Chapter 4 CHAPTER FOUR
Adrian ran the moment the walls burst open.
The chamber behind him exploded into chaos as pale creatures poured through the tearing flesh like insects flooding from a broken nest. Screams echoed violently through the underground while survivors scattered in every direction, some fighting, most simply trying to escape.
A man near the entrance didn’t make it three steps before something with too many arms dragged him screaming into the dark.
Blood splashed across the floor.
Adrian forced himself not to look back.
His boots slammed against wet organic ground as he sprinted through one of the side tunnels, gripping the fire axe tightly while the flashlight Keller had given him bounced wildly in his other hand.
The tunnel curved sharply downward.
Heavy screeches echoed behind him.
They were following.
His breathing turned ragged quickly. His stamina already felt dangerously low after everything that had happened above, and every movement sent pain through the claw wounds across his chest and shoulder.
The system window flashed briefly in front of him.
Stamina: 19/100
Warning: Physical exhaustion detected.
“Not now,” Adrian muttered through clenched teeth.
A loud crash echoed somewhere ahead.
He stopped instinctively.
The tunnel opened into another chamber, smaller this time, filled with overturned train debris fused into the Nest walls. Flesh covered the ceiling in thick pulsing layers while dim blue growths provided just enough light to see movement.
Several survivors were trapped inside.
Three men and a young woman stood backed against a collapsed subway car while small creatures circled them slowly.
Adrian’s stomach tightened.
The monsters resembled oversized hairless rats, though their bodies looked partially human. Tiny arms protruded from their sides while clusters of black eyes twitched across their skulls.
There were at least twelve of them.
One of the men spotted Adrian instantly.
“Help us!”
The creatures reacted immediately.
Three of them turned toward Adrian at once.
His pulse spiked.
One lunged.
Adrian swung the axe clumsily.
The blade missed completely.
The creature slammed into his chest hard enough to knock him backward. Claws tore across his arm while another monster rushed toward his legs.
Panic exploded through him instantly.
Too fast.
They were too fast.
Adrian kicked wildly, barely knocking one creature sideways before another bit into his calf.
Pain shot upward violently.
He screamed and brought the axe down desperately.
CRACK.
The creature’s skull burst apart beneath the blade.
The others screeched loudly.
Then they all attacked together.
Adrian stumbled backward in pure panic as claws slashed toward him from multiple directions. One creature leaped onto his shoulder while another tore into his jacket sleeve.
He swung blindly.
Missed again.
The axe slammed into the floor instead.
A rat creature lunged directly toward his throat.
A metal pipe suddenly smashed into it midair.
The young woman from beside the subway car rushed forward with a scream, driving the creature sideways before grabbing Adrian’s arm.
“Move!”
Adrian staggered backward with her just as more creatures swarmed the area where he’d been standing.
One of the men wasn’t fast enough.
The rat creatures piled onto him instantly.
His screams echoed horribly through the chamber while flesh tore apart beneath snapping jaws. Blood sprayed across the floor as the surviving two men tried desperately to pull him free.
It lasted less than ten seconds.
When the creatures finally backed away, only pieces remained.
Adrian’s stomach twisted violently.
The woman shoved a rusted spear into his hands. “Stop freezing and fight!”
Another creature rushed toward them.
This time Adrian forced himself to stay still.
Think.
The creatures moved quickly, but their bodies were light.
Small.
One lunged directly at him again.
Adrian sidestepped at the last second and slammed the spear sideways instead of stabbing.
The creature crashed against the wall.
Before it could recover, he drove the broken spearhead down through its neck.
Black fluid burst upward.
A notification flashed instantly.
Predator Eliminated.
Weapon Proficiency Increased.
The remaining creatures screeched angrily.
Then Adrian noticed something.
Their eyes.
The blue fungal growths around the chamber made the creatures hesitate whenever bright light hit them directly.
Sensitive vision.
The flashlight.
“Turn off the lights!” Adrian shouted suddenly.
The woman stared at him like he was insane. “What?”
“Do it!”
He grabbed Keller’s flashlight and pointed it directly toward the nearest creature.
The monster shrieked violently and recoiled backward.
The others reacted similarly.
Adrian’s mind raced.
They hunted in low light.
Bright focus disrupted them.
One of the surviving men finally understood and smashed the glowing fungal growth beside him with a metal rod.
Darkness swallowed half the chamber instantly.
Adrian clicked the flashlight on again.
The beam cut through the darkness sharply.
The creatures recoiled.
“Keep them in the light!”
This time they moved together.
The woman drove her spear through one creature while Adrian used the flashlight to force another backward into exposed train debris. A survivor crushed its skull with a broken chunk of concrete before another rat creature bit straight through his wrist.
The man screamed horribly.
Adrian reacted instinctively, burying the axe into the monster’s spine.
More notifications flashed rapidly.
Experience Gained.
Level Increased.
Minor Adaptation Detected.
But there was no time to read them.
The creatures were becoming more aggressive.
Hungrier.
One suddenly sprinted past Adrian entirely and tackled the injured man onto the floor. Another joined immediately after.
The man’s screams turned desperate.
“Help me!”
Adrian moved automatically.
Then stopped.
There were too many.
If he rushed forward carelessly, he would die too.
The hesitation lasted only seconds.
But it was enough.
The man’s scream ended abruptly with a wet crunch.
Silence followed.
The remaining creatures fed viciously on the corpse while black blood spread across the chamber floor.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The young woman slowly lowered her weapon, breathing hard.
Adrian stared at the dead man while guilt twisted heavily inside his chest.
He could have tried.
Maybe.
But survival had frozen him.
A notification appeared quietly before his eyes.
New Skill Acquired.
Scavenger Instinct Lv.1
Enhanced perception toward weakened prey, corpses, and consumable remains.
Adrian’s breathing slowed.
The dead bodies in the room suddenly felt louder somehow.
The gray smoke rising from the corpses looked thicker now.
Inviting.
The hunger inside him stirred again.
And for the first time
part of him wants to have a taste .....
