Richard ran like hell.
The alarms wailed behind him, shrill, metallic screams that tore through the labyrinthine corridors like dying sirens. Crimson lights pulsed above his head, bathing the walls in an endless rhythm of blood and warning. Every flash seemed to cut time into pieces, heartbeat, breath, step, until the world became nothing but sound, light, and panic.
I need to hurry back!
Something moved in the dark behind him, inhuman, heavy, relentless. The metallic scrape of claws on tile echoed down the hallway, followed by a guttural hiss that didn't belong to anything nature had ever made.
He didn't dare look back.
The only thing that mattered was forward.
His boots pounded against the cracked floor, splashing through puddles of old water and oil. His breath came ragged, lungs burning, muscles screaming, but he pushed harder. He had seen too much. He had to bring it back, to the others, to the world, before the truth vanished with him.
