My brain couldn't process it.

  One moment, we were about to be ripped apart by a blind, melting nightmare. The next, a phantom sniper saved us and vanished into the wind.

  Now? We were kneeling in the cold desert sand, the harsh steel of gun barrels pressed firmly against the backs of our heads.

  It happened too fast. When the convoy of black SUVs first roared over the dunes, their high beams blinding us, we thought we were saved. We thought it was a rescue. But as the vehicles encircled us like a pack of metal wolves, men and women in pitch-black tactical gear poured out. They didn't have stretchers or blankets. They had heavy assault rifles, and their boots hit the sand in a synchronized, terrifying thud.

  Gaurav, desperate and shivering, broke rank. He stumbled toward them, waving his hands. "Hey! There's a monster! Over there! Please, you have to help us—!"

  A woman stepped out from the glare of the headlights.

  She was clearly the commander. She moved with an air of absolute, casual cruelty. Her eyes were flat and devoid of any human warmth. Sharp, shoulder-length black hair framed a pale face, and her tactical vest bristled with an assortment of deadly-looking combat knives.

  The soldiers stepped aside seamlessly to let her through. Gaurav opened his mouth to plead again.

  She didn't even blink. She just raised her sidearm and shot him point-blank in the chest.

  Gaurav's body jerked back, hitting the sand with a heavy thud, kicking up a puff of dust. He lay perfectly motionless.

  "Gaurav!" Lila’s scream tore through the night. She didn't think; she just ran, throwing herself onto his unmoving body. "No, no, no! Gaurav, wake up! Please, look at me!"

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  Nitish and Rekha snapped out of their shock, darting forward to pull Lila away.

  I looked at the woman. She was rolling her eyes, looking genuinely annoyed by Lila's sobbing.

  Something inside me snapped. The fear vanished, replaced by a blinding, white-hot rage. I had just watched her murder an innocent guy for asking for help. My body moved on its own. I lunged at the woman, my hands curled into fists, ready to tear her apart.

  I vaguely heard Rekha and Nitish screaming my name, but it was just wind in my ears. I only saw the leader.

  And she was smiling.

  She calmly adjusted her aim, pulled the trigger, and a sharp, stinging impact hit my abdomen. The world instantly tilted, and the sand rushed up to meet my face. Everything went black.

  I don't know how much time passed, but I woke up with my cheek pressed against the freezing dirt.

  My hands were bound tightly behind my back with thick zip-ties. Panic flared, but as I tried to thrash, I realized I couldn't. I couldn't even make a sound. I was entirely conscious, but my body felt like it was made of lead.

  I managed to roll my eyes downward. I looked at my abdomen where she had shot me.

  There was no blood. No bullet hole. Just a small, metallic dart sticking out of my shirt.

  Paralytics. I shifted my gaze to the side. The others were alive, forced onto their knees in a neat row, each with a masked soldier pointing a rifle at the back of their head. Nobody was dead. They had just dropped us to shut us up.

  I looked at Rekha. She was glaring daggers at the guard behind her, a steady stream of blood running from her nose down to her chin. She must have put up a hell of a fight before the drugs kicked in. The guard holding her at gunpoint looked furious, nursing what looked like a bruised jaw.

  Near the front of the convoy, the female leader was sitting casually on the hood of an SUV. She looked utterly bored, smoking a cigarette held lazily between black-painted lips—a stark contrast against her pale skin.

  Relief washed over me, but only for a second. They didn't intend to kill us right away. But why? Did they think we created the monster? Did they think we were contaminated?

  A thousand terrifying questions raced through my paralyzed mind, but my vocal cords refused to work. We were totally helpless.

  Suddenly, a massive vibration shook the ground beneath my knees.

  The sand whipped up into a blinding storm, forcing me to squint. A deafening, rhythmic thwack-thwack-thwack drowned out the idling engines of the SUVs.

  A heavy military transport helicopter was descending from the dark sky, its massive spotlight sweeping over us like an interrogator's lamp.

  Another guest had arrived. And based on how the soldiers straightened their postures, this was the real boss.