The Thing in the Pod

The wail of the alarm sent a shockwave through Jessica’s body. The stasis pod hissed open, a cold mist spilling out onto the steel floor. Whatever was inside was waking up.

Leanna pulled Jessica back as Olivia fumbled for her flashlight, its beam shaking as she aimed it at the slowly parting pod door. A pale hand emerged first, fingers twitching. Then, a figure staggered forward, shrouded in the dissipating fog.

Jessica’s stomach twisted. The figure was her.

No—not exactly. The woman before her had the same bone structure, the same eyes. But her skin was too smooth, too perfect, like something sculpted rather than born. Her hair hung limply over her shoulders, and her expression was blank.

The injured man wheezed from his spot against the wall. “They always kept a spare,” the man croaked. “In case the first one broke.”

Jessica’s pulse pounded. “What the hell does that mean?”

The pod woman lifted her head, her eyes locking onto Jessica’s. A shudder ran through Jessica’s spine. There was no recognition in that gaze. Her gaze swept the room with the disinterest of a machine logging targets, not people.

Leanna raised her gun. “We are not sticking around to find out. Move!”

The figure stepped forward, and suddenly it moved too fast. Inhumanly fast.

Jessica barely ducked in time as the woman lunged, missing her by inches. The thing was strong. Too strong.

Olivia fired off a shot. It hit the woman square in the chest—but she didn’t go down. She only flinched, as if startled by the impact.

“She’s enhanced,” Olivia breathed. “Like you.”

“No,” Jessica whispered. “Not like me.”

The alarms blared louder. Another pod hissed open.

“We have to go, NOW!” Leanna shouted, grabbing Jessica’s wrist and yanking her toward the exit.

Jessica turned one last time. The woman was still watching her, standing unnaturally still. Then, she smiled. Jessica’s blood ran cold. That was her own smile.

Then they were running, the facility shaking around them. Behind them, the other pods hissed open one after another, like a chorus breathing in sync. And through the rising steam, the whispers followed them—closer now, and no longer hiding.

And the whispers followed them into the dark.