Welcome Home

The whispering had stopped.

But the silence was worse.

Leon Graves stood frozen at the edge of the bloodstained altar, his SIG Sauer P226 raised, finger resting on the trigger. His instincts screamed at him to shoot, to move, to run—but his body refused to obey.

The figure before them stood perfectly still, wrapped in tattered black robes, its face obscured by a stitched leather mask.

The same one that had hunted them through the forest.

The same one that had watched from the treeline, waiting.

It had wanted them here.

And now, they were trapped.

"Welcome home," the figure said again, its voice a hollow rasp.

Leon's muscles tensed. "Who the hell are you?"

The figure tilted its head slowly.

Then it whispered, "We are the ones who remain."

The air in the chamber felt thick, suffocating. The stone walls pulsed as if something lived within them.

Eve Voss adjusted her grip on her M4 carbine, eyes locked on the figure. "Leon, I don't like this."

Riley clutched Tyler and Sam, her hands shaking. The kids didn't make a sound, their small bodies trembling in fear.

Leon took a slow step forward, keeping his gun level. "What do you want from us?"

The figure didn't move. "You were called here."

Leon's stomach twisted. "We didn't have a choice."

The figure let out a low, hollow laugh. "No one ever does."

Behind the altar, something shifted.

The shadows deepened, stretching unnaturally across the stone. A shape moved within them—large, watching.

Leon's gut twisted.

They weren't alone down here.

Eve whispered, "We're not walking out of here, are we?"

Leon's grip tightened on his gun. "Not unless we fight."

The masked figure finally took a slow step forward. "You do not understand where you stand."

Leon steadied himself. "Then explain it to me."

The figure tilted its head again. "This place is older than memory. Older than time. It is the space between the living and the lost."

Eve scowled. "Yeah, that's great, but cut the cryptic shit. Why are we here?"

The figure extended a long, skeletal hand.

"You were chosen."

Riley gasped. "Bullshit."

Leon ignored her. "Chosen for what?"

The figure let out a whispering laugh. "To stay."

Leon fired first.

The bullet slammed into the figure's chest, knocking it back—but it didn't fall.

Instead, it let out a slow, rasping sigh.

Leon's stomach dropped.

The thing hadn't bled.

Eve cursed. "Oh, we are so fucked."

Then the shadows behind the altar moved.

And the real nightmare began.

From the darkness, they emerged.

Dozens of figures crawled from the stone walls, their bodies thin, twisted, inhuman. Mouths stitched shut, their eyes black pits of nothing.

They didn't run.

They slithered.

Their limbs moved like spiders, jerking unnaturally as they crawled toward the group.

Tyler screamed. Sam whimpered.

Leon gritted his teeth. "Move!"

Eve opened fire, her rifle roaring in the enclosed space. Bullets tore through the creatures, but they kept coming.

Leon emptied his clip, dropping two, but more took their place.

The masked figure stood still, watching. Waiting.

Leon didn't have time for games.

He grabbed a torch from the wall and hurled it at the altar.

Flames erupted.

The creatures shrieked, writhing away from the fire.

The figure finally reacted. It let out a low, inhuman growl, stepping forward as if unfazed by the heat.

Leon turned to the others. "RUN!"

They bolted for the tunnel entrance.

The ground shook beneath their feet, the walls cracking as the chamber began to collapse.

Riley pulled the kids ahead, sprinting toward the opening. Eve stayed close to Leon, firing in short bursts, trying to slow the creatures down.

The masked figure did not move.

It simply watched as the earth crumbled around them.

Leon and Eve hit the tunnel just as the ceiling gave way.

Rocks slammed down, sealing the entrance behind them.

The last thing Leon saw—

Were those empty black eyes staring back.

The collapse had saved them.

But it had also trapped them.

Leon coughed, brushing dust from his face. The tunnel ahead stretched into darkness, the walls carved from the same smooth black stone.

Riley's voice shook. "Where the hell are we?"

Eve exhaled. "I don't know, but I'm betting there's only one way out."

Leon checked his ammo. Two bullets left.

They had survived the altar.

But something told Leon the worst was still ahead.

And this time…

There might not be a way out.