Survivor System: From Weak To Overlord

Chapter 2: Left Alone

The hallway was silent except for the steady drip of water from a broken pipe. Wilson stood frozen, his hand pressed against the cold door that had just slammed shut in his face.

“Katie?” His voice came out rough, like sand scraping against metal. “Katie, open the door!”

He knocked again, harder this time. The sound echoed through the narrow corridor, bouncing off the cracked walls. 

No answer. Only the quiet hum of the flickering ceiling light and the faint creak of something shifting in the shadows behind him.

He swallowed hard. “Katie, please. I didn’t mean for it to happen like this. Just… talk to me.”

Still nothing.

The door remained still, the silence heavy. For a moment, Wilson thought he could hear her footsteps retreating, soft, uneven, and distant. 

Then came the unmistakable sound of a bolt sliding into place. Locked. His heart dropped into his stomach.

He pressed his forehead to the door, his breath fogging against the wood. “Don’t do this,” he whispered, his voice shaking. “You’re making a mistake.”

But Katie was gone.

The hallway stretched out behind him like a tunnel leading nowhere. The lights flickered again, one of them buzzing before it went out completely, plunging half the corridor into darkness.

Wilson turned slowly. The air felt colder now. He could smell something damp and metallic, rust, or maybe blood. He couldn’t tell.

He took a cautious step back, then another. The floor creaked under his boots. He tried to steady his breathing, but his pulse was hammering too loud in his ears. “Okay,” he muttered to himself. “It’s fine. Just find another way out.”

But deep down, he knew there wasn’t one. The old building had always been a maze, narrow passages, sealed windows, and locked staircases. 

Only Katie knew the codes. Only she had the key. He had trusted her. Now she had locked him out.

Wilson’s mind raced. Maybe she was scared. Maybe she thought he was lying about what he saw. But how could she not believe him after everything they’d been through?

He closed his eyes for a moment, replaying it, the flash of red eyes in the dark, the shadow moving too fast, the whisper that didn’t belong to any human voice.

Katie had seen it too. He was sure of it. Something shifted behind him. A faint scraping sound.

Wilson spun around, his breath catching in his throat. The hallway was empty, but the shadows looked thicker now, heavier, as if something was moving inside them. “Who’s there?” he called out.

No reply. Only silence, and then, faintly, a low hiss that made the hair on his neck stand up.

Wilson backed toward the door again and slammed his palm against it. “Katie! Open up, now!”

Still no answer. His chest tightened. Fear clawed its way up his spine. He turned his head slowly, eyes darting to the far end of the corridor.

Something was standing there. A tall shape, motionless at first, then twitching, jerking its head slightly to the side as if it were studying him.

Wilson’s heart thudded painfully. He couldn’t see its face, but its outline was wrong, shoulders too broad, arms too long. He took a step back, pressing against the door again. “Katie… please…”

The figure moved. It didn’t walk. It glided. Each time the light flickered, it was closer. One blink, it was halfway down the hall. Another, and it was standing just a few feet away.

Wilson fumbled for the door handle, yanking it desperately. “Katie!” he screamed. “Please, open the door! There’s something out here!”

He banged on the wood until his knuckles ached. Still locked. He turned around just in time to see the thing stop right in front of him.

The flickering light revealed its face, or what was left of it. Pale, cracked skin stretched too thin, eyes glowing like dying embers. 

Its mouth opened slowly, but no sound came out, only a deep, rattling breath that sounded like it came from somewhere far below the earth.

Wilson stumbled backward and tripped over a loose floor tile, crashing to the ground. Pain shot up his arm.

The creature tilted its head, as if curious. Then it leaned closer. Wilson’s breath came in short, panicked bursts. 

He tried to crawl away, but the hallway seemed to stretch endlessly behind him, like the building itself didn’t want to let him leave.

The creature’s hand reached out, long, bony fingers with nails like shards of glass, then, a loud bang echoed from behind the door. “Wilson!” Katie’s voice, faint but real this time.

His eyes widened. “Katie! Don’t open it!” he shouted, though he didn’t know why, fear, instinct, desperation all mixed together.

The creature’s head snapped toward the sound, and in that instant, the lights went out completely. Darkness swallowed everything. 

Wilson felt something cold brush against his cheek. Then a whisper, right beside his ear, too close, too human. “You shouldn’t have come back.”

And then, a blinding flash of white light burst from the cracks of the door. The creature shrieked and vanished into the dark with a sound like tearing metal.

Wilson shielded his eyes, heart pounding. When he looked again, the hallway was empty.

The door creaked open just an inch. Katie’s face appeared through the gap, her eyes wide with fear and confusion. “Wilson… what was that?”

He didn’t answer. His voice wouldn’t come. Something behind her moved. A second shadow.

This one wearing a familiar shape. “Katie,” he whispered hoarsely, his throat dry. “Step away from the door.”

But before he could finish, the door slammed shut again, this time, from inside.