Everything was silent.
We moved carefully, footsteps echoing faintly off damp stone walls. Every sound felt too loud, like a beacon that would draw whatever lurked unseen toward us.
John sent one of the remaining hunters ahead to scout, a wiry man whose name I didn't catch. He moved with practiced caution, eyes sweeping methodically across every shadowed crevice.
Then, without warning, something burst from the darkness.
A blur of motion, too fast to track clearly. The scout barely managed a strangled gasp before claws ripped through his throat. Blood sprayed across the cavern floor as he fell, dead before he hit the stone.
Just as swiftly, the dark shape vanished again.
No one dared move.
John raised a clenched fist, signaling a halt. My heart hammered painfully in my chest, blood roaring in my ears. The ragged breathing of my companions filled the silence like an alarm bell.
"Close formation, now," John growled quietly. His voice was controlled, but beneath it simmered a lethal tension. "Don't let anything separate us."
We tightened ranks instantly. Alex shifted closer, weapon in hand, muscles coiled. Bert fell in beside him, eyes darting anxiously toward every dancing shadow.
"What the hell was that?" Till whispered, voice barely audible.
"Same thing that killed Darren and the healer," John replied, grimly quiet. "An undead lurker. It's hunting us."
Cold sweat dripped down my spine. We weren't just in danger, we were prey. Trapped underground, stalked by something faster, stronger, and far more ruthless than I could handle.
John didn't give us time to panic.
"Keep moving," he ordered, voice razor-sharp. "Don't hesitate. We need to get out."
We pressed forward, nerves frayed. My knuckles whitened painfully around my dagger as we edged deeper into the darkness.
Then the tunnel narrowed abruptly. Walls pressed in from both sides, slick with moisture. I stepped carefully, trailing just behind Alex. His shoulders were tense, his breathing measured.
My foot landed on something loose beneath the dirt.
Click.
Before I could react, the ground beneath Alex and me fell away.
We dropped sharply, violently. Stone scraped against my skin as air slammed from my lungs, agony jolting through my ribs and I crashed to the cavern floor below. I lay stunned for a moment, breathless, before forcing myself upright.
"You alright?" Alex asked, voice strained as he pulled himself up beside me.
I coughed sharply, pushing myself onto shaky legs. "What the hell was that."
Alex nodded grimly, gaze shifting upward. "We're cut off."
Above us, the hole we fell through had sealed shut seamlessly, leaving only smooth, featureless stone.
My pulse quickened. We were separated from the group, trapped in an unknown passageway, surrounded by darkness.
Alex rose swiftly, helping me up while scanning the shadows. "Stay close," he murmured quietly. "We need to find another way back."
The cave around us was cold, damp and oppressive. Dripping water echoed distantly, punctuating the silence with rhythmic taps. Shadows seemed to ripple and twist, whispering threats I couldn't quite hear.
The sensation of unseen eyes watching me returned, crawling along my skin, refusing to fade.
Alex moved deliberately, his B-ranker confidence visible in each cautious step. Yet even he couldn't hide the subtle tension stiffening his muscles.
I gripped my dagger tighter and followed, desperately trying to ignore the whispering fear at the edges of my mind.
Clicking echoed through the cavern behind us, sharp, relentless, rapidly closing in.
"Run!" Alex shouted, already surging forward, his heavy footsteps splashing through the shallow puddles littering the cavern floor.
I didn't need to be told twice.
My heart hammered painfully as I ran. Glancing back, I caught sight of two distorted shapes racing after us. They moved with jerky, unsettling speed, crawling low along the stone floor, limbs twisting unnaturally. Something disturbingly human clung to their movements.
Then, with a sickening clarity, I recognized them.
"Oh, god…" My breath hitched, fear and nausea rising simultaneously. "Those are… Alpha Team."
Alex's expression darkened as he looked back. He cursed under his breath, eyes flashing with dread. "Keep moving! We can't fight them here!"
We bolted forward, scrambling over slick stones, our ragged breaths loud in the oppressive silence. The clicking intensified behind us, echoing harshly off cavern walls.
Ahead, the tunnel forked sharply. Without hesitating, Alex grabbed my arm and yanked me down the left path.
"This way!"
We sprinted blindly, driven by adrenaline and terror. But the clicking remained relentless, always at our heels, closing the gap.
We rounded another corner and suddenly skidded to a stop.
A dead end.
Sheer rock faced us on three sides, looming tall and unyielding. My stomach dropped.
"Shit," Alex hissed, eyes frantically scanning our surroundings. "There has to be—"
He spotted it first, pointing toward a narrow crevice partially concealed by shadows to the left.
"There! Quick!"
I didn't hesitate, squeezing myself into the gap sideways. The stone scraped sharply against my skin, tight and suffocating but it was our only chance.
Alex followed closely, grunting as he forced his larger body into the narrow space. For one moment, it seemed he might just make it.
Then he halted, breathing sharply. "Dammit I can't fit. Ethan, pull me!"
"Shit!" Panic surged. I twisted awkwardly, desperately grabbing his arm. "You're almost through—just pull!"
Behind Alex, the undead closed in. Their warped forms now clearly visible, torn faces twisted grotesquely, eyes vacant yet somehow filled with malevolent hunger.
"Ethan, help!" Alex yelled desperately, struggling to free himself.
"I got you, pull with me!" I shouted back, pulling with all my strength.
It wasn't enough.
An undead lunged forward, jagged claws sinking deep into Alex's shoulder. He screamed, face contorted in pain as they tore him from my grip, dragging him violently out of the crevice.
"Alex!"
I shoved myself backward through the gap, ignoring stone scraping against my ribs.
Alex fought wildly, blade flashing, blood splattering the cavern walls. But the undead were relentless, overwhelming him, tearing and biting with sickening ferocity.
I forced myself fully out of the crevice just as Alex's eyes locked onto mine, blood dripping from his lips, his expression filled with pain and regret.
"Ethan—" he choked out.
Before I could reach him, before I could lift my dagger, one undead sank its teeth viciously into Alex's throat. The other ripped violently into his arm, tearing flesh from bone.
Alex collapsed heavily to the cavern floor, pinned beneath the undead. His eyes met mine again, barely holding consciousness, whispering a single broken word.
"Sorry."
My gaze caught a soft blue glow in his bloodied hand, a mana grenade. My heart froze.
The cavern erupted in blinding white-blue light.
The explosion hurled me backward, my body slamming violently into the stone wall. A sharp burst of pain shot through my skull and darkness flooded my vision instantly.
I woke slowly.
Pain radiated through my entire body. My ears rang harshly, vision blurred as I pushed myself upright, breath coming in ragged gasps.
Slowly, painfully, I moved toward the carnage ahead.
Alex lay motionless, surrounded by the shredded remains of the two undead. Blood pooled thickly around his ruined form, half his face frozen in determination, the other half… gone.
My throat tightened painfully, eyes burning as I stumbled to his side.
"Alex…" My voice cracked.
"I'm sorry—I should've…" I whispered hoarsely, my chest tight.
My voice broke. Tears blurred my vision, but I swallowed them back, forcing down the grief enough to say what mattered.
"I won't waste this. I promise. I'll make it home."
For a long moment, I knelt quietly, grieving in silence. Finally, I forced myself back onto shaky legs.
Every step felt agonizing as I limped away down the darkened tunnel, gripping my dagger with knuckles white and trembling.