassadors contacted them.

After the debriefing, they were giv a brief respite. Erika excused herself to the restroom, feeling an overwhelming need to wash away the memories that clung to her like a stain. Alone in front of the mirror, she looked at her hands, the hands that had tak lives in the name of survival.

Tears streamed down her face as the weight of her actions pressed down on her. "What have I become? Why do I have to do this?" she whispered to herself, the reality of the situation sinking in. The once sterile vironmt of scitific exploration had morphed into a gruesome tableau of death and betrayal.

After composing herself, Erika returned to the stark hallway, determined to face whatever consequces awaited her. As she stepped out, she collided with Mia, who was walking down the corridor with a cold, detached expression.

Mia clicked her tongue in annoyance, attempting to sidestep Erika without acknowledging her presce. "Move out of the way," she muttered, eyes fixed straight ahead.

Erika, however, couldn't let the counter pass without addressing the tsion betwe them. "Mia, wait. How are you holding up after everything? Are you okay? What about your wounds?" she asked guine concern in her voice.

Mia shot her a disdainful look. "Don't act like you care. We all know what you did in there," she retorted, her voice laced with bitterness.

Erika took a step closer, trying to bridge the gap. "Mia, I had no choice. It was survival. You know that, right?"

Mia scoffed, pushing Erika against the cold, sterile wall. "Survival? Is that what you call it? You took lives, Erika. Innoct lives! Don't pretd like there's any justification for that. You are a bitch and I know you would do that. You left your own team and killed innoct people."

Erika, pinned against the wall, felt a surge of guilt and helplessness. "I... I had to do it. For us. For our survival."

Mia's eyes flashed with anger. "Our survival? Don't make me laugh. You did that for your survival. If I couldn't run away, I would have died in that cave. Leave me alone." She pushed away from Erika, leaving her against the wall.

As Mia started to walk away, Erika couldn't let her go without attempting to md the fractured relationship. "Mia, I'm sorry. I didn't want any of this to happ. We need to stick together now more than ever. We have to make sure the meteor is safe for us."

Mia stopped, glancing over her shoulder. "Save your apologies. I can't look at you right now. We'll deal with this mess, but don't think for a second that things will go back to normal."

Erika, left alone against the cold wall, took a shaky breath. The consequces of their actions were far-reaching, and the fractures within the team seemed irreparable.

The following days were a blur of investigations, interrogations, and containmt measures. Erika found herself caught in a web of governmt secrecy, where the truth was a delicate thread that could unravel everything.