The tunnel stretched endlessly ahead, the dim lights flickering as if they hadn't been maintained in decades.
The air was thick, heavy with the scent of damp earth and rusted metal.
Ethan pressed forward, his every step careful. They had escaped the creature in the vents, but that didn't mean they were safe.
Noah exhaled. "Okay, new bet. Underground science lab or abandoned subway?"
Valerie scanned the walls. "Could be both."
Olivia frowned, pointing at faded markings on the stone. "Look at this—old emergency exit signs. But they don't make sense."
Ethan leaned closer. The symbols were… off. Like they had been altered.
Some scratched out. Some changed.
Like someone—or something—didn't want them to leave.
Blaze whined, ears flicking back. Shadow's tail puffed slightly, her golden eyes darting toward the darkness ahead.
They weren't alone down here.
The Echo of Voices
A distant whisper drifted through the tunnels.
It wasn't the clicking from before.
It was voices.
Faint. Distorted. As if carried through an old radio full of static.
Noah tensed. "Tell me that's just a trick of the wind."
Ethan clenched his jaw. "Keep moving."
They pushed forward, their footsteps eerily muffled on the damp stone.
Then—Valerie stopped.
Her eyes widened. "Guys… look."
They followed her gaze.
Bodies.
Old. Mummified. Pressed against the tunnel walls.
The remains were fused into the stone, their mouths frozen in silent screams.
Like they had been absorbed.
Olivia swallowed hard. "What the hell happened here?"
A cold breeze swept through the tunnel.
And then—one of the bodies moved.
Not Dead Yet
The thing's eyes snapped open.
Mouths—more than one—twisted and twitched.
A low, unnatural gurgle rumbled from its throat.
Then another body shifted.
And another.
One by one, the dead began to move.
Their arms cracked as they pulled themselves free from the walls, their hollow eye sockets locked onto the group.
Noah stumbled back. "Oh, come on! We just got out of one nightmare—"
A skeletal hand shot forward.
Ethan barely dodged as it swiped at his face.
Blaze snarled, lunging forward, his teeth sinking into one of the creatures' rotting limbs. Shadow hissed, her claws raking across another's face.
"RUN!" Ethan shouted.
They bolted.
The tunnel shook as the creatures lurched after them, their movements unnatural, their voices a distorted chorus of whispers.
The exit—there had to be an exit.
Then—light.
A faint, bluish glow at the far end of the tunnel.
Hope surged through Ethan's chest. "Go! That way!"
But as they neared the glow, Olivia suddenly skidded to a halt.
"Wait." Her voice was shaky.
"That's not sunlight."
They all froze.
The glow wasn't coming from outside.
It was coming from something moving.
Something waiting for them at the tunnel's end.