The streets were silent.
Not the kind of silence that came with peace. The kind that whispered death.
Evelyn pressed her ear to Mia's chest. Still breathing. Barely. The infected wound was still there, but whatever that thing had done to her—it had lost its grip.
Reaper scanned the rooftops, shotgun at the ready. "That thing didn't run," he muttered. "It's watching."
High above, perched like a predator waiting for the perfect moment, the Mind Eater clung to the side of a broken building. Its grotesque body pulsed, regenerating. The wounds they had inflicted were already sealing, the flesh knitting itself back together in ways that shouldn't be possible.
A voice, not its own, spoke from deep within its throat.
"She is not yours anymore."
Evelyn felt Mia's body shudder in her arms. A response. Her fingers curled weakly, as if she recognized the voice—like it was still inside her.
Evelyn's grip tightened. "We're leaving."
Reaper frowned. "It's not gonna let us."
As if on cue, the Mind Eater moved.
A blur of sinew and madness, it lunged from the building, twisting its body midair. The elongated tongue lashed out, aiming for Evelyn's throat.
The slug caught the creature mid-flight, but instead of stopping, it split itself apart—flesh unraveling into writhing tendrils. The shot tore through empty air.
Then, the tendrils reformed, landing with a sickening crunch mere feet away.
"Evelyn," it whispered.
The way it said her name—like it had always known her.
Like it had crawled inside her thoughts, rooted itself in her fears.
Reaper took a step forward. "Get Mia out of here."
Evelyn didn't argue. She pulled Mia onto her back and ran.
The Mind Eater lunged for Reaper.
Shot after shot, each one aimed for its limbs, its joints. It staggered, twitching with each impact—but never falling.
Not a snarl. Not a growl. A human laugh.
"Your weapons will fail. Your bodies will weaken. The hunger will take you."
Reaper gritted his teeth, pulling the trigger again.
The Mind Eater grinned.
Faster than before, evolved, adapted. Its clawed hand wrapped around Reaper's throat, hoisting him into the air.
Black veins spread across his skin where it touched him.
"Feel it," it hissed. "The gift I give you."
Reaper choked, his body burning. His vision blurred.
Flames erupted across the creature's back.
It howled, dropping Reaper as its flesh blackened and bubbled.
Evelyn stood behind it, makeshift Molotov in hand.
"Come near us again," she said, lighting another bottle, "and I'll burn every last piece of you."
The Mind Eater shuddered… then vanished into the dark.