Revolt

The shouting echoed down the corridors, louder than the groaning of the submarine and the blaring of the alarms. I pressed my back against the wall, heart hammering as I tried to decipher the words. The crew’s anger was palpable, a boiling cauldron about to spill over.

“They’re hiding something!” someone yelled. “She’s been talking to it, hasn’t she?”

“It’s not human!” another voice responded, thick with fear. “None of this would’ve happened if she hadn’t brought that thing aboard!”

I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply. The tension on the submarine had been festering for days, but this… this was something else entirely.

They were looking for someone to blame.

The low thrum of paranoia had transformed into something monstrous, something uncontrollable. And now, it was spreading like wildfire.

I stepped out into the corridor, forcing my trembling legs to move. I needed to stop this before it escalated. The flickering emergency lights painted the walls in blood-red hues, the sound of my footsteps drowned out by the chaotic yelling ahead.

When I reached the central chamber, the scene before me sent a chill down my spine.

Two crew members, Baker and Torres, stood toe-to-toe, shouting at each other. Baker’s face was flushed, his fists clenched, while Torres held a wrench in her hand like a weapon. Around them, the rest of the crew had formed a loose circle, their expressions a mix of fear and fury.

“You’re the one who said we should go deeper!” Baker bellowed, pointing an accusatory finger at Torres. “This is all your fault!”

“My fault?” Torres snapped, raising the wrench. “You’re the one who didn’t seal the bulkhead in time! If anyone’s to blame, it’s you!”

“Enough!” I shouted, my voice cutting through the noise like a whip.

All eyes turned to me.

I stepped into the circle, trying to keep my voice steady. “Fighting each other isn’t going to help. We’re all in this together, and if we don’t start acting like it, we’re not going to make it out alive.”

“Together?” Baker spat, his eyes narrowing as he stepped toward me. “Don’t act like you’re one of us, Lila. We all know you’ve been… talking to it.”

My breath caught. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb,” Torres hissed, her knuckles white around the wrench. “We’ve seen the way it looks at you. The way you’ve been acting. You’ve been corrupted.”

The word hit me like a slap. Corrupted.

I shook my head, taking a step back. “That’s not true. I’m trying to help us. To keep us alive.”

“Help us?” Baker laughed, a harsh, bitter sound. “You brought that thing on board. You’re the reason we’re stuck down here!”

“I didn’t—”

“Liar!” someone shouted from the crowd.

The room seemed to close in around me. The walls felt too close, the air too thin.

“Enough!” I shouted again, my voice cracking. “You’re all scared—I get it. But turning on each other isn’t going to solve anything. We need to work together, or we’re all going to die down here.”

“And why should we trust you?” Torres demanded, taking a step forward.

Her words hung heavy in the air.

I looked around the room, searching for a friendly face, but all I saw was suspicion and fear. My connection to Light wasn’t a secret anymore, not to them.

I opened my mouth to respond, but the submarine groaned loudly, cutting me off. The floor beneath us shuddered, and I had to grab onto a nearby console to keep my balance.

“What was that?” someone whispered, their voice trembling.

Before anyone could answer, the sound of static crackled over the intercom.

Then, his voice.

“Humans.”

It was soft at first, almost gentle. But it carried an undercurrent of something sharp, something cruel.

The room fell silent.

“So loud. So messy. Do you ever stop tearing each other apart?”

A chill ran down my spine. Light’s voice was everywhere, surrounding us, pressing into us like the weight of the ocean.

The crew froze, their eyes wide with fear. Even Torres lowered her wrench, her knuckles pale as her hands shook.

“I don’t blame you, of course,” he continued, his tone mocking. “It’s in your nature. You’re all so… predictable.”

“Shut it off!” Baker yelled, rushing to the console.

“It’s not coming from the intercom,” Torres whispered, her voice barely audible.

Light’s laughter echoed through the room, low and resonant.

“How amusing. You think you can silence me? You think you have control here?”

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms. “Stop it!” I shouted, my voice shaking.

“Ah, my pet,” he purred, and the sound of his voice made my stomach churn. “Defending your pack? How noble. But tell me, do you really think they’ll protect you when the time comes?”

The crew’s eyes turned to me, their expressions a mix of fear and accusation.

“This is his game,” I said, my voice trembling. “He wants us to turn on each other. Don’t let him win.”

“Oh, Lila,” Light murmured, his voice like velvet. “You’re still clinging to hope? How… quaint.”

The lights flickered again, plunging us into darkness for a moment before the emergency lights sputtered back on. The crew looked around nervously, their fear thick in the air.

“Listen to me,” I said, my voice firm despite the lump in my throat. “We can’t let him divide us. We have to stay strong, together. It’s the only way we’ll survive.”

For a moment, no one moved.

Then Torres lowered the wrench completely, her shoulders slumping. Baker looked away, his jaw clenched.

The tension in the room eased, but only slightly. The cracks were still there, fragile and threatening to break wide open.

Light wasn’t just testing us. He was breaking us. One by one.