The skyscraper loomed ahead, a crumbling husk of metal and shattered glass. Their only hope.
Evelyn's heart pounded as she sprinted, every step echoing like a countdown to death. The Black Maw followed—silent, patient, savoring the chase.
Mia reached the entrance first, slamming into a rusted door and forcing it open. "Inside! Now!"
Reaper dove in next, then Evelyn. The Maw didn't rush. It stood outside, watching them disappear into the shadows.
The building groaned under its own decay. Elevators long rusted shut. Hallways littered with debris. A graveyard of the past.
Reaper checked his shotgun. Two shells. Not nearly enough.
"What the hell is that thing?" Mia hissed, pressing her back against the wall. "It's not just infected."
Evelyn wiped sweat from her brow. "No. It's worse."
A deep, wet gurgle rumbled through the air.
A slow, deliberate drip.
They moved carefully, navigating through the wreckage, every breath controlled, every step precise. The goal was simple: lure the creature higher.
If they timed it right—if the supports were weak enough—they could bring the entire tower down on it.
But the Maw was learning.
A long tendril of black sinew lashed out from the darkness—striking fast. Mia barely dodged, but her sleeve tore. A burning sensation crawled up her arm.
Evelyn grabbed her, yanking her behind cover. "DON'T let it touch you!"
That horrible, wet chuckle.
They kept moving—higher, higher. The tower groaned with each step, the weight of its past threatening to collapse.
Then they reached it.
A tangled mess of support beams and snapped cables.
"Reaper," Evelyn panted, "this is it. We bring it down. Now or never."
Reaper nodded. He didn't question. He just acted.
He planted the last of his C4 on the weakest joints.
Mia covered their backs, her vision blurring, her arm burning.
The Maw was close now.
The shadows behind them twisted and pulsed.
A shape formed from the dark.
It didn't rush. Didn't lunge.
"You think you can kill the dark?"
Evelyn met its gaze. "No."
She slammed the detonator.
A thunderous roar of metal and fire as the skyscraper collapsed inward.
Evelyn, Mia, and Reaper dove for cover as the building came down.
Steel beams crushed the Maw, entombing it in darkness.
The Black Maw was gone.
Then—one last whisper.
A soft, rasping breath beneath the rubble.
"You can't kill the abyss."