Story 824: The Maw Awakens

The rubble shifted.

A sickening squelch echoed through the tunnel as something beneath moved. Leon, still gasping for breath, locked eyes with Evelyn. They weren’t safe yet.

Mia reloaded, hands shaking. "Tell me that thing is finally dead."

A deep, guttural clicking answered her instead.

The Hollow Eater wasn’t just alive. It was changing again.

Beneath the debris, flesh writhed and twisted, bones snapping as its form expanded. Its blackened exoskeleton cracked apart, replaced by a new layer of grotesque, glistening sinew.

Then—a mouth tore open across its chest.

Rows of serrated teeth glistened with bile. From within, several grotesque tendrils slithered out, each tipped with gnashing fangs.

Mia stepped back. “No… no, no, no—”

It lunged.

A tendril lashed forward, snagging her by the leg. She screamed as it yanked her off the ground, dragging her toward its gaping maw.

Leon moved instinctively.