TAP… TAP… TAP…
The sound of footsteps continued to echo through the dark bunker corridor. Nova shone her flashlight towards the sound, but there was nothing there. Just an unnerving emptiness.
Axel tightened his grip on the knife, his eyes narrowing sharply. "We can't keep doing this. They've been hunting us all this time."
Carter swallowed hard. "What do you mean?"
Axel turned, looking at them one by one with a cold gaze. "We need to turn the tables. We need to hunt them."
Nova recoiled. "Are you crazy?"
"No," Axel shook his head. "We've been running, hiding, and living in fear. But look around us." He raised his hand, pointing to the bunker corridor filled with the remnants of horrific experiments. "This isn't just a shelter. It's a death lab. And the monsters they created… are still out there."
Nova gritted her teeth. "So what are you suggesting? We walk out of here and start hunting those creatures?"
Axel looked straight into her eyes. "Yes."
Logan, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke up. "I agree. If we don't fight back, we'll die one by one."
Carter shook his head frantically. "That's suicide!"
Axel approached him, patting his shoulder roughly. "Then stay here alone. But I'd rather die fighting than die like a cornered rat."
Nova took a deep breath. She hated to admit it, but Axel was right. They had been prey for too long. If they wanted to survive on this island, they had to take risks.
"Alright," she said finally. "But we need a plan."
Axel nodded. "We start by finding weapons."
Nova glanced at the table in the experiment room. She saw scalpels, iron rods, and various medical tools that could be used as weapons. She picked up a long scalpel and tested it in her hand. Sharp.
Axel found a long iron rod in the corner of the room. He swung it through the air, testing its balance. "This is strong enough."
Logan grabbed a pocket knife and a large, intact syringe. He examined its contents and grinned. "This might come in handy."
Carter was still trembling, but he finally grabbed a broken piece of wood from a chair in the corner. He had no other choice.
Axel looked at them with a determined gaze. "Alright. Now, we go out and start hunting."
They climbed the bunker stairs again, carefully scanning every corner. When they reached the surface, night had fallen. The forest looked darker than ever, the shadows of the trees dancing under the moonlight.
Nova gripped her scalpel tightly, her eyes sweeping the surroundings. "The creatures must be nearby."
Suddenly, a low growl echoed from the distance.
GRRRRRR…
They all froze.
Axel signaled them to stay quiet. He crouched down, pressing his ear to the ground.
"Two of them," he whispered. "Moving north."
Nova narrowed her eyes. "How do you know?"
Axel turned to her. "Trust me, I just do."
Without another word, they started moving. Cautious, silent.
Their footsteps were nearly soundless on the damp ground. Every snapped twig, every rustling leaf could be a sign of danger.
Nova could feel her adrenaline surging. This was the first time they were hunting—not as prey, but as hunters.
A few meters ahead, they saw them.
Two creatures.
Their skin was pale gray, their bones protruding from their thin bodies. Pitch-black eyes stared blankly, their mouths smeared with blood.
They were scavenging something on the ground. The remains of something that used to be human.
Axel raised his iron rod, signaling. "Take position."
Nova and Logan ducked into the bushes, while Carter stayed behind, trembling in fear.
Axel gave the signal. "One… two…"
THREE!
With lightning speed, they charged.
Nova swung her scalpel, slashing one of the creatures' arms.
SLASH!
The creature roared, black blood spurting out.
Axel slammed his iron rod into the other creature's head.
THWACK!
Bones cracked. The creature staggered.
Logan plunged his syringe into the first creature's neck.
SHREEEK!
The creature convulsed, its body twitching. The poison from the syringe began to work.
The second creature was still standing, growling ferociously. With one swipe, it clawed Axel's chest.
RIP!
Axel staggered back, blood seeping through his shirt.
"Axel!" Nova shouted.
Without thinking, Nova lunged forward, thrusting her scalpel into the creature's throat.
SPLURT!
The creature fell, writhing on the ground.
Silence.
Nova stood breathless, her hand still gripping the blood-soaked scalpel.
Axel pressed his wound, wincing. "Damn… that was close."
Logan sighed in relief. "We did it…"
Carter was still standing in the back, his face ashen. He looked at the creatures' corpses, then at his friends. "We… we actually killed them."
Nova turned to him. "Yes. And we'll kill more."
Axel looked at the corpses with a sharp gaze. "Now we know one thing."
Nova nodded. "They can be killed."
The night grew deeper. The forest was silent again after the brief fight. However, Nova could still feel the air of death—the metallic smell of blood, rotting flesh, and an invisible fear.
Axel took a deep breath, pressing his wound. "We have to move before more of them come."
Nova wiped the black blood from her scalpel. "We need to find their nest. If they were created in the bunker, there must be another place that's their source."
Logan nodded. "Right. We can't just kill them one by one. We need to find the root of the problem."
Carter was still standing frozen, his eyes fixed on the creatures' corpses. "What if… they're not just on this island?"
Axel sighed. "The only way to know for sure is to go back to the bunker, look for clues."
The journey back to the bunker felt more tense. Every shadow seemed to be watching, every snap of a twig made their hearts beat faster.
Nova walked ahead, the flashlight in her hand shining down the cold bunker corridors. The walls were covered in scribbles—old notes, warnings, and what looked like strange codes.
Axel examined the iron shelves filled with old files. His hands sifted through the dusty stacks of paper, looking for something useful. "There are too many documents here. We need something more concrete."
Nova looked towards one of the experiment tables filled with surgical tools. Among the tools, there was a thick notebook, almost covered in dust.
She picked it up and opened it slowly. The first page contained neat but slightly hurried handwriting.
"Subject #47 shows significant progress. Mutation is becoming stable, but aggression is increasing. Uncontrollable."
Logan read from behind Nova. "Subject #47? That means there are more than 40 other subjects?"
Nova turned the next page. There was a rough sketch of a creature similar to the ones they had just fought. The writing below read:
"Incredible strength increase. Nearly unstoppable. Experiment must be stopped before it spreads."
Carter gasped. "But they clearly didn't stop it."
Axel frowned. "There's something on the last page."
Nova opened the last page of the notebook. There was a short note, as if written in a hurry:
"We made a terrible mistake. They can't be destroyed so easily. If anyone finds this… run."
A cold wind blew through the bunker corridor, even though there were no windows or open vents.
Then, from the dark end of the corridor, a sound.
TAP… TAP… TAP…
Footsteps.
Soft. Regular.
They all froze.
Nova shone her flashlight down the corridor. "Who's there?"
No answer.
Axel raised his iron rod, ready to fight. "Do you think it's one of them?"
Logan shook his head slowly. "I don't know…"
Carter took a few steps back, his face pale. "Maybe we should go…"
But before they could move, something emerged from the darkness.
A man with tattered, blood-soaked clothes. His face was pale, his eyes red as if from long sleepless nights.
He looked at them with an unreadable expression.
Then, he spoke.
"You… you're not one of them, are you?"
Nova was surprised. "Who are you?"
The man swallowed hard, his voice hoarse. "I… used to be a scientist here. I created them."
Axel immediately stepped forward and grabbed his collar. "YOU WHAT?!"
The man didn't resist. He just took a deep breath. "Listen, I know I made a mistake. But you won't get out of here alive if you don't listen to me."
Logan narrowed his eyes. "Prove you're not lying."
The man reached into his dirty jacket pocket and pulled out something.
An access card.
He held it up. "There's one last place you haven't found. The place where it all began."
Nova swallowed hard. "Where?"
The man turned towards another, darker corridor in the bunker. "Down below. The main lab."
Carter shook his head frantically. "You're not serious about going there, are you?"
Axel looked at the man sharply. "What's down there?"
The man paused, then took a deep breath. "The truth."
And with that, he turned and began walking down the dark corridor.
Nova looked at Axel. "Are we really going to follow him?"
Axel tightened his grip on the iron rod. "We don't have another choice."
They exchanged glances for a moment. Then, one by one, they began to follow the man.