Chapter 77

The Threat That Lurks Outside

The ruins of Sujay Psychiatry Hospital loomed behind them, its blackened silhouette crackling faintly as though the structure itself mourned its shattered heart. The group stood in the vast compound outside, surrounded by jagged stones and cracks that radiated outward like a web. Their breaths fogged in the cold, stagnant air, but none dared make a move.

The battle was over—or so they thought.

Elias lay slumped in Margot's arms, his once-unyielding form now limp, pale, and lifeless. His green eyes had dimmed to nothing, and the faint flicker of power that usually radiated from him was gone.

"Get up!" Margot pleaded, her voice hoarse with panic. She shook him gently, her own wounds ignored as blood trickled down her side. "Please, Elias… don't do this now."

Lara knelt beside them, her chest heaving as she clutched the glowing silver key tightly in her hand. She didn't even notice the way it burned her skin—her focus was on Elias.

"He's not breathing right," she whispered, panic creeping into her voice. "We need to move. We need to get him out of here."

But before anyone could move, the air grew cold.

A low, guttural hum resonated across the compound, its vibrations crawling under their skin like the whisper of a thousand voices. The ground pulsed faintly, and the group froze as a figure emerged from the shadows.

The Anchor stepped forward, his pale form bathed in the faint glow of the crumbling hospital behind him. His crimson eyes burned like twin flames, their light casting long, distorted shadows across the compound.

The group instinctively stepped back, shielding Elias's body as they huddled closer together.

The Anchor's voice was low and resonant, dripping with disdain. "I must admit," he said, his gaze sweeping over the battered group, "you've exceeded my expectations."

Margot shivered under his gaze, her mind racing with memories of her mother and the horrors of the hospital. Roman stood rigid, his jaw clenched as he silently calculated their odds of survival.

But it was Lara who stepped forward, her shoulders squared despite the trembling in her legs. The silver key pulsed in her grip, its faint glow defying the oppressive presence of the Anchor.

"What do you want?" she demanded, her voice steady despite the fear clawing at her chest.

The Anchor tilted his head slightly, his expression unreadable. "To remind you of your place," he said simply.

He gestured with a pale hand, and from behind him stepped two familiar figures: Andy and Lyn. Their faces were pale, their bodies trembling as they were dragged forward by invisible chains.

"I thought I'd humor the Architect," the Anchor continued, his tone laced with contempt. "Let him play his games, send his little reflections to lure you into the heart of this madness."

He turned to Andy and Lyn, his crimson eyes narrowing. "But you failed."

Andy fell to her knees, her hands clasped together as she begged. "We tried! We brought them to the hospital! We—"

The Anchor raised a hand, and Andy's voice was silenced mid-sentence. "You were a waste of time," he said coldly. "And I have no patience for failures."

Without another word, crimson energy surged from his hand, enveloping both Andy and Lyn. They screamed, their bodies twisting unnaturally as they were reduced to nothing more than ash.

The group watched in stunned silence, their breaths caught in their throats.

The Anchor turned back to them, his expression calm but menacing. "Consider this a reprieve," he said, his voice low but heavy with malice. "The Architect's games amuse me for now, but when the time comes, none of you will leave the battlefield alive."

Lara's grip on the silver key tightened, but she stayed silent. The Anchor's presence was suffocating, his power far beyond anything they could comprehend.

"But," the Anchor added, his crimson eyes narrowing, "I sense something else… something treacherous."

His gaze shifted briefly, as if searching for an unseen force. His expression darkened, and without another word, he vanished into the shadows, leaving only a faint whisper of his presence behind.

The group barely had a moment to breathe before the low, guttural growls began to echo across the compound.

"Shit," Roman muttered, his voice trembling as he turned toward the source of the sound.

From the shadows surrounding the ruins of the hospital, the zombie patients began to emerge. Their grotesque forms shuffled forward, their distorted faces illuminated by the faint glow of the crumbling building. Their mouths hung open, black ichor dripping from their teeth as they growled hungrily.

"They're coming!" Jack shouted, grabbing a nearby piece of debris as a weapon.

"Move!" Lara yelled, her voice cutting through the rising panic. "Get to the van!"

Roman and Jack hoisted Elias's unconscious body between them, their breaths labored as they carried him toward the van. Margot limped after them, clutching her side as blood soaked through her shirt.

Lara stayed at the rear, the silver key glowing in her hand as she turned to face the approaching horde.

The zombie patients moved faster now, their inhuman groans growing louder as they surged toward the group.

"Go!" Lara shouted, swinging her glowing weapon at the closest patient. The blade slashed through its torso, black ichor spraying across the ground as it collapsed.

The group reached the van, Roman throwing the back doors open as Jack and Margot loaded Elias inside.

"Start the engine!" Margot yelled, her voice frantic as she climbed into the back.

Roman scrambled into the driver's seat, fumbling with the keys as the zombie patients closed in. Lara slashed at another, her movements frantic as she bought them precious seconds.

"Lara, get in!" Jack shouted from the back.

Lara turned, her eyes wide with terror as the horde surged toward her. She sprinted toward the van, narrowly dodging the grasping hands of the patients. Roman hit the gas, the van lurching forward just as Lara leapt inside.

The doors slammed shut, and the group collapsed against the walls of the van, their breaths coming in ragged gasps.

The van sped through the crumbling streets, the groans of the zombie patients fading into the distance. But the silence inside the van was deafening.

Margot knelt beside Elias, her hands trembling as she pressed them against his chest. "He's not waking up," she whispered, her voice breaking.

Lara sat across from her, the silver key still glowing faintly in her lap. Her face was pale, her hands shaking as she tried to process everything that had just happened.

"We need a plan," Roman said from the driver's seat, his knuckles white as he gripped the steering wheel. "Whatever that thing was… it's not done with us."

"No," Lara said softly, her voice steady despite the fear in her eyes. "This is just the beginning."

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