CHAPTER FIFTY: COLLAPSE & CARNAGE

The morning sun barely touched the sky, but the village was already stirring. A heavy mist clung to the ground, curling around the wooden huts like ghostly fingers. The air was damp, carrying the distant scent of the forest beyond. Somewhere in the distance, a rooster crowed—a sound that should have been ordinary, but in this tense atmosphere, it felt like a warning.

I rolled my shoulders, shaking off the stiffness from the long night. Nicole sat nearby, arms crossed, her expression unreadable. Ken, ever the relaxed one, was leaning against the wall, absentmindedly spinning a bullet between his fingers.

"We should move soon," Nicole said, breaking the silence. "The longer we wait, the more time that thing has to prepare."

Ken exhaled sharply. "Yeah, yeah. You don't have to tell me twice."

I said nothing, staring at the fog creeping through the trees. We weren't just hunting a beast. We were stepping into unknown territory.

And unknown territory had a way of fighting back.

We tracked the beast to its lair—a ruined facility covered in claw marks and dried blood. The air was thick with decay, the scent of rot clinging to the crumbling walls. Vines had begun reclaiming the structure, weaving through shattered windows and cracked concrete. The place had seen horrors long before we arrived.

At the entrance, Nicole turned to me, her expression sharp. "No running off. We do this as a team."

I met her gaze, unimpressed. "Didn't know you were my babysitter."

She didn't take the bait. "Just don't do anything reckless."

Ken adjusted his gun, his tone dry. "I'd say that goes for all of us. Let's not get ripped apart in some abandoned death trap."

The silence that followed was almost suffocating. The walls loomed around us, stained with blood—some old, some fresh. Whatever had happened here, it hadn't ended well.

I stepped forward, scanning the area. "So, what's the plan?"

Nicole exhaled. "We move together. No splitting up."

Ken nudged me with his elbow. "You hear that, Lone Wolf?"

I rolled my eyes but didn't argue. There were too many unknowns, and even I knew better than to underestimate this thing.

We crossed the threshold into the darkness. The air inside was heavy, almost expectant. Then, from deep within the ruins, something shifted. A low snarl echoed through the corridors.

It knew we were here. And it was waiting.

As we moved cautiously through the wreckage, we stumbled upon what looked like an old testing room. Rusted equipment lined the walls, shattered glass littered the floor, and scattered documents lay forgotten on the ground.

I crouched and picked up a crumpled paper. The faded text hinted at experiments on living beings. My grip tightened.

Whatever the hell happened in this place… it created something monstrous.

Ken stepped past me, kicking a few scattered pages aside before crouching to pick one up. His eyes scanned the faded ink, his brow furrowing. "This isn't just some rogue experiment. They were breeding something."

Nicole sifted through the mess, flipping through half-burned notebooks and torn files. "Enhancement serums, genetic modifications, accelerated growth rates…" Her voice trailed off as she turned to me. "They weren't just experimenting. They were making weapons."

I flipped through a report labeled Project Revenant. Most of it was illegible, but one phrase stood out— unstable subject… unpredictable behavior… complete loss of control.

Ken snorted. "Yeah, no kidding." He held up a photo clipped to one of the reports. It was faded, but the image was clear enough—a grotesque hybrid of muscle and bone, barely recognizable as anything human. Jagged teeth, elongated limbs, and empty, soulless eyes.

Nicole tightened her grip on a bloodstained journal. "They created it here… and then lost control of it. That's why the mercenaries abandoned the facility. They left this thing behind."

I flipped to another page, this one scrawled in frantic handwriting:

"Containment failed. It's learning. Adapting. We can't stop it. If anyone finds this—run. Don't fight. Just run."

I clenched my jaw. Too late for that.

Ken exhaled sharply, tossing the paper aside. "Well, that's reassuring."

Nicole turned to me. "Liam, you saw how it fought. Does this look like something we can kill?"

I thought back to our first encounter—the speed, the intelligence behind those feral eyes. It hadn't just attacked. It had tested us, learned from us.

"It's not invincible," I said finally. "But it's smart. We can't fight it like we would a normal beast. We need a plan."

Ken smirked. "And here I thought you'd suggest punching it till it dies."

"Tempting," I muttered, tossing the file onto the floor. "But I prefer not dying."

Nicole folded her arms. "Then let's come up with a strategy. Because whether we're ready or not… it knows we're here."

A distant, guttural growl echoed through the ruined halls. And it was getting closer.

Nicole turned to Ken, her expression sharp. "I thought you and Selena destroyed the Hunters."

Ken let out a dry chuckle, flipping through another bloodstained page. "One of their HQs, yeah. But the Hunters are like roaches—kill a nest, and five more pop up somewhere else."

I scoffed. "So all that effort, and they're still crawling around?"

Ken shrugged. "We hit them hard, but they're not the type to go down easy. They've been around for too long, with too many connections." He gestured around the ruined facility. "Wouldn't surprise me if they had a hand in whatever the hell happened here."

Nicole frowned, gripping the edge of the desk. "Then that means there's a chance they're still involved."

Ken nodded. "Yeah. And if that's the case, this isn't just about the beast anymore."

Nicole sifted through the scattered papers, flipping through pages filled with coded language and diagrams of human anatomy. Some documents were too damaged to read, soaked in dried blood or torn to pieces, but a few words stood out: Subject evolution, cellular mutation, neurological control failure.

I picked up a file, the name barely legible under the smears of ink and rust-colored stains. "Looks like they were experimenting on people… again."

Ken exhaled sharply. "Not surprising. The Hunters always had a thing for pushing limits."

Nicole held up a brittle sheet, her brows furrowed. "This one mentions something about a test subject adapting beyond expectations. They tried to contain it, but…" Her voice trailed off as she skimmed the next few lines. Then, she stiffened. "They lost control. The subject became too intelligent, too violent."

I stepped closer, reading over her shoulder. The last entry was brief but chilling:

"Containment failure. Total loss. Facility abandoned. Survivors—zero."

A low growl echoed from deeper within the facility.

Ken cocked his gun. "Well. Looks like at least one survivor made it."

We pushed deeper into the facility, past rusted equipment and shattered observation windows. The further we went, the more the walls bore the same signs of violence—deep claw marks, dried blood, remnants of a battle long lost.

Then, we stepped into a vast chamber lined with shattered glass and ruined metal restraints. The center of the room held a deep, gaping pit, darkness stretching endlessly below.

Nicole took a step forward, peering into the abyss. "This must be where they kept it."

A slow, guttural snarl rose from the pit. The hairs on my neck stood on end.

Then, the beast lunged.

The beast erupted from the pit, its massive frame crashing onto the floor with enough force to shake the entire chamber. Dust and debris rained down as we scrambled back, eyes locked onto the creature.

It was bigger. Much bigger. The last time we fought it, it had been monstrous, but now—it was something else entirely. Its limbs were thicker, its muscles more defined, and its claws gleamed like obsidian daggers under the dim light. The glowing red eyes that once burned with feral rage now held something far worse—awareness.

Ken clicked his tongue, stepping back as he reloaded. "Tell me that's just a trick of the light."

Nicole unfurled her whip, keeping it low and coiled, ready to strike. "No. It's changed. It's evolved."

I tensed, watching as the beast slowly turned its head, scanning us—calculating. Its thick, ragged fur bristled as it flexed its claws, testing their sharpness against the stone floor. The deep gouges it left behind made my stomach tighten.

Then, it lunged.

I barely twisted out of the way as its massive claw carved through the space I'd been standing in. The impact sent cracks spiderwebbing across the ground. It was faster. Stronger. More ruthless.

Ken fired off a shot, aiming for the joints, but the beast twisted mid-motion, avoiding the bullet with unnatural agility. Before he could adjust his aim, the creature's tail lashed out, slamming into him and sending him hurtling into a crumbling console.

Nicole snapped her whip, the crack echoing through the chamber as she struck at its legs. The beast reared back with a snarl, its thick hide shielding it from the worst of the blow. She shifted her stance, adjusting for another strike.

"This isn't the same thing we fought before," she said, voice tight. "It's smarter. It's stronger."

I clenched my fists, my mind racing. There were barely any usable shadows here—only the flickering glow from the ruined monitors and the emergency lights lining the walls. Not enough.

The beast's eyes darted between us, nostrils flaring. It was studying us, just like before. But this time, I could feel it anticipating our next move.

Ken groaned, forcing himself up, blood trailing from his forehead. "This thing's not just learning from us." He exhaled sharply. "It's adapting."

Nicole's grip tightened around her whip. "Then we can't just defend. We need to end this."

She lashed forward, the whip slicing through the air as she aimed for its eyes. I moved in tandem, drawing its focus as she went in for the strike. Ken, wiping the blood from his eye, lifted his gun once more.

The fight had just begun—but one thing was clear. This wasn't just a battle anymore. It was a test of survival.

The beast roared, shaking the chamber as it reared back, narrowly dodging Nicole's strike. Its intelligence was unsettling—it wasn't just reacting; it was calculating.

Ken took a shot, aiming for the beast's exposed side. The bullet struck, but instead of sinking into flesh, it barely grazed the hide, sparks flying as if it had hit something harder than bone.

I scowled. It's toughened up.

Nicole adjusted her stance, flicking her whip to keep its attention divided. "We need to pin it down—"

The beast lunged at her mid-sentence. She barely managed to leap aside, rolling as its massive claws tore into the ground where she had stood. The sheer force sent chunks of debris flying.

Ken fired again, this time at its legs. The beast twisted, the bullet grazing its knee, but instead of recoiling, it used the momentum—spinning into a vicious backhanded strike that sent me skidding across the floor.

Pain flared through my ribs, but I forced myself up, breathing hard. My shadow abilities were nearly useless here, but that didn't mean I was out of options.

Nicole cracked her whip, wrapping it around one of the beast's forelimbs and yanking hard. It stumbled, weight shifting, and Ken took advantage of the opening. He fired at its other leg, this time a direct hit. The beast howled, but it didn't fall—it caught itself, muscles flexing, claws digging into the ground for balance.

It's learning faster than before.

Nicole yanked her whip free, eyes narrowing. "We need to restrain it before it adapts to us completely."

Ken reloaded with a swift motion. "Any bright ideas?"

I wiped the blood from my lip, glancing around the ruined chamber. A plan formed—risky, but our best shot.

"We need to collapse part of the ceiling on it." I motioned toward the weakened support beams. "If we can lure it under there, we bring it down and pin it long enough to finish this."

Nicole nodded, already moving into position. "Ken, can your bullets weaken the structure?"

Ken smirked, raising his gun. "Way ahead of you."

The beast snarled, sensing the shift in strategy. It wasn't going to let us set the trap easily. It lunged again, this time straight for me—because it knew I was the one who came up with the plan.

I braced myself. Come on, then. I just had to survive long enough to make this work.

With little to no shadow to manipulate, I had to take a drastic measure—one that would kill me if I miscalculated. Gritting my teeth, I absorbed my own shadow, wrapping it around my fist like a second skin. The moment I struck, a sickening crack echoed through the chamber. The beast's head snapped to the side, its jaw hanging loosely, barely attached. A wave of exhaustion crashed over me, my vision darkening at the edges. Absorbing my own shadow took more out of me than I had anticipated. But it worked.

The creature staggered, disoriented just long enough for Ken to make his move. Without hesitation, he channeled his lightning through his gun, infusing the bullet with crackling energy. His aim locked onto the weakened support beams above, and with a sharp pull of the trigger, he fired.

The shot rang out. A streak of blue lightning-infused energy tore through the air, striking its mark. The beams groaned, splintering under the force. Cracks spread like veins, deep and jagged. Dust and debris rained down as the ceiling above the beast buckled.

Nicole was already moving, her whip lashing out to snag my wrist, yanking me back just as the structure gave way. A deafening crash swallowed the beast's enraged howl as tons of rubble buried it beneath twisted metal and stone.

Silence.

I coughed, my lungs burning from the dust cloud that followed. My entire body ached from the reckless move I had pulled, and my vision swam, but I forced myself to focus.

Ken exhaled, lowering his gun. "Tell me that worked."

Nicole didn't answer immediately, her grip on her whip tightening as she studied the rubble. The dust began to settle, revealing a mangled mess of debris.

Then, a low, guttural growl rumbled from beneath. My stomach twisted. It's still alive.

Ken cursed under his breath, already reloading his gun. Nicole's jaw tightened as she took a cautious step back, her whip coiled at the ready. My fists clenched. I could still feel the strain from absorbing my own shadow, but there was no time to dwell on it.

The rubble shifted. First, a twitch. Then, a violent lurch. A massive chunk of debris rolled aside as something stirred beneath the wreckage.

Then, with a guttural snarl, the beast tore free.

It was different now. Bigger. Its wounds closed faster than before, muscle and bone snapping back into place. The lightning burns on its hide still sizzled, but they no longer seemed to slow it down. Its eyes, once filled with wild rage, now gleamed with something far worse—awareness.

It had adapted.

Nicole swallowed hard. "We need a new plan."

Ken clicked his tongue, keeping his gun trained. "Yeah? Got any bright ideas?"

I exhaled, shaking off the fatigue. "Yeah. Try not to die."

With a deafening roar, the beast lunged.

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