The tension in the air was palpable as the echoes of the mechanical clapping faded into the darkness. Leon’s heart pounded in his chest, his body still primed for combat. The presence of the cybernetically enhanced man had set off every alarm in his mind.

But as the seconds dragged on, the stranger did not attack. Instead, he simply stood there, observing.

"We should move," Eric murmured, his grip tightening around his rifle.

Leon exhaled slowly, forcing himself to regain composure. He knew they couldn't afford to linger. They needed a safe place to regroup.

With a final glance toward the eerie figure in the shadows, Leon turned away. "Come on. We’ll deal with him later. Right now, we need to find shelter."

Dr. Carter, still shaken from their recent encounter, nodded silently. They had all been running on fumes, and exhaustion was beginning to take its toll.

Navigating through the Blackwood Facility was like stepping into the ruins of a world that once held promise. The corridors were eerily silent now, with only the faint hum of emergency power systems running in the background.

As they walked, Leon couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. Every flickering light, every shifting shadow, it all felt too unnatural.

But they couldn’t afford paranoia. Not now.

"According to the map," Dr. Carter began, her voice steadier now, "there should be a secondary bunker facility beneath the main building. It was meant as a fail-safe in case the upper floors were compromised."

"How secure is it?" Eric asked.

Dr. Carter hesitated. "If the integrity is still intact, it should be reinforced enough to withstand a full-scale siege. But given what’s happened here…" She let her sentence trail off, the implications clear.

Leon nodded. "Let’s check it out. We need somewhere defensible. We won’t survive another fight at this pace."

They pressed forward, their footsteps echoing through the hallways. The deeper they went, the colder the air became.

Eventually, they reached a large metal hatch, covered in dust and grime. The control panel beside it flickered weakly.

Dr. Carter knelt, brushing the dust away from the interface. "I can override the security, but it might take a few minutes."

Leon and Eric stood guard as she worked. The air was thick with unease, as though the facility itself was holding its breath.

Then...

With a mechanical hiss, the hatch unlocked.

Eric and Leon moved in first, weapons at the ready. Their flashlights cut through the darkness, revealing a vast underground shelter.

The room stretched far beyond what they had expected. Rows of reinforced walls lined the sides, along with crates of supplies, food, water, medical kits, even weapons.

Eric let out a low whistle. "Looks like we hit the jackpot."

Dr. Carter stepped inside, scanning the area. "It's dusty, but everything looks intact. This place might have been abandoned before the worst of the outbreak hit."

Leon set his pack down and took a deep breath. For the first time in days, they had found a place where they could truly rest.

"Alright," he said. "Let’s do a full sweep. Make sure we’re alone before we settle in."

They split up, moving cautiously through the bunker.

Leon found a surveillance room, filled with old monitors that still displayed sections of the facility above. Most of the feeds were down, but a few flickered with distorted images of the hallways they had just passed through.

Then...

One monitor caught his attention.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

A flickering camera feed showed the man with the cybernetic implants, standing motionless in the same place they had left him.

Watching.

Waiting.

Leon clenched his jaw. He knew this wasn’t over.

For now, though, they had time. And time was what they needed.

Tomorrow, they would prepare.

Because in just a few days, the final outbreak would begin.

***

Leon sat in front of the old surveillance monitors, eyes scanning the dimly lit corridors displayed on the flickering screens. The bunker was intact, but for how long? The facility above had already fallen to chaos, and if the final outbreak was truly imminent, they had only a short window to turn this shelter into a fortress.

Eric entered the room, stretching his sore shoulders. “Everything’s clear. No signs of recent activity inside.” He hesitated before adding, “But something about this place gives me the creeps.”

Leon nodded. “It’s too quiet.”

Dr. Carter walked in, wiping dust from a data terminal. "I checked the inventory logs. This bunker was built for long-term survival. We have food, medical supplies, and weapons. But…" She pulled up an old file on the screen. "Power levels are dropping. If we don’t fix it, this place won’t last more than a few days."

Leon exhaled, rubbing his temples. They had shelter, but now came the hard part, securing it.

Hours passed as they systematically searched every room.

Storage Rooms: Stockpiles of canned food, dried rations, and crates of bottled water. Enough to last months, if rationed properly.

Medical Bay: Fully stocked with antibiotics, bandages, and surgical tools. A lifesaver in this world.

Armory: Limited but effective, handguns, rifles, ammunition, and a few explosives.

Generator Room: The biggest problem. The fuel reserves were dangerously low.

Eric whistled as he inspected the supplies. "This is the kind of place people would kill for."

Leon didn’t respond. That was exactly what worried him.

“We can’t stay here unless we reinforce everything,” Leon finally said. “We’ll set up traps, lock down the entry points, and ration supplies.”

Dr. Carter adjusted her glasses. “And what about power?”

Leon glanced at the flickering lights overhead. “I’ll handle it.”

Ever since absorbing the latest evolved core, Leon had felt a tingling current beneath his skin, like static energy waiting to be unleashed. If he could harness it, he might be able to extend the bunker’s power supply.

He made his way to the generator room. The smell of oil and metal filled the air, and the machinery hummed weakly.

Placing his hand on the control panel, he focused, channeling the energy inside him.

A spark jumped from his fingertips.

Then another.

Electricity crackled around his arm, surging into the failing system. The dim overhead lights flickered, then stabilized.

Eric, who had been watching from the doorway, let out a low whistle. “Damn. You’re a walking power station now?”

Leon flexed his fingers, feeling the charge running through them. “Looks like it.”

Dr. Carter’s eyes lit up. “If you can regulate that ability, you might be able to power the entire facility.”

Leon exhaled. That was a long-term goal. For now, keeping the lights on was enough.

With power partially restored, they set to work fortifying the bunker.

Sealing Entry Points: Eric welded the outer hatches shut, leaving only one escape route in case of emergency.

Weaponizing the Hallways: They set up tripwires, barricades, and makeshift traps using supplies from the armory.

Securing the Surveillance System: Dr. Carter managed to restore a few more camera feeds, giving them eyes on the outside world.

As the hours stretched into night, exhaustion settled over them. But for the first time in a long time, they had something close to safety.

Leon stood by one of the small bunker windows, staring into the dark forest beyond. The world outside was crumbling.

And soon, the final outbreak would begin.

Just as he turned away, one of the monitors flickered.

His gaze snapped back to the screen. Something moved in the facility above.

A dark figure, partially shrouded in shadow, stepped into view.

Leon’s stomach dropped. It was the cybernetically enhanced man.

And he was no longer alone. More figures emerged behind him.

Eric and Dr. Carter rushed in as Leon clenched his fists.

“They’ve found us,” he murmured.

Dr. Carter’s eyes widened. “What do we do?”

Leon exhaled slowly. They had prepared. They were ready.

Now, it was time to see if this bunker would hold.

***

The dim glow of the bunker’s overhead lights hummed softly, casting long shadows against the steel walls. Tension gripped the air.

Leon, Eric, and Dr. Carter stood in front of the flickering monitors, watching the figures prowling through the abandoned Blackwood facility above them. The cybernetically enhanced man, taller, stronger, more monstrous than before, led a group of mutated creatures, their glowing eyes scanning the ruins.

“They’re hunting,” Eric muttered, tightening his grip on his rifle.

Leon exhaled sharply. They weren’t ready for a fight yet. If the final outbreak was coming, they needed to survive until then, until they knew exactly what they were up against.

Dr. Carter tapped the monitor. “They haven’t found the bunker entrance yet.”

“For now,” Leon said.

Every instinct in Leon’s body told him to strike first, to take the fight to them before they found a way inside. But he pushed those thoughts aside. Rushing in now would be suicide.

“We reinforce the security system,” Leon decided. “Shut down any access routes they could use to get inside. If they try to break in, we’ll funnel them into kill zones.”

Eric nodded, already moving toward the armory. “I’ll rig the hallways with more explosives. If they try to force their way in, we’ll turn this place into a death trap.”

Dr. Carter frowned. “And what if they don’t come immediately? We can’t stay locked in forever.”

Leon turned to the generator room, where his newfound electricity surged within him. "Then we wait. We train. And when the outbreak happens, we’ll decide who makes it out of this alive.”

For now, the bunker was secure. But the enemy was above them, and the world outside was on the brink of total collapse.

And when the final outbreak struck…

There would be no place left to hide.