The tunnel behind them swarmed with Hollowed—twisting, shrieking, hungering. Below, the pit churned with writhing bodies, fingers clawing at the air. But it was the figure above them that froze Evelyn's breath in her throat.
A silhouette crouched in the shadows.
Its skin rippled, shifting like molten flesh, veins pulsing with unnatural life. A long, forked tongue lashed the air, dripping with viscous saliva. Blades of bone jutted from its forearms, serrated like the teeth of a saw.
Mia gasped. "What the hell is that?"
Reaper's grip on his shotgun tightened. "A Crimson Hunter."
The creature tilted its head.
In the blink of an eye, it was on them.
A blur of red tendrils and slashing claws.
Reaper fired—the shell tore into its chest.
With inhuman speed, it slammed into him, sending him crashing into the rusted subway tracks.
Mia screamed as the creature snapped its head toward her. A twisted grin carved across its grotesque face.
She grabbed a rusted pipe from the ground and swung—hard.
The impact cracked across the creature's skull.
It snarled—then its head split open.
Rows of needle-like teeth gnashed inside.
Evelyn's stomach turned. "Jesus Christ."
The Hunter lashed out with a tendril.
It wrapped around her throat.
Mia fired—the bullet pierced its shoulder, black ichor spraying the walls.
The Hunter whipped around.
With unnatural agility, it leaped onto the tunnel ceiling, clinging like an insect.
And from the darkness—more glowing eyes emerged.
More Crimson Hunters.
Reaper groaned, pushing himself up. "We need to move—NOW!"
The creatures dropped from the ceiling.
The tunnel opened into an abandoned subway platform. Rusted train cars sat motionless, half-buried in rubble. A broken maintenance ladder led up into the city ruins above.
Evelyn pointed. "There! We climb!"
Reaper lifted his shotgun, firing a shell that blasted one of the Hunters back into the pit.
Mia scrambled up first, wincing at her wound.
Reaper followed—but a Crimson Hunter snatched his leg.
Evelyn reacted without thinking—she jammed the pipe into its gaping mouth.
The creature convulsed, black ichor spewing from its maw.
Reaper kicked it off, climbing up after them.
As they reached the top, the last thing Evelyn saw was the Crimson Hunters crawling up the walls like a wave of nightmares.
Then—the hatch slammed shut.
They collapsed, gasping.
For a moment, there was only silence.
Then—a deep, guttural voice from the shadows.
A man stood in the darkness, his body pulsing with the same Crimson infection.
Dr. Malcolm Voss grinned.
"The evolution has already begun."