Pain. The first thing Ava felt when she opened her eyes again was pain. Her whole body ached, her palms scraped from the fall. For a second, she thought she'd gone deaf—then she realized it was just how vast and hollow the place around them was.
She sat up slowly. They had landed in a wide, circular chamber, the ceiling impossibly high, shadows swallowing everything above. Dim red emergency lights blinked along the walls, casting long, eerie shapes across the room.
"Arlo?" Her voice cracked.
"I'm here." He groaned, clutching his shoulder but managing to stand. His flashlight was cracked but still flickered weakly, enough to reveal more of the chamber.
It wasn't empty.
The far wall loomed with a massive steel gate, its surface dented, hazard symbols painted across it. Beside it, shattered glass windows looked into what seemed like control rooms, the consoles inside destroyed. Faded words were painted above the gate: CONTAINMENT LEVEL 3. DO NOT OPEN.
Ava's throat tightened. "Containment? For what?"
Before Arlo could answer, voices echoed from the corridor ahead. Human voices.
"—keep moving, don't stay long—"
"—what if they followed—"
Ava and Arlo froze, exchanging glances.
From the shadows, three figures appeared. A wiry older man gripping a rusted pipe. A tall woman with sharp eyes. And a younger girl clutching a flashlight like it was her lifeline.
The man raised his weapon the moment he saw them. "Stay back!"
Ava raised her hands, heart racing. "Wait! We're not like… those things! We're the same as you—trapped here!"
The woman's eyes narrowed. "Everyone says that. Until they turn."
Arlo stepped in front of Ava, shielding her. "We're not infected." His tone was sharp, certain.
The group exchanged wary glances. The younger girl whispered, "Maybe they're telling the truth…"
But before trust could be settled, a bone-rattling alarm blared through the chamber.
WEE-OOH. WEE-OOH.
Red lights flooded the room.
Then came the sound.
A metallic screech. Vents sliding open.
Ava's blood ran cold.
From the vents above, two distorted shapes dropped down, landing with sickening thuds. Their bodies were humanoid but twisted, their skin pale, their mouths gaping with rows of jagged teeth. Their shrieks pierced the chamber.
"Run!" the older man shouted, swinging his pipe as one of the creatures lunged.
The survivors scattered. The tall woman pulled the younger girl toward the stairs, while Arlo yanked Ava in the opposite direction.
Claws scraped against metal as the monsters gave chase. Ava's breath came in ragged gasps, her heartbeat drowning out every sound.
"Faster!" Arlo shouted, pulling her into a side hallway. The red lights flickered overhead, the sound of footsteps and screams echoing behind them.
Ava dared a glance back—just in time to see one of the survivors being dragged down by the creature, his scream cut off in an instant.
She stumbled, terror clawing at her throat. Arlo caught her arm, forcing her forward. "Don't look back!"
The hallway ahead was pitch black, no exit in sight.
The monsters' shrieks grew closer.
And then—total darkness swallowed them again.