The Bites

Chapter 17

As they rushed forward, their footsteps echoing off the tunnel walls, the air grew thicker with tension. The survivors' hearts pounded in their chests, adrenaline coursing through their veins as they fought to stay ahead of the encroaching horror.

Brea's senses were on high alert, her every movement calculated and precise as she followed the group through the darkness. She could feel the weight of the little boy's hand in hers, his silent presence a comfort amidst the chaos.

With a flicker of movement in the dim light, Brea spotted a grotesque sight: a zombie's head impaled on a protruding spike of rock, its lifeless eyes staring blankly ahead. Without hesitation, she lunged forward, her laser baton humming to life as she aimed for the creature's skull.

The air crackled with energy as the baton made contact, slicing through decayed flesh and bone with surgical precision. The head fell with a sickening thud, its remains smouldering against the tunnel wall as Brea kept running, her senses on high alert.

Their action keeps going, killing the zombie's head, when suddenly, the tunnel walls seem to close around them, the darkness pressing in from all sides like a suffocating blanket. Panic surged through the survivors as they realized they were trapped, the walls inching closer with each passing moment.

"What's happening?" one survivor cried, his voice tinged with fear.

"We're being crushed!" another exclaimed, his words drowned out by the sounds of shifting earth and crumbling stone.

With a swift motion, Brea swung the baton, its beam slicing through the darkness as it connected with the zombie's head. The air crackled with energy as the creature's rotten flesh sizzled and smoked, its grotesque form slumping lifelessly against the tunnel wall. Adrenaline surged through Brea's veins as she delivered the final blow; her senses heightened as she scanned the shadows for any sign of danger.

"We have to find a way out!" she shouted above the chaos, her voice urgently ringing out.

Alex's frustration boiled over, his voice sharp with anger. "Damn it! How the hell do we get out of this?"

Brea remained calm, her mind racing as she searched for an escape route. But the walls continued to close in, the air growing thinner with each passing second.

"We must keep moving!" she shouted, echoing off the tunnel walls. "There has to be a way out!"

With renewed frustration, they pressed forward, their hearts pounding in their chests as they raced against time.

But as they pressed on, the walls closed around them, squeezing the air from their lungs and filling the tunnel with claustrophobia. Panic gripped the survivors as they struggled to find a way out, their hearts pounding in their chests with each passing moment.

"We're running out of time," one survivor gasped, their voice trembling with fear. "We have to do something before it's too late."

Suddenly, Brea's sharp eyes caught sight of a narrow opening in the wall, a glimmer of hope amidst the suffocating darkness. "This way!" she called out, her voice ringing urgently. "There's an opening up ahead!"

Brea's grip tightened on the little boy's hand as she pulled him close, shielding him from the chaos around them. She could feel his fear radiating from him, his small frame trembling against hers.

As they squeezed through the narrow opening, relief washed over them like a tidal wave. They emerged into a dimly lit chamber, their lungs burning with the taste of fresh air as they collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. The little boy clung to her, different from the relief gestures from others.