Chapter 66
A War They Didn’t Ask For
The cold steel walls of the maintenance room felt like a temporary shield—thin, fragile, and utterly useless against the horror lurking outside. The flickering light overhead cast uneven shadows, making everything feel distorted, almost unreal.
Elena pressed her back against the door, trying to steady her breathing.
They had made it to the train yard.
But they weren’t safe. Not yet.
Mateo peered out through a rusted window, his fingers gripping his rifle. “It’s out there. It’s waiting.”
Richard ran a hand through his damp hair, his voice tense. “How long do we have before it figures out how to get in?”
Jordan’s voice crackled through the radio. “Not long.”
A heavy silence settled over them.
Elena exhaled sharply and turned to face the group. “Then we use the time we have to come up with a plan. Because if we don’t stop this thing, it’s going to hunt us down—one by one.”
Naomi shifted uncomfortably. “And how exactly do we kill something that absorbs bullets?”
Elena tightened her grip on her weapon. “We hit it where it hurts.”
Amira raised an eyebrow. “And where is that?”
Elena looked at Jordan’s radio, voice steady but firm. “Jordan, tell me everything you know about this thing.”
A pause.
Then, Jordan spoke.
“You’re not going to like the answer.”
Understanding the Enemy
The radio buzzed with interference before Jordan’s voice returned. “I’ve been watching it. Studying it. It’s not just a monster. It’s… changing.”
Mateo frowned. “What do you mean?”
Jordan hesitated before answering. “It wasn’t always like this. It used to be smaller, less aware. But the more it hunts, the more it learns. The more it consumes, the stronger it becomes.”
Naomi’s stomach twisted. “You’re saying it feeds on people?”
A beat of silence.
Then—“It feeds on fear.”
The words sent a chill through the room.
Elena clenched her jaw. “So the more we run, the more afraid we get… the stronger it becomes.”
Jordan sighed. “Exactly.”
Richard let out a curse. “That’s just fantastic.”
Elena ignored him. Her mind was already working. “Then we have to stop running.”
Amira stared at her. “You’re not seriously suggesting we fight this thing head-on?”
Elena met her gaze. “It doesn’t expect us to. It expects us to be afraid, to run. That’s what it’s counting on. But if we change the game—if we force it into a fight it’s not prepared for—we might have a chance.”
Mateo crossed his arms. “And what? We just stand out there in the open and hope it lets us shoot it?”
Elena shook her head. “No. We trap it.”
Setting the Trap
The idea formed quickly. The train yard was old, full of broken structures, debris, and most importantly—electrical wiring.
Jordan guided them through their earpieces. “There should still be some power running through the old maintenance tunnels. If you can find a way to channel it, you might be able to use it against the creature.”
Mateo nodded. “Electricity. That could work.”
Elena didn’t hesitate. “Then we find the power source and set this thing up.”
The group moved quickly, navigating through the rusted ruins of the train yard. They found a half-broken electrical panel inside a maintenance shack, sparking with unstable energy.
Richard inspected it, whistling low. “It’s not much, but if we reroute the current through the rails, we might be able to give that thing a shock it won’t forget.”
Naomi grabbed some stray cables. “Then let’s do it.”
Time was running out.
And they knew it.
The Darkness Closes In
As they worked, the air outside grew heavier.
A strange silence settled over the train yard. The kind of silence that came before a storm.
Then—
A deep, unnatural growl echoed through the night.
Mateo’s hands stilled. “It knows.”
The shadows beyond the broken trains shifted.
Something was out there. Watching. Waiting.
The Hunter was ready.
Elena took a steady breath, gripping her weapon. The trap was almost set.
They had one shot.
One chance.
Either they won this fight—
Or they didn’t make it out at all.
