The workshop had survived another night.
Barely.
The reinforced vents remained intact.
The barricades still held.
Yet no one truly felt safe.
Kevin was still missing.
Every survivor glanced toward the ceiling whenever they heard the pipes creak.
No one laughed anymore.
Morning brought another problem.
The rooftop tripwire alarm rang.
TING…
A small metal bolt struck the floor.
Everyone froze.
Noah grabbed his crowbar.
“They’re back.”
Elias climbed the observation platform overlooking the front gate.
Nothing.
The courtyard was empty.
Only abandoned cars.
Broken windows.
And silence.
Too much silence.
“It isn’t there.”
Liam frowned.
“Then what triggered the alarm?”
“I don’t know.”
That answer frightened everyone more than the infected.
Later that afternoon…
Elias inspected the roof alone.
Fresh footprints.
Not human.
Not quite animal.
Each print ended in long claw marks that had dug into the concrete.
The creature hadn’t wandered across the roof.
It had walked around the workshop.
Slowly.
Methodically.
Studying it.
Elias crouched beside one of the prints.
“It’s watching us…”
A low growl answered him.
Behind him.
He spun.
Nothing.
Then—
A blur leapt between two nearby buildings.
Far too fast.
It landed silently on another rooftop nearly thirty meters away.
No ordinary infected could jump like that.
Its eyes met his.
Crimson.
Unblinking.
Intelligent.
The creature tilted its head.
Almost…
Curious.
Then it disappeared.
“Everyone inside!”
The workshop doors slammed shut.
Elias quickly sketched the creature on the whiteboard.
“Taller than a normal infected.”
“Lean build.”
“Long forearms.”
“Exceptional mobility.”
“Observed instead of attacking.”
Sarah looked uneasy.
“You make it sound like an animal.”
Elias shook his head.
“No.”
“Worse.”
“It chose not to attack.”
The room fell silent.
That night…
The workshop remained dark.
No fires.
No lights.
No unnecessary noise.
Everyone waited.
Nothing happened.
Midnight passed.
One o’clock.
Two.
Some survivors finally began to relax.
Then…
CLINK.
A bottle rolled across the floor.
Every flashlight snapped toward the sound.
The bottle had come from the storage room.
No one had gone near it.
Noah whispered,
“…Did somebody kick that?”
“No.”
Elias stepped forward.
The storage room door stood open.
It had been closed moments earlier.
Slowly…
He raised his flashlight.
Empty shelves.
Toolboxes.
Shadows.
Nothing else.
He took another step.
Then stopped.
The air felt wrong.
Too still.
His gaze shifted upward.
Above the doorway…
Something clung to the ceiling.
Its skin blended almost perfectly with the darkness.
Crimson eyes slowly opened.
The Hunter.
It hadn’t broken in.
It had waited.
Hidden.
Watching.
The creature dropped.
Elias threw himself backward.
Massive claws slammed into the concrete where he’d been standing.
The impact cracked the floor.
“CONTACT!”
Chaos erupted.
The Hunter didn’t roar.
It moved.
One slash.
A workbench split apart.
Second leap.
It landed behind Liam.
Before anyone could react—
Noah tackled Liam aside.
The claws scraped across Noah’s shoulder.
His jacket tore open.
Blood appeared.
“Noah!”
“I’m fine!”
The Hunter didn’t press its attack.
Instead…
It stepped backward.
Watching.
Learning.
Elias noticed something.
“It isn’t trying to kill us…”
Sarah stared.
“What?”
“It attacked the strongest defender.”
“It tested our reaction.”
The creature slowly circled the workshop.
Its eyes never left Elias.
Then…
It looked toward the barricaded vents.
Toward the reinforced doors.
Toward the survivor count.
As though memorizing everything.
A chill ran through Elias.
“It’s gathering information.”
The Hunter suddenly sprinted.
Not toward the survivors.
Toward the large overhead crane.
Its claws severed the control cable.
The heavy hook crashed to the floor with a deafening boom.
The lights flickered.
Emergency power failed.
Darkness swallowed the workshop.
Only red emergency lights remained.
The Hunter stood perfectly still.
Waiting.
Listening.
Elias closed his eyes.
It hunted movement.
Not fear.
Not noise.
Movement.
He whispered,
“Nobody move.”
The workshop became silent.
One survivor sobbed quietly.
Another clenched a wrench so tightly his knuckles turned white.
The Hunter sniffed the air.
Slowly…
It turned.
Walked toward the shattered window.
And with one powerful leap…
Vanished into the night.
No one moved for nearly a full minute.
Finally…
Noah let out a shaky laugh.
“…Please tell me that wasn’t normal.”
Elias looked at the deep claw marks carved into solid steel.
“No.”
His voice was barely above a whisper.
“It was scouting.”
Outside…
High above the university…
The Hunter landed on the rooftop of the administration building.
Hidden in the shadows stood another figure.
Human.
Dressed in black tactical clothing.
The Hunter lowered its head.
As though reporting.
The figure watched the engineering workshop through a pair of binoculars.
“…Interesting.”
A faint smile appeared beneath the hood.
“They’re surviving longer than expected.”
Without another word…
Both disappeared into the darkness.