The hospital corridors were in chaos.
Screams echoed from every direction.
Nurses rushed past with stretchers, doctors shouted for sedatives, and security guards tried to contain patients who were suddenly acting like… animals.
Aiden stepped back from the collapsed creature he had just taken down. His heartbeat was steady—unnaturally steady—while the world around him fell apart.
Rourke walked toward the body, crouched, and inspected the black veins.
"They're spreading fast," he muttered.
Aiden's eyes narrowed. "What is?"
Rourke looked up, expression unreadable.
"The infection."
"What infection?"
"The one you triggered," Rourke said quietly.
Aiden froze.
"I triggered… this?"
Rourke stood. "Your mutation awakened something dormant in other subjects. They're reacting to you. They're drawn to you."
Aiden clenched his jaw. "Why me?"
"You'll learn soon enough."
Before Aiden could demand answers, the floor under their feet trembled. A heavy crash erupted from below—metal bending, glass shattering.
Rourke tapped a device on his wrist. "Control Room, report."
Static.
Then a voice: "Level 2 has breached—multiple hosts escaping—containment failing—"
The transmission cut.
Rourke's eyes sharpened. "We need to move. Now."
A nurse stumbled toward them, crying. "T-There's something downstairs—something tearing people apart!"
Aiden felt a sickening pull inside his chest.
Like something calling him.
"Shouldn't we evacuate?" he asked.
Rourke shook his head. "Evacuate what? A dozen infected roaming loose? They'll tear through the entire city."
Aiden stiffened. "City?"
"Yes," Rourke said. "This place isn't isolated. If these things get outside, Hollow Gate will fall within hours."
The thought made Aiden's stomach twist.
He wasn't a hero.
He wasn't a soldier.
He didn't even know what he was anymore.
But people were screaming—dying—right in front of him.
And something in him refused to ignore it.
A loud metallic thud shook the hallway. The lights flickered again. A deep growl echoed from the stairwell.
Rourke grabbed Aiden's arm. "Stay behind me."
Aiden jerked free.
"I'm stronger than you think."
Rourke's eyes glinted. "I know exactly how strong you are."
The growling grew louder.
A shadow appeared on the staircase.
Then another.
Then three more.
Five infected climbed up the stairs like beasts, their limbs twisted, eyes glowing red, black veins crawling across their skin. Their mouths opened unnaturally wide, drooling like rabid animals.
Aiden's muscles tightened on instinct.
Rourke whispered, "They're reacting to your scent. You're the apex."
Aiden swallowed hard. "Meaning?"
"They won't stop until you're dead."
Or…
"—or until you kill them."
The creatures lunged.
Aiden moved first.
His feet slammed into the ground, launching him forward with explosive speed. The closest infected swiped at him—but he ducked under the blow, grabbed its arm, and twisted.
CRACK.
The creature shrieked.
Another jumped onto his back. Aiden slammed it into the wall with brutal force. Two more rushed him from both sides.
His instincts took over—
His vision sharpened—
Silver pupils contracting.
Everything slowed.
Aiden dodged one swipe, elbowed another, and kicked the fifth creature down the stairs. His movements weren't trained… they were instinctive.
Predatory.
He grabbed the last infected by the skull and slammed it into the floor.
Silence.
The hallway echoed with heavy breathing—none of it Aiden's.
Rourke stared at him, stunned. "You're accelerating… faster than expected."
Aiden stepped back, chest rising and falling slowly.
"I shouldn't be able to do that," he whispered.
"But you can," Rourke said. "Because you're not human anymore."
Aiden glared. "Stop saying that."
"Then stop proving it."
Aiden looked at his hands.
Steady.
Cold.
Inhuman.
"What did you do to me?" he asked quietly.
Rourke didn't answer.
Instead, he leaned closer.
"You want the truth?"
Aiden's fists clenched. "Yes."
Rourke pointed toward the emergency exit.
"Then follow me. To the basement."
"The basement?"
"That's where Project Abraxas began."
Rourke paused.
"And where your mother died."
Aiden's breath froze.
"My… mother?"
Rourke nodded.
"If you want answers, if you want to understand what you are—
come with me."
Aiden hesitated only a moment.
Then he followed.
Down into the darkness.
Down into the place where monsters were born.