All senses on high alert, Noah got up to move to a window before suddenly hearing some sort of gurgling noise. Anywhere he looked, he could only see the shadows projected by the lit candles dancing on the walls and his companions. Though his eyes couldn’t perceive, he had this strange sensation coming from within, something between a tingling and vertigo.

“I think I heard it. It came from inside the house, but I don’t see anything.”

“I don’t like this at all,” Kaycee said. “Everyone! Get up!”

Her commanding voice was a little hushed, but still powerful enough to immediately get the sleepers awake and aware, if somewhat groggy and awkward. They tumbled to get around her as she warned them she was expecting trouble.

Kaycee began assigning defensive positions. Noah was somewhat distracted: the more he focused, the stronger the tingling in his heart got. The orders being barked and Isaac’s complaints seemed to fade as a background noise as he stopped paying attention to them, trying to pinpoint the source of his discomfort. He then suddenly felt an odd wet caress on his forehead, like slime gently rolling on his skin. Overcome by an instinct, he looked to the ceiling and immediately pointed towards the black mass that was clinging to it.

“There!” he yelled.

The thing immediately fell to the floor. It was at first a puddle, then slowly rose up to take a vaguely cylindrical form.

In the room with them now stood what was undoubtedly one of those that were called the Corrupted: it was an individual being of pure oozy darkness, subtly shifting in form and size again and again, yet nearly always adopting a vaguely humanoid form. Looking at it was like staring straight into the face of a living nightmare: the very sight of it was enough to make Noah question his own sanity. It was like a psychedelic Rorschach test, where the only possible result was madness. But what was most troubling to him was that, unquestionably, it was made of that same matter he had thrown up back at the Jester’s residence.

“That’s one of them, isn’t it?” he asked, trying to remain as calm as he could.

“What the fuck! I thought you said they couldn’t get in places where there’s light!” Isaac screamed in outrage.

“They usually avoid it, but a few candles doesn’t light up the area like a floodlight,” Xavier explained.

“It hasn't attacked us yet. Maybe we can slip away...” Karim suggested.

Kaycee nodded. Everyone slowly crept toward the door, holding their breath. Noah could feel his heart racing: he was terrified by the creature, but also morbidly fascinated, wanting to observe it for as long as possible. He wanted to know more about them, and why there was some of their taint inside of him. But it would be for another day, one where they could prepare ahead of time, one where they…

The sound of thin ceramic shattering on the floor reverberated throughout the room. Noah flinched, then quickly turned his head around, reflexively muttering an accusatory “Isaac!” under his breath.

“I didn’t do it!” Isaac protested.

Searching around for what caused the noise, Noah finally found Jacob. He wore fear and dread on his face, as a second dark silhouette they hadn’t noticed gripped his arm, growling in a sinister rumble. It leaned on the boy, its face close to his’, seemingly staring him in the eyes. Jake attempted to pull and get away… to no avail. His squeaks became squeals, terror overwhelming him.

It all happened in a matter of seconds. The loud cries prompted both of the Corrupted to get agitated. They lost all of their consistency and quickly wrapped themselves around Jacob, which caused him to panic even more. Only Kaycee had the reflexes to react: in a desperate attempt to save him, she turned on her flashlight and pointed it at the creatures. They let go of their victim, falling on the floor and partially reformed into a humanoid shape. She pointed the beam of light at one of them, where the chest area would be, causing the ooze to peel back. Underneath, a small violet orb with veins, attached to the rest of the body by tendrils, revealed itself.

“Get the core!” Kaycee yelled, turning her head towards Karim. “Get the c--” she attempted to repeat. As she turned back to look at the monster, she saw it twisting and twirling on itself, dodging the beam of light with incredible agility and charged towards them. Its speed was simply insane, moving quicker than it took for her to gasp.

One of the Corrupted kept Kaycee at bay as she tried to fend of the attacker. The second adopted a liquid form again before enshrouding Jacob with flexible limbs. The gurgling, drowning sound that came out of his throat as it entered his body through every orifice on his head was simply horrifying. He screamed and screamed, a desperate plight for help or mercy. Yet nobody moved, utterly petrified due to the sheer shock and the insanity of it all.

Nobody, except Isaac. Grabbing his baseball bat, he swung at the creature harming his friend, tearing off its arms. The part that hadn’t been ingested fell to the ground, then quickly slithered out of the house through the cracks of the walls, soon followed by the other Corrupted.

Jacob collapsed. Everybody rushed to his side, kneeling next to him.

“He’s still breathing!” Noah exclaimed.

“Karim, can you save him?” Kayce asked.

The man looked at his companions with wide eyes. His breath was uneven, his hands trembling.

“I… I don’t know. I need a knife. I have to bleed him,” he said.