A dark silhouette wavered through the shadows.
Casey felt a flicker of fear, but as he focused, recognition settled in. It was the old man who had borrowed his box cutter just moments before.
"Oh, senior… you nearly gave me a scare."
He forced a nervous laugh.
But something about the scene felt off.
Come to think of it, why is he still here? Everyone else should have left the warehouse by now.
Could he really have stayed just to return my box cutter?
Hm. What's up with him?
Casey noticed his senior behaving strangely. He stood slumped with his arms hanging loosely at his sides, a blank expression etched across his face.
It almost looked like he was sleepwalking.
"…Senior?"
Receiving no response, Casey took a cautious step forward.
"Hey… you okay?"
Still nothing.
Up close, the unease only deepened. The man's head was slightly lowered, his face obscured in shadow. Even so, Casey could tell something about his stiff posture was… wrong.
A faint sound broke the silence.
Drip–!
Casey's gaze dropped instinctively.
A dark liquid hit the concrete floor between them, spreading slowly into a thin, uneven stain.
"…Senior?"
This time, the old man twitched.
It wasn't natural. The movement came sharp and sudden, like a puppet yanked by unseen strings. Then, slowly… eerily… his head began to rise.
"…!"
Horrified, Casey's face drained of color as he staggered two steps back.
Kakakkakkakakaka—!
An ominous creaking echoed from the silhouette.
The old man's neck jerked at an unnatural angle as his head tilted sideways. His shoulders followed a second later, twisting stiffly, as though his body had forgotten how joints were supposed to move.
"K…ka…"
A dry, fractured sound leaked from his throat.
It sounded like something forcing air through a broken instrument.
The man took a step forward.
His foot landed the wrong way yet his body lurched after it anyway, dragged along the floor.
Krrrk—
Another creak.
Casey took another step back with a pale look.
"Senior… stop messing around."
But even as he said it, he knew this wasn't a joke.
He didn't understand what was happening, and he had no intention of staying to find out.
However, before the thought of running could fully form,
The center of the man's face split open.
It tore apart with a sickening crack, as if something inside had forced its way through, exposing bone and something far worse beneath.
A split second later, something shot out.
A grotesque, whip-like tongue lashed forward like a projectile.
Crack—!
It slammed into the wall behind Casey, embedding itself deep into the concrete and the impact echoed through the warehouse like a gunshot.
It had missed his head by mere inches.
"…!"
Casey trembed uncontrollably and began to lose strength in his knees.
For a split second, his body refused to move.
The appalling appendage quivered where it was embedded in the wall. Then It tore itself free.
Crk—!
Fragments of concrete scattered across the floor as it snapped back with terrifying speed, recoiling into the split in the man's face like an appalling parasite retreating into its nest.
That was all it took before Casey turned and bolted.
His footsteps pounded loudly against the warehouse floor, echoing wildly as panic took over.
'Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! W-what the hell is that thing!?'
Kakakakakak—!
Behind him, the same creaking laughter followed.
Despite his tremendous retreat, the noise only grew closer and closer. Then another noise echoed and pierced the air with a parting sound.
Something shot past him,
Then struck the ground ahead with a violent impact.
The concrete ruptured, forcing Casey to stumble back as dust and debris burst upward.
It had cut him off.
Slowly…
That thing began to pull itself from the fractured ground, writhing, before snapping back once more.
Casey's chest heaved as he staggered backward.
The creaking grew louder.
Which made his anxiety skyrocket through the roof. He couldn't escape nor retreat, the current predicament driving him deeper into despair.
'Shit. What can I do!?'
In the next instant, the creature lunged Its entire body forward in a twisted, jerking manner.
He reacted on instinct and twisted his body to the side just as the creature crashed into the ground where he had been standing. Following that, he stumbled, barely keeping his balance, his heart slamming wildly against his ribs.
Move!
He pushed himself back, putting distance between them, his gaze darting wildly across the warehouse.
At that moment of desperation, a low creak echoed above him.
Puzzled, Casey froze briefly before snapping his eyes upward.
Suspended overhead was a massive load of cargo, hanging from a worn steel cable attached to a pulley system. It swayed slightly from the vibrations caused by the impact.
An idea sparked.
'Can I use that? Is it possible?'
It was a bit risky and reckless but there was nothing else he could do. Additionally, there was no point in worrying about property damage either.
What was the point if he was dead?
Kakakakakak—!
The creature rose again. Its head twisted unnaturally as that split in its face opened wider, revealing that same grotesque appendage writhing within.
Casey clenched his jaw.
"Come on… come on…"
Gathering his resolve, he ran toward the hanging cargo. And just as expected, the creature followed right after him, growing more erratic but terrifyingly quick. The creaking grew louder, closer, right on his heels.
Casey skidded to a stop beneath the suspended load and turned sharply.
"Come on then!"
He shouted, raising the box cutter as if declaring his intent on fighting the abomination.
Everything seemed to pause.
The creature darted towards him like a bullet with both hands spread forward in an attempt to crush him. The right hand was destruction and the left hand was poison. Getting hit by either of them would surely lead to his demise.
Even so, Casey did not move.
He observed the strange monstrosity as it repeatedly closed the distance at an alarming rate, observed still and observed some more.
The he moved at the last possible moment.
Casey ducked and rolled forward, slipping past the creature as it tore through the space he had just occupied.
At the same time, he swung the box cutter.
The blade struck true, biting into the weakest point of the worn, fraying cable.
TWANG—!
The line snapped.
A second later, the massive load came crashing down.
The impact was deafening. The ground trembled violently as the cargo slammed down, crushing the creature beneath its immense weight.
Casey lay on the ground, gasping for air.
"…Did… did that… do it in?"
Casey lay sprawled on the floor, gasping for air.
"…Did… did that… do it in?"
Even as he asked, he knew the answer.
Perhaps it was a foolish question. That cargo contained at least of pounds. It was impossible for the human body to survive that kind of pressure. Plausibly, that abomination was now in a state similar to meat paste.
As if to confirm his logic, blood seeped from beneath the wreckage, spreading slowly across the concrete.
He took a deep breath.
"Yeah. There's no way it survived something lik—!!"
Before he could finish, his eyes widened in horror.
From beneath the wreckage, that grotesque appendage shot out one last time. Impossible to evade, It pierced straight into his right arm.
"AAH—!"
A burning pain swiftly emerged.
Casey thrashed wildly, slamming his arm against the ground, against the metal, against anything he could reach.
"Get off! Get off!"
With a sickening sound, it finally released him, going limp as it recoiled weakly and fell still.
Silence followed.
Scrambling backward, Casey clutching his arm tightly as blood seeped out from the open wound.
"…It's dead…?"
The crushed mass didn't move again. Not even a twitch.
Casey didn't wait to confirm.
Staggering to his feet, he turned and ran faster than before, ignoring the pain, ignoring everything except one thing:
Escape.