The creature had disappeared.
That was the problem.
Elias stood in the middle of the damaged shelter, weapon raised, staring at the empty corridor.
Smoke drifted through the room.
Broken concrete covered the floor.
Somewhere in the darkness, water dripped steadily from a damaged pipe.
Nobody spoke.
Then Marcus shouted.
“Count everyone.”
The survivors began calling out names.
One by one.
Twenty-nine.
Thirty.
Thirty-one.
Marcus counted again.
“Thirty-one?”
A woman near the back raised her hand.
“Thirty-two.”
Marcus stared at her.
She looked confused.
“I’m here.”
Marcus counted again.
Thirty-two.
He rubbed his forehead.
“Again.”
The survivors exchanged nervous looks.
They counted.
Thirty-two.
Marcus nodded slowly.
“Good.”
Elias watched him.
Something was wrong.
Marcus had counted the same people three times.
But each time, his expression became more uncertain.
“Marcus,” Elias said.
“I’m fine.”
“I didn’t ask.”
Marcus looked at him.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Marcus turned away.
“Everyone stays together.”
He pointed toward the remaining exit.
“Nobody goes anywhere alone.”
A survivor asked:
“What about the eastern passage?”
Marcus’s jaw tightened.
“Seal it.”
“There’s still someone trapped in there.”
Marcus looked toward the passage.
“No.”
The survivor frowned.
“But we heard—”
“No.”
Marcus’s voice became sharp.
“If you hear someone calling from that tunnel, you do not answer.”
The room fell silent.
Marcus looked at everyone.
His eyes were tired.
“That’s Rule One.”
They reinforced the remaining doors.
Furniture was pushed against entrances.
Metal shelves were dragged into position.
Anything heavy enough to slow the creature was used.
Elias watched the survivors work.
They were scared.
But they knew what to do.
That meant this wasn’t their first encounter.
Noah approached Marcus.
“How many times has this happened?”
Marcus continued checking the door.
“Enough.”
“That’s not an answer.”
Marcus looked at him.
“Three.”
Noah frowned.
“Three what?”
“Three times we’ve encountered something that could imitate voices.”
Elias stepped closer.
“And the other two?”
Marcus stopped.
“The first one killed six people.”
“And the second?”
Marcus’s eyes shifted toward the tunnel.
“Four.”
Noah swallowed.
“How did you stop them?”
“We didn’t.”
Marcus looked back at him.
“They disappeared.”
Elias frowned.
“Disappeared?”
“One day they were there.”
“Next day, gone.”
“Like they were never there.”
Elias glanced toward Subject Four.
“Until now.”
Marcus didn’t answer.
Mara finished bandaging Elias’s shoulder.
“Hold still.”
“I’m holding still.”
“You’re moving.”
“I’m breathing.”
“Try doing less of that.”
Noah laughed.
Elias almost smiled.
Almost.
The moment disappeared when he noticed Subject Nine staring at him.
She was watching the black marks beneath his shirt.
“You saw something.”
Elias looked at her.
“Earlier.”
She nodded.
“In the facility.”
“Yes.”
“What?”
She hesitated.
“You remembered.”
“I saw myself.”
Subject Nine’s expression changed.
“Where?”
“On a table.”
She looked away.
“Who was there?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then don’t force the memory.”
Elias frowned.
“Why?”
“Because some memories are dangerous.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“No.”
She looked at him.
“It’s a warning.”
Before Elias could respond, Marcus approached.
“We’re leaving.”
Elias stood.
“Where?”
“Somewhere safer.”
Noah looked around.
“Is there anywhere safer?”
Marcus pointed to the map.
“Old rail station.”
“The same one you mentioned?”
“Yes.”
“What’s there?”
“Nothing.”
Marcus folded the map.
“That’s why we’re going.”
They prepared to move.
Thirty-two survivors.
Three armed groups.
Two medical bags.
Food for perhaps four days.
Water for five.
Not enough.
But enough to try.
Marcus stood near the entrance.
“Listen carefully.”
Everyone gathered around him.
“We move together.”
“No one gets separated.”
“If someone falls behind, we stop.”
“If you hear a voice calling your name, ignore it.”
A young man raised his hand.
“What if it’s one of us?”
Marcus stared at him.
“Especially if it’s one of us.”
The young man lowered his hand.
Marcus continued.
“If you see someone ahead of you, confirm their face before approaching.”
“Do not trust silhouettes.”
“Do not trust voices.”
“Do not trust anything you cannot verify.”
He paused.
“That’s Rule One.”
Elias noticed something.
Marcus’s hands were shaking.
Barely.
But they were.
The group entered the tunnel.
Marcus led from the front.
Elias walked near the center with Noah and Subject Nine.
Mara stayed behind them.
The tunnel was narrow.
Dark.
Every footstep echoed.
For several minutes, nothing happened.
Then—
“Marcus.”
Marcus stopped.
Elias immediately looked at him.
Marcus didn’t move.
The voice came again.
“Marcus…”
From behind them.
A woman’s voice this time.
Marcus slowly turned.
Nobody was there.
Noah whispered:
“Keep moving.”
Marcus nodded.
They continued.
Five minutes later—
“Marcus.”
His brother’s voice.
Marcus stopped again.
Elias watched him carefully.
The voice came from somewhere ahead.
“You left me.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
His breathing changed.
“Don’t.”
Elias stepped closer.
“Marcus.”
The voice came again.
“You promised.”
Marcus’s hands tightened around his weapon.
“I said don’t.”
The survivors stared at him.
Marcus looked down.
For several seconds, he remained completely still.
Then he opened his eyes.
“Keep moving.”
Nobody questioned him.
The tunnel stretched onward.
Then someone whispered:
“Is anyone behind us?”
Elias turned.
The group was there.
Everyone.
Thirty-two people.
He looked back at Marcus.
Marcus was counting.
Again.
His lips moved silently.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Elias watched.
Marcus reached twenty.
Then stopped.
He looked confused.
He started again.
Elias approached him.
“What’s wrong?”
Marcus looked at him.
“I counted thirty-three.”
Elias frowned.
“There are thirty-two.”
“I know.”
Marcus looked back down the tunnel.
“But I counted thirty-three.”
Noah joined them.
“Maybe you miscounted.”
Marcus nodded.
“Maybe.”
He looked toward the darkness.
“Maybe.”
They continued.
Twenty minutes later, they reached a maintenance junction.
Marcus stopped.
“We rest here.”
Everyone sat down.
Water was passed around.
Nobody spoke loudly.
The silence felt heavy.
Elias leaned against the wall.
His eyes closed for a moment.
Then he heard:
“Elias.”
He opened his eyes.
Noah was sitting beside him.
“Yeah?”
Noah frowned.
“I didn’t say anything.”
Elias stared at him.
A voice came from the tunnel.
“Elias.”
His own voice.
The same tone.
The same breathing.
The same hesitation.
Elias stood.
Noah grabbed his arm.
“Don’t.”
The voice came again.
“Elias.”
Closer.
Subject Nine whispered:
“It’s learning.”
Elias looked at her.
“What?”
“It’s learning which voices make us move.”
The voice changed.
This time it was Subject Nine.
“Elias, come here.”
She was standing beside him.
Her mouth hadn’t moved.
Elias felt a chill.
The creature wasn’t simply copying voices anymore.
It was experimenting.
A scream suddenly echoed through the tunnel.
Everyone jumped.
A survivor near the back shouted:
“Someone’s hurt!”
Marcus raised his hand.
“Stay where you are.”
Another scream.
“Help!”
A woman’s voice.
Marcus’s face tightened.
A survivor moved toward the sound.
Marcus grabbed him.
“No.”
“But she’s dying!”
“We don’t know that.”
“Marcus!”
The survivor pulled away.
Marcus shoved him back.
“I said no!”
The man’s expression hardened.
“You’re letting someone die.”
Marcus stared at him.
Then the voice came again.
“Please…”
This time it sounded like a child.
The survivor froze.
Marcus closed his eyes.
His breathing became heavier.
“Don’t listen.”
The voice changed.
“Marcus.”
His brother again.
“You left me too.”
Marcus opened his eyes.
Something inside him cracked.
“Shut up.”
The tunnel went silent.
Everyone stared at him.
Marcus raised his weapon toward the darkness.
“Shut up!”
Elias stepped forward.
“Marcus.”
“Don’t.”
Marcus’s hands trembled.
“You don’t know what it’s doing.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
Marcus stared into the darkness.
“It knows his voice.”
His eyes became glassy.
“It knows exactly what he sounded like.”
Elias said nothing.
Marcus lowered his weapon.
“My brother used to knock three times before entering my room.”
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
The sound echoed through the tunnel.
Everyone froze.
Marcus’s face went white.
Three knocks.
From the darkness.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Marcus whispered:
“That’s impossible.”
The creature had learned his memory.
Not just his brother’s voice.
His habits.
His memories.
His grief.
Then something moved at the far end of the tunnel.
A silhouette.
Tall.
Human-shaped.
Marcus raised his weapon.
“Nobody move.”
The figure stepped into the weak emergency light.
It looked like a man.
A familiar man.
Marcus’s brother.
Marcus stopped breathing.
Noah looked at Elias.
Elias shook his head.
The figure smiled.
“Marcus.”
Marcus’s eyes filled with tears.
“You died.”
The figure tilted its head.
“I came back.”
Marcus took one step forward.
Elias grabbed his shoulder.
“No.”
Marcus pulled against him.
“Let go.”
“It’s not him.”
“You don’t know that!”
“I do.”
Marcus turned.
“How?”
Elias looked at the figure.
“Because your brother isn’t standing there.”
The figure smiled wider.
Its jaw slowly began to stretch.
Bones cracked beneath its skin.
The familiar face distorted.
The mouth opened far beyond what a human jaw could manage.
Marcus finally stepped backward.
The creature whispered:
“Smart.”
Then it disappeared into the darkness.
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Marcus stared at the place where it had vanished.
His breathing was uneven.
Elias watched him.
The leader who had seemed unbreakable only hours ago was gone.
What remained was a man trying desperately to hold himself together.
Marcus wiped his face.
“Nobody talks about what happened.”
Noah looked at him.
“Marcus—”
“I said nobody.”
He turned toward the group.
“Keep moving.”
The survivors obeyed.
But Elias stayed behind for a moment.
Subject Nine stood beside him.
“You saw it.”
“Yes.”
“Marcus is losing himself.”
Elias watched Marcus disappear into the darkness.
“How long?”
Subject Nine shook her head.
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“How much the Chimera knows about him.”
Elias looked at the black marks beneath his shirt.
“And how much it knows about me?”
Subject Nine didn’t answer.
That was answer enough.
Hours later, they finally reached the abandoned rail station.
The entrance was partially collapsed.
Marcus checked the area.
“Clear.”
The survivors entered.
For the first time since escaping the shelter, they could breathe.
Mara began organizing the wounded.
Noah checked the supplies.
Others searched for food.
Marcus stood alone near the tracks.
Elias watched him.
Marcus was staring at the darkness beyond the station.
“Marcus.”
No response.
Elias approached.
“You need to rest.”
Marcus shook his head.
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
Marcus looked at him.
“I keep hearing him.”
Elias said nothing.
Marcus whispered:
“Sometimes I know it’s not real.”
“Sometimes…”
He looked toward the tunnel.
“…I don’t care.”
Elias understood.
That was the real danger.
Not that Marcus couldn’t tell reality from illusion.
But that part of him wanted the illusion to be real.
Marcus looked away.
“Don’t tell the others.”
“I won’t.”
“Thank you.”
Elias turned to leave.
Then Marcus spoke again.
“Elias.”
He stopped.
Marcus stared at the tunnel.
“If I start acting strangely…”
“Tell me.”
Elias looked back.
“What do you want me to do?”
Marcus’s eyes were tired.
“Don’t let me open the door.”
A pause.
“No matter what voice you hear.”
Elias nodded.
“I won’t.”
From deep inside the abandoned station came three soft knocks.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Marcus closed his eyes.
Elias slowly turned toward the darkness.
And for the first time…
He wondered whether the creature had followed them.
Or whether Marcus had somehow brought it with him.