The survivors had been on edge since Xander's disappearance. They had been waiting for him to return, holding onto the fragile thread of hope that he would somehow come back and pull them from the brink. But as the minutes became hours, that hope began to fade.
Now, with the distant echo of Mark's panicked shout still ringing in their ears, they knew that time had run out. They were on their own.
Greg had already made his stance clear. He wasn't here for hope, for waiting. His eyes were locked on the door, and every muscle in his body was coiled, ready for whatever came next. The survivors were huddled in the back of the room, each person keeping a wary distance from the door, hands tight on whatever makeshift weapons they had. Jared was shifting from foot to foot, his face pale, while Laura stood with her back to the wall, staring out into the hallway with an intensity that suggested she was waiting for something to happen.
"Everyone stay sharp," Greg growled, his voice low and harsh. "We don't know how many are coming, but we need to be ready."
Laura glanced at him, but there was no defiance in her eyes anymore. It was all fear—fear of what lay outside, and fear of what might already be lost. Still, she gave a nod, her fingers twitching around a jagged piece of metal she'd scavenged.
The sounds outside grew louder, shuffling footsteps, the unmistakable hiss of something not quite human. Greg's grip tightened on the rebar he still carried, his mind racing, calculating their next move. This wasn't just a random group of monsters. They were smarter. And they were coming for them.
Then the door slammed open.
A monstrous shape filled the doorway, long, spindly limbs scraping across the floor as a grotesque, insect-like creature entered. Its eyes were massive, yellow and unblinking, and it emitted a high-pitched screech that made the survivors' ears ring. But this was just the beginning. From the darkness behind it, more creatures emerged, each one worse than the last. They were larger, faster, and their movements were too synchronized.
The room erupted into chaos.
"Stay together!" Greg barked, but it was already too late. The creatures were upon them, their claws and teeth snapping in the air, forcing the survivors into defensive positions. Laura and Jared swung their weapons, slashing at the creatures as they came too close, but the monsters were relentless.
"Fuck!" Jared shouted, his eyes wide with fear as one of the creatures lunged at him. He barely dodged, but the monster's claws grazed his arm, leaving a gash that bled freely.
"Keep your distance!" Greg shouted, his eyes darting between the creatures and the survivors. He swung his rebar at one of the monsters, smashing it across the skull, but it didn't go down. It only staggered for a moment before lunging again. Greg's breath was heavy, his heart pounding as he fought back, but it was clear they were outmatched.
"We're not going to survive this," Laura muttered under her breath, her voice breaking as she backed up toward the corner. Her hands were trembling around her weapon, her breath coming in shallow gasps.
Greg gritted his teeth. "Shut up, Laura. Focus."
But even his words couldn't mask the creeping dread that gnawed at his mind. They couldn't keep fighting like this. They were going to die.
Greg swung his rebar with all his might, his body trembling with the strain, as one of the creatures lunged at him. It was huge—its legs too long, its body too thin, the chitinous armor of its exoskeleton gleaming sickly in the dim light. Its massive, bulbous eyes locked on him with unnerving intelligence, and its razor-sharp claws scraped the floor like a death sentence written in advance.
Greg barely managed to twist away as its claws slashed through the air where his head had been a second earlier. The rebar slammed into the creature's skull with a sickening crack, but it didn't drop. It screeched, stumbling back slightly, but it was still alive, still coming.
"Keep it back!" Greg yelled as he raised the weapon again, his body burning with exhaustion.
Jared, still reeling from the wound on his arm, rushed to his side, swinging his pipe. He caught one of the creature's spindly limbs with a solid thwack, but the monster shrieked and jerked away, its movements unnaturally fast. The force of the creature's retaliatory swipe knocked Jared back, sending him crashing to the ground. He gasped in pain, clutching his side as blood soaked through his tattered shirt.
"Jared!" Laura screamed, but her own battle was far from over. She swung her jagged metal rod at a different creature that had closed in on her. Her attack landed hard, and it made the monster stumble, but it wasn't enough to stop it. Her breath came in short, ragged bursts, fear evident on her face as she dodged another swipe from the creature.
Greg fought desperately to push the creature back, but it was faster and stronger than he was. He could feel his arms shaking with the weight of the rebar, his vision blurring as his muscles screamed in protest.
A horrible sound filled the air—a loud, wet, sickening crack—as the creature finally buckled under the weight of Greg's blows, its yellow eyes dimming. It collapsed in a heap, twitching one last time before finally going still.
But before anyone could breathe a sigh of relief, another screech echoed through the room. From the darkness beyond the door, more creatures emerged—larger, more menacing than the first. They came like a tidal wave, surging forward without hesitation, pushing the survivors back even further.
"Fall back!" Greg ordered, but his voice was drowned out by the noise of the advancing creatures.
The survivors scrambled to reposition themselves, but the monsters were relentless. One of the new creatures, even more horrifying than the last, lunged straight for Jared. Its enormous claws ripped through the air, and with a guttural scream, it knocked Jared to the ground again. Blood poured from his fresh wounds as he tried to crawl away, his hands slipping in the growing pool of crimson beneath him.
Greg was too late to help him, as another creature bore down on him. It was faster than any of the others, and it struck like lightning, its claws slashing through the air, catching Greg's shoulder. He grunted, staggering back, but there was no time to recover.
The room was becoming a battlefield, and each survivor was fighting their own personal war. Laura stood at the far side of the room, trying to fend off a creature twice her size. She swung her jagged metal rod with all her strength, narrowly dodging a swipe from the creature's claws. Sweat dripped down her face as she steadied her breath, trying to focus.
The creature lunged again, and this time, she managed to land a strike directly into its side, puncturing the soft, fleshy part of its body. It howled in pain, staggering backward, but it was far from defeated. Laura backed up against the wall, her back pressed tightly to it as she found herself trapped. She swung again, but this time the creature anticipated her move, catching the rod in its jaws and ripping it from her hands with a sickening snap.
Laura's heart pounded as she scrambled for another weapon, panic creeping into her chest.
Greg locked eyes with Laura. She was cornered, her back pressed against the wall, struggling to fend off two creatures at once. Her hands were trembling as she swung the jagged metal rod she had picked up, each swing barely deflecting the monstrous claws that snapped at her.
"Laura!" Greg yelled, his voice cracking through the chaos.
But the moment the creatures turned their attention toward her, Greg knew she couldn't hold on much longer. He felt strange , his muscles were burning, and there was a certain density to the air around him that was growing more concrete.
Before Greg could fully process the situation, an overwhelming feeling surged through him. He felt it deep in his chest—something wild and untamed. It was as if the very air around him was thickening, growing heavy with an unfamiliar pressure. He could feel the creatures' attention shifting in his direction, all of them instinctively turning toward him.
His body hummed with energy—energy that didn't belong to him, not in the way he was used to. But it was there, and he was beginning to understand its gravity.
He could feel their every movement. It was as if he could taste the heat in their breaths, sense the twitching of their limbs. His eyes flicked over the monsters in the room, every one of them locked on him. And then, it happened—he felt something pulling the creatures toward him. Not physically, but mentally, emotionally—like an irresistible force.
It's like I'm controlling them, he thought, but there was no time to question it.
Without thinking, he called out, "Laura! Get out of the corner!"
She looked up, eyes wide, but before she could move, one of the creatures lunged at her again. Greg didn't hesitate.
The power that had surged within him exploded outwards. A wave of unseen energy rippled through the room like an expanding aura. The creatures froze for a moment, their attention sharply refocused on him, as if the air itself had become saturated with his presence. The ones closest to him staggered, their movements slowing as if they had just been slapped by an invisible force.
They can't even move properly, Greg thought, feeling the shift. He had no idea what was happening, but he could feel it. He could feel them. The creatures were now drawn to him in a way that was almost unnatural—like moths to a flame.
Without thinking, he surged forward, his rebar swinging through the air with raw power. As it collided with the creature in front of him, a heavy, satisfying crack rang out. The beast recoiled, stunned and unbalanced, before it collapsed. But even as he struck, he could sense more creatures approaching.
With his heart racing, he turned back to Laura. She was still trapped, but now Greg's power seemed to reach out to protect her, pulling the attention of the creatures toward him even more strongly.
A heavy weight settled over his chest, a pressure that felt like it could crush him, but he ignored it. The creatures' focus was squarely on him now, and that was all that mattered.
Greg raised his rebar again, a surge of confidence rushing through him as the aura pulsed stronger around him, pulling the monsters ever closer. He could feel their hatred, their hunger, their desire to tear him apart—but it didn't matter.
"Come on then," Greg growled, his voice rough, "let's see who breaks first."
The creatures were almost upon him when the air around him shifted again. The power inside him was shifting—becoming more refined. He didn't fully understand what was happening, but it was like something inside him had unlocked, and the creatures couldn't stop themselves. They were drawn to him like iron to a magnet. The pressure around him intensified, a nearly suffocating weight, but it gave him strength.
Before the monsters could close the distance, Greg slammed his rebar into the nearest creature with a brutal force, his muscles screaming in protest, but the power within him amplified the impact, sending the beast crashing to the ground. It was followed by a satisfying thud as it hit the floor.
The room had quieted slightly, and Greg could feel the shift—the power he had awakened was controlling the flow of the fight. He wasn't just holding back the creatures anymore. He was directing them, guiding their every move. They were his focus. His command.
But he knew he couldn't hold it forever. He was already starting to feel the exhaustion, the weight of his newfound power threatening to drag him down.
Laura's eyes widened as she saw what he had done. She was still breathing hard, but her fear had been replaced with a flicker of something else—something like hope.
"Greg... What did you—"
But before she could finish, another creature lunged at him. The surge of energy flowed through him again, and the creature's limbs froze mid-air as if caught by an invisible hand. He used the moment of hesitation to swing, striking it down with a brutal blow.
But there was no time to relax. More monsters were coming. And Greg was starting to feel the strain. The aura was still drawing them in, but it was taking everything he had to keep it under control.
He gritted his teeth. There was no backing down now. The fight was only just beginning.