Ethan's grip on his knife tightened.
That voice. Adrian's voice.
But the figure in the fog—it wasn't him. Not anymore.
It stood still, half-shrouded in the thick mist, its outline wrong. Too tall. Too stretched. Shifting.
A cold dread crawled up Ethan's spine.
"Adrian?" Olivia whispered, gun raised.
No answer. Just the wind.
Then—
The figure moved.
Not walking. Not running. Just… shifting. As if reality itself struggled to contain it.
And then it spoke again.
"Did you really think I was gone?"
Ethan's breath hitched.
That voice—too close, too far, too many layers.
Noah cursed under his breath. "This is so, so bad."
Valerie whispered, "We need to move. Now."
Ethan didn't argue. His instincts screamed the same.
Run.
The Chase Begins
They turned, sprinting through the fogged-out ruins, boots slamming against cracked pavement.
Blaze barked sharply, his warning echoing through the abandoned university. Shadow leapt from ledge to ledge, eyes glowing faintly in the mist.
The fog moved with them.
Not like weather. Not like smoke.
It followed.
A whisper curled through the mist—Adrian's voice, layered, twisted.
"Why run, Ethan? I thought we were friends."
A dark laugh.
Noah grit his teeth. "Shut up, you undead freak!"
Then—the ground trembled.
Something shifted in the fog. Large. Wrong.
A hand—or what used to be one—lunged from the mist.
Golden veins burned beneath the stretched skin, fingers unnaturally long, reaching—
Straight for Ethan.
Into the Lab
Ethan dodged, rolling hard onto the pavement. The others scattered, barely avoiding the thing's grasp.
"Inside!" Olivia yelled, pointing toward an open doorway in the ruins.
No time to think. They ran.
Blaze was the first through, then Shadow. Noah and Valerie right behind.
Ethan risked one last look back—
The fog was alive.
The figure—Adrian?—stood at the edge, its face still hidden, but those golden eyes…
They were smiling.
"See you soon."
The moment Ethan stepped inside—
The doors slammed shut behind them.
Trapped Inside
The air inside the university was thick with dust and decay.
They stood in a long hallway, lined with broken glass and old lab equipment. Faded signs still clung to the walls:
BLACKWATER UNIVERSITY – RESEARCH DIVISIONAUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY
A loud bang rattled the doors behind them.
Then—silence.
Noah exhaled sharply. "Tell me that thing can't get in."
Ethan didn't answer. He wasn't sure anymore.
Olivia moved ahead, scanning the hall with her flashlight. "We need to keep moving."
Valerie nodded. "If there's any research on what Adrian became, it's deeper inside."
Ethan took a breath, forcing himself to focus.
Adrian was changing. Becoming something else.
And if they didn't find answers fast…
He wouldn't be the only one.