The howls echoed in the night, multiplying.
Evelyn's pulse thundered in her ears as the Crimson Howler thrashed against Dominic's silver chains. Its flesh hissed where the metal burned, but the creature's smile never faded.
It was enjoying this.
"Move!" Reaper barked, pumping his shotgun and unloading another shell into the Howler's knee. The blast sent flesh and bone flying, but the thing barely faltered. Instead, it laughed—a wet, gurgling sound.
And then, it began to change.
Its split jaw opened wider, tendrils of raw muscle tearing from its throat. They snapped out like whips, lashing at the chain that bound it. The silver held—for a moment.
Then, the tendrils coiled around Dominic's arm.
He gasped as the flesh burned through his sleeve. The chains rattled, slipping from his grip as the creature ripped free.
Evelyn didn't hesitate. She grabbed Dominic and hauled him back as the Howler lunged, claws swiping inches from her face.
They turned and sprinted.
The ruined city blurred past them as more howls rose in the distance—dozens of them. The Howler wasn't alone.
It had called the others.
Lucas, perched on a crumbling rooftop, saw them first. "Evelyn! Get down!"
She barely had time to react before Lucas fired.
His sniper round ripped through the Howler's skull, snapping its head back in a spray of black ichor. It stumbled—but didn't fall.
Evelyn's stomach twisted. A headshot should have killed it.
Instead, the creature's flesh writhed, rebuilding itself.
And worse—it was laughing again.
Leon pulled Mia behind an overturned truck, panting. "This isn't normal. These things aren't just evolving. They're adapting."
Dominic clutched his burned arm. "The Mind Eater's infection is… unnatural. It's making them stronger. Smarter."
Reaper reloaded his shotgun. "Then we stop running."
Evelyn clenched her fists. "And fight."
The howls were closing in, dozens of glowing red eyes emerging from the darkness. The creatures were everywhere.
But they wouldn't go down without a war.
Reaper grinned, cracking his neck. "Let's show them what real monsters look like."