The canyon behind them fell into shadow as night crept over the jagged landscape. Ava's legs ached, her hands scraped and bleeding from gripping broken railings and rusted metal. But there was no time to rest—not really. Not when the unknown lay ahead.
The four survivors moved cautiously along the canyon floor, following the river that carved a path through the darkness. Water splashed over jagged stones, cold and sharp, as Ava's sneakers slipped on moss-covered rocks. Arlo stayed close, constantly scanning the shadows.
"This way," he whispered, pointing toward a distant glow. Through the trees and overgrown ruins, the faint flicker of firelight—or maybe it was electrical sparks—shimmered like a promise of life.
The woman—her name Ava had learned was Rhea—grunted. "Could be a settlement… or a trap."
Ava shivered, her breath visible in the cold night air. "Isn't everything a trap here?"
The canyon widened, opening into a valley swallowed by dense, twisted forest. Here, nature has gone wild. Trees, gnarled and blackened, rose like sentinels. Plants had mutated into unfamiliar shapes—spanky vines, flowers with glistening black petals, and fungi that pulsed faintly like they were alive. Something about the forest felt… wrong.
"Look," Arlo muttered, pointing. Shadows flitted between the trees. Not fast, but deliberate. Not quite human, but not quite the creatures from Haven either.
Ava's stomach twisted. "What… what are they?"
Rhea shook her head. "Animals… maybe. Or experiments that got out too." Her eyes were hard. "Haven didn't just trap its monsters inside. Some… got into the world."
The younger girl, Lila, clutched Ava's sleeve. "We have to keep moving. Please."
They pressed on, wading through undergrowth, climbing over fallen logs and jagged rocks. The river snaked alongside them, louder now, almost like a warning. The valley stretched endlessly—no towns, no roads, no signs of normal life—only the twisted remnants of a world altered by Haven's reach.
Hours passed. Fatigue set in. Every rustle, every whisper of movement made their hearts jump. And then, at the edge of the riverbank, they saw it: a collapsed bridge, mangled and bent—but beyond it, a road.
A road. A sign of humanity.
Ava's chest tightened. "We're close… right?"
"Maybe," Arlo said cautiously, eyes scanning the shadows. "But if Haven's reach extended this far, we're not safe yet."
They followed the road cautiously, stepping over cracked asphalt, abandoned vehicles rusting into the earth, and signs pointing to towns long forgotten. But something was wrong—the silence was unnatural. No birds, no insects, no wind stirring leaves. Only the distant hum, faint and mechanical, like the echoes of Haven's machinery still running far beneath the ground.
Then came movement. Something in the distance, creeping along the edge of the forest. Human-shaped—but wrong. Limping, twitching, jerking in strange, unnatural ways. Eyes glinting with a feral light.
Arlo froze. "Not… alive. Not really."
Rhea whispered, voice tight with rage and fear. "Haven's survivors… or their mistakes. They're still out there."
Ava's pulse pounded in her ears. "We have to… we have to keep going. Anywhere else is better than here."
They moved quickly, stepping over debris, ducking behind broken cars, hearts hammering. Every shadow felt alive, every sound a threat. The valley wasn't safe. The forest wasn't safe. Even the road—the supposed path to freedom—was tainted.
Finally, they reached the edge of a ruined town. Buildings were hollowed-out shells, windows shattered, walls blackened with scorch marks. A faint stench of decay lingered. And scattered across the streets were signs of life—human life—but twisted. Bodies half-eaten by time, mutation, or worse.
Ava swallowed hard. "This… this isn't a town. It's another experiment."
Arlo gritted his teeth. "Haven didn't just stay underground. It spread. This whole place… it's a warning."
Rhea tightened her grip on the crowbar. "Then we move fast. We find a safe place to rest. Then… we figure out how to fight back."
Lila's voice trembled. "Do you think anyone survived… outside Haven?"
Ava looked at the horizon, where broken buildings loomed under the moonlight. "I don't know… but if there are survivors… we'll find them."
The wind cut through the empty streets, carrying the sharp tang of metal and decay.
Shapes moved in the corners of Ava's vision—fast, silent, and wrong.
She gritted her teeth, heart hammering, and glanced at the others.
Whatever had followed them wasn't done.
The valley was only the beginning, and something far worse waited just beyond the shadows.