Egron went down to his left, screaming. Olat fumbled with his clip.

Zenmar crumpled soundlessly, looking like something had exploded in his gut. Olat cursed and picked up his weapon.

As he raised his head, Bonwhanney yelled obscenities and fired at the swiftly moving figure, but the shape shimmered in and out of view like a ghost, bullets passing harmlessly where the man had been. Del ran to Bonwhanney’s side and the two unleashed everything they had at the monstrous creature. It was no good. The figure towered above them and crushed their heads together between it’s immense hands with a sickening crunch.

By now Olat had retrieved his weapon and reloaded, but it was too late. The fearsome beast was upon him and his nerves were shattered. The un-man snarled and unleashed a devastating blow to his solar plexus.

As Olat doubled over, gasping for air, he thought he heard a calm, almost loving voice explaining the mysteries of the universe. His mind, tightly packed full of hate and discontent, began to unwind and he blacked out.

Olat awoke on the floor of the An-lab. His comrades were gone and he was glad. He felt light, but the sight of the laboratory sickened him and the thought of the things he had done filled him with regret. He wanted to hold on to this new feeling for as long as possible. All he wanted to do now was get home to his beautiful Paula and little Svette.