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The Singularity: Z-01
Chapter: 19 The Reanimated Gambit

Chapter: 19 The Reanimated Gambit

In the heart of the Rochester sewer tunnels, darkness held sway, and the air was thick with the putrid scent of decay and neglect. It was here, far removed from the world above, that a group of hooded ghouls carried out their sinister designs. Captives of their malevolent intentions were ten homeless souls, plucked from the unforgiving streets and thrust into this nightmarish abyss.

These ghouls were not your ordinary, run-of-the-mill creatures of the night. They had a grotesque secret, a taint that set them apart. Their comrades, once reduced to charred remains, lay shrouded in cloth like ghastly mummies. The macabre transformation that awaited these fallen brethren was far from the natural order. Typically, ghouls couldn't be revived, but these unfortunate souls had been infected by the insidious byproduct of Dr. Stein's twisted experiments, the chimeras. They had a chance to come back to life, if they were bathed in enough blood.

In the dimly lit recesses of the tunnel, the ritual began. One by one, the captives were hoisted upon hooks that had been crudely affixed to the ceiling, suspended like grotesque ornaments. The hooded ghouls, hidden in the shadows, proceeded with grim precision. The cold steel met the warm flesh of the homeless, and with merciless slashes, their throats were opened letting the blood drip down onto the corpses below. Soon there was a stream of blood, and the once deceased infected ghouls started to reanimate. Their eyes opened, their limbs twitched, their mouths groaned.

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But in the midst of this ghastly resurrection, an eruption shattered the eerie serenity. The tunnel trembled as a deafening explosion reverberated through the damp corridors. It was the Thorns. They had tracked down the ghouls’ location, thanks to the Huntsman, who used his new special ability to see the passing of any sentient lifeform.

Desperate to evade capture, the hooded figures abandoned their ritual and fled through a concealed passage, dragging their barely alive companions with them. In their frantic escape, One of the reanimated ghouls was forgotten in the chaos.

The Thorns swiftly secured the area, having achieved their primary objective - the retrieval of the ghoul. There was no pursuit of the fleeing ghouls, for their mission was accomplished. With the captive ghoul in their possession, they prepared to depart.

Unbeknownst to the Thorns, the agent who held the reanimated ghoul was not as she appeared. F-04 had infiltrated their ranks. Using her uncanny abilities of transformation and illusion, she concealed her true identity and the escape of her prize.

She quickly made her way out of the sewer tunnel, carrying the body of the ghoul with her. She had a valuable prize in her hands, and she was eager to report back to Dr. Stein.