The floor vibrated again—stronger this time.
Dust drifted down from the ceiling as the metal beams groaned, like the entire underground facility was waking up from a nightmare.
Aiden stared down the dim hallway that stretched into blackness.
A second roar thundered from the depths.
This one was… different.
Deeper.
Heavier.
Angrier.
Rourke swallowed hard. "We need to move. Now. Subject One cannot reach this level."
Aiden turned toward him. "What is Subject One?"
Rourke's voice tightened. "The first infected that didn't die. The strongest. The most violent. And the one tied to your gene."
Aiden felt a cold shiver down his spine.
"Tied how?"
Rourke exhaled. "Subject One was created from the same sample that formed your mutation. In a way… he's your predecessor."
The ground trembled again.
Aiden's instincts screamed danger.
Rourke grabbed his arm. "We need to reach the secure archive room—before it finds us."
But Aiden didn't move.
His senses sharpened.
His pulse slowed.
The inhuman awareness flared again—stronger than ever before.
"Something's coming," Aiden whispered.
Rourke clenched his teeth. "Yes. Subject One."
"No…" Aiden shook his head. "Something else too."
A faint dragging sound echoed from behind them.
Rourke spun instantly. "Stay alert."
A mangled cage at the end of the hall twitched. Something inside it moved.
A thick, grotesque arm slid out—veins bulging, claws sharp as knives—and a disfigured humanoid creature crawled out of the broken bars.
Its jaw hung loosely, face contorted with mutation.
Yet… its eyes locked directly on Aiden.
Like it recognized him.
Aiden stepped back, breath quickening. "Why are they all staring at me like that…?"
Rourke answered softly, "Because you're their origin point."
The creature roared and sprinted toward them at frightening speed.
Rourke reached for his gun. "MOVE!"
Aiden didn't.
The creature was almost on him—
But something snapped inside Aiden.
A wave of cold energy surged through his chest.
His muscles tightened.
His vision sharpened until he could see every movement the creature made.
The world slowed.
Aiden moved first.
He grabbed the charging creature by its throat and slammed it sideways into the steel wall. The impact dented the metal. The creature convulsed, but Aiden didn't release.
He could feel it.
A… pull.
Like something inside the creature's corrupted blood resonated with his own.
"What is this feeling…?" Aiden muttered, tightening his grip.
The creature's eyes widened with submission.
It wasn't fighting him.
It was… yielding.
Rourke's eyes widened. "Aiden… you're suppressing it."
Aiden froze.
"What?"
Rourke stepped closer, astonished. "Aberrants don't fight alph—"
The lights flickered violently.
BOOOOOOM!
A blast of force erupted from deeper underground.
The shockwave knocked Aiden back. The creature he was holding flew across the hall like a ragdoll, smashing into a glass chamber and collapsing.
The shockwave felt like a warning.
A claim.
A challenge.
Aiden steadied himself as dust and smoke filled the hallway.
"What was that?"
Rourke's face twisted with dread.
"That wasn't Subject One trying to escape."
The metal doors at the far end began to warp—bending outward like something was punching them from the other side.
"That," Rourke whispered, "was Subject One declaring that he found you."
Aiden's stomach dropped.
Another roar ripped through the air—so powerful the floor vibrated.
Aiden felt it deep inside his chest.
A pulse.
A resonance.
Like two heartbeats syncing.
"What is this?" Aiden whispered. "Why do I feel connected to it?"
Rourke took a step back from Aiden.
"It's because Subject One recognizes your awakening. You're the clean version of the mutation. He's the corrupted one."
Aiden's voice dropped. "And that means…?"
"That means he sees you as either his salvation…" Rourke paused, eyes filled with fear.
"…or his rival."
Aiden clenched his fists. "So he's coming for me."
"He won't stop," Rourke said. "Not until one of you is dead."
The metal doors at the end burst outward a second time—
This time, a massive claw tore through the gap.
A claw bigger than Aiden's entire arm.
The monster behind the steel door let out a deafening roar—
one filled with rage, hunger, and unmistakable purpose.
Aiden stepped backward, breath frozen.
Rourke whispered:
"Subject One is awake."
Aiden's heart pounded once.
Not in fear.
In response.
His mutation surged again—
pupils sharpening, aura thickening, senses exploding.
As if preparing him for what was coming.
A battle he didn't choose.
A battle he couldn't escape.
The steel doors broke.
And the real nightmare began.