Beyond Beast Rank

The Hidden Warehouse

A sharp metallic clang echoed through the empty rail yard, making my heart leap straight into my throat.

I pressed my back hard against the cold corrugated metal of Warehouse Seventeen, holding my breath so hard my chest began to burn. The five hundred credits flashing on my phone screen felt like a cruel joke now. I had chased this address across the dark city because I needed to pay the rent and buy Lily her medicine, but standing here in the freezing mud, I realized money could not protect me if someone inside decided to open fire.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and tapped the screen to check the delivery map again.

The blue navigation dot sat directly on top of the warehouse roof. The application confirmed that I had reached the exact destination assigned by the anonymous sender. But there was no reception desk, no delivery chute, and no sign welcoming couriers. There was only a rotting industrial building guarded by active security cameras and thick steel doors.

My fingers shook as I tried to press the callback button on the order screen.

A red error box popped up instantly, informing me that the client number was disconnected and no longer accepting incoming signals. A cold sweat broke out across the back of my neck. I was entirely alone out here in the dead end sector, holding a heavy delivery box for a client who did not want to be found.

Common sense told me to drop the box on the gravel, run back to my motorcycle, and ride home as fast as the engine could carry me.

Then I remembered Lily coughing blood into her handkerchief yesterday morning. I remembered the red eviction notice taped to our front door. If I went back empty handed, we would be living on the street by tomorrow afternoon. Desperation is a terrible thing because it makes a person ignore every warning sign the world puts in front of them.

I stared down at the small delivery screen, watching the little grey loading circle spin over and over without connecting. My mind raced through every possible scenario. Maybe the customer was inside waiting for the package. Maybe they had set up a drop box near the perimeter wall and forgotten to clear the instructions on the app. But no matter how many excuses I made for them, the quiet stillness of the surrounding industrial estate felt completely wrong.

I looked at the heavy insulated box held in my hands. The weight was awkward, pulling down on my arms and reminding me of how vulnerable I really was. If someone attacked me right now, I could not even defend myself properly with this box in my grip. I needed to find a safe spot to hide the package or locate the recipient immediately before the security camera completed its next rotation.

I crept forward along the outside wall, keeping my boots planted carefully in the soft mud to avoid making a sound.

The security camera mounted above the main entrance buzzed softly as it rotated back toward the far corner of the yard. I used that brief moment of blind movement to dash across the open space toward the side of the building where the faint amber light flickered through the grimy windows.

Up close, the air around the warehouse smelled stale and heavy. It carried a strange, metallic tang mixed with the scent of damp fur and chemical cleaning fluid.

I paused beside the wall, pressing my ear against the cold metal panel to listen.

At first, I heard only the steady hum of an electrical generator running somewhere deep inside the foundations. Then came a different sound. It was a low, ragged scraping noise, like heavy iron chains dragging across a concrete floor. Following that came a soft, pitiful whimper that sounded entirely organic.

My stomach dropped like a stone. That was not machinery. That was a living creature in pain.

I remembered the illegal beast trading rumors I heard older delivery riders whispering about near the market district. Rich collectors paid fortunes for rare wild beasts caught beyond the border wall, and ruthless dealers kept them locked in secret holding facilities before shipping them off to underground auction houses.

My breath caught in my throat as I stared at the dark alleyway running along the side of the building.

I looked back down the long gravel driveway leading toward my motorcycle. The old engine was completely off, and the bike sat hidden behind a rusted container a hundred yards away. If I turned around right now, I could make it back to the street without anyone inside ever knowing I was here. But quitting meant forfeiting the five hundred credits. It meant walking back into our tiny apartment with empty hands and telling Lily that I failed.

I took a slow breath to steady the trembling in my hands and adjusted the heavy strap of my delivery bag. I had to know if there was a safe way to drop off the box or at least get confirmation that the order was cancelled.

The service door at the end of the alley was not completely shut. A narrow gap of about two inches separated the heavy iron panel from the concrete frame, spilling a thin ray of yellow light onto the wet ground.

Someone inside had left the latch unbolted, either through carelessness or because they expected another vehicle to arrive soon.

I gripped the strap of my delivery bag tighter, my knuckles turning completely white. I did not want to know what kind of creatures were locked behind those iron doors, and I definitely did not want to meet the men wearing tactical gear whom I had seen through the high window.

I crouched down low beneath the window line, inching closer to the unlatched service door. Every muscle in my legs felt tight, ready to spring backward the moment a shadow moved inside. The smell of copper and burnt hair grew stronger near the opening, drifting out into the night air and making my throat itch.

Yet as I stepped back toward the dark shadows to reconsider my next move, a sudden movement caught my eye near the slightly open service door.

A shadow shifted across the crack of light, followed by the soft sound of claws scratching against the inner floorboards. The strange sounds were definitely coming from somewhere just beyond that door, pulling me closer to a secret I was never meant to find