The city was a graveyard, a ruin of twisted steel and shattered glass, where the air itself carried the scent of death. Fires smoldered in the wreckage of what once had been homes and streets, the glow of embers barely pushing back the endless grey fog that swallowed the ruins whole.
Ahead, the road was blocked—a collapse of buildings forming a wall of stone and debris. The only path forward lay beneath, into the gaping maw of the subway tunnels.
No one wanted to go in.
Elisa stood at the entrance, staring down the cracked, broken stairs leading into the abyss. A gust of air drifted up from below, damp and sour, carrying the scent of mold and rot, of old death and something else—something wrong.
She turned to the others.
Dr. Castellanos gripped her bag tightly, her fingers white from tension. Marry, the mechanic, checked her gun, jaw clenched. Evelyn was breathing shallowly, his grip tight around his flashlight.
"This is the only way," Elisa said finally. Her voice was steady, but inside, a deep unease crept through her bones.
Without waiting for a response, she started down.
One by one, they followed.
The stairs groaned under their weight. The walls were streaked with old water damage, paint peeling like dead skin. The last rays of daylight faded behind them, swallowed by thick, impenetrable blackness.
They flicked on their flashlights.
The beams cut through the dark, revealing a tunnel coated in grime and silence. The subway platform stretched into the distance, tracks vanishing into endless shadow. Old trains sat dead on the rails, rusted husks covered in graffiti and filth.
It was too quiet.
No dripping water. No rats scurrying. Just the silence of something that had long been abandoned… or claimed.
Evelyn exhaled, a trembling breath. "This place feels… wrong."
Marry swept her light across the tunnel. "Something's off."
Elisa's gut twisted. They were not alone.
And then—
Marry screamed. Aaaaaaaah
It happened so fast that they noticed after it was too late.
Something dropped from above in a blur of motion. Clawed fingers locked around Marry's ankle—before anyone could react, she was yanked backward.
Marry's flashlight tumbled across the floor, spinning wildly. For a brief moment, its beam caught the thing that had her.
A figure hunched in the dark, its body elongated, its arms too long, its fingers tipped with jagged claws. Its skin was a mottled gray, stretched thin over a skeletal frame, its mouth wide, grinning, revealing rows of blackened teeth.
It hissed—a wet, gurgling sound—before vanishing into the shadows, dragging Marry with it.
Her screams faded.
Then—silence.
Gunfire exploded in the tunnel.
Elisa fired into the dark, but there was nothing there.
"Where is it?!" Dr. Castellanos shouted, spinning wildly.
A flash of movement. Whoosh
Something crawled along the ceiling. Another shape darted between the seats of an abandoned train.
And then—
They attacked.
One lunged at Evelyn. He barely dodged, stumbling back as jagged claws sliced through the air where his face had been.
Elisa swung her machete, hitting something solid.
Dr. Castellanos fired blindly, bullets sparking off metal.
The creatures didn't swarm like normal undead. They were hunting, striking from the darkness, dragging their prey away one by one.
"Stay together!" Elisa ordered. "Back-to-back!"
The creatures circled them. The light from their flashlights seemed to anger them—but they were smart.
They waited for the opportunity.
And then they lunged again.
A clawed hand shot out of the dark and wrapped around Evelyn's arm.
He yelled, struggling as he was ripped from the group, being dragged toward the black abyss.
Elisa reacted without thinking. She lunged, machete flashing in the light.
The blade slashed through flesh, severing the creature's wrist.
It shrieked, stumbling back.
Evelyn collapsed, gasping, his arm slick with blood—but he was alive.
Something was wrong. For just a second, his hand trembled unnaturally. He clenched his fist. Forced a breath. But didn't say a word.
And the fight continued.
Lena was struggling, surrounded.
One of the creatures lunged—then stopped.
It hesitated at the beam of her flashlight, clicking, snarling—but it didn't step forward.
It wasn't avoiding her—it was avoiding the light.
Elisa's eyes widened.
"They don't like the light!" she shouted.
Elisa turned her flashlight toward another. The creature hissed, retreating.
They had a chance.
"Elisa!" Lena pulled something from her bag—a flare. And with a flick, she lit it.
A burst of red light filled the tunnel.
The creatures shrieked in agony, scattering, retreating into the deepest shadows.
Elisa's heart pounded. They had a way out.
"Move!" she ordered.
With flares blazing, they ran.
The creatures hissed, clinging to the walls, the ceiling, lurking just beyond the glow.
They ran with everything and after a long struggle, the survivors reached the stairs. Daylight was ahead.
They burst out into the ruined city, and the creatures stopped.
They stood just within the tunnel entrance, watching. Clicking. But they did not come out.
The moment they were safe—Evelyn collapsed.
"Elisa… I don't feel right."
She turned—and her stomach dropped.
Evelyn's face was pale, drenched in sweat. His hand trembled violently.
Then—he lifted his sleeve.
A bite mark.
"I… didn't tell you," Evelyn admitted. "I wanted to help. Get you out first."
Dr. Castellanos dropped to his knees. "No… no, no, we can treat it, we can—"
Evelyn shook his head. "We can't."
His eyes locked onto Elisa's.
"I don't want to turn."
Elisa froze at his words.
"Please," he said. "Before it's too late."
Elisa couldn't breathe. She had done this before. Too many times.
Evelyn's voice was steady.
"Keep going," he said. "Survive."
Elisa raised her gun. Her hands trembled.
A single shot echoed through the empty city.
Evelyn fell.
Dr. Lena Castellanos sobbed, clutching her face.
Elisa stood still, eyes hollow... And just stared.
Then, Elisa looked up. She had been watching the sky more and more. Hoping to see something. Hoping to see him.
And this time, there was him. Again.
Above, the Traveler watched.
No sorrow. No relief. Just watching.
How many times had he seen this?
How many more would he?