Walking along the ancient streets of the underground city, we studied the architecture of the local buildings. The structures looked as if they had been carved straight out of a single enormous rock. The entire city was made in dark tones, decorated with white quartz patterns. The patterns depicted various strange beasts, resembling birds adorned with glowing crystals. There were also simpler drawings, like tangled plants, along with incomprehensible runes. All of this created an ancient atmosphere that made the heart beat faster with awe.
The houses were mostly two-story, with spacious terraces supported by small columns. The roofs were made of once-white tiles that had long since faded — surely they used to be as snow-white as fresh snow.
The roads of cracked stone slabs were surprisingly almost not covered with dust, which confused us, but we quickly forgot about it, since our main goal was to find a way out. In some places there were small craters in the road, but there was nothing that could have caused them, as if someone had deliberately erased the reasons for the destruction here.
"This place could've been quite beautiful," Angela said with admiration in her voice, her eyes sparkling with growing curiosity.
"True. I'd love to see these streets before they were destroyed, full of life," Klaym agreed. "But now it's more creepy… and this dead silence makes me uneasy," he continued, shivers running down his spine.
"Don't you feel like someone is watching us?" Elisa asked, anxiety clearly visible in her eyes.
"It just feels that way. There's no one here, except maybe a couple of lithogryzers. This place is probably just getting into your head, nothing serious," I said, trying to stop her from spiraling.
"But… okay. I guess you're right. No one should be here," Elisa replied, calming down a little.
The entire city truly looked terrifying, and aside from Elisa, I myself felt like we were being watched. But that couldn't be real, so I blamed everything on the city's atmosphere.
We walked through wide streets, examining thesurroundings and trying to find something resembling an entrance to the catacombs. So far we hadn't found even a hint of one, so we decided to head toward the center — most likely we'd find our goal there.
"Bam!" — Suddenly, from one of the narrow alleys, came a sound like something heavy falling.
The sudden crash made all of us flinch.
"What the…?" Klaym whispered quietly and looked at us.
"It was probably just a stone falling or something. Don't forget where we are," Frederica said, trying to push away our bad thoughts.
His words eased our anxiety — it made sense. We were in an old, half-destroyed underground city, of course something could collapse. We relaxed and were about to move on, but Angela decided to check what caused the sound. Seeing her head in that direction, I went after her.
As I followed her, I noticed she suddenly stopped and stared into the narrow passage between the buildings she was heading toward.
"Why did you stop? Wha—" I didn't get to finish.
The reason was right in front of me.
In the alley, standing on all fours, was a creature.
A not-very-tall being, from afar resembling a twisted version of a human. Its body was completely hairless, and its skin was pale from long absence of sunlight. Its eyes were entirely white. Its mouth was wide and round, filled with dozens of sharp teeth arranged in several rows. It had two pairs of pointed ears sticking out from its head. It had no nose — only two small holes where the nostrils should have been.
Its body was extremely thin — literally skin and bones — and in some places the bones pierced through the skin, forming sharp spikes. But the most terrifying thing was its claws, which scraped against the stone floor with a screech. Long and razor-sharp, they looked capable of tearing any living creature apart.
At its sight, both Angela's and my minds were instantly flooded with fear, about to turn into panic. Cold sweat formed on our foreheads, chills ran down our backs. We stood frozen, not knowing what to do, but the creature heard us and slowly turned in our direction.
Its empty white eyes stared straight at me. My heart skipped a beat. I involuntarily glanced at its claws — claws that could easily pierce my chest and tear me apart. We stared at each other for several seconds, while the others couldn't understand why we weren't moving.
Suddenly, the creature slowly shifted its gaze to Angela and began making a sound that was a mix of hissing and growling.
Angela stepped back — just one step — but it was loud enough to betray us.
Hearing the movement, the creature jerked sharply, and I instinctively shoved Angela backward and quickly stepped away with her.
"Ragrh!" — with a loud snarl, the monster lunged straight at us with terrifying speed.
Its mouth opened wide, revealing three rows of sharp teeth. My reaction was instant. Barely in time, I flipped my flashlight and struck it with the back end straight in the face, but during the impact it managed to catch my arm.
The wounds weren't very deep, but enough to hurt. The creature flew a couple of meters back and slammed heavily against the stone floor.
Seeing this, the others were instantly horrified, finally understanding the reason for our strange behavior. Klaym reacted fast, yanking out his pistol and firing at the creature lying on the ground.
The bullet hit it in the chest, and it let out a piercing, agonizing howl.
The scream was so loud that it echoed through the streets. But it didn't last long — a few seconds later, the creature went silent, and its head dropped lifelessly against the cold stone.
But we weren't even given time to understand what had happened before several loud, shrill screeches echoed from the side of the dead monster.
Fear hit us in an instant — there were at least ten sources of those screams.
Less than ten seconds passed before another one crawled out of a building window and jumped onto the road in front of us. It looked almost the same as the one we killed — the only differences were a few features and the filthy rags hanging from its body.
But it wasn't alone. More began to appear, crawling out of windows, alleys, rooftops.
The sound of their approaching footsteps made our hearts freeze, and as their numbers rapidly grew, our legs felt like they were turning to water.
"To hell with this! Run!" Klaym shouted, and with all his strength, bolted in the opposite direction.
Seeing his reaction, we started running too. Angela still couldn't move, so without thinking, I grabbed her, threw her over my shoulder, and ran.
We fled in terror, but they didn't fall behind. Their numbers kept growing — there were even female ones. I noticed two strange things about them: their anthropomorphic bodies and the strange cloth rags they wore. But I had no time to think about that. The only thing that mattered was survival.
Turning my head again, I saw two of the creatures dangerously close — they were about to catch up to us and Angela. I quickly pulled out my pistol and fired at them.
The deafening shots made my ears ring. The two monsters I shot fell heavily and rolled across the stone. It didn't just eliminate them — it knocked down a few more.
"What do we do?!" Elisa screamed.
"We need to hide somewhere! Just running won't work!" Klaym shouted back.
At that moment, I noticed Frederic slowing down — his face had turned painfully pale. I didn't understand why, but I ran up to him and helped support him as we continued running.
"Klaym, help me! Something's wrong with Frederic!" I shouted.
Klaym heard me, slowed down slightly, and grabbed Frederic from the other side. I wouldn't have managed alone — I was already running at my limit while carrying Angela.
"Come on, guys, we need to speed up," I said through heavy breathing, trying to push us forward with words.
"Turn right, then we'll try to hide inside one of the houses!" Klaym shouted, giving commands.
We reached the needed alley and quickly turned into it. Once there, Klaym pointed toward the window of one of the houses.
Elisa and John didn't even stop — they jumped inside. I carefully but quickly threw Angela through the window. It was rough, but we didn't have time. Then, together with Klaym, we helped Frederic climb in and jumped in ourselves.
We crouched under the window. Sadly, we didn't manage to run deeper inside. Sitting so that we couldn't be seen, we froze. John also pulled out his pistol, gripping it tightly.
Dead silence lasted only a moment before the sound of running feet and growling echoed outside. Our plan worked — they kept running forward, passing by us.
We were so afraid to make even the slightest sound that we literally stopped breathing. A few seconds felt like an eternity. Our legs and lungs burned, but fear was stronger than the need to breathe.
When the sounds finally faded, we quietly exhaled and caught our breath.
But suddenly, a quiet hissing sound was heard — and a creature began crawling through the window.
Our hearts froze. If we fired, the others would hear and come running. But the damn monster kept crawling inside, leaving us without a choice.
Then, suddenly, Frederic grabbed it by the head with his right hand, clamping its jaw shut, and with a knife in his left hand, started stabbing it in the back of the head.
That caught us completely off guard. We froze in shock.
The creature started struggling, trying to break free, but Frederic's grip was strong enough to prevent it from escaping or making any sound. However, his weakened state began to show — his hold slowly loosened, and his blows became weaker.
The monster was about to free itself, but I reacted in time. Grabbing it, I also started stabbing it with a knife I had pulled out just seconds before. It was much more resilient than the previous ones, but even so, it couldn't survive under the storm of blows.
It stopped struggling, and its lifeless, blood-covered body hung from the window.
So that it wouldn't be noticed, I pulled it inside and threw it onto the floor.
A thick, dark burgundy liquid began to spread across the floor, dripping from our knives and hands.
"Haa… haa…" Frederic breathed heavily. His face was unnaturally pale, and his breathing was dry and uneven.
"First, let's go deeper inside. It should be safer there," Klaym suggested, quietly moving forward.
We silently stood up and followed him. As we moved, I supported Frederic, throwing his arm over my shoulder.
We entered a room that looked like a living room and decided to rest there.
But suddenly Frederic completely lost his strength. I almost collapsed with him, but at the last moment, I dropped to my knees instead.
"Wilmar, what's happening?" Elisa asked anxiously, but quietly so we wouldn't be heard.
"I don't know. Something's wrong with Frederic," I replied, glancing at him.
His condition only grew worse. He could no longer stand properly.
Only one person could understand what was happening — Elisa.
"Damn it," Elisa cursed softly. "Quick — put him on the table," she added, pointing to a nearby stone table.
I did exactly as she said. Placing him on the table, I stepped back so I wouldn't interfere.
As soon as he was on the table, Elisa immediately began examining him.
She started with his eyes, shining a flashlight into them, then clicked her tongue and moved on: tongue, breathing, pulse.
"His pulse is low. What happened to him…?" she murmured to herself.
She continued the examination and moved to his arms. His right arm was mostly fine — just a few bruises and scratches.
But his left arm…
Rolling up the sleeve, we all saw its condition.
It was bluish, almost purple. The veins were swollen and blackened, bulging as if his arm had been wrapped in a tight, black rope.
There were several swollen areas on his forearm, from which a mixture of blood and pus was oozing. Even his fingernails were beginning to peel away.
"What the…? How did he not notice this?" Elisa whispered in shock.
"Elisa… what's wrong with his arm?" Angela asked in fear.
"I don't know yet," Elisa replied, beginning a more detailed inspection, trying to find the cause and its source.
"What are these bumps…?" she whispered, clearly confused. "Wilmar, come here," she added, signaling to me.
"Got it," I said shortly, stepping closer. "Tell me what to do."
"Point both flashlights here," she said, pointing at one of the swollen spots, while pulling some kind of device from her backpack — one of the few things that survived.
I did exactly as she said.
She brought the device closer and pressed a button.
It began emitting a violet light, shining through his skin.
A small dark speck, like a splinter, immediately stood out. Around it, countless intertwining patterns were clearly visible.
I didn't know what it was, but it couldn't be anything good.
Elisa's face filled with undisguised shock and anxiety. She slightly grimaced.
She examined the thing from different angles, pressed and moved the bump with her fingers, feeling it.
After about ten seconds of this, she nervously bit her lip.
By her expression, it was clear — she understood what it was, or at least had a strong suspicion.
"Elisa?" I broke her silence.
"This is very bad," she suddenly said, her face tense.
"How bad?" Klaym asked.
Elisa looked heavily at all of us, then began:
"I can say with certainty that the cause is Fyæroflower. It's a very rare and poisonous plant. It can grow anywhere — underwater, high in the mountains, anywhere.
The main problem: we don't have an antidote, and we can't buy one, since we're underground. And finding it is almost impossible. On top of that, it costs insane amounts of money."
"But… you can help Frederic, right?" Angela asked in despair, hoping for even the slightest chance to save him.
After that question, Elisa fell silent.
That deathly silence crushed us, broken only by Frederic's labored breathing.
After several seconds of thought, she looked at his arm again. Her face hardened.
"I can't help him. The only thing that could help is the antidote — and even that might not work," she said with regret.
Her words sounded like a death sentence.
If she couldn't help, then in our situation nothing could.
Lost and confused, we didn't know what to do. And in my head, a thought flashed — to end Frederic's suffering. If he couldn't be saved, at least he wouldn't die in agony.
For a moment, my eyes filled with cruelty and cold resolve.
But my thoughts were interrupted.
"Although… there might be a small chance," Elisa suddenly said.
Her words were like a lifeboat in a storm.
"I can amputate his arm so the poison won't spread further. But after that — everything depends on his body," she added, offering to remove Frederic's arm to eliminate the source of infection.
"If the only option is losing his arm, then do it," Klaym said firmly.
None of us wanted to lose our friend, whom we'd known for years. And if there was even the slightest chance — we would take it.
"Ragrh!"
A loud growl echoed, almost turning into a shriek.
Completely unexpectedly, the creature we were supposed to have killed screamed.
Its soul-tearing cry was full of pain and desperate instinct to summon its kin to avenge the fallen.
No one checked whether it was truly dead — and now it cost us.
It had revealed our location.
"But how?! Why is that thing still alive?!" I said in disbelief.
I was sure we killed it. I couldn't believe it had survived that many stab wounds — especially to the head.
"We need to get out of here and find a place where I can perform the operation," Elisa said in a worried whisper, trying not to shout.
"Wilmar — grab Fred. Everyone, run toward the city center. Maybe we can find an exit on the way," Klaym commanded quickly and confidently.
Without hesitation, I grabbed Frederic from one side, while Klaym grabbed him from the other.
Together, we ran out into the street through the door we had noticed earlier.
While running, I turned my head and saw a large number of monsters already crawling into the house we had just left seconds ago.
We escaped just in time, and I allowed myself to relax for a split second.
That was my mistake.
Relaxing, I didn't notice a creature crawling out of a nearby alley.
"Ragrh!" a growl sounded beside me.
Before I could fully understand what happened, a burning pain exploded in my thigh.
"Aghr!" I cried out as the pain tore through my entire leg and shot into my hip, forcing me to drop to one knee.
Everyone instantly turned toward me and saw one of the creatures clamping its teeth into my leg.
"Rrrip."
A horrible sound of tearing flesh and fabric echoed.
The pain intensified, and I screamed again as my vision darkened.
Looking at my leg, I was struck by terror — the creature had torn a chunk of flesh from my thigh. In its place, a bloody stain rapidly spread.
"Bam! Bam! Bam!"
Three deafening shots rang out.
It was John.
He shot the monster and killed it. He had drawn his pistol earlier "just in case" — and that case came faster than anyone expected.
"Wilmar!" Angela cried in panic. She wanted to say something else, but I cut her off.
"Don't stop… keep running," I muttered through pain and forced myself to my feet.
The moment I put weight on my wounded leg, the pain exploded again, forcing a groan from my throat.
But I ignored it.
It was my mistake, and it could cost more than just my life — at least Frederic's.
Clenching the wound with one hand, I ran.
Warm, thick blood flowed down my leg and hand, dripping onto the ground.
Enduring the growing pain, I kept running, trying with all my strength to slow the bleeding.
Unfortunately, the noise didn't go unnoticed.
Hearing my screams and the gunshots, the other creatures instantly reacted and sprinted toward the source of the sound.
Seeing us again — and another dead kin — they charged after us without hesitation.
And this time, we were in much worse shape.
Frederic couldn't move on his own.
And I had been injured because of my own mistake.
This time, they were catching up to us much faster. Even so, we managed to keep some distance. But that distance was draining the last of our strength, and no one wanted to give up while there was still a chance to survive.
We ran through alleys and houses, trying to confuse our pursuers, and it helped a little. Now they were farther behind than before, but the chase didn't stop.
"Hey! Look, there's something like a mansion over there — let's go there!" Angela shouted, noticing a huge building in the distance that looked like an estate.
We decided to hide there. After making several sharp turns to confuse our pursuers, we ran toward the mansion.
When we entered the yard, we immediately noticed an extension that looked like a small house — and most importantly, there was a stone door.
"There!" Klaym commanded, pointing at it.
John and Klaym ran up and started pushing the door. Little by little, it began to give way under their effort.
I, on the other hand, could only support Frederic, because I had no strength left to do anything else. The massive blood loss began to take its toll — my mind slowly dulled, and my body weakened.
Finally, John and Klaym managed to open the door, and everyone rushed inside.
Klaym then ran back toward us and helped us get inside as well.
Once inside, I sat Frederic down next to the wall and collapsed beside him from weakness and pain.
Klaym was already closing the door, while John dragged over a cabinet he had found nearby.
After shutting it, everyone let out a breath of relief and quickly scanned the room.
For some reason, all the windows were sealed with heavy-looking stone slabs, held in place by iron stakes driven into the walls.
"Wilmar! Frederic!" someone shouted anxiously, but I no longer understood who it was.
The sounds started to become muffled.
My vision began to blur… then darken.
Because of the blood loss, I started to l started to lose consciousness.
But we were incredibly lucky to reach a safe place at the last possible moment.
That was why I decided to completely entrust my life to Elisa —
Because only she could save us now.
Author's Note:
If you enjoyed this chapter, I'd be happy to hear your feedback — it helps and inspires me to continue developing the story.