The city's ruins trembled as it arrived.
A monstrous silhouette emerged from the crimson mist, its grotesque form shifting, pulsating. Thick tendrils coiled along its exposed skull, twitching as if tasting the air. Its massive claws dragged against the asphalt, carving deep gouges into the earth.
The Flesh Reaper had come.
"Oh, hell no," Reaper growled, gripping his shotgun tighter.
Mia's breath hitched. "That thing is…"
"Not like the others," Evelyn whispered.
The creature didn't snarl or howl—it studied them. Its hollow black eyes locked onto Evelyn, its twisted jaw unfurling in what could have been a grin.
Not like the other infected. It didn't charge wildly. It flowed—its body shifting like liquid muscle, bending in ways a human frame never could.
Leon barely got his rifle up before it was on them.
A blur of pink flesh and jagged bone.
Reaper fired first, blasting a hole clean through its chest. The impact sent a spray of dark ichor across the pavement, but the creature didn't slow.
Dominic shoved Evelyn aside as the Flesh Reaper's claws tore through the air where she had stood. Its elongated tongue lashed out, wrapping around Dominic's wrist—pulling him in.
His scream was drowned by the creature's inhuman gurgle.
Lucas fired from the rooftop—a perfect headshot.
The bullet hit, snapping its skull backward. For a moment, everything froze.
Then, in a grotesque display, the creature's flesh rippled. The bullet wound sealed shut, the bone knitting back together as if time itself reversed.
"Oh, come on!" Reaper roared, unloading another blast into its leg.
The creature laughed.
Not a screech. Not a snarl.
The words were wet, broken, but undeniable. It was learning.
"Fall back!" Evelyn yelled.
They scrambled, dragging Dominic with them as the Flesh Reaper stalked forward, unhurried. It wasn't chasing them.
A new predator had entered the game.