The hatch slammed shut just as the first heavy footstep hit the workshop floor above.

  Wesker barely had time to catch his breath before Garrick yanked him forward. “No time to sit around—move!”

  The underground tunnel was narrow, carved into the bedrock beneath the shop. It smelled of old oil and damp earth, and the flickering emergency lights lining the walls barely pushed back the darkness. Wesker had been down here before—Garrick used it to store less-than-legal parts—but tonight, it wasn’t just a storage space. It was their only chance to survive.

  The stranger stumbled beside him, still clutching their side. Wesker reached out to steady them. “You good?”

  “I’ve been better,” they muttered through gritted teeth.

  Above them, the sound of metal scraping against metal made Wesker’s skin crawl. It wasn’t footsteps—it was something sharper, heavier. A guttural, mechanical growl rumbled through the ceiling, followed by a sound like a blade carving into steel.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Wesker’s heart pounded. What the hell is that thing?

  Garrick moved fast, reaching a rusted control panel embedded in the tunnel wall. With a few quick button presses, a whirr echoed through the passage. Somewhere above, a heavy crash followed—probably the shop’s emergency lockdown system kicking in. Reinforced shutters, blast-proof plating. It wouldn’t stop whatever was up there, but it might slow it down.

  Might.

  “Down here.” Garrick motioned to a side path, one Wesker didn’t recognize.

  “Where does this lead?” Wesker asked as they hurried through.

  “Away from that thing,” Garrick shot back. “That’s all you need to know.”

  The walls narrowed, and the tunnel sloped downward. It was getting harder to breathe—the air was thick with dust and something else, something old.

  The stranger stumbled again, and this time they collapsed to one knee.

  Wesker stopped. “We have to get them help.”

  Garrick grimaced but didn’t argue. “There’s an exit up ahead. We get topside, and we find a doc.”

  Wesker nodded, slipping his synthetic arm under the stranger’s shoulder and helping them up. “Almost there.”

  The sound of metal twisting violently above made his stomach drop.

  Then came the worst part.

  Silence.

  The thing upstairs had stopped moving.

  Wesker didn’t know what was worse—the sound of its pursuit or the realization that it had just changed tactics.

  They weren’t out of this yet.

  And whatever was up there?

  It was still hunting them.