Rachel sat at the small wooden table in her kitchen, staring into the flickering candlelight. The weak flame danced in the suffocating darkness that pressed in from all sides, a feeble defense against the void that seemed to swallow the town. The fog outside had thickened again, creeping closer, wrapping around the house like a living thing. Her breath felt shallow, each inhale pulling in cold, damp air that chilled her to the bone.

Her mind was numb, her body exhausted from the relentless fear that had gripped her for days. But tonight was different. Tonight, something was coming. She could feel it deep inside her, a pulsing dread that sent shivers through her veins.

Across the table, Jake, Amelia, and Nick sat quietly, their faces gaunt and pale. They had been in this house for days now, trying to figure out a plan, trying to stay one step ahead of the nightmare that had swallowed Ridgemont whole. But Rachel could see it in their eyes—they were running out of time.

No one said a word. The silence was thick, suffocating. And yet, the air was alive with tension, with the sense that something was lurking just out of sight, waiting for its moment.

Suddenly, Jake shifted in his chair, his eyes flicking toward the door as though he had heard something. Rachel’s pulse quickened, her body tensing instinctively. The air in the room grew colder, heavier, and for a brief moment, she swore she saw movement in the corner of her eye—just a shadow, slipping through the fog outside the window.

“I don’t like this,” Jake muttered under his breath, rubbing his hands together as if trying to shake off the chill that had settled into his bones. “Something’s wrong.”

Rachel swallowed hard, her mouth dry. “I can feel it too.”

The others exchanged uneasy glances, but before anyone could respond, a loud thud echoed through the house. It sounded like something—or someone—had slammed against the front door.

Rachel’s heart skipped a beat. She shot to her feet, her pulse racing. The others stood as well, their eyes wide with fear, their bodies tense. Another thud, louder this time, reverberated through the walls. The house felt too small, too cramped, the shadows pressing in from all sides.

Jake stepped toward the door, his hand instinctively reaching for the gun holstered at his side. “Stay back,” he warned, his voice steady but edged with fear.

Rachel’s breath caught in her throat as the door creaked open—slowly, agonizingly. The fog outside spilled into the room, thick and swirling, carrying with it the icy chill of death. She watched, her heart pounding, as the figure of a woman emerged from the mist.

Her mother.

Rachel’s body went rigid. Her mother had disappeared weeks ago, one of the first to vanish when the fog rolled in. And now she stood there, her familiar figure framed in the doorway, her face hidden in shadow.

“Mom?” Rachel’s voice was barely more than a whisper, her mind reeling with disbelief.

But something was wrong. The way her mother stood—rigid, unmoving—her head bowed slightly, as if she were listening to something only she could hear. And when she lifted her head, when her eyes finally met Rachel’s, Rachel’s blood ran cold.

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Her mother’s eyes were empty. Hollow. Cold.

Not her mother.

Rachel stumbled backward, a knot of terror twisting in her gut. “No… you’re not—”

The woman stepped forward, her movements slow, deliberate, like a puppet on strings. Her face was pale, lifeless, and her lips twisted into a mockery of a smile, the corners of her mouth stretching too wide, revealing teeth stained with blood.

Jake raised his gun, his hands trembling. “Stay back!” he shouted.

But the woman didn’t stop. She took another step forward, her eyes fixed on Rachel, the cold smile never leaving her face. Blood dripped from her mouth, pooling at her feet in dark, crimson streaks.

And then, without warning, she lunged.

Jake fired, the sound of the gunshot deafening in the small room. The bullet hit her square in the chest, but she didn’t even flinch. Instead, she twisted unnaturally, her body jerking violently as she lunged at Jake, her fingers clawing at his throat.

Rachel screamed as Jake’s body crumpled under the weight of the attack. Blood sprayed across the walls, splattering in thick, crimson arcs as her mother tore into him, her fingers sinking deep into his flesh. His screams were guttural, raw, filled with agony as she ripped into him, tearing muscle and sinew, exposing bone.

Rachel backed away, her body shaking with terror as she watched in horror. Jake’s body convulsed, his screams gurgling into nothingness as the blood poured from his mouth, his chest a mess of torn flesh and broken ribs.

Her mother—the thing pretending to be her mother—didn’t stop. She kept ripping and tearing, her hands slick with blood, her mouth stretched into that awful, twisted grin.

Nick shouted something, his voice filled with terror, but Rachel couldn’t hear him over the sound of her own heartbeat thudding in her ears. She stumbled toward the hallway, her breath coming in ragged gasps. But as she turned, she saw Amelia standing in the corner, her face pale and frozen in shock.

“Amelia, we have to go!” Rachel cried, her voice shaking with fear.

But Amelia didn’t move.

Her eyes were wide, her mouth slightly open in silent horror. And as Rachel approached her, she realized why.

Amelia’s skin was peeling away—slowly, impossibly—like it was being pulled from her bones. Blood welled up beneath the skin, seeping through the cracks, staining her clothes. Her body was trembling, her limbs twitching as if something was moving beneath her flesh.

Rachel gagged, her stomach twisting violently as Amelia’s body continued to unravel before her eyes. The skin on her face split open, peeling away to reveal the cold, blood-slick skull beneath. Her eyes rolled back, and her mouth twisted into an inhuman grin, her jaw cracking open wider than it should have.

Amelia’s voice—low, guttural—spoke through the blood and bone. “Rachel…”

Rachel staggered back, bile rising in her throat. The room spun around her, the air thick with the smell of blood and decay. She could hear Jake’s gurgling death rattles behind her, the wet, tearing sound of flesh being pulled apart, and her mind screamed at her to run, to get out, to escape.

But as she turned toward the door, she froze.

Nick was gone.

In his place, another version of him stood, cold and lifeless. His face was twisted into an expression of rage, his eyes black, empty pits that bored into her soul. Blood dripped from his mouth, his hands clenched into fists as he stepped toward her, his movements slow and deliberate.

“Rachel,” he growled, his voice low and full of hatred. “You did this.”

Rachel’s chest tightened with terror, her pulse roaring in her ears as she backed toward the door, her entire body trembling. The room was closing in around her, the air thick with blood and death, her loved ones—her friends—twisting into monsters before her very eyes.

And through it all, she could hear the Crawler’s voice—cold, mocking, and filled with malice.

“I’m coming for you, Rachel.”

Her legs finally obeyed her, and she turned, running for the door as the darkness closed in around her, the blood-slicked floor beneath her feet sticky and wet. But even as she escaped into the fog outside, she knew there was no running from this.

The Crawler had taken everything.