Chapter 97 - Regret and Destruction

The pitch-black darkness swallowed everything, an oppressive silence settling over the space as everyone froze, barely daring to breathe. Guards, mutants, and lab creatures alike stood still, listening, their ears straining against the silence, trying to decipher what lurked in the blackness around them.

A faint noise broke through—a distant scraping, like claws on metal, echoing through the halls. It was soft at first, almost imperceptible, but growing steadily louder, closer. The sound seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once.

A guard shifted, his breathing ragged, eyes wide in the darkness. "What is that?" he whispered, his voice trembling, but no one answered.

The sound drew nearer, a shuffling, dragging noise that seemed to snake through the pitch-black corridors. There was a rustling, something moving in the dark, and the quiet tension began to crack, a wave of panic rippling through the gathered crowd.

A mutant with jagged, crystalline skin turned, bumping into someone in his haste. "Did you hear that?" he hissed, his voice low, terrified.

The darkness felt suffocating, pressing in, and then, out of nowhere, a bloodcurdling scream shattered the silence. It came from somewhere nearby, piercing and raw, ending abruptly with a sickening splatter. The sound echoed, filling the corridor, and then there was nothing but the terrified breaths of those left standing.

"What was that?" a voice choked out, fear palpable in the words.

The scraping grew louder, closer now, and then another scream, this one cut off even quicker than the last. It was chaos in the dark—figures stumbling, colliding into one another, disoriented and panicked. The air was thick with the sound of gasping breaths, the scrape of shoes on the floor as they tried to move but had no sense of direction.

"Everyone, stay together!" a voice shouted, strained, but no one could see who it was. They were lost, scattered, the darkness turning every movement into blind terror.

Something brushed past a guard, a cold rush of air, and he swung wildly, his weapon clattering to the floor as he spun in place, the fear clutching at his chest. "Where are you?!" he screamed, but no one answered.

Then another scream—this time from the opposite side of the hall—a brief, choked cry followed by the sickening crunch of bones breaking. A splatter of something wet hit the floor, and there was a collective gasp, bodies stumbling back, tripping over each other in the darkness.

"Get out! Run!" a mutant's voice, high-pitched and desperate, cut through the air, but there was no direction, no way out. They couldn't see, couldn't find their way through the maze of corridors. Footsteps pounded against the floor, people crashing into walls, into each other, the confusion and terror escalating as they tried to flee from something they couldn't see, couldn't fight.

"Ansel!" one of the mutants shouted, his voice cracking with fear. "Where are you? What's happening?"

But the answer came only in more screams, each one punctuated by the wet, tearing sounds of bodies being ripped apart. Something moved in the darkness, fast and silent, striking with horrifying precision. One by one, the screams cut off, replaced by the terrible, wet thuds of bodies hitting the ground.

"We're trapped!" a guard shouted, his voice breaking as he stumbled back, his weapon clattering uselessly to the floor.

"Ansel, we can't see! What do we—"

"Run!" Ansel's voice rang out, strained and urgent, cutting through the panic. "Get out, now!"

But no one knew where to go. They stumbled, blind and terrified, colliding with each other in the pitch black, the sounds of something hunting them growing closer, closer. Every heartbeat felt like an eternity, every breath a struggle against the fear that gripped them all.

And then, a scream—a single, piercing cry—followed by a terrible, wet crunch. Someone sobbed in the darkness, a choked, panicked sound, and then there was silence.

They were trapped, lost in the dark, hunted by something they couldn't see. The sound of footsteps echoed through the corridor, frantic, disoriented. People were moving in every direction, trying to flee, but the darkness turned every step into a blind leap into the unknown.

"We have to get out!" a mutant shouted, his voice frantic, but there was nowhere to go. The blackness stretched out before them, endless and suffocating, every sound amplified, every breath a struggle.

The scraping grew louder, now so close it seemed to come from everywhere. The air was thick with terror, the stench of blood and fear cloying. There was a collective, terrified stillness, everyone holding their breath, hoping, praying they wouldn't be next.

And then, from the darkness, came a whisper. Quiet, almost gentle. "Run."

But no one knew which way to go. And the darkness closed in tighter, every heartbeat a ticking clock, every breath a final gasp in the suffocating black.

...

A lone mutant crouched in the shadows, his breath shallow and rapid, his back pressed tight against the cold, unforgiving wall. The darkness around him was absolute, thick as smoke, swallowing every flicker of light. He clutched his trembling hands to his chest, trying to steady his breathing, every muscle in his body wound tight, ready to spring.

His skin, rough and scaled, scraped against the concrete as he shifted, trying to make himself smaller, less noticeable. He'd lost track of the others in the chaos, the screams and crashes echoing through the pitch-black hallways. Now he was alone, blind and terrified, listening to the sounds of something moving through the dark, hunting.

A faint, rhythmic thud echoed through the silence. Footsteps, slow and deliberate, tapping closer and closer. He froze, every nerve screaming as the noise drew nearer. His heart pounded so hard he thought it might burst out of his chest.

Don't move. Don't breathe. Maybe it'll pass by.

The sound continued, closer now, and he could hear something else—a dragging noise, like claws scraping against the floor, a low, almost animalistic growl that sent chills racing down his spine. His eyes darted around, seeing nothing but black, his mind racing, trying to remember the layout, where he could run if he had to.

The footsteps stopped. Silence.

His body tensed, ears straining against the quiet, every sense heightened to a painful degree. The darkness seemed to close in tighter, pressing down on him, suffocating. He could almost feel it watching him, its gaze like a weight on his skin.

Then, a soft shuffle, just around the corner. His breath caught in his throat as the thing moved closer, its presence a tangible force in the dark. He squeezed his eyes shut, biting down on his lip to keep from crying out.

But then he heard it—a soft, panicked whisper.

"Hey... it's me."

He almost collapsed with relief. His eyes flew open, and he saw a shadowy figure just a few feet away, trembling as much as he was. Another mutant, his form barely visible in the blackness. The tension bled out of his body, a shaky sigh escaping his lips.

"Thank god..." he whispered, his voice shaking. "I thought—"

The figure moved closer, and in that instant, he felt a cold, sharp jolt of dread. Something was wrong. But before he could react, before he could process the sudden shift in the air, the shadow lunged.

There was a flash of movement, impossibly fast, and then a wet, heavy impact as a powerful arm drove him back, his head slamming against the wall with a sickening crack. Pain exploded through his skull, bright and blinding, and he tried to scream, but no sound came.

The other mutant's hand, twisted and grotesque, gripped his face, fingers digging into his skin. There was a moment of horrible pressure, his vision blurring, the world tilting, and then—

His skull shattered with a grotesque pop, his head collapsing under the force. Blood, bone, and brain matter sprayed out in a gruesome arc, painting the wall in a slick, red smear. His body slumped, twitching, then fell limp, lifeless.

The shadowed mutant stepped back, his breathing ragged, blood splattered across his face, his eyes wild. He turned, his chest heaving, staring at the mangled corpse in front of him. For a heartbeat, he was frozen, the reality of what he'd done sinking in.

Then, another sound—a low, guttural growl from the darkness, a deeper, more terrifying presence making itself known. The mutant spun, his panic reigniting as the noise drew closer, something huge and powerful moving toward him, through the black.

He bolted, his feet pounding against the floor, the slick blood making him stumble as he fled, terror clawing at his mind. The darkness seemed alive, shifting around him, something vast and hungry lurking just beyond his sight.

He didn't look back. He couldn't. All he could do was run, his heart hammering in his chest, the image of his fallen comrade's shattered head burned into his mind, his only thought to escape the horror that hunted them all in the unending black.

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