Dead Inside the Mall

The journey to the warehouse felt longer than it should have. Every corner, every shadow seemed to hide a new threat, and the group moved cautiously, their nerves frayed, their senses sharp. Lex led the way, her spear raised, eyes darting around as she listened for any hint of danger. They had been lucky to survive the encounter with the Brute, but luck wouldn’t last forever. They needed real weapons, real tools, if they were going to have any chance of disrupting the experiment.

"Almost there," Brandon said, checking the map he’d sketched out. "The warehouse is just down this hall. If we can find something to cut through their systems, maybe we can even jam their control signals."

"Yeah, and maybe we’ll find a way out of this hellhole while we’re at it," Damien muttered. He tried to sound casual, but the strain was clear in his voice. "I’m done with surprises."

"Me too," Maya said softly, glancing nervously at the darkened corners. "But I have a feeling we’re not done with them."

The group rounded the corner, and the warehouse doors loomed ahead, heavy and imposing. Lex could feel her pulse quicken as she approached, her mind racing with possibilities. If they could just get inside, maybe they could find the kind of weapons they needed to fight back. But as they drew closer, she noticed something that made her stop short.

The door was slightly open, just a crack, like it had been left that way on purpose.

"It’s a trap," Lex said, her voice tense. "I don’t like this."

"Of course it’s a trap," Damien said, tightening his grip on his wrench. "But we don’t have a choice, do we? We need what’s inside."

"Just because we need it doesn’t mean we rush in blind," Lex said, her mind racing. "We need to be careful. Whoever’s behind this knows we’re coming, and they’re waiting for us."

Sophie stepped forward, her eyes scanning the door. "Maybe we can find another way in. There has to be a side entrance or a service hatch… something that won’t set off whatever they’ve rigged."

Brandon checked his map, nodding. "There’s a loading dock around the back. We could try going in that way, but if they’ve set traps, they’ll have probably thought of that."

"Then we just have to be smarter than they are," Lex said. "Let’s move."

They circled around the building, creeping through the narrow, darkened alleyways until they found the loading dock. The massive, rusted doors were partially open, just enough for someone to squeeze through, and Lex felt a pang of unease. Everything about this felt wrong, like they were being funneled into a trap, but they had no choice.

"We’ll go in pairs," Lex said. "Brandon, you’re with me. Damien, Maya, you follow. Sophie, you keep watch out here. If anything goes wrong, we need someone who can warn us."

Sophie hesitated, but then she nodded, her face set with determination. "Got it. Just… be careful, okay?"

"We will," Lex said, giving her a reassuring nod. "We’ll be back before you know it."

Lex and Brandon squeezed through the gap, the darkness inside swallowing them up. The air was cold, musty, and thick with the smell of dust and metal. It felt like they had stepped into the belly of a beast, and Lex couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched.

They crept forward, their flashlights cutting narrow beams through the darkness, illuminating rows of metal shelves stacked with crates and boxes. Everything was covered in a thin layer of dust, like the warehouse had been abandoned for years. But Lex knew better. Whoever had set this up had done so recently, and they had done it for a reason.

"We need to find tools," Brandon whispered, glancing around. "Something heavy-duty. If we’re going to disable their systems, we need to be able to break through their security."

As they moved deeper, Lex’s flashlight flickered across a set of large metal crates. They were sealed shut, but she could see the faint outline of labels stamped on the sides—emergency supplies, industrial equipment, even medical kits. It was exactly what they needed, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that it was all too easy.

"Check those crates," Lex said, her voice low. "But be careful. I don’t trust this."

Brandon nodded, moving over to the crates and prying one of them open with a crowbar. Inside, he found a set of bolt cutters, heavy and solid, along with a few other tools. "This’ll do," he said, a hint of relief in his voice. "We can use these."

But then, from somewhere above them, they heard a faint click, followed by a low, mechanical hum. The lights in the warehouse flickered, and a series of red lasers crisscrossed the room, illuminating the darkened space like a web of deadly light.

"What the hell—" Damien started, but before he could finish, the floor beneath them shifted, a metal plate sliding open. A trapdoor. Lex barely had time to shout a warning before she and Brandon fell through, landing hard on the cold, concrete floor below.

"Lex!" Maya screamed, her voice echoing through the warehouse. She rushed forward, peering down into the darkened pit where Lex and Brandon had disappeared. "Are you okay?"

Lex groaned, pushing herself up. "Yeah, we’re fine… but we’re not getting out this way." She looked around, trying to get her bearings. They had fallen into a narrow, concrete tunnel, the walls slick with moisture, and the only light came from the dim glow filtering down from the trapdoor above.

"They separated us," Brandon said, his voice tight. "This was planned."

Lex nodded, her mind racing. "But why? What’s down here?"

As if in answer, a series of lights flickered on, revealing a long, narrow corridor leading deeper into the warehouse. And at the far end, barely visible in the dim light, they saw movement—dark shapes, lumbering forward, their silhouettes massive and misshapen.

"Brutes," Lex said, her heart sinking. "They’re funneling them toward us."

"We have to get out of here," Brandon said, panic creeping into his voice. "If they get us in this narrow space, we’re done for."

"We can’t run," Lex said, her mind working furiously. "They want us to panic. If we run, we’ll just run into more traps. We have to stay calm, think."

Brandon swallowed, forcing himself to take a deep breath. "Okay, okay. What do we do?"

"We fight smart," Lex said, her eyes narrowing. "We use the space against them. They’re big, slow, and strong, but they’re not smart. If we can funnel them into a tighter space, we can keep them from using their strength."

She scanned the corridor, spotting a set of metal pipes running along the ceiling. "Those pipes… if we can bring them down, we can block the passage, slow them down."

"I’m on it," Brandon said, grabbing the bolt cutters and moving quickly to cut through the support clamps holding the pipes in place. "Just keep them off me."

As Brandon worked, the Brutes lumbered closer, their heavy footsteps echoing through the tunnel. Lex could see the dull, empty look in their eyes, the way their muscles bulged unnaturally beneath their skin. They were grotesque, a twisted mockery of what had once been human, and she felt a surge of anger at whoever had created them.

"Come on, you monsters," she muttered, raising her spear. "Let’s see what you’ve got."

The first Brute lunged, its massive arm swinging down, and Lex dodged to the side, jabbing her spear into its leg. The creature snarled, stumbling, but it kept coming, its hand reaching out to grab her. Lex pulled back, trying to keep her distance, but she could feel the walls closing in around her.

"Almost there!" Brandon shouted, cutting through the last of the clamps. The pipes creaked, then fell, crashing down onto the floor with a loud clang. The Brute staggered, momentarily stunned, and Lex seized the opportunity.

"Now!" she yelled. "Push them back!"

Brandon rushed forward, using the bolt cutters like a makeshift club, swinging at the Brute’s arm and forcing it back. Lex followed up, jabbing her spear into its side, driving it away from the corridor. The Brutes were strong, but they were slow, and their movements were clumsy in the narrow space.

"We’ve got to seal this off," Lex said, glancing back at the trapdoor. "If they keep coming, we’re going to get overwhelmed."

Brandon spotted a set of metal grates, stacked against the wall. "Help me with these. We can use them to block the passage."

They worked quickly, dragging the grates across the corridor and propping them up against the walls, creating a makeshift barricade. It wasn’t perfect, but it would have to do. The Brutes slammed against it, their fists pounding against the metal, but the grates held.

"That should buy us some time," Lex said, breathing hard. "Now we just need to figure out how to get back up."

Brandon glanced around, his eyes landing on a rusted ladder bolted to the wall. "There. That’s our way out."

They climbed up the ladder, emerging back into the warehouse just as Maya and Damien reached them, their faces pale with relief. "We heard the noise," Damien said. "Thought you were done for."

"Not yet," Lex said, her voice grim. "But we found out what they’re trying to do. They’re herding us, trapping us, and then sending those things after us. They’re not just experimenting… they’re hunting."

Maya’s eyes widened. "But why? What do they want?"

Lex didn’t have an answer, but she knew they couldn’t stay here. "We’ve got what we came for. Let’s get out of this place and figure out our next move. We need to disrupt their control, and we need to do it fast."

As they made their way out of the warehouse, Lex glanced back one last time, her mind replaying the fight. They had survived, but barely, and the traps were only getting more dangerous. Whoever was behind this, they were playing a deadly game, and the group was running out of moves.

And somewhere in the shadows, she knew, someone was still watching.