Evelyn crawled through the narrow vent, her breath coming in sharp, ragged gasps. The metallic walls felt suffocating, each movement sending echoes through the confined space. Her arms trembled from exhaustion, and the wound on her side throbbed with pain.
Behind her, the mutated creature shrieked in frustration, its massive body unable to fit into the vent. But Evelyn knew it wasn't giving up. It was waiting. Watching.
She had seen the intelligence in its exposed, pulsating brain. This thing wasn't just another mindless infected. It was something worse.
She pushed forward, the dim emergency lighting flickering as she crawled deeper into the air ducts. Dust filled her lungs, but she didn't stop. She needed to find a way out—before it found another way in.
A distant noise made her freeze.
A metallic clang—from up ahead.
Someone—or something—was in the vents with her.
Her heart pounded against her ribs. She strained to listen, but the pounding of blood in her ears nearly drowned out everything else. Carefully, she inched forward, gripping the rusted pipe tighter. If she had to fight in this cramped space, she had no room to miss.
The air grew heavier, the temperature rising. Sweat dripped down her temple.
A figure crouched in the vent ahead.
At first, she thought it was another survivor—until she saw the way its limbs twitched unnaturally, its skin stretched too tightly over its bones. Its head jerked toward her, and she saw the milky-white eyes.
It wasn't human anymore.
Evelyn barely had time to react before it lunged.
She twisted, slamming the pipe against its skull. The confined space made it impossible for the creature to dodge, and the impact sent it reeling. But it didn't stop. Its bony fingers clawed at her, mouth opening impossibly wide, revealing a gaping, black maw lined with jagged teeth.
Evelyn kicked out, shoving it back. The vent shook violently under their combined weight. If they kept this up—
A loud creak split the air.
The metal beneath them gave way.
Evelyn and the infected tumbled down, slamming into the floor below. She landed hard, her vision flashing white with pain. Dust and debris rained around her.
Groaning, she pushed herself up. Her head throbbed, her muscles screaming in protest. The infected lay a few feet away, dazed from the fall.
Evelyn grabbed a jagged metal shard from the wreckage and drove it into the creature's skull. It let out a gurgled hiss before falling limp.
Panting, she staggered to her feet, scanning her surroundings. She had fallen into some kind of underground bunker.
But she wasn't alone.
A pair of glowing red eyes watched her from the darkness.
A low, guttural growl.