I slow my pace, moving carefully until my foot finds empty air. I jerk back. "Found it." I thought. The sinkhole those creatures came out from. It must be massive enough to pull out many monsters from it. The opening stretches wider than I can sense with edges crumbling. This is it. The breach point. Where the messenger must be ascending from. But how do I fight something I can't see in dust so thick I can barely breathe? "Wasps," I command. "Take me down." The swarm responds immediately, converging beneath me. Thousands of tiny bodies working together, lifting me off the ground. We descend into the pit. The dust thins slightly as we go deeper. I can make out shapes of stalactites and stalagmites that are scattered across because I keep bumping into them. It looks like we're in some kind of underground cave. As we push closer, a faint purple glow appears ahead that slowly keeps growing brighter. The glow pulses in rhythmic patterns like a heartbeat, but somethi

The figures emerge from the trees with their weapons drawn. "Took you long enough." one of the defeated says. "I was told to finish up the tent before I leave." the other explains. "Save it. Let's get this over with." and they all charge at me at once. I duck the mace, sweep the wielder's legs, and stomp his wrist till his bones crack. He screams. Another thrusts spear at me. I grab it, yank him forward, and elbow his face. I roll to the nearest one and slash my knife at his abdomen which makes him scream. [HP: 91/100] One of them pulls out a glowing purple vial and drinks it. His body convulses as his bones crack and reshape, making his skin splits and reforms. His groans in agony until his scream turns inhuman. In seconds, he's eight feet of mottled gray flesh, dragging arms, and too many teeth. Purple eyes glow. The smell of rot and chemicals burns my nostrils. [WARNING: CORRUPTED HUMAN DETECTED] Behind me, the rest also transform. I summon my soldiers.

The quarantine team arrives within minutes, hazmat suits gleaming under the hallway lights. They swarm the delivery man's body with practiced efficiency, bagging and tagging everything he touched. Elsie steps out of their vehicle, medical kit in hand. She approaches me carefully. "Did you touch the body?" I nod. "Tried to help but he was already gone." "Then you're coming with us. Just to be on a safe side." Her voice is gentle but firm. "It's protocol." I know what the protocol is, but im sure she knows why I'm also staring at her. Nows is probably not the best time. We climb into a converted ambulance and head drive to the medical facility. I can't stop thinking about the merchant. How to tell her without sounding paranoid. How to make her see the danger. "The merchant," I say carefully. "How is he?" "Fine. His feet are sore from all that walking, so I agreed to let him stay a bit longer till he recovers properly." She makes notes on her tablet. "Why?" "Because I

Sommy breaks the awkward silence. "When you guys are done, I will like to announce that I'm starving and exhausted. Please tell me this train has at least food." Elsie pulls a pack from her pouch. "I was to grab whatever I can from the van when we left. Here have a bread and some dried fruit." "You're amazing." Sommy tears into the food like she hasn't eaten in days. Elsie turns to me. "What now?" "We stay on the train and see where it takes us." I look down the line of cars. "Since it is still functional, it is definitely taking us to another functioning settlement. Hopefully, they will welcome us." "While you guys are talking," Sommy jumps up, bread still in hand and heads towards the section door open. "I'm going to go search for something to eat." "I don't know if... if we are allowed to move around," Elsie tries to caution Sommy but Sommy was already opening the second door to the next section. Elsie shifts her gaze to me. "Maybe I should go with her, to make sure she

We stand at the gates, weapons trained on us, nowhere to go. The guards' fingers rest on triggers. One wrong move and we're dead."Get out of here before we shoot." He commands. The rest beg but I see that it is no use. "Come on guys," I urge them. "Let's go."Sommy tries to talk but swallow her words. "Guess we're going to sleep out tonight."I'm about to say something when I notice an old merchant with weathered face and kind eyes, pushing a cart loaded with goods. This gives me a brilliant idea. I approach him. "Sir, Can I have a word with you?" "If it is to go through that gate, then begging won't faze me."I smile cockily. "Who said anything about begging you?" I ask as u pull out a few gems. I make sure he sees them and when he stretches his hand to want to have a look, I snatch it back up. He grumbles and looks at the others across my shoulder. "I little still won't persuade me—" he pauses when he sees me bringing out more gems. "Fine, I'll try, but I need to be sure you'