A silent lull pervaded the tunnel as Evelyn and Liam marched through. Since the HVAC vents were breached on the southernmost entrance, they made their escape through the northern one that ran due east. Hollows were at their least active here, having been the most driven in and out of hibernation when the pair reclaimed the outer bunker. Many had lapsed into a permanent coma after their bodies were drained of energy, leaving them trapped like embalmed mummies in a tomb. Others were only pretending. The moment their receptors detected some new sense, they’d spring back to life. That’s what made this trek so delicate. When deprived of nourishment for too long, hollows became as desperate as any starved predator.

It had been quiet since they cleared the bunker. Too quiet for Evelyn’s liking. Where were these Hunters hiding?

Evelyn clutched her M4 as they walked on, scanning the path in front. Liam was not far behind. His boots crunched against the pavement every couple of seconds. It was the only reminder that he still walked behind her.

They both knew the drill. No loud noises. No sudden movements. Even holding the M4 was pushing it. Suppressors only went so far in noise dampening. A single gunshot could rouse half the tunnel.

Slowly, surely, they marched to safety. Evelyn glanced behind occasionally to ensure she wasn’t alone, but Liam was always there. Somewhere along the way, he slung his Remington over his shoulder and removed the portable crib from his pack. Leah rocked back and forth between his arms as they made progress.

That hurt. Even though they were all hidden beneath walls of plastic, the look on his face was still etched into her mind. He always had it whenever she performed the necessary. Like she was the soulless monster and not his wife. Did he think any of this was easy for her?

Shut it down, Evelyn. Shut it down. She could have some elongated internal struggle later, as long as they first got through this tunnel.

Liam yanked her back. She looked over her shoulder where he remained. Stuck as a statue.

Evelyn flashed a hand signal. What?

Listen, Liam responded.

She held her breath and waited. Her eyes strained to pierce the veil of green-tinted shadows that lay behind. A moment passed unopposed. Then another. Still nothing. Her lungs cried for oxygen, but she kept her throat locked. Nothing. Evelyn wanted no more to keep going, but she knew better than anyone not to underestimate a sound in the dark.

A hiss came at last, barely audible despite the confined space. A hollow. Far off, perhaps two hundred yards away. But it was out there. Awake and moving.

Until something cut it off. There was no denying the louder, more unmistakable sound of flesh squelching as the hollow’s hiss ended.

Evelyn patted Liam’s shoulder and nodded. The two swapped spots. Him in the lead. Her in the rear. They resumed their shuffle with more urgency, Evelyn’s finger once again wrapped around the trigger of her M4.

No more words were needed. They were being followed.

On and on the pair went. Evelyn scanned the tunnels when able, but their goggles were pre-Hollowing tech. The lenses only had so much resolution after this much time. The world blurred past fifty yards.

She didn’t need to see their enemies to know they were closing in. Every so often, the distinctive moan of a hollow flowed down the tunnel, only to disappear seconds later. The further they pushed, the closer the sounds originated. Liam increased his pace, and Evelyn did the same.

But then a nearby hollow suddenly snapped to life. Its eyelids lurched open, overflowing with green light under the lens of her goggles. It started to track Liam’s movements. The jaws clattered next as the hollow roused from slumber.

Evelyn immediately threw her M4 over her shoulder and advanced, her knife now drawn. The hollow honed in on her. Too late. She’d already slipped her blade into the base of its jaw, straight to the brain. The hollow went limp.

Two of its neighbors began to stir from her sudden charge, but this wasn’t her first rodeo. The closest hollow went down without a fight. Quick and easy before it could sit up. The second was more exposed, so Evelyn went the safer route. One slash through the back of the neck was all she needed. The hollow stared powerlessly as she tip-toed away. It wasn’t like it could do anything else now that it had been paralyzed from the neck down.

The remaining hollows continued to lie in peace. None had noticed their friends get murdered.

Evelyn breathed deep. Too close. Sure, she’d had her share of near-misses in this tunnel, but the safest solution had always been to sit and wait until the hollows forgot about her. Not today though. They didn’t have the time. Their attackers were getting closer by the minute.

The tunnel was almost at its end. The familiar glow of nighttime entered the otherwise opaque dark. She could see the shadows of surface hollows shambling about. The pair slackened further to compensate.

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Behind, another hollow’s moan died out, and Evelyn realized the trap they’d wanted into. HBRS pseudo-cells could partly create biomechanical energy by sunlight, making the undead photosynthetic. Not enough to feed into a Rez, but enough to allow hollows to walk around forever, provided they had access to the sun. This made hollows outside behave differently depending on how far into the tunnel they moved. The ones near the blast doors were the most sensitive and aggressive because of a lack of sunlight, while those on the surface were more active but duller overall. Thus, the closer Evelyn and Liam came to the surface, the slower they had to go to keep from being spotted.

But their enemies behind them didn’t have this handicap. Rezzers were at their greatest risk when hollows were at their weakest. The increase in aggression made them sensitive enough to pick up the subtlest changes in pheromones and eye color. In the past, this would have been enough of a defense to keep rezzers at bay, but clearing most of the hollows when retaking the outer bunker had finally bit them in the ass. What few hollows remained were easy to defeat by Hunters. Meanwhile, the ones on top wouldn’t be half as dangerous. Rezzers could stroll right by if they kept their heads down.

Evelyn watched as a hollow sprung to life behind, just at the edge of sight. But rather than facing her, it twisted into the shadow and started crawling back. The hollow vanished, and the heavy thud came only seconds later.

There was no way out of it. This was a race that they weren’t winning.

Just a little more, Evelyn told herself as they picked up their pace again. They could see it. The edge of the tunnel. From there, it was just a short skip to the fence. Then they could run. As fast and as far as legs could carry. All they had to do was clear this final stretch.

A sob broke out from between Liam’s arms. The two froze for what could have been an eternity. Crying rose.

Baby cries.

Oh God, not now! Evelyn must have fucked the dosage in the sedative. Leah had woken too soon!

Liam tried to calm their daughter, but it was too late. The hollows had caught the sound, and all their attention was now focused on them.

“Flares!” Evelyn shouted before ripping off her helmet and night-vision goggles. Liam attempted the same, but it was a struggle with Leah shaking in his arms.

The world went pitch black, but there was no mistaking the moans of the dead closing in. Evelyn reached for her waist and yanked. With a snap against her thigh, the flare ruptured with blazing red light.

The hollows were everywhere! A ring had formed around them, held back only by the sudden, intense flash.

“Run!” Evelyn ordered as she broke into a sprint, flare still in hand. A gap formed in the ring, though it was small. Hollows could only be stunned by this trick for so long.

They reached the entrance, only for a larger wave of surface-side hollows to turn their attention toward them. Evelyn threw the first flare and drew another, and Liam did the same. The hollows upfront froze up, but those behind shoved them onward. There were too many!

“Cover me!” Liam shouted, making a break for the fence.

Evelyn tossed her flare into the tunnel to buy more time, then went for the M4 again. Leah’s wailing reached its peak.

Everything slowed down. The hollows all focused onto Leah. Onto her daughter. They wanted her.

Evelyn took aim. Her gunshots tore through the crowd, downing any monster that dared get too close. When one magazine reached its end, she tossed another in with a speed she did not know she had. Her shoulder burned from the recoil, but she did not stop. She could not stop. Not until Leah was out.

Liam burst through the fence’s gate, not a moment too soon. Hollows crashed into it seconds after, but the metal wiring held firm. They were safe.

Then Evelyn remembered herself. She glanced over her shoulder. Dozens of slathering, grey faces were mere feet away.

She dropped her M4 and made her own escape. There was no way to reach the fence gate. She’d have to scale the closest part. But the moment she drew near, the hollows redirected their wrath on her. Red light burst free as she pulled her final flare, but the hollows merely blinked before advancing another step. They were already acclimating.

Desperately, Evelyn waved her flare around. She needed to buy herself time. Something. Anything. But there were too fucking many, and they weren’t slowing down!

Ichor exploded out from the nearest hollow as a crack roared above their moans. Another dropped a second later with a bullet to the head.

Liam had entered the fray, using his Remington to take potshots from the cover of the fence. Evelyn used the chance to scramble to safety. Bony fingers clawed for her legs, but they couldn’t get a grip against her plastic suit. Pain stung as she floundered over the barbed wiring. Her shoulder rocked from the shock of the ground, but her rucksack had taken the bulk of the impact.

Her limbs ached, and her ears heard nothing but ringing, but Evelyn didn’t allow herself to stop moving until she reached her family. Leah’s painful cries echoed throughout the valley.

“It’s okay. Mommy’s here.” Evelyn wrapped her arms around, tears finally flowing free. “I’m sorry, Leah. I’m so sorry I made you do this.”

Liam grabbed her shoulder, his eyes panicked above the respirator. “We have to blow it, love. Give me the charge!”

Evelyn stared dumbstruck. That was right. It still wasn’t over. The hollows couldn’t clear the fence on their own, but those rezzers weren’t far behind. She handed Liam the charge and hugged Leah tighter.

This was it. Their final countermeasure. A radio transmitter that hit a nearby receiver, which in turn triggered the plastic explosives buried directly above Cheyenne’s tunnel. A simple press of a button, and their bunker was blocked off from this side forever. It was their nuclear option. Only for use when they were absolutely fucked.

Which they were. Evelyn stared into the lip of the tunnel and knew true terror. The flare was still burning, shrouding a wall of black-clad rezzers in crimson light, with cloaks shaped like medieval monks. Their faces were all the same. Blank. Serene. A force of immortal killers united by a single purpose. A single thought.

Only one stood apart from the rest. His body stood a full head taller than the others, with a tattoo running around his bald scalp. Dark and jagged, like a crown made of thorns. He turned their way and grinned.

Evelyn rocked Leah, her heart racing. She could see them, but they could see her too. They watched her daughter. They knew.

Then Liam activated the charge, and the tunnel filled with fire and smoke.