The shapes moved faster now, slipping from the shadows like liquid death. The glint of their eyes multiplied until the tunnel seemed to breathe with them. The hiss turned into a chorus, filling the narrow space with sound that set Ayla's teeth on edge.
Jace backed into the group, his voice barely above a whisper.
"We need to go back."
"We can't," the stranger said, eyes fixed on the advancing horde.
Mara's finger tightened on the trigger.
"Light. We need light."
"I have nothing left," Kade said through clenched teeth.
Ayla's mind raced. The lantern. It flickered in Mara's pack, weak and dying, but it was all they had.
"Throw it," she said.
Mara hesitated, then yanked the lantern free and hurled it down the tunnel. The glass shattered, spilling flame and oil across the stone.
For a heartbeat, the tunnel filled with light. Ayla saw them then. Low to the ground, sleek and black, bodies all sinew and claw. Their mouths were full of sharp, wet teeth, and their eyes burned with hunger.
The fire slowed them, made them recoil from the heat. But only for a second.
"They're going around," the stranger said.
And he was right. The creatures split, slipping along the sides of the tunnel, avoiding the fire, closing in.
Jace turned, pointing to a narrow gap in the wall barely visible in the flickering light.
"There. A maintenance shaft. It leads deeper. They won't fit."
No one questioned him. They ran for the gap. The creatures lunged as they moved, teeth snapping inches from flesh.
Ayla felt the rush of air as claws missed her by a breath. She dove through the narrow opening, the stone scraping her skin.
Kade followed, gritting his teeth against the pain. Mara came next, her rifle held tight, eyes never leaving the horde.
The stranger was last, slashing at the creatures as he backed through the gap, his blade flashing in the firelight. One of the beasts caught his arm as he slipped through, leaving deep grooves that bled freely.
He didn't cry out. He shoved a broken pipe into the gap behind him, blocking the way as best he could.
The creatures slammed against it, snarling, clawing, but the shaft was too narrow, the pipe too solid.
For now.
They didn't stop moving. The shaft was tight, forcing them to crawl in places, the air thick and choking. The sound of the horde faded behind them, but the memory of it stayed sharp.
"Keep going," Jace urged. "The tunnel widens ahead."
Ayla's hands were raw from the stone. Her shoulder throbbed. Kade's breath came in short gasps, but he kept up. Mara stayed close behind, watching their backs.
The stranger's blood marked the path behind them, but he didn't slow.
Finally the shaft opened into a chamber. Old machinery lined the walls, rusted and broken. Water dripped from the ceiling. The air smelled of oil and decay.
Jace dropped to his knees, chest heaving.
"We're safe for now," he said.
Mara wasn't convinced.
"Nothing's safe down here."
Ayla helped Kade to sit, her hands shaking as the adrenaline ebbed.
The stranger leaned against the wall, pressing a strip of cloth to his wounded arm.
Jace moved to a rusted panel on the far wall, prying it open with shaking hands.
"There's a way up from here. Old service ladder. It'll get us closer to the surface."
Ayla's heart lifted for a moment.
"Where does it come out?"
Jace didn't answer.
Mara noticed first.
"Where does it come out, Jace?"
He swallowed hard.
"Near the old train yard."
The stranger cursed under his breath.
"That's its nest."
Ayla's stomach turned cold.
The sound of distant roars reached them, faint but rising.
And the creatures they had left behind began to claw at the shaft again, finding new ways through.
Jace looked at them, eyes wide with fear.
"We have no choice."
Mara grabbed the rifle, checked the chamber.
"Then we climb."
Ayla helped Kade to his feet. The stranger stood straight despite the blood dripping from his arm.
They crossed the chamber to the ladder as the walls trembled with the sound of pursuit.
One by one they began to climb, the darkness above waiting, silent and unknown.
And below, the creatures found the shaft's weakness and began to pour through.