Story 803: The First Encounter

Evelyn ran through the darkened corridors, her breath ragged, her legs screaming in protest. The overhead lights flickered, casting twisted shadows against the blood-streaked walls. The voice on the intercom had told her to reach Extraction Point Bravo, but could she trust it?

She turned a corner and skidded to a stop.

The hallway ahead was littered with corpses, some fresh, others long decayed. The air was thick with the metallic stench of blood and something worse—something rotting but still alive.

Then she heard it.

A deep, guttural chuckle.

Slowly, her eyes adjusted to the darkness. At the far end of the hallway, something huge crouched in the shadows. Its muscular form rippled with unnatural power, its skin a deep crimson, glistening in the dim light. Its left hand twitched—long, serrated claws scraping against the floor. Its face… or what should have been its face… was a grotesque nightmare.