Then the void settled, burped once inside his chest, and went quiet.
Ten years ago, in a different war, on a different mud-ball planet, a shard of shrapnel had shredded his heart. He’d flatlined for ninety-seven seconds. The medics had dragged him back, but something had come with him—a splinter of the void. A little pocket of nothing that lived behind his ribs, patient and cold. Most days, he ignored it. But the Leech, in its ravenous feeding, found it. ex-load leech
The designation was "Ex-Load Leech." Officially, it was a classified parasitic entity, a biological weapon engineered in a forgotten war. Unofficially, it was the last thing a soldier felt before their luck ran out. Then the void settled, burped once inside his
He squeezed.
Too fast to dodge. Too subtle to fight.
“You wanted a load,” Kael whispered, his voice a rasp of gravel and grave-dirt. “Congratulations. You found the ex-load.” The medics had dragged him back, but something