The radio on Aaron's belt crackled, faint at first—just another whisper in the ever-looming silence of the village. But then, through the static, came something more.
"—nyone there? Aaron? Do you copy? This is Team Echo—"
Aaron's breath hitched. The voice was warped, struggling against the interference, but it was unmistakably human. His trembling fingers snatched the radio from his belt, pressing it to his lips.
"This is Aaron!" His voice came out hoarse, desperate. "We're in a passage under the village. We need evac, now! Do you hear me? We—"
A deep, inhuman screech rippled through the tunnel.
A sound not meant for the living.
The walls around them trembled as a dark, suffocating presence pressed in from all sides.
"Aaron? Aaron—static interference—what the hell—"
The transmission cut out.
The Hollow One was here.
Aaron barely had time to react before the entire tunnel convulsed.
Rocks splintered from the ceiling, raining down like stone daggers. The air filled with the sound of cracking earth and grinding stone. Something was forcing the passageway shut.
"MOVE!" Graves roared, shoving Aaron forward.
Father Matthias clutched his cross, murmuring Latin under his breath, the words nearly drowned out by the groaning collapse.
They ran.
Every step sent shockwaves through the passage.
The exit—so close now—a sliver of light in the suffocating dark.
Then—
A deafening CRACK.
The tunnel fractured behind them.
A massive slab of rock broke loose and came crashing down.
Aaron lunged—instinct taking over—reaching back.
But Graves wasn't fast enough.
The rock slammed down, burying his legs beneath tons of unmovable stone.
"No!" Aaron fell to his knees, scrambling at the rubble.
Graves' face contorted in agony, but even as blood trickled from his lips, his eyes stayed locked onto Aaron. Steady. Resolute.
"Damn it, Graves, hold on!" Aaron's voice cracked.
But Graves already knew.
There was no holding on.
He let out a weak, humorless chuckle. "Figures. The old bastard always said I'd die underground."
Aaron refused to accept it. He dug harder, his fingers bleeding, his breath ragged.
"Stop! Don't talk like that—"
A deep rumble reverberated through the tunnel.
It was coming.
Graves shifted, forcing Aaron's grip away.
"Listen to me." His voice was softer now. Final.
"You have to go."
Aaron shook his head violently. "No. No, we can still—"
Graves' hand shot out, grabbing Aaron's collar with the last of his strength, forcing their faces inches apart.
"Don't let it out." His eyes bore into Aaron's. "Find a way to end it."
Aaron's chest seized. His throat burned.
He had lost too many already.
He couldn't lose Graves too.
The Hollow One stirred.
A whisper slithered through the tunnel. Not words. Not sounds. Something wrong.
Something hungry.
The ground beneath them shifted, like it was breathing.
The light at the exit was fading.
Father Matthias grabbed Aaron's shoulder. "There's no time!"
Aaron's hands trembled, still on the rubble. Still on Graves.
The man who had led them this far.
The man who wasn't getting out.
Graves exhaled, a smirk playing at his bloodied lips.
"Don't make me waste my last bullet on you."
Aaron's fingers curled into fists.
He wanted to fight.
Wanted to scream.
But—
A hand yanked him back.
Matthias.
The priest dragged him away, toward the fading exit.
Aaron's last glimpse of Graves—
Was him lifting his gun.
Not at the exit.
Not at the rubble.
At the darkness.
Then—
The tunnel collapsed completely.
A roar of stone and shadow.
Graves was gone.
Aaron stumbled out into the open, chest heaving, throat raw.
Father Matthias collapsed beside him, clutching his cross like a lifeline.
Aaron's vision blurred with exhaustion, with loss.
Aaron and Father Matthias stumbled through the forest, their bodies aching, their breaths ragged. The weight of everything that had happened crushed down on them. But there was no time to process the horrors they had barely survived—not when they had seen the impossible.
The radio crackled again.
"Aaron… Aaron, do you copy? Damn it, answer!"
Aaron fumbled for the radio, his hands slick with sweat and dirt. "This is Aaron. Who—who is this?"
"Team Echo. We're here. But… what the hell is going on?"
Before Aaron could respond, he and Father Matthias staggered onto an open road. And there they saw them—Echo Team, six heavily armed operatives standing near a row of their mini vans, their headlights cutting through the early morning mist.
One of the men, a sergeant with a sharp gaze and a tense stance, stepped forward. "We came because we got a call from you, Aaron," he said. "But your message wasn't clear. You just… kept repeating something. Over and over."
Aaron's blood ran cold. "What was I saying?"
The sergeant hesitated. "You kept saying… 'It's coming.' And then the signal cut out."
Father Matthias exhaled sharply. Aaron clenched his fists.
Something wasn't right.
Matthias turned, looking back toward the village—toward the unseen horror that had just begun to move beyond its prison.
They hadn't called Echo Team.
Something else had.
The forest clearing was eerily silent, the only sound being the electric hum of the plasma net crackling around the figure restrained within it. Team Echo had formed a defensive perimeter, weapons trained on the frail, almost corpse-like figure that twitched inside the glowing trap.
It looked human… or what was left of one. Hollow eyes stared blankly ahead, sunken and devoid of life, its skin stretched thin over brittle bones. Despite its weakened state, an unnatural tension coiled in its limbs, like a predator waiting for the right moment to strike.
One of the operatives, Corporal Reed, glanced at his commander. "Sir… this thing matches the missing persons report from two weeks ago. Identified as Harold Crane. But how the hell is he still moving?"
Father Matthias and Aaron exchanged a look—a silent understanding of what this truly was.
Matthias wasted no time. He snatched a rifle from one of the soldiers, checked the ammo, and sprinted toward the creature.
The second it saw them, its head jerked up unnaturally, hollow eyes locking onto Matthias and Aaron. Then—
A piercing screech split the air.
The creature convulsed violently, thrashing against the plasma net, its body writhing like something inside was trying to tear free.
Aaron didn't hesitate. He raised the AK-47 and emptied the entire magazine into its chest. Bullets ripped through flesh and bone, but the creature didn't fall. It shuddered, its body snapping in grotesque angles, but still it stood.
Team Echo staggered back in shock.
"The hell are you doing?!" the sergeant barked, but before anyone could react, the creature lurched forward, its hands twitching toward them.
Matthias stepped in. With precise movements, he pulled out a silver-plated blade, one lined with strange inscriptions, and plunged it into the creature's skull.
A howl of agony erupted from its throat.
Its body convulsed, then burst into flames, the fire unnaturally dark, almost liquid, spreading across its skin like a slow-consuming void.
The last thing they saw before it was reduced to ash was the flicker of something inhuman in its gaze—something ancient.
Aaron lowered his rifle, breathing heavily. Team Echo stood frozen, staring at the remains.
Matthias slowly turned to face them, his expression grim.
The tension in the air was thick, the lingering stench of burnt flesh still present where the creature had turned to ash. Team Echo lowered their weapons, their expressions shifting between disbelief and unease.
A young private held his head in shock"Does that mean.....?"
"Yeah.....the sergeant said in approvement "We shouldn't have let them leave"
"What?....Who" Aaron inquired.
" Two of em escaped...Aaron"
"Shit".The two exclaimed in shock and fear.The problem just got worsened.