Dead End

Jason and Mia rushing back to the group, their footsteps echoing through the tunnel. Jason’s mind racing. If the lizards is underground, i’ll have even fewer options than i thought.

Mia without hesitation.. she grabs a metal pipe from the ground and bangs it hard against the tunnel wall.

CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.

The harsh sound jolting everyone awake. Darren bolting upright, reaching for his knife. Ryan rubbing his eyes, groggy.

“What the hell?” Lewis mutter, wincing.

Mia doesn’t waste time. “Get up. Now.”

People grumbling, confused. Jason steps in, his voice urgent. “There’s a hole deeper in the tunnels. It looks fresh. Something tore through the floor.”

Silence.

Then Darren swears. “You think they’re already down here?”

Mia nods. “It’s possible.”

That is all it takes. People moved fast after that, grabbing their bags, weapons, anything they could carry. Ryan looks at Jason, eyes wide. “Where do we go?”

Jason clenches his jaw. “We find another way out.”

Mia leading the way, her flashlight bouncing off the tunnel walls. Jason sticks close behind, Ryan right next to him. The group is moving quickly, but Jason could feel the rising tension in the air.

Then..

A sound.

A low, wet, slithering noise.

Jason stops. The others does that too. Listening.

Then it comes again. Closer this time.

Something is moving in the tunnels.

Jason’s blood runs cold.

Mia whispers, “Run.”

No one hesitates.

They bolt down the tunnel, their footsteps pounding against the wet stone. The sounds behind them is growing louder.. a deep, rattling hiss, claws scraping against concrete.

Jason doesn’t dare to look back.

He grabs Ryan’s arm, pulling him forward as fast as he could. The tunnel twisted, splitting into different paths. Mia veers right. Jason follows without thinking.

Then.. a scream.

Jason skidding to a stop. Someone behind them.. Nick. He has fallen.

Darren turns back, reaching for him. “Get up!”

Too late.

From the darkness, something lashes out.

Jason only saw a glimpse.. a flash of scales, jagged teeth.. then Nick is gone. Dragged into the shadows.

His screams cut off abruptly.

Ryan gasps. Jason grabs him and continued to run.

There is no saving Nick.

Not anymore.

⸻

The group burst into a larger tunnel.. an old subway station, half-flooded with stagnant water.

Mia does not stop. “Keep moving!”

Jason’s chest burns, his breath rags. The lizards are here. They aren’t just above the city. They are under it too.

That means one thing.

There is nowhere left to hide.

Their boots are splashing through the shallow water as they sprinting across the abandoned subway platform. The air is thick with the stench of mildew and rust, but Jason barely noticing.

Behind them, the tunnels echoes with distant hissing.

They aren’t alone.

Mia leading the way, flashlight scanning the old subway signs. “There should be an exit somewhere.. ”

Then she stops.

Jason nearly slammed into her. “What.. ?”

He follows her gaze and feels his stomach drop.

The way out is blocked.

A massive pile of debris.. twisted metal, collapsed concrete.. had caved in over the subway entrance. There is no way through.

Darren swears loudly, slamming a fist against the wall. “You gotta be kidding me!”

Ryan, panting, looking around wildly. “There has to be another way out.”

Jason’s mind racing. There has to be something. A maintenance tunnel, an emergency exit..

But before he could figure things out, a deep, guttural snarl comes from the darkness behind them.

The lizards have caught up.

⸻

Mia spins around, gun raising. Jason barley can make out movement in the shadows.. twisting shapes, glistening scales.

Then.. one steps into the dim light.

It is little. But bigger and stronger than the little ones Jason had seen before. Its body is thick with muscle, its claws digging deep into the platform’s cracked tile. Its eyes.. slitted, glowing faintly.. locked onto them.

Then its mouth opened, revealing rows of jagged, bloodstained teeth.

Ryan grabs Jason’s arm. “Jase.. ”

It lungs.

Mia fires.

The gunshot echoes through the tunnels.

The bullet strikes the creature’s shoulder, sending a spray of dark blood across the tiles.. but it barely reacts. Instead, it let out an ear-splitting roar.

Then the others starts coming.

From the tunnels, three more emerged. Their claws scraping against the concrete, tails whipping behind them.

Jason’s pulse spikes.

We are trapped.

Mia firing again. Darren swinging a metal pipe, slamming it into the side of one of the lizards, but the impact barely slowing it down.

Jason yanks Ryan back. They have seconds.. maybe less.

Then he see something.

To the side of the platform.. an old service hatch.

Rusty. Small. But maybe just big enough.

“Over there!” Jason shouts.

Mia hears him. She fires one last shot.. then bolting.

Jason grabs Ryan and runs.

Darren and Lewis following, just as the lizards attack.

One lashes out, its claws tearing into Lewis’s side. He lets out a strangled yell and collapses.

Darren turns back for him. “Lewis.. !”

But the lizards pouncing.

Jason didn’t look. He couldn’t.

He shoves Ryan forward as Mia wrenching open the service hatch. “Go, go!”

Ryan crawling through first. Jason following, shoving himself into the tight, pitch-black tunnel.

Behind him, Darren isn’t fast enough.

The last thing Jason hears before the hatch slams shut is Darren scream.

Jason’s hands scraping against rusted metal as he forcing himself forward. The tunnel is narrow.. so tight he could barely move his arms. The air smells of stench of mildew, oil, and something rotting.

Ahead of him, Ryan crawling as fast as he can, his breath ragged. Behind them, Mia making sure the service hatch shut properly. Jason can hear her grunting, straining against the weight as she pushed something heavy against it.

Then.. thud.

Something slams into the other side of the hatch. The metal shakes violently.

Another impact. Then another.

Jason’s pulse hammered. The lizards are trying to break through.

Mia curses under her breath, crawling forward. “Keep moving.”

Ryan does not need to be told twice. He pushes ahead, dragging himself through the tight space. Jason following, his shoulders pressing against the narrow walls. The passage is filled with the sound of their breathing and their scrambling hands.. and behind them, the relentless pounding.

Then.. a screech.

Jason freezes. The pounding stops.

For a second, silence.

Then.. scraping.

Jason’s blood runs cold. They aren’t trying to break through anymore.

They are looking for another way in.

Jason turns to Mia. In the dim light of her flashlight, her expression is grim. “Move. Faster.”

⸻

The tunnel seems as it’s stretching forever. Jason’s arms is burning from crawling, his knees scraped raw against the rusted metal.

Ryan kept going, determined, but Jason could tell he is terrified.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Ryan’s voice echoes ahead. “I see something! An opening!”

Jason pushes himself forward faster.

The tunnel widened slightly, just enough for Ryan to sit up. He scrambles to his feet, then turns back to help Jason out. Jason grabs his hand, hauling himself into the open space.

Then Mia follows, slipping through just as Jason hears another sound.

A low, slow clicking.

He barely has time to react before something darts past the tunnel entrance.

Ryan yelps. Jason whirls around, heart pounding.

They aren’t alone.

⸻

The space they have crawled into is some kind of maintenance area.. a forgotten service corridor beneath the subway. Pipes lining the ceiling, dripping water onto the grimy floor. The air is humid.

And somewhere in the darkness, something moves.

Mia raises her gun. “Flashlight.”

Jason clicks his on, sweeping it across the corridor. Shadows stretching out in the narrow space.. then one of them moves.

Jason barely sees it.. a flash of scales, the glint of slitted eyes reflecting the light.

Then it vanishes into the darkness.

Ryan grabs Jason’s arm, his breath shaky. “It’s in here.”

Jason swallows hard. “I know.”

Mia gestures with her gun. “We need to go. Now.”

Jason nods. Careful. Quiet. They move forward, each step slow, deliberate. The corridor twisted and turned, lined with old storage crates and rusted machinery.

Jason’s grip tightens around his flashlight. He hates this. The tight space. The unknown.

Then..

A sudden blur.

Something lash out from the darkness.

Jason barely has time to react before Mia fires.

The gunshot explodes through the corridor, deafening in the confined space. Jason sees a flash of movement.. the lizard jerks back, screeching, before vanishing into the pipes.

Ryan stumbles back, shaking.

Mia exhales sharply, gun still raised. “Not dead.”

Jason’s heart dropped. It moves fast. Too fast.

Ryan looks up at Jason. “What do we do?”

Jason clenches his jaw. “We keep moving.”

Because if that thing is still stalking them, staying in one place is the worst thing they could do.