My Hollow System

Chapter Four – Into the Abyss

Rule number one when exploring creepy abandoned tunnels with your maybe mutant best friend? Don’t. Just don’t.

Unfortunately, we were already breaking that rule.

The Hollowed came out of nowhere. One moment the tunnel was quiet, the next, we were neck-deep in snarling, wall-crawling nightmares with claws like butcher knives.

It lunged at me correction, at Elias with a screech that could curdle blood. But Elias didn’t freeze.

He moved faster than I could track, twisting just as those claws swiped where his head had been. I swear I felt the air split from the force of that miss. It should’ve freaked him out, but Elias… he looked focused. Dead calm.

I, on the other hand, was rethinking every life decision that led me to this point. I fumbled for my gun. Elias? He didn’t even blink.

“Uh, Elias?” I called, backing up slowly. “You good, man?”

No answer. Just a punch. A fast, brutal, not-human punch that cracked the Hollowed’s ribs with a sickening crunch.

The thing reeled back, shrieking.

Elias tilted his head like he was just curious what would happen if he hit it harder.

What the hell?

Then I heard it.

[Combat Analysis: Engaged]

[Threat Level: Moderate]

The voice echoed in his mind. His mind. Not mine.

Elias didn’t flinch.

Another Hollowed emerged from the gloom, twitching like a broken puppet. Then two more dropped from the ceiling because obviously one wasn’t enough.

They didn’t come for me.

They came for him.

They swarmed like they recognized him not as prey, but something… familiar.

That was when I knew. Whatever was going on inside Elias wasn’t human anymore.

And they could tell.

So could I.

The air was thick with the stench of rot and rust, but Elias didn’t seem to notice. His body shifted, anticipating every move the Hollowed made like he was playing a game on cheat mode.

The first creature struck high. Elias ducked and rolled, sweeping its legs with impossible precision.

The second lunged low.

Elias vaulted into a mid-air twist that would’ve made Olympic gymnasts cry. He landed like a predator, crouched and coiled.

[System Update: Reflex Adaptation Confirmed]

[Evasion Efficiency +25%]

Of course he was getting system updates like this was a video game.

I aimed and fired at one of the Hollowed creeping too close. The bullet hit it didn’t care.

Meanwhile, Elias moved like he was born for this. He dodged, ducked, cracked skulls, shattered ribs. Hollowed collapsed around him in twitching heaps.

Then he looked at me.

He didn’t say anything. Just gave me a nod like, “You still here?”

As if I was the weird one in this situation.

Two Hollowed circled him now, snarling, limbs bent in grotesque ways that made me want to throw up. But they didn’t attack.

They stared.

They recognized something.

And then they screamed.

It was this high-pitched, warbled shriek that echoed down the tunnel walls. I felt it in my bones. But it wasn’t pain.

It was a signal.

They were calling something.

Great.

Just what we needed.

A sound rolled through the tunnel like thunder wrapped in nails.

A howl.

Not a wolf howl. Not a Hollowed shriek.

This was deeper. Hungrier.

Something ancient and awful.

The Hollowed scattered like cockroaches when the light comes on. That’s how I knew we were truly screwed.

I grabbed Elias’s shoulder. “We need to go.”

He didn’t budge.

He was staring into the darkness. Waiting.

I followed his gaze and nearly peed myself.

It stepped out of the shadows with a slow, deliberate grace.

Tall. Twisted. Taller than any human had the right to be, its back arched with jagged bone ridges, arms too long, fingers like hooked blades. But the worst part?

Its eyes.

Red. Pulsing. Alive.

The Apex Hollowed.

[New Variant Identified]

[Class: Apex Hollowed]

[Threat Level: Lethal]

The system’s voice sounded a lot less smug this time. Even it knew we were out of our league.

The Apex smiled.

And then it ran.

I’d seen fast things before. This wasn’t fast.

This was instant.

Elias barely got out of the way. One claw still caught his side, tearing a bloody gash that sent him crashing to the ground.

I raised my gun. Fired.

It hit the thing right in the head. Point-blank.

Nothing.

It didn’t blink. Didn’t roar.

Didn’t even flinch.

Elias was on the ground, groaning, but already healing. Yeah. You read that right. Healing. Like some kind of nightmare Wolverine.

The Apex turned to him.

Not me.

It was toying with him.

I’d seen predators before.

This wasn’t hunting.

This was evaluating.

Elias stood slowly, blood dripping from his side.

> [Analyzing Host Potential…]

[Next Evolution Threshold Detected]

His eyes glowed.

Not literally, not yet. But I swear I saw something spark behind them.

He squared up.

And then

The entire tunnel groaned.

Dust rained down from the ceiling.

“Oh, come on!” I shouted.

The Apex didn’t seem bothered. But the concrete above us had other plans.

Chunks started falling.

I yanked Elias by the arm. “We. Are. Leaving.”

He didn’t argue this time.

We ran.

The Apex watched from behind a veil of dust and rubble. Its eyes glowed through the chaos.

And then

It smiled.

A human smile.

Not yet, it whispered.

Yeah. That’s the part where I officially lost all chill.

We barely cleared the tunnel mouth before the entire ceiling collapsed behind us in a thunderous boom.

Dust and smoke choked the air. The world shook.

I coughed hard enough to see stars and wheezed, “Please tell me that thing’s buried.”

Elias leaned against a wall, his wound already a scar. “For now.”

I stared at him. “For now? That thing talked.”

“Yeah,” he said, eyes narrowed. “It knew me.”

“Oh, that’s great. That’s totally not alarming. Should we bake it a cake next time?”

Elias didn’t laugh.

He just looked back at the wreckage.

Something was shifting inside him. I could tell. Not just physically, but mentally.

He was changing.

And the monsters? They weren’t here to kill him anymore.

They were watching.

Waiting.

Preparing.

He wasn’t just part of this world.

He was becoming something more.

Something dangerous.

As we stumbled back toward the surface, blinking into the moonlight, I turned to Elias.

“You good?”

He didn’t answer right away.

Then he whispered, “It said ‘not yet.’”

I swallowed hard. “What does that mean?”

Elias looked toward the tunnel ruins.

And for the first time I saw fear in his eyes.

“I think it means I’m not ready.”

Not ready for what?

We didn’t know.

But whatever it was…

It was coming.

And it had his name.