The air was thick with tension.
Team Echo stood in a loose formation outside their armored transport, their rifles lowered but ready. The captured Hollow lay motionless where Matthias had put it down, its body already disintegrating into ash. The unnatural sight unsettled even the most hardened of the soldiers.
Sergeant Caldwell, a grizzled veteran with scars across his face, broke the silence. "Let me get this straight—you're saying two more of these things are out there, somewhere in the city?"
Matthias exhaled heavily. "No. I'm saying they're already spreading."
A murmur passed through the soldiers. Some scoffed, while others glanced uneasily at the pile of ash.
"And you expect us to believe that?" One soldier, Private Dorsey, sneered.
Aaron, still gripping his rifle with white-knuckled hands, turned to face him. "Believe it or not, we just watched one of these things tear a man apart and shrug off bullets like they were nothing. If you think this is just some rabid fugitive, then you're already dead."
Caldwell's jaw tightened. He tapped his radio. "Command, this is Echo Team. We have a situation—possible biohazard threat. Requesting immediate city lockdown and thermal surveillance."
The radio crackled before a calm but firm voice responded.
"Negative, Echo Team. No confirmation of a widespread threat. Maintain discretion and proceed with caution."
Aaron cursed under his breath. "They won't believe us until it's too late."
Matthias took a step forward, eyes burning with urgency. "Caldwell, listen to me. You need to trust us. The Hollow Ones don't stop. They don't rest. And if they reach a dense population, we're looking at an outbreak that will swallow this entire city immediately after sunrise."
Caldwell's expression was unreadable. Then, he exhaled sharply.
"Alright, we move in silent. No alarms, no panic. We find these things and put them down before they can spread." He turned to his men. "Gear up. We're hunting."
Aaron felt a sliver of relief—but it was fleeting.
They weren't prepared for what was coming.
02:14 AM — The City
The streets were unnervingly quiet. Even in the dead of night, the city usually had some kind of life—a passing car, distant sirens, the hum of neon signs.
But now?
Nothing.
It was as if the city itself was holding its breath.
The team moved cautiously, their footsteps eerily loud against the pavement. Caldwell had split them into two fireteams—one led by him, the other by Matthias. Aaron stuck close to Matthias, his eyes scanning every shadow.
They moved along a narrow alley, their rifles sweeping the darkness.
Then—a noise.
A faint, wet squelch.
Caldwell raised a fist. Everyone stopped.
Aaron's grip on his weapon tightened. He turned his head, following the sound.
Then he saw it.
A woman crouched over a body.
Her clothes were torn, her hair hanging limply over her face. The corpse beneath her convulsed unnaturally. A thick, black sludge seeped from its mouth, pooling onto the concrete.
Aaron's stomach churned. "Shit…"
Matthias muttered under his breath. "We're too late."
Caldwell didn't hesitate. "Take the shot."
Three gunshots. The Hollow's body jerked with each impact, but she didn't collapse.
Slowly—too slowly—her head rose.
Her face was pale and stretched, her lips curling into an inhuman smile. Her hollowed-out eyes stared directly at Aaron.
Then—a screech.
Behind them.
Aaron spun just in time to see the second Hollow lunging from the darkness.
It was an ambush.
The second Hollow moved with terrifying speed.
Aaron barely had time to raise his rifle before it was on them. It slammed into Private Dorsey, knocking him clean off his feet. The soldier's scream was cut short as the Hollow's fingers dug into his throat, lifting him effortlessly.
Aaron fired, the muzzle flash lighting up the alleyway. The bullets hit—but passed through the Hollow like smoke.
Matthias threw his cross forward, chanting in a dead language, his voice sharp and commanding. The Hollow recoiled, its body twitching unnaturally.
"NOW!" Caldwell bellowed.
Graves and the remaining soldiers unleashed everything they had. A torrent of bullets and plasma rounds tore into the Hollow, each impact slowing it but not stopping it.
The creature threw Dorsey like a ragdoll, his body hitting the brick wall with a sickening crack.
Then—the first Hollow moved.
She let out a sharp, unnatural hiss and lunged straight for Aaron. But he was ready.
Aaron pivoted, pulling the rotting ancient gun from his holster. The moment he fired—something changed.
The Hollow screamed. The bullet didn't pass through this time. It ripped into her chest, burning like wildfire.
Matthias' eyes widened. "That gun—it wounds them!"
The Hollow staggered back, its body convulsing violently.
Aaron didn't hesitate. He fired again.
The Hollow collapsed, writhing. Its body burned from the inside out.
For the first time since this nightmare began—they had a weapon that worked.
But they had no time to celebrate.
Caldwell's radio crackled to life.
"—HQ to Echo Team. We have multiple reports of civilian disturbances. Individuals with—hollowed-out eyes—attacking bystanders. We have visual confirmation. The infection is spreading."
Aaron turned to Matthias. The priest's face was grim. "It's begun."
Caldwell growled. "We need to get to the command center. Now..
The city's once-bustling streets were now eerily silent. Sirens wailed in the distance, and emergency broadcasts flickered across television screens.
"Attention! All citizens are to remain indoors. Do not engage with any individuals exhibiting unnatural behavior. Law enforcement and military personnel are working to contain the situation."
But it was already too late.
The two Hollowed ones who escaped the village were no longer alone. Their corruption had begun to spread—fast.
A traffic officer on duty was the first to fall. He had stopped one of them, thinking the person was just sick or injured. He never even had time to react before the Hollow grabbed his face with both hands.
A moment of stillness.
Then the officer screamed, his eyes rolling back, body convulsing violently. His veins darkened, his breath hitched—then he went silent.
When he looked up again, his eyes were hollow.
It didn't stop there. The officer turned, his movements no longer human. He grabbed a pedestrian, hands clamping down on the man's shoulders. The man's body jerked in agony, his mouth opening to scream—
Nothing came out.
A few seconds later, he was one of them.
The infection was instantaneous. A chain reaction.
More fell.One by one.
A woman running across the street was tackled. Her terrified shrieks turned to silence as her body went still, then shuddered violently.
A storefront clerk, hiding behind the counter, barely had time to react before something lunged through the glass.
A child crying for his mother was yanked into the shadows.
The city's lights flickered.
And then—the power went out.
———
Command Center – 23:45 Hours
Inside a hastily established command center, Caldwell, Aaron, Matthias, and the remaining Echo Team stared at the surveillance footage.
It was worse than they feared.
The infection was spreading like wildfire.
Hundreds were already turned.
The streets were chaos.The Hollowed Ones moved unnaturally, without hesitation, without fear. They didn't run. They didn't need to.
They simply walked—reaching out to anything still human. And when they touched someone, it was over.
"My God…" one of the soldiers muttered.
Aaron clenched his fists. "This isn't a containment issue anymore." His voice was low, tight with anger. "This is an outbreak."
Caldwell turned to the team, his expression grim. "Then we burn it out before it spreads further."
Matthias exhaled sharply. "We're no longer just fighting to survive…"
He looked out toward the city, where hollow eyes now ruled the night.
"…we're fighting to stop the world from falling."
Beneath the Ruins of the Village – 02:12 Hours
The air was thick with rot. The ruins of the village stood in eerie silence, but something beneath it—something ancient—was stirring.
For centuries, the Hollow One had been trapped. Sealed beneath the very ground where it was born. The village, once a prison, had contained its darkness, keeping it bound, its influence limited to the forsaken land above.
But fear was a key.
And now, the city was drowning in it.
It had started as whispers—distant echoes in the void. The moment the two Hollowed Ones spread their corruption into the world, the fear of the people became an offering. Every terrified heartbeat. Every last breath taken in agony.
The Hollow One consumed it all.
The ground shook as it growled ,the chains holding it captive were no longer effective as they began to crack
A low, guttural sound echoed through the village ruins—a sound that wasn't of this world.
Then—
The earth split open. Thick, black tendrils slithered up from the abyss, writhing as they tasted the air of a world they had long been denied.
And then—it rose.
A towering silhouette emerged from the chasm, darkness peeling off its form like smoke. Its face was an abyss, an endless void, hollow and infinite. And when it spoke, it was not with words—but with a presence.
A voice that pressed against the minds of all who had ever feared the dark.
A voice that had been waiting.
"No more chains."