Story 845: The Black Maw

The streets were silent. Too silent.

Evelyn’s breath came in short, rapid bursts as she leaned against a crumbling wall. Reaper pressed a hand to his throat, still recovering from Voss' crushing grip. Mia kept her pistol drawn, her fingers twitching. Something was wrong.

Then the sky darkened.

It was sudden, unnatural. Like something massive had blotted out the moon. The air grew thick, oppressive—almost sentient.

A deep, guttural growl rumbled through the ruined cityscape.

Mia barely had time to turn before something descended from the rooftops.

It landed with a sickening crunch—a hulking figure wrapped in an abyssal, writhing mass of living black sinew.

Its eyes burned white, jagged and slanted, like slivers of malice carved into its skull. The creature’s mouth unhinged, revealing rows upon rows of serrated, interlocking teeth. Its tongue, a thick, writhing appendage, snaked out and tasted the air.

The Black Maw had arrived.