The darkness seemed to have a weight of its own.
Each step Elias took was a blind movement, guided more by instinct than sight.The tunnel narrowed and descended, as if the earth itself wanted to swallow anyone foolish enough to enter.
The buzzing sound he had heard earlier grew stronger but remained indistinct.It wasn't natural.
It was... manufactured.
Grimm and Ash moved close to his legs, alert, sniffing the stale air.
The old Morrow whimpered faintly on Elias's shoulders but did not awaken.The scientist's weakness was a heavy burden, both physically and emotionally.
Elias drew a deep breath, feeling the damp air fill his lungs.
The sensation was suffocating, as if each breath was an invitation to death.
The tunnel seemed to close in around them.
Mud squelched underfoot.Water dripped steadily from invisible cracks in the stone.
Beyond the distant buzzing, the silence was absolute.
It was like walking inside a tomb.
How many had died here?
Elias tightened his grip on his rifle, senses sharpened.
The danger wasn't just from the Fallen anymore.
It was something older.
Something that perhaps should never have been awakened.
Suddenly, the tunnel opened up.
A wide, empty cavern.
In the center, embedded into the rock, stood something Elias had not expected.
A metal door.
Tall, massive, covered in rust and deep scars.
It looked like it belonged to an old industrial complex, completely out of place among the raw stone.
And beyond the door, the buzzing sound.
Now louder.
A rhythmic, pulsing hum, like ancient engines struggling back to life.
Elias gently set Morrow down.
Grimm and Ash crept forward, sniffing the air, growling low.
Something was wrong.
Not just the sound.
The smell.
The air leaking through the door smelled of burnt ozone, rust... and something else.
Something rotten.
Elias approached cautiously.
The door had a manual lever, heavy and corroded.
He knew opening it could either be salvation or a final trap.
But the alternative — trapped between the Fallen and an abyss — was worse.
He gestured silently for the dogs to stay alert, then grabbed the lever.
He pulled.
The rust resisted, screeching like a wounded animal.
The noise echoed through the tunnels.
For a moment, he thought the door wouldn't budge.
Then, with a dry crack, it shifted just enough to allow passage.
A burst of fetid air escaped.
Grimm recoiled, growling.Ash bared his teeth.
Elias swallowed his discomfort and dragged Morrow through the opening.
The dogs followed without hesitation.
On the other side, the sight was surreal.
Corridors of rusted metal, hanging wires, flickering lights.It looked like an abandoned facility from a bygone era.
Maybe military.Maybe scientific.
The buzzing came from an ancient generator, somewhere deeper within.
But they were not alone.
Footprints in the dust.Torn walls.
Signs of struggle.
And the unmistakable stench of death lingered everywhere.
Elias moved cautiously, every sense tuned to danger.
Grimm and Ash sniffed the ground, guiding his steps.
The silence was oppressive.
The tension, unbearable.
They passed shattered rooms.
Old control centers, with smashed panels and broken screens.
Yellowed papers littered the floor like dead leaves.
Some doors had been torn clean off their hinges, as if something massive had barreled through.
In one room, Elias saw broken containment capsules.
Inside, bloodstains and indistinguishable remnants.
Whatever had been held there was loose now.
Elias felt his stomach twist.
Experiments.Experiments that had gone horribly wrong.
Turning down another corridor, they found the first body.
Or what remained of it.
A man — or what once had been a man — lay torn apart, bones shattered, eyes frozen in a silent scream.
Elias knelt, examining the remains.
It wasn't gunfire.It wasn't knives.
Brute force.
Something had snapped the man like dry twigs.
Ash growled low.
Grimm bristled, hackles raised.
Something was still here.
Something beyond the Fallen.
The buzzing grew louder as they advanced.
They passed an abandoned mess hall.
Overturned metal tables.Rusting trays scattered across the floor.
On one cracked wall, scrawled messages:
"NOT HUMAN.""CANNOT BE STOPPED.""RUN."
Elias paused, staring at the desperate graffiti.
How many had tried to warn others — before dying horribly?
Suddenly, Grimm froze.
Body rigid.
Nose pointed toward a side corridor.
Ash also stiffened, ears perked.
Elias followed their gaze.
At the end of the corridor, something moved.
Something massive.
The shadow of a misshapen creature stretched across the trembling walls.
It was enormous.
Far bigger than any man.
Elongated limbs.Disproportionate legs.
And then, the sound.
Not the buzzing.
Something more primal.
A deep, muffled roar — heavy with rage.
Ice slithered down Elias's spine.
Whatever it was, it wasn't human.
And judging by the trail of devastation, it was deadly.
He didn't hesitate.
He hauled Morrow over his shoulders again and signaled for Grimm and Ash to retreat.
Their only hope was to find another exit — and fast.
As they ran in the opposite direction, the heavy sounds of the creature's movement echoed behind them.
The floor shook beneath its steps.
The roar came again — louder this time.
The hunt had begun.
And this time, there was nowhere to hide.
Ahead, a door hung ajar.
A slim hope.
Elias forced himself into a sprint, heart hammering in his chest.
Grimm and Ash bolted through the gap.
Elias hurled himself after them, dragging Morrow through just as a thunderous impact shook the walls.
A second later, the creature slammed against the narrowing corridor behind them.
Metal screamed under the impact.
Inside the new area, they found themselves in a labyrinth of broken pipes and abandoned equipment crates.
The air was thicker here, choked with dust and the metallic scent of blood.
The buzzing grew distant — replaced by the heavy, grating sounds of the creature prowling after them.
It was relentless.
Grimm barked once, sharp and urgent.
Ash snarled low.
Elias set Morrow down gently against a wall.
He drew his pistol, but in his heart, he knew:if they fought here, they would die.
They had to keep moving.
There had to be another way out.
Even if it was only a faint, desperate hope.
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