(THIS STORY IS MADE BY CHAT GPT!!)
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**Chapter 6: Into the Dark**
The air inside the tunnel was damp and cold, the faint scent of mildew lingering in the stale atmosphere. Jin squinted into the dim light, his pulse slowing for a moment as they stepped away from the eeriness of the hospital above. The darkness here felt different—enclosing, suffocating, yet deceptively calm.
Lena led the way, her crowbar held tightly in one hand, the dim beam of her flashlight illuminating the cracked walls ahead. The rest of the group followed closely behind, their footsteps muffled on the concrete floor. The tunnel was long and winding, stretching ahead in a seemingly endless path beneath the city.
For a while, it felt almost safe.
Jin walked beside Chris, his crowbar gripped in his hand, ready for anything. The occasional growl of the infected could be heard in the far-off distance, but it was faint—too far to be of immediate concern. Chris turned to him with a small smile, trying to maintain some semblance of calm.
"Maybe Lena was right," Chris whispered. "These tunnels might actually get us out of here."
Jin nodded, though his gut still twisted with unease. He glanced over his shoulder at Mari and Jesse, who were holding hands, moving slower than the rest but still keeping pace. Eddie was beside them, his bat resting on his shoulder, eyes wide as they scanned the shadows. The young man hadn't said much since they left the basement, his usual nervous energy muted by the seriousness of the moment.
The group pressed on in silence, the faint drip of water echoing off the tunnel walls the only sound accompanying their steps. As they rounded a bend in the tunnel, Lena came to a sudden halt, holding up her hand. Jin's heart skipped a beat, the stillness thickening around them.
"What is it?" he whispered, stepping closer.
Lena lowered her flashlight, her eyes narrowing as she stared into the distance. "Thought I heard something... ahead."
Everyone froze, the tension in the air palpable. The faint growling they had been hearing earlier was louder now, but it still seemed distant—muted by the layers of concrete that surrounded them. Jin's skin prickled with unease, but he forced himself to keep calm.
Lena took a cautious step forward, scanning the darkness ahead. "Stay close," she whispered. "Keep quiet."
They moved forward slowly, their senses heightened, every noise amplified in the claustrophobic tunnel. A soft, shuffling sound echoed from behind a nearby wall, followed by a low growl. Jin's heart pounded in his chest. It was coming from a side passage they hadn't noticed before—an offshoot of the main tunnel.
"Just one," Lena muttered, raising her crowbar. "I'll take care of it."
Before anyone could protest, Lena disappeared into the narrow passage. The seconds stretched into an agonizing eternity as the rest of the group waited in the main tunnel, their breaths held in anticipation. Jin tightened his grip on the crowbar, his knuckles white. The growling grew louder, then stopped abruptly with the sickening crack of metal against bone.
Lena returned a moment later, wiping the edge of her crowbar against her jacket. "Just one," she confirmed. "We're good."
Chris let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, his shoulders relaxing slightly. "Let's keep moving," Lena said. "We're almost through."
But just as they began to walk again, the growls returned—this time louder. Closer.
Jin's blood ran cold as a chorus of snarls echoed down the tunnel, filling the space with an ominous sound. It was no longer distant. It was near.
