Tara was the first to move.
Her heart pounded violently in her chest as she stepped into the hallway, hoping—praying—to find Mark standing, maybe wounded, but alive. The door creaked behind her, the sound of her friends following close. But nothing could have prepared her for what she saw.
The floor was smeared in blood. Thick, red trails dragged unevenly across the tiles, leading toward the jagged remains of a broken railing at the far end of the corridor. Concrete chunks littered the floor, and near the edge stood the creature. The same one that had grabbed Mark through the broken doorway like he weighed nothing at all. The same monstrous abomination that had turned their hearts cold with fear.
It was still here.
The creature loomed tall and still, its body twitching subtly like a machine with faulty wiring. It was grotesque, unlike any zombie they had seen before. Jagged metallic nails protruded from its long fingers. Its eyes—if it had any—were hidden behind a strip of dented metal fused across its face, where the sockets should have been. Small pulses of blue light flickered from wires embedded into its neck and skull.
It wasn't a man. It wasn't even just a zombie.
It was something… worse.
Then it did something none of them expected.
It spoke.
"A…c-tivator…" the creature growled. The voice wasn't natural. It was like a dying radio signal, distorted and guttural, breaking into static between syllables. It repeated the word again, louder this time, as if it was searching. As if it remembered something.
Tara gasped softly. The others behind her froze.
The monster suddenly staggered, clutching its head with both hands. Sparks burst from thin metallic nodes dug into its scalp, and it growled—an inhuman sound of both rage and confusion. It dropped to one knee, shaking violently.
Then, from its chest—no heart beat. Just more grinding metal and static.
"ACTIVATOR…!" it shrieked again.
Tara's body tensed. She instinctively stepped back, but the floor creaked beneath her foot.
The sound was barely audible, but the beast's head snapped in her direction.
"WHERE IS THE ACTIVATOR!?" it bellowed, its voice reverberating through the entire building like a collapsing wall.
In a flash, it charged.
Tara's eyes widened in horror as it lunged toward her, tearing up chunks of the floor with its clawed feet. Its mouth opened in a twisted expression—if it even had one—its entire body fueled by singular, horrifying purpose.
She stumbled back in panic, slamming into the wall as she tried to scream. The others behind her shouted—Jack already reaching for his axe, Henry pulling up his Glock, Maarg stepping forward with his new combat knife. But everything slowed in that moment.
The monster was closing in.
"WHERE… IS… THE ACTIVATOR!?" it roared again as it came crashing toward Tara like a freight train of flesh, metal, and rage.
And just like that, all hell broke loose.
Jack quickly stepped forward, placing himself between the creature and Tara, who was frozen in fear. His fire axe glinted under the flickering light, the only thing separating him from the grotesque figure before them. The monster—part rotting flesh, part crude machinery—let out a low, guttural snarl. Its metallic eyes glowed faintly beneath the thin strip of metal that covered its face. Needles protruded from its fingertips like claws, twitching as if tasting the air.
Jack clenched his jaw, gripping the axe tighter. "Get behind me!" he barked at Tara, who snapped out of her trance and stumbled back, her breath ragged.
From behind the beast, Maarg burst in like a shadow, both knives flashing silver. With a shout, he jammed one blade deep into the creature's lower back, then another into its shoulder. The pristine edges sank in, sending a spray of blackened, sludge-like blood onto the wall. But the monster didn't fall. It shuddered, paused—and then roared.
Its body twisted unnaturally as it reached behind, grabbing Maarg by the arm. With terrifying strength, it flung him across the hallway. Maarg slammed into a pillar and dropped with a grunt, his breath knocked clean out of him. His knives remained lodged in the beast's back.
Henry, who had been fumbling with his Glock in the chaos, finished reloading. He raised the gun and fired—three quick shots aimed directly at the zombie's head. Sparks flew as the bullets hit metal. The creature staggered but didn't fall.
Jack swung his axe with a growl, aiming for the creature's neck. The blade bit deep into its shoulder, cutting through part of the metallic casing. The monster screamed, not in pain, but in something else—fury? Frustration?
Then it spoke.
"ACTIVATOR."
The voice was dry, mechanical—like a speaker half submerged in water. The creature clutched its head, its body twitching. It repeated the word, again and again, like a broken machine stuck on one command.
"ACTIVATOR. ACTIVATOR. ACTIVATOR."
Tara gasped. "What is it saying?"
Henry's face went pale. "I don't know... I don't think it just wants to eat us"
The creature lifted its head. Its eyes glowed brighter now, and its stitched-together mouth curled into a grotesque grin. It turned slowly, its gaze settling on Maarg, who was just starting to get back on his feet.
Its voice dropped to a whisper. A terrifying, gleeful whisper.
"Found you... Activator."
Maarg froze.
"What the hell does that mean?" Jack shouted, stepping between the creature and his friend again.
But the monster didn't answer.
With one twisted arm, it reached out toward Maarg.
"WHERE IS THE ACTIVATOR?" it shrieked, louder now, its voice echoing through the walls like a corrupted alarm. The sudden burst of noise made Tara cover her ears.
Jack didn't hesitate. He raised the axe again and brought it down—only for the creature to block the swing with its arm. The axe stuck in metal and bone, and the creature laughed—a sickening, rattling sound that echoed in everyone's chest.
Then it moved.
It grabbed Jack by the throat with one hand and flung him into the adjacent wall. The sound of the impact made Tara scream. Jack slumped down, gasping.
Henry fired again—this time from closer. One bullet found the creature's exposed jaw. The head jerked slightly, but it didn't slow. It was focused now. Laser-focused.
Maarg scrambled backward, confused and dazed. He didn't understand. Activator? What the hell was that thing talking about? Why him?
The monster bent down slightly, like a predator ready to pounce.
It smiled again.
"Found you."