He couldn't scream. His vocal cords were stiffened threads, locked solid in the grip of the cryo-venting. Inside his helmet, HUD warnings flickered violently—a chaotic strobe

white-hot blinding shockwave that seared through his remaining senses. The frostbite hit instantly, turning the agonizing burn of the tendrils into a deep, brittle ache that locked his lungs in ice

deafening screech of vented pressure. A plume of superheated chemical suppressant geysered through his suit’s internal conduits, flooding his chest cavity with icy neutralization agents.

The pain was a

*One pull.*

He slammed his trembling palm down, driving his body weight against the reluctant metal.

*Click.*

The latch snapped open with a

heat of the black parasite still crawling through his veins.

He fumbled blindly at his chest, his numb, cyanotic fingers slipping off the release latch of his emergency scrubber. *One pull.