His steps dragged, his breath ragged, like someone who'd just escaped death's grip. Sunlight beat down on his pale face, and when Nova got a clearer look, her heart nearly stopped.
It was Logan.
The clothes he wore were the same as the last time they'd seen him. His skin was ashen, his eyes vacant, but something was off... something that shouldn't have been there.
"Logan?" Nova's voice was barely a whisper.
Axel immediately pulled Nova back, his knife raised. Carter froze, his body trembling.
"N-no way..." Carter breathed.
Logan stepped closer, his expression unreadable. But when he opened his mouth to speak—
GRRRRKKKHH...
The sound that came out was not human.
Nova took a step back, her heart pounding. Logan turned his head slowly, like a doll whose head had been twisted too stiffly.
Then he smiled.
That smile was not Logan's.
"You... buried me..."
The voice was heavy, echoing, as if more than one voice was speaking.
Axel tightened his grip on his knife. "Are you really Logan?"
The creature tilted its head slightly, then chuckled—a laugh that sent shivers down their spines.
"Just wait..." it whispered softly. "They'll all come back... one by one."
Suddenly, its body convulsed, and in a blink, Logan... or whatever it was... stumbled back into the shadows of the trees.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
Leaving Nova, Axel, and Carter in a silence more terrifying than any scream.
One by one?
Nova swallowed hard. If what Logan said was true...
Then death was not the end in this place.
And they hadn't seen the worst of it yet.
Nova was still rooted to the spot, her mind reeling from what they'd just witnessed. Logan, who was supposed to be dead, had reappeared—with a voice that wasn't his. His words echoed in her mind. They'll all come back... one by one.
Axel wiped the sweat from his forehead. "We need to get out of here, right now."
Carter nodded quickly. "I don't want to see 'Logan' again. Whatever he is now, he's not human anymore!"
But Nova couldn't move. Something was nagging at her. Logan... or whatever it was, hadn't attacked them. It had only delivered a message. Just wait...
Wait for what?
Suddenly, her gaze fell on a large tree root nearby. Something was strange—the ground around it looked drier than the rest, and there was a small gap between the roots.
Nova stepped closer, brushing away some dry leaves.
"Nova, what are you doing?" Axel asked cautiously.
Nova didn't answer. Her hands continued to sweep the ground until she felt something cold.
Like metal.
"There's something here," she said softly.
Axel and Carter quickly joined her. Nova brushed away more dirt, revealing something hidden beneath the tree root.
An iron door.
Axel narrowed his eyes. "What's this?"
Nova tried to pull the door handle, but it wouldn't budge. "Locked."
Carter took a step back. "Maybe we shouldn't open it."
Axel ignored Carter. He crouched down, examining the sides of the door, then found something that caught his attention. "There's a code panel here."
Nova looked where Axel was pointing. A small, dusty panel was beside the door handle.
"If there's a code, this isn't just any place," Nova murmured.
Axel stood up, looking around. "If this is a bunker, there must be another way to open it."
They searched the area, moving leaves and branches, until Nova found something odd behind some bushes.
A small iron box, half-buried in the ground.
Carefully, Nova dug it out and opened the latch.
Inside, there was a faded piece of paper.
"What is it?" Carter asked.
Nova read the writing on the paper. "1239."
Axel reacted instantly. "Try entering that into the panel."
Nova approached the iron door and typed the numbers into the dusty panel.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then...
BEEP!
A mechanical sound echoed. Followed by a CLICK! and a rumbling from beneath the ground.
Axel immediately pulled the iron door handle. With a bit of force, the door creaked open, revealing a staircase leading underground.
Carter swallowed hard. "I... I don't think we should go down there."
Nova stared into the darkness. It was dark, but there was a strong smell of iron and dust. This wasn't just any hole—it was a place deliberately built and hidden.
"We have to know what's inside," Nova said firmly.
Axel nodded. "I'll go first."
Carefully, they began descending the cold, damp stairs.
The air below felt heavier.
The deeper they went, the stronger the eerie feeling grew.
Until finally... they reached the bottom.
A large room opened up before them.
And what they saw inside... took their breath away.
It was a room within a room.
The space was larger than they expected. The walls were made of thick, cracked concrete, while the floor was covered in dust and faint, old footprints.
Nova scanned the room, trying to make sense of the place. The smell of metal and earth mixed in the stale air, as if the room had been sealed for years.
"This... is a real bunker," Axel murmured, his voice echoing in the silence.
Carter swallowed hard. "But why is there a bunker in the middle of the forest?"
Nova walked further in, exploring the dimly lit room. Only the flashlight from her phone helped them see.
On the right side, there was a long table with various scattered equipment. Old, yellowed papers, rusty surgical tools, and several empty, broken glass tubes littered the floor.
Axel picked up one of the intact papers and read it aloud.
"Project X-99... final stage experiment... subject shows aggressive reactions... must not be exposed to sunlight..."
His eyes narrowed. "What the hell is this?"
Nova looked at Axel. "Experiments? You mean... they did research here?"
Carter backed away, his face growing paler. "I don't like this. We should get out of here before we—"
CRASH!
Carter jumped and spun around.
Nova and Axel also went on alert.
The sound came from inside the bunker.
Something... or someone... was in here with them.
Axel tightened his grip on the knife. "Be ready."
They stepped forward cautiously, following the source of the sound.
Nova shone her flashlight to the end of the room, where a large iron door was slightly ajar. Something was moving slowly behind it.
Carter shook his head frantically. "W-we don't have to go in there, right?"
Nova didn't answer. Carefully, she walked forward, peering through the crack in the door.
As her flashlight beam swept across the room, her heart stopped.
Someone... or something... was sitting on the floor.
The figure wore tattered, ragged clothes, with its hands chained to the wall. Its skin was pale, its eyes vacant, and its body trembled slightly.
But what made Nova's blood run cold was its face.
It was... Logan.
Or someone who looked just like Logan.
Nova backed away, breathless. "Axel... look at this."
Axel peered inside and cursed. "Damn... how is that possible?"
Carter trembled. "N-no... we saw him die! We buried him ourselves!"
Logan... or the creature that resembled him... slowly raised its head. Its lips were cracked, its voice hoarse as it spoke.
"Help..."
Nova wanted to run. Wanted to escape this terrifying place.
But something inside her held her back.