They couldn’t catch their breath, because the very air around them was being consumed before they could.

Rushing up the stairs, the steps drowning under the on-rushing slime, they forced their aching legs to keep going using their siVis.

Even with the advantage of enhanced sight, everything was a blur. Added the fact there were a swarm of worms streaking through the air they were eating.

The girls stumbled out of the doorway and the lobby wasn’t their sanctuary, but the breeding ground for the emergent desperate.

The Nulgarrt Stew flooded the Megaplex: an inch or so torrent sweeping across the floors of the lobby, pouring from the ceilings that were just crafted—finished—cracking and crumbling due to the force, and say nothing of the waterfalls—that—were—once—stairs. Sickly, turquoise ooze that cascades yet immediately becomes still, swamp-like.

But that wasn’t the worse part.

The batch of Nulgarrt bubbled to life, ripping out of the residue screaming more than the girls who bore witness to their birth, and they started to raise and eat at the air, gaining momentum in speeds uncoordinated and unconcerned for anything in their way.

River and everyone tried to scan the horizon, but the streaks left in the very air clouded their surroundings, leaving translucent smears.

And it was hard to find somewhere to hide since these smears lacked oxygen—and it was getting thinner by the moment.

Jackie tried to take lead, tried to run past and guide the rest to find somewhere to get out of this place. She was soon breathing heavy, holding her chest that desperately pumped away. River turned to the sounds of Maddie coughing furiously as she kneeled clutching at her throat. Aiko tried to measure or manage her breathing but to no avail.

And Tracy was screaming, shouting, atop of her limited and drained lungs.

Not that it mattered, it was muffled along with every possible sound.

River was starting to feel the strain, her body activating her anxiety as it was convinced that it was dying. She looked around, she tried to find something, anything. She finally found what she was looking for, finally noticing one of the closed off stores in the lobby. The Stew hasn’t completely flooded inside, it being against the doors with most of it leaking through the cracks.

It really sales how desperate everything was, that River was the only hope.

She pointed silently, constantly jutting her finger so the action will get the attention of the others. At least Jackie noticed, looked to the doors, and began going for it while directing the others.

They booked for it, running as their energies slowly left their bodies, trying to make what little air they have to themselves last. What didn’t help was going into the smears themselves, running through the pockets of vacuum, of no sound—no warmth.

It felt like dying, and then coming to life, over and over as air parasites swarmed about their heads, taking way too much movement to dodge them. Tears briming in their eyes, chest and throats throbbing and feel like they’re being ripped apart. The only reason they haven’t dropped yet was because the other part of their brain is commanding the supernatural bodily enlightenment to not die right this second.

Regardless, they reached the door and Jackie instinctively tugged at the doors more than anything. She looked winded by doing that and hunched over.

The last braincells of River made her remember, made her run towards the door and locate the black, pretty device.

S-123? S-568? There were numbers. Numbers she needed… To remember.

Her already tensed up, siVis activated arm and hand, dialed in the thing she forgot to remember, using all available energy. The doors were unlocked, all they needed was the big muscle lady to open them.

Too bad some of the Nulgarrt were kamikaze air worms, as they tackled the girls from behind, exploding into organic air bombs.

The blasts caused them to all fall into the store, all rolling onto the floor, onto their stinging backs as they gasp for breath and as the Stew flooded in.

Aiko coughed herself upwards, trying in vain to dash and try to close the doors, fighting against the on-rushing pour—her aching arms—and managed to shut them. But it wasn’t for long, it was clear that she needed help and fast.

Jackie Jackson came to the rescue, becoming just as a blur as the Nulgarrt, and helped Aiko to keep the doors closed. Struggling, groaning loudly despite her dry mouth and pained throat.

It clicked for River, in that second. It was River’s turn to go for the door, and not look as heroic or dashing as she limped towards it. She reached for the black device, entered the code for emergency, as the doors completely shut on their own.

Her, Jackie and Aiko used this victory to just collapse onto the goo-covered floors, panting and gasping loudly… But not as loudly as Tracy’s hyperventilating.

“LOOK AT HOW MANY NULGARRT THERE ARE!” she exclaimed. “PUT A WALL UP! PUT A WALL UP--!”

Tracy tried to dash over to a nearby shelf, packed with items. She feebly tried to push it forward, screaming out as she made little and bitter work.

River’s body moved on it’s own again, tried to be heroic again, and got up—went towards helping her, and grabbed the shelf from the other side. The two pushed, pulled, until it lined up with the doors, covering it. The two girls collapsed on their respective side, breathing heavily as it felt good to taste the air again.

What was something between 1 or 3 minutes, the girls rose up, looking out of the windows that showed the otherworldly horror that awaited them.

They were interrupted by the sounds of Maddie, still coughing up a storm and genuinely looks to be in pain.

“Maddie—Madison,” Jackie of course rushed to her side, about to lift up the crouching girl. “A—arare—Are you okay? Do you have breathing pro—”

Maddie instantly swiped at her, getting up while shaking her head. Her eyes were red and she tried to still her face as she was clearly struggling, trying to correct her breathing for what felt like a dragged out hour, but was 2 minutes later.

“Everyone… Better tell me… What are we going to do… Or else I’m walking and getting the fuck outta here myself…” her voice was haggarded, trying to still her voice too, as if she wanted to pain to work with her.

“You know we can’t do that, they’ll grow out of control and we have to follow the—” Jackie tried to reason when arguments threw those away.

“They fucked up their rules and barely now anything!” Maddie shouted, it took a lot out of her. “You said it yourself!”

“But it’s better than nothing!” Jackie tried to get close and Maddie scooted away. “We do lack information aside from the basics, but it’s better than acting like everything doesn’t matter and we can’t afford to think like this right now!”

Maddie simply wheezed to herself, softly. That was that, in Maddie terms—usually much more silent.

Jackie couldn’t help but to sit on the ground, falling into the wet surface as she rubbed her temples, “Alright, let’s run this down so we can see if we’re on the same page… Nulgarrt, or Ex Nihilo Creatures. They come in waves and each one is more dangerous than the last.”

Jackie pointed at Tracy, which of course startled her.

“H-hu--? O-oh…” Tracy realized. “Right… Describe the phases… Wave 1, which is now, mass spawning, survival… A species is created b-but also have different types of the creatures—b-because of how unstable they are. It doesn’t matter—to the environment around them or their own kin… Survive, survive, survive…”

Jackie pointed to Aiko. And before Maddie could make a slight on her, Aiko spoke up.

“Wave 2, it’s when they go into the frenzy, right?” Aiko wanted to be sure. Jackie nodded. “Okay, yeah… They turn on each other, to see who can carry on whatever they are and… leave the remains floating in the Stew so the winner can either be born or remerge. That’s gonna be the Nulgarrt.”

She finally pointed to River.

“Wave 3… The Nulgarrt scavenges over what’s left, what could be used, what’s missing… The beast tries to complete itself.”

“After that,” Jackie finished, rubbing her closed fist with her other hand. “Wave 4. It wanders, seeks out multiple Stews to find the grand source of it all. They go in, so that they can produce more of itself. To finally make the Nulgarrt on the level of other living beings. To finally start the species that crave to be, our worse nightmare when resources are scarce, and edge-of-knife as is.”

Jackie still looked at River. She sighed to herself, knowing where this is going.

“The usual procedure—all we could’ve done, was torch this place and signal to Extant that this is a Stew and they take care of the rest. But they’ve emerged now, and our other option of ‘hide, hold out until Extant arrives’ can’t be done because they’re swarmed… So, if you have anything—any weird fact at all, please. Enlighten us.”

“…I mean,” River began. “That’s the central problem of all of this, isn’t it? Each Nulgarrt case that’s passed on the ‘net’s way different from others. I think this is no different.”

“Of course. But any information, anything.”

River felt everyone look at her. Here it is, the moment she’s always dreaded: the moments where she wasn’t the trash that people pretended that wasn’t there, where she wasn’t just some gear breaking down—ready to be replaced.

Where she was River: The Smart One, not the “Just Has Some Knowledge” One. Where she was River: The Resource, versus “Just Being Resourceful”.

You can never protest, argue—just tell people that you’re just that: people, River thought in these scenarios. It’s a no-win, either way one would spin it.

“It’s a long shot,” River began. “And it might make the problem worse, despite it solution the current one. We Ruin the Stew.”

“Fuck, that’s actually pretty good wordplay,” Maddie spoke up and made a riff. She might be getting back to normal, River thought.

River adjusted her glasses, “Like fire destroying the pools, ruining the stew is dumping something—something they can use to trigger another, new Wave of Nulgarrt that will go after the original one. But it has to be something they chew on for a while—something that can trap them in a rut and by time for Extant to send someone to clean up.”

“Yes…” Tracy spoke up, surprising. “Yes, this is a rather old tactic in clearing them out… Often a last resort. It’s very monkey’s paw—so we have to figure out what we’re ruining the stew with.”

“I mean fuck, it’s like a riddle or something…” Maddie pondered. “What can we just to help them and then trap them—like, metal? Make them metal or some shit so they can sink to the bottom?”

“Good call, but that’s the other tricky thing,” River explained. “It has to be something they see as a benefit… They’ll see the metal as getting hard and resilient yeah, but it’ll cost them more.” She pointed out to the swirling worms that ate the air outside. “This might possibly be the best option for them, right now. They’re free, they can eat so much… It’s going to be hard to match or overturn this because, they’ve basically won the jackpot. Plus, I think them turning into metal and sinking might… Iunno, have them drill into the Earth-“

“Well shit,” Maddie shrugged, putting a hand on her cheek.

“Something like air, but…” Jackie then snapped. “Energy! Electric—maybe we dunk something electrical and let them get trapped in that! Like a self-generator or something!”

River paused, rubbing her chin. “Maybe…”

“But whatever we do, it can’t be right now,” Jackie looked out of the windows. “We have to risk them phasing out of Waves 1 and 2… I don’t think we’re in the right shape to tackle that.”

“So we wait?” Aiko answered.

“Might as well,” Maddie agreed. “There’s other shit to figure out too—like how can we stay alive when the air’s being gobbled up. That, if there is some generator somewhere, how we’re doing this… Might as well sit here and rest up while we talk.”

“Yeah…” River said.

Desperate creatures wanting to life. It was telling to River that she didn’t know the difference between the Nulgarrt and them.

River closed her eyes briefly, and felt them ache. It used to be unnoticeable, all those years ago.