The night air carried the stench of rot and blood.
Evelyn's hands trembled as she wiped the sweat from her brow. The Mind Eater's infection was changing. The bodies they left behind weren't just decaying anymore—they were reshaping.
And now, one was hunting them.
A deep, guttural snarl echoed through the ruins of the abandoned street. It was close. Too close.
Reaper pressed his back against the crumbling remains of a brick wall, shotgun raised. "That sound… It's not like the others."
Mia swallowed hard. "That's because it's not."
The Crimson Howler emerged from the shadows.
It wasn't human anymore—if it ever had been. Its body was warped, grotesque. Its muscles bulged unnaturally, stretching too far, too tight. Clawed hands scraped against the asphalt, leaving deep gashes.
But it was the face that made Evelyn's breath hitch.
The jaw was split wide, rows of jagged teeth twitching as drool seeped between them. Its blackened eyes darted, pupils shifting unnaturally like it was hunting with something more than sight.
Evelyn's stomach twisted. It was intelligent.
The moment felt endless. Then—it moved.
A blur of flesh and claws. It was fast.
Reaper barely had time to fire. The shot ripped into its shoulder, but the thing didn't even slow. It leapt—one massive swipe aimed at his throat.
Evelyn reacted on instinct. Blade drawn, she lunged.
The steel cut deep into its side, but the Howler only laughed. Its body convulsed, flesh knitting itself together like it was rejecting the wound.
Mia screamed as the creature turned to her. The moment it lunged, a flash of silver tore through the darkness.
A chain wrapped around its throat.
Father Dominic stood at the far end of the alley, his grip tight on a set of barbed silver chains. The Howler thrashed, but the silver burned into its flesh, searing deep.
"A gift from the Holy Fire," Dominic muttered, voice steady as he yanked.
The Howler shrieked—a sound that reverberated through the air, piercing, unnatural. Evelyn clamped her hands over her ears as the noise dug into her skull.
And then—it wasn't alone.
The echoing howls answered from the distance. Dozens of them.
Mia's voice wavered. "There's… more."
Dominic gritted his teeth. "Then we run."
The Howler struggled against the silver, its body twitching, but it wasn't finished. Its jaw split wider, and something inside its throat began to move.
Evelyn's breath caught.
The Mind Eater was still inside it.
And it was calling them all.