Ben sat slumped against the cold wall, his chest heaving. The coppery stench of blood clung to him, sticky and suffocating. His hands shook as he stared at them—at the veins that had bulged like ropes, at the unnatural strength that had poured out of him like fire.
That wasn't me.It couldn't be me.
But the memory of shattered bones, of skulls caving under his grip, played on repeat in his mind.
Lena crouched a few feet away, calmly wiping her blade with a torn scrap of cloth. Her composure made him uneasy. Like this was normal for her.
"You did well," she said, not looking at him.
Ben's throat tightened. "Well? I butchered them. Like—like an animal!"
Lena finally looked at him. Her gaze was piercing, unreadable."An animal doesn't hesitate. You did."
"That doesn't make it any better!" He slammed his fist into the wall without thinking. The impact left a dent in the concrete. His eyes widened. His whole arm tingled with leftover heat.
Lena raised an eyebrow. "You're still fighting it. That's why it scares you."
Ben gritted his teeth. "What the hell is happening to me? Why am I—" he struggled for the word, "—this?"
Silence stretched between them. Lena's face softened for a moment, almost regretful. But then she looked away, tightening the strap of her pack.
"You'll find out soon enough," she muttered.
The evasiveness set his nerves on fire. "No. You know something. Tell me!"
Before she could answer, a low rumble shook the floor beneath them. Dust rained from the ceiling. Both their heads snapped toward the corridor's far end.
A guttural growl echoed through the darkness—deep, wet, and wrong. Not human. Not even close.
Lena's expression hardened instantly. She stood, knife in hand, her eyes narrowing like a predator's."Save your questions, Ben. If you thought the dead were bad… you're about to meet something worse."
Ben swallowed hard, forcing himself back onto his feet. His legs wobbled, but the heat in his chest flickered again, hungry. Terrifying.
And for the first time, he wondered if that hunger was his—or the thing Lena claimed was "waking up."