“You shouldn’t have come here,” one of the enhanced humans said, their voice distorted and echoing, as if it came from somewhere deep within their chest. “This place is forbidden.”

“We don’t want any trouble,” D’Souza said, his voice steady as he stepped forward, his pistol raised. “We’re just trying to leave. Let us go, and we won’t interfere with whatever you’re doing here.”

The figure who had spoken tilted their head, as if considering the offer. Then, slowly, they smiled, revealing a row of sharp, gleaming teeth. “There is no leaving,” the figure said, their voice a low, menacing hiss. “You’ve seen too much. You know too much. The experiments must be protected at all costs.”

Corey’s heart raced as he realised that there would be no reasoning with these survivors. They were no longer fully human, twisted by the virus and their prolonged exposure to whatever experiments had been conducted here. The intelligence in their eyes was terrifying, cold, and calculating.

D’Souza’s grip tightened on his pistol, his eyes locked on the figures. “We’re not going down without a fight.”

The lead figure’s smile widened, and in an instant, the four of them moved—too fast, a blur of motion that defied belief. Corey barely had time to react before they were upon them.

“Spread out!” D’Souza shouted, firing his pistol at the closest figure. The shot rang out, but the enhanced survivor dodged with inhuman speed, the bullet missing its mark by inches. The group scattered, each one trying to avoid the deadly strikes of their attackers.

Corey swung his machete, desperately trying to fend off one of the figures that had lunged at him. The blade connected with its arm, slicing through flesh, but the wound didn’t seem to slow it down. The creature’s pale, cold hand wrapped around the machete, yanking it from Corey’s grasp with terrifying strength.

Ornelas let out a cry as another figure cornered him, its glowing eyes fixed on him with a predatory gaze. He fumbled for his bow, but the figure was too fast, knocking him to the ground with a single swipe.

“Ntlentle, get behind me!” Palesa shouted, grabbing Ntlentle’s arm and pulling her back as she raised her own weapon, a shotgun that had seen better days. She fired at one of the figures, the blast sending it staggering back, but not down.

D’Souza was locked in combat with the lead figure, the one who had spoken. He fired round after round at it, but the enhanced survivor was like a ghost, dodging and weaving around the bullets with unnatural agility. It closed in on D’Souza, its lips pulling back in a snarl as it prepared to strike.

But just as the figure reached D’Souza, something unexpected happened. The ground beneath their feet shuddered, a low rumble reverberating through the loading dock. The lead figure paused, its head snapping up as if listening to something only it could hear.

“What’s happening?” Ornelas gasped, scrambling to his feet as the rumbling grew louder.

Corey felt the vibrations in his bones, the ground seeming to pulse with an ominous energy. The lights overhead flickered, casting the loading dock in and out of darkness. And then, with a deafening roar, the floor at the far end of the dock began to crack and splinter, as if something massive was pushing up from below.

The enhanced survivors froze, their glowing eyes wide with what looked like fear—an emotion Corey hadn’t expected to see in them. They backed away from the cracking floor, their movements no longer filled with predatory confidence but with a clear urgency to escape.

“What the hell is that?” Palesa yelled, trying to keep her balance as the ground continued to shake.

The cracks widened, spreading across the concrete like a web of veins. And then, with an ear-splitting noise, a section of the floor erupted, sending debris flying in all directions. From the gaping hole emerged a massive, twisted form—an amalgamation of metal and flesh, wires and sinew, that defied understanding. It was as if the facility itself had come alive, birthing a monstrous creation from its depths.

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The creature—if it could be called that—towered over them, its eyes glowing with the same sickly green light that the enhanced survivors had. Its limbs were a horrifying mix of mechanical and organic, massive claws dripping with some dark, viscous fluid. It let out a deep, resonant growl that vibrated through the air, filled with a malice that was almost palpable.

The enhanced survivors, the once-confident hunters, turned and fled, disappearing into the shadows with unnatural speed. Their retreat was sudden, almost panicked, as if they knew something far worse had now taken centre stage.

D’Souza fired at the monstrous entity, but the bullets ricocheted off its armoured hide, sparking uselessly against the metal. The creature turned its massive head toward the group, its gaze settling on them with terrifying intent.

“We need to get out of here!” Corey shouted, grabbing Ornelas’s arm as he backed away from the creature. “Now!”

“There’s a service tunnel!” Ntlentle yelled, pointing to a narrow passageway at the far side of the loading dock. “It leads outside!”

With no time to lose, they sprinted toward the tunnel, the creature’s growls echoing behind them as it began to give chase. The ground shook with each step it took, the walls of the facility groaning under the strain of its presence.

Corey pushed Ornelas ahead of him, urging him to run faster. The tunnel was narrow and cramped, the flickering lights casting eerie shadows on the walls as they raced through it. The sound of the creature’s pursuit was deafening, growing louder with each passing second.

Palesa and Ntlentle were just ahead, their breaths ragged as they pushed themselves to keep moving. D’Souza brought up the rear, his pistol still in hand, though it was clear that their weapons were useless against the behemoth chasing them.

The tunnel twisted and turned, the air growing colder and damper as they descended deeper into the facility’s lower levels. Corey’s lungs burned with the effort, his legs screaming for rest, but he knew they couldn’t stop—not with that thing right behind them.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the tunnel began to slope upward. A faint light appeared at the end of the passage, growing brighter as they neared it. It was the exit—their way out.

“Almost there!” D’Souza shouted, his voice filled with urgency. “Keep moving!”

They burst out of the tunnel into the open air, stumbling onto a gravel path surrounded by dense trees and overgrown vegetation. The sun had begun to set, casting the landscape in a deep, golden hue. But there was no time to appreciate the view.

The creature crashed through the tunnel’s exit a moment later, its massive bulk sending debris flying as it emerged into the open. It let out a furious roar, its glowing eyes locked onto the survivors as it prepared to attack.

But just as it lunged forward, there was a loud crack—like a gunshot—from somewhere in the trees. The creature staggered, a dark, smoking hole appearing in the side of its head. It roared in pain, thrashing wildly as it tried to locate the source of the attack.

Another shot rang out, this time striking the creature in the chest. The behemoth stumbled back, the green glow in its eyes flickering as it tried to maintain its balance.

Corey spun around, searching the treeline for their mysterious saviour. And then he saw him—a figure stepping out of the shadows, a high-powered rifle slung over his shoulder, his face set in grim determination.

“Dad!” Ntlentle gasped, her voice filled with a mixture of relief and shock.

It was Ntlentle’s father, Dr. Robert Moloi.

They all looked at Ntlentle with confusion in their eyes.

“Did you just say ‘Dad’?” Corey asked.

But before she could answer, Dr. Moloi shouted “Get down!” as he raised his rifle for one final shot.

The bullet found its mark, striking the creature square between the eyes. The green glow in its eyes flared brightly for a moment, then died out as the massive entity collapsed to the ground with a thunderous crash.

The silence that followed was deafening, the air thick with tension and the acrid scent of gunpowder. Corey’s heart hammered in his chest as he stared at the fallen creature, unable to fully process what had just happened.

Dr. Moloi lowered the rifle, his eyes scanning the group before resting on Ntlentle. “We don’t have much time,” he said, his voice urgent. “There’s more coming, and they won’t stop until we’re all dead.”

“What do you mean, more?” D’Souza asked, his tone sharp as he stepped forward. “What’s going on here?”

Dr. Moloi’s expression was grim, the weight of years of secrets and lies hanging heavy on his shoulders. “This facility... Project Lazarus... it was never meant to exist. It was an experiment in evolution, in pushing the limits of human capability. But it went too far. The virus adapted, mutated, and now... now it’s out of control.”

Corey felt a cold dread settle in the pit of his stomach. “So those creatures... they’re not just zombies. They’re... they’re something worse.”

Dr. Moloi nodded. “They’re the next stage in the virus’s evolution. And they’re coming for us.”

“We need to get out of here,” Palesa said, her voice tight with fear. “We need to warn the others.”

“There’s a safe house not far from here,” Dr. Moloi said, glancing toward the treeline. “It’s well-hidden, and it should give us some time to plan our next move.”

Ntlentle’s eyes searched her father’s face, filled with a thousand unasked questions. But there was no time for answers now, only survival.