We didn't look back.
The tunnel lit up in pulses of sickly green behind us—those creatures chasing with inhuman speed, their feet slapping wetly against the concrete.
Elle nearly tripped, but I pulled her up, heart hammering like a war drum. Our lungs burned. Our legs screamed.
Then—
A door.
Half-rusted. Barely noticeable. Tucked between two support beams.
I threw my shoulder into it.
It gave way with a groan of metal and rot.
We stumbled inside. Darkness swallowed us again, but I slammed the door shut and twisted the handle just in time. Something slammed into the other side with a shriek, but the metal held.
For now.
Elle dropped to the ground, heaving. "We're dead," she breathed. "We're so—"
A click echoed in the room.
Not from the door.
Behind us.
"Turn around," a voice said. Low. Steady. Male.
And armed.
I raised my hands slowly. "We're not infected."
"Could've fooled me," the voice said. "You brought a horde to my doorstep."
A flashlight clicked on, blinding us for a second.
The man was tall, lean, wrapped in a tattered black coat. A rifle was slung over his shoulder, and his eyes were sharp—like he'd seen the end of the world twice and lived through it both times.
"I swear, we didn't know they were there," I said. "We were just trying to find a way out."
He stared at me for a long, silent moment.
Then slowly lowered the weapon.
"You're lucky this place is lined with steel," he muttered, turning away. "Follow me."
We hesitated.
"Or stay out here and wait for them to find a crack."
Elle and I exchanged a look.
We followed.
The room opened into something unexpected: a wide, reinforced maintenance chamber converted into a makeshift shelter. Low lights buzzed above. Tarp-covered shelves held crates of gear. The air was musty, but breathable.
And stacked in the corner?
Food. Water. Even guns.
Elle gasped softly. "You have supplies?"
The man dropped into a folding chair and rubbed his face. "Name's Grayson. Been down here two months. Scavenged most of this before the real collapse."
"You've been alone this whole time?" I asked.
He grunted. "Better than trusting the wrong people."
Elle stepped forward. "We don't want your food or weapons. We just want directions—there's a hidden base in the inner zone. We're trying to get there. Allen's brother might be—"
Grayson's eyes narrowed at me. "Allen?"
My stomach turned. "Yeah… why?"
He slowly stood, staring hard. "Allen Vale?"
I nodded.
Grayson laughed once, dry and bitter. "Of course you're him."
"What do you mean?"
"You don't know? The creatures… they're drawn to you. Not just because you're alive—but because of what's in your blood."
Elle stepped closer to me, eyes wide. "He didn't choose this."
Grayson ignored her. "Your brother's signal went live last week. Been waiting to see if anyone else picked it up. Guess that means you two are my first visitors."
I took a step forward. "Then you know where the base is?"
He nodded slowly. "I know the route. But I'm not sure you'll like what's waiting when we get there."
"What is?"
He walked to the nearest crate and tossed me a canteen. "Rest. Eat. We leave in the morning."
Elle and I settled on the floor, grateful but shaken.
Grayson watched us from the shadows.
And I couldn't shake the feeling that he knew more than he was letting on.
That maybe… he wasn't just a survivor.
Maybe he was part of the reason everything went wrong.
---
Sleep didn't come easily.
The hum of old lights overhead, the cold bite of concrete beneath me, and Grayson's quiet presence—watching from the shadows—kept my nerves on edge.
Elle had curled beside me, her breathing slow and steady, but I couldn't relax. Not with the way Grayson had looked at me. Like he knew something. Like I was a ticking bomb.
I shifted, sat up.
Grayson was by the shelves, packing something into a canvas bag. He didn't notice me at first—until he dropped a vial. It rolled across the floor.
I picked it up.
Clear liquid. Labeled in faded ink: "Project Seraphim - Sample 09A"
Grayson froze. His jaw clenched.
"What is this?" I asked.
He snatched it from my hand faster than I could react, stuffing it into his coat. "Nothing you need to worry about."
"That's not nothing," I said, standing. "That's from the same research division my brother worked in."
Grayson's eyes darkened.
"You want to get to the inner zone, Allen? Then stop asking questions."
My pulse spiked. "Why are you helping us?"
He stepped forward, voice low. "Because you're part of something bigger than you understand. And if you want Elle to survive, you'll stay close."
I opened my mouth to demand answers—
But a loud clang echoed from above.
Grayson went still.
Then—another bang.
And another.
Elle shot upright, breath caught. "What was that?"
Grayson whispered, "They've found us."
And then—BOOM.
The overhead hatch exploded inward.
And something with too many limbs crawled through the hole.
The blast threw dust and metal shards everywhere.
The ceiling groaned, light fixtures swinging violently before shattering to the floor. Elle screamed. I yanked her back just in time as a chunk of steel narrowly missed her head.
Grayson was already moving.
"Back wall!" he shouted. "Move!"
But I couldn't stop staring.
It dropped into the room like a spider with bones turned inside out. Limbs too long. Joints bent wrong. A patchwork of flesh, metal, and something glowing pulsed inside its ribcage like a nuclear heart.
Its head—or what passed for one—twisted toward me.
No eyes.
Just a gaping mouth that opened wider than it should. And from within it…
My name.
Whispered in a voice I recognized.
Elle's voice.
But she was right beside me.
I froze.
"What the hell is that?" Elle cried, pulling at my arm.
Grayson raised his rifle, but the thing knocked it from his hands with a single shriek, the weapon skidding across the floor.
The creature turned to Elle now.
Something primal snapped inside me.
My blood—it boiled. My skin—it lit up from the inside.
And I heard it whisper again.
"You were born to end us all."
Then the walls trembled.
The lights exploded.
And something surged through me—fire and lightning and rage.
I didn't know what I was becoming.
But the creature did.
And it screamed.
---