Chapter 64
Into the Unknown
The cold night air wrapped around them like a suffocating shroud. The group stood in silence, staring at the abandoned station they had just escaped. The heavy steel door remained shut, unmoving—almost as if it had never been forced open.
Elena wiped sweat from her brow, her heart still hammering in her chest. Whatever was inside that station wasn’t human.
Mateo was the first to break the silence. “We need to keep moving. We can’t stay out in the open.”
Naomi nodded, still shaken. “But where? If we go back to the tunnels, we might run into those things again.”
Richard checked the ammo in his rifle. “We don’t have a choice. Standing here makes us easy targets.”
Elena exhaled sharply. She pulled out her radio and pressed the button. “Jordan, what’s our best route?”
A crackle of static filled the air. Then—Jordan’s voice, tight with tension.
“You’re not safe yet. There’s movement coming your way.”
Elena’s stomach twisted. “What kind of movement?”
A brief pause.
Then “Run.”
The Chase Begins
The warning was enough. Without hesitation, the group bolted. Their boots pounded against the cracked pavement as they sprinted away from the station. The darkness of the night swallowed them, but they didn’t stop.
Behind them, the air shifted.
A sound—not quite footsteps, not quite breathing—something unnatural—echoed in the distance. It was close. Too close.
Mateo stole a glance over his shoulder, his face paling. “It’s coming!”
Elena didn’t look back. She pushed forward, her lungs burning, her legs screaming.
Jordan’s voice crackled through the radio again. “Half a mile ahead. There’s an abandoned overpass. Get there. NOW.”
Half a mile.
It might as well have been fifty.
The sound behind them grew louder—closer. A slithering, shifting noise, like something moving just beneath the surface of reality itself.
Then—the ground trembled.
An Unexpected Fall
Without warning, the pavement beneath Richard gave way.
He let out a sharp yell as the concrete collapsed, dragging him down into the darkness.
“RICHARD!” Naomi screamed.
Elena skidded to a stop, eyes wide. A gaping hole had opened in the ground, a jagged pit where Richard had just been.
Mateo dropped to his knees, gripping the edge. “Richard! Are you okay?”
Silence.
Then, a weak groan.
Elena pulled out a flashlight, shining it down. Richard was about ten feet below, lying on his side, blood trickling from a gash on his forehead.
“I’m… fine,” he muttered, trying to sit up.
But Elena saw something else.
The shadows in the pit… they were moving.
Her heart pounded. “Richard, you need to get up. NOW.”
Richard followed her gaze—and froze.
Something stirred in the darkness around him.
Something was waking up.
A Desperate Rescue
“Throw me the rope!” Mateo shouted.
Amira was already digging through her pack, yanking out a coil of rope. She tossed one end to Mateo, who secured it to a nearby pipe.
“Hurry,” Naomi urged.
Richard scrambled to his feet, his face pale. He reached for the rope just as—
The darkness moved.
A tendril—long, black, writhing like smoke come to life—shot out from the pit, lashing toward Richard’s ankle.
He barely dodged it.
“Faster!” Mateo yelled.
Richard leaped for the rope, gripping it tight as the darkness beneath him surged.
Elena grabbed the other end and pulled with all her strength.
The shadowy tendrils twisted, reaching for Richard—but they never fully emerged from the pit.
They couldn’t.
They were trapped in the darkness below.
Richard’s feet hit solid ground. “Go, GO!” he gasped.
They didn’t hesitate.
They ran.
Reaching the Overpass
The group didn’t stop until they saw the looming structure ahead—the overpass Jordan had mentioned.
It was old, rusted, with pieces of concrete missing, but it was high ground. And right now, they needed every advantage they could get.
Panting, Elena pressed her back against the cold metal of the guardrail, her mind racing.
“What the hell was that?” Richard muttered, wiping the blood from his face.
Elena’s grip on her rifle tightened. “I don’t know. But it’s getting stronger.”
Jordan’s voice crackled through the radio, sharp and urgent.
“You need to listen to me. That thing? It’s not just hunting you anymore.”
A heavy silence fell over the group.
Then—Jordan spoke again.
“It’s learning.”
