The tenth whisper;The beast that eat the memories.

Rat in the Walls

"I can't breathe down here," Ethan gasped, his voice cracking against the damp walls. "This is your fault, you bastard. You did this to me."

Water sloshed around his ankles as he pushed forward, one hand pressed to the gash on his side. Blood seeped through his torn shirt, warm and sticky. The sewer tunnel stretched ahead like a throat swallowing him whole.

*Ancient stones... blood on marble... they chained us once,* Umbra whispered inside his skull, the voice low and broken, like wind through cracked ruins. *They thought fire would end it.*

"Shut up," Ethan snapped, slamming his fist against the slick brick. Pain flared up his arm, but it felt good. Real. "I don't want your crazy memories. I want out. My life... my job, my apartment, everything gone because you couldn't stay hidden."

*Fear tastes like copper,* Umbra said, almost mocking. *You run like prey. We are not prey.*

Ethan stopped dead, leaning against the curve of the tunnel. His legs shook. Shock made everything fuzzy at the edges. "Not prey? Look at me. I'm crawling through shit because of you. They shot at us. People are dead up there. What the hell are you?"

A low chuckle echoed in his mind, dry as dust. *I am the shadow that remembers empires falling. You begged for strength last night. Now you curse the gift.*

"I didn't beg," Ethan hissed, splashing forward again. His breath came in short bursts. "I was scared. That thing in the alley had a knife to my throat. You... you tore him apart. I felt it. All of it."

*Good meat,* Umbra murmured. *His screams fed the old hunger.*

"Stop it!" Ethan's shout bounced back at him, too loud. He froze, listening. Nothing but the drip of water. "Just stop. I hate you. I hate what you've done. My face is probably on every screen by now. Friends, family... they'll think I'm a monster."

He kept moving, one hand trailing the wall for guidance. The tunnel branched. Left smelled worse, like rot. Right had a faint current of air. He chose right. "Logic, Ethan. Think. Find a grate. Get above ground. Figure this out."

*They hunt us with dogs now,* Umbra said, the words splintering like old bones. *Iron collars. Silver nets. I remember the burning fields.*

Ethan's stomach twisted. "How do you remember that? Who are you? What are we?"

*We are eternal. You are the cage.*

"Some cage," Ethan muttered bitterly. "Feels like I'm the one trapped. Every step hurts. My side is on fire. And you... you're laughing at me, aren't you?"

*Panic makes you weak. Listen to the blood.*

Heavy footsteps thudded somewhere above, muffled but close. Boots on pavement. Then a dog barked, sharp and eager. Ethan's heart slammed against his ribs.

"They're right there," he whispered, pressing himself against the wall. Cold slime soaked his back. "Hunting dogs. Soldiers. The whole city's probably locked down. How am I supposed to get out?"

*Run deeper,* Umbra urged, the voice sharpening. *Or rise and fight. I have torn armies before.*

"Armies? You think this is some ancient war?" Ethan laughed, but it came out broken and wet. "This is my city. My home. I had a normal life until you crawled inside me. Now look. Wounded rat in the walls."

He stumbled forward, following the faint breeze. The tunnel narrowed. His shoulders scraped stone. Another bark echoed from above, closer this time. Voices shouted orders, faint but clear enough to twist his gut.

"Check every grate! Suspect is armed and dangerous. Shoot on sight!"

Ethan's breath hitched. "They said shoot on sight. Me. They're talking about me like I'm some terrorist."

*We are more,* Umbra whispered. *Kings feared us. Gods envied us.*

"Gods? I don't care about your ghosts," Ethan growled, pushing through a tighter squeeze. Water rose to his knees now. "I care about not dying down here. My mom... she'll see the news. Think her son's a killer. All because you lost control."

*Control is illusion. The beast is truth.*

"Truth?" Ethan stopped again, chest heaving. Tears stung his eyes, mixing with the grime on his face. "The truth is I resent every inch of you. You took my choices. My future. I was going to propose to Sarah next month. Now what? I'm a fugitive talking to the monster in my head."

Silence stretched for a moment. Then Umbra's voice came softer, fragmented. *Sarah... soft hands... I remember lovers lost to spears.*

"Don't you dare," Ethan snarled, voice rising. "Don't touch her name with your crap. Stay out of my memories."

*We share them now. All of them.*

The footsteps multiplied overhead. Multiple pairs. A dog whined right above a grate somewhere ahead. Ethan slowed, moving like a ghost. His wounded side burned with every breath. Shock made his vision swim, but fear kept him sharp.

"Why won't you help me?" he demanded under his breath. "If you're so powerful, show me the way out. Or are you just here to mock how scared I am?"

*Fear sharpens the edge,* Umbra replied. *Use it. Or let it break you.*

Ethan reached a ladder bolted to the wall, rusted but solid. Faint light filtered down from a grate above. "This might be it. But if they're up there..."

*Climb,* Umbra said. *Or rot with the rats.*

"Easy for you to say. You're not the one bleeding." Ethan gripped the rungs, pulling himself up. Each step sent fresh pain through his body. "I hate this. I hate you. If I get caught, it's over."

He paused halfway, listening. The dog barked again, but it moved past, down the street. Voices faded a little. "Maybe they're moving on. Come on, Ethan. Logic. One step."

At the top, he pressed his face to the grate, peering out. Night air hit him, cooler than the sewer stink. An alley. Trash bins. Dim streetlight.

"Quiet now," he whispered to himself. "Push it open slow."

The grate creaked as he shoved. He froze, heart pounding. No shouts. He climbed out, collapsing onto wet pavement. Blood from his side smeared the ground.

*We made it,* Umbra murmured, satisfied.

"For now," Ethan breathed, staggering to his feet. He looked around, eyes adjusting. Then he saw them.

Posters. Fresh ones, plastered across the alley wall. His face stared back, blown up from some ID photo, eyes wide. Bold letters screamed: PUBLIC ENEMY. ARMED. EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. REWARD FOR INFORMATION.

Ethan stumbled back, hitting the opposite wall. "No. No, this can't be real."

*It is real,* Umbra said, almost amused. *They know our face now.*

"Shut up!" Ethan grabbed at the nearest poster, ripping it down with trembling hands. Paper tore. His own eyes looked up from the crumpled sheet. "They have my picture everywhere. How? It hasn't even been a day."

More posters lined the alley, stretching toward the street. Sirens wailed in the distance. Another dog barked, closer again.

"What do I do now?" Ethan whispered, voice thick with despair. He pressed the bloody poster to his wound like a bandage. "You ruined me. Completely ruined me."

*We begin again,* Umbra whispered. *Like the old times.*

Ethan stared at his face on the wall, the word MONSTER printed underneath in red. His knees buckled. The city had turned against him overnight, and the beast inside offered no comfort, only echoes of forgotten wars.

He was alone with it now. And the hunt was just starting.