"I couldn't sleep at all," muttered Bia, rubbing her reddened eyes.
They had all shared the same sleepless night as their colleague, with dark circles under their eyes. Every snap or noise made the group go on high alert, especially after the bodies had disappeared. They all sat together, trying to warm up from each other's presence, but they dared not light a fire.
The morning sun warmed the place with its gentle light, but the unease still lingered; the subway awaited them. Samuel, standing, took the sunlight directly on his face, keeping his eyes closed.
Michel shared some dried meat he found at the guardhouse with everyone. The group accepted it without hesitation.
"I hope this isn't my last meal," Samuel whispered.
"Don't give us hope," Gabriel retorted.
"Guys!" Naomi called, getting their attention. "I think it's a good time to go."
"I agree," Michel said. "The day has barely started, so we'll have at least ten hours of light. That should be enough."
"I still don't get why we're going in there," Livya said, pointing at the cave.
"Raw material," Bia replied. "It looks like those people are getting the raw material for the drug from there. And knowing what it's made of makes it easier..."
"... to understand why people die so quickly," Livya finished, understanding the logic.
"Exactly."
They gathered at the foot of the staircase. They didn't need to check their equipment since they had kept it with them since last night. They began climbing, and with each step, it felt as if the mouth of the subway was growing larger over them. Waiting for daylight had been a good idea, as the roof was full of holes and wide cracks, letting light pour in abundantly.
Gabriel reached the top of the stairs and almost exhaled in relief. He could see the entire area without difficulty. There was a large building, with rusted turnstiles missing pieces due to the passage of time; to the left, a guardhouse with an iron door jutting out of the wall, and beside it, a large crack with thick glass. The young man understood that this was where a guard kept an eye on the crowd.
Plants were growing all over the floor and walls, even covering the concrete in some areas. From the middle to the end, stopping just against the wall, there was a depression where the floor had been dug out, giving way to two tracks. Both tracks ended in separate tunnels, but the one near the wall had collapsed, making passage impossible.
The smell of moss was overwhelming and the only scent present, which surprised everyone, as they had expected the stench of rotting flesh. Bia approached the end of the platform and saw that the track was just a long iron beam extending into the tunnel, but something felt off.
The strangeness started to hit one by one, as aside from the plants, there was nothing alive in the area—not a rodent, bird, or even insects, which didn't make sense given the abundance of plant life.
"Something's strange about this place," Bia commented.
Since one of the paths was blocked by rubble, and the station didn't hold anything significant, the group was left with only one option: follow the unobstructed tunnel. Livya approached, seeing that the path descended slightly before making a sharp turn to the right, making it impossible to see more of it.
"Let's just get on with this," Samuel said.
Gabriel held back a response, as this time, he agreed with the Crow. They formed a "V" shape with him at the front and began walking. One by one, they jumped into the hole in the track, which creaked in several places, as the ground was completely covered by black concrete stones around the iron.
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The beams of light were very helpful for their vision, but at the same time, some places remained dark, giving the concrete corridor a macabre look. Gabriel was the first to turn the corner and saw that the tunnel extended at least one hundred meters straight before disappearing into another turn.
The entire path was slightly sloped downward, making the walk easy. They passed by a staircase against the wall that led to a closed door, and soon, another similar door appeared on the opposite side.
The moss was more present than before, along with the cold and humidity. Even though sunlight streamed in, it wasn't enough to do anything but light up the corridor. Samuel, who was last on the right side of the "V," next to Naomi, stared attentively at one of the doors that was slightly ajar. He kept his eyes fixed on it, feeling something strange emanating from the crack. When he finally faced it, he had a brief glimpse of something looking back at him.
It was all very fast, which didn't allow him to see clearly, but he managed to make out something dog-sized with long legs. However, the strange creature disappeared into the darkness almost immediately.
With a quick movement, Samuel drew his revolver and ran toward the door, climbing the stairs and stopping at the left side of the wall. He looked at the group, which stopped suddenly, and signaled with his head toward the entrance. Naomi followed closely, drawing her katana and taking the opposite side of the wall. Using the blade's tip, she pushed the door, which creaked loudly as it opened.
Samuel turned, already pointing his gun into the darkness and bracing for the worst, but it didn't come. He looked into every corner illuminated by the light from the tunnel—an empty room full of old panels and some barrels.
"Did you see anything?" Bia asked, her voice slightly trembling.
"No," Samuel replied, stepping out of the room and signaling Naomi, who holstered her weapon. "I must be imagining things, sorry about that."
"You almost gave me a heart attack!" Gabriel said, visibly relaxing.
Livya felt compelled to agree with her colleague but didn't criticize the other.
The tension and oppression from the tunnel only grew stronger.
"Strange," Bia whispered. "His instincts rarely fail."
The comment made the hairs on the back of Livya's neck stand up. The two returned to the front of the formation and continued on, without interruption.
Until the body appeared, less than thirty meters from the curve.
With blades in hand, the group approached, but soon the lack of movement in the abdomen and body made it clear it was just a corpse. Gabriel, along with Bia, squatted down to analyze the dying man.
"Gabriel!" Bia exclaimed, her eyes wide.
"Yes?" the man replied.
"Do you recognize him?" Michel asked, anxious.
"Kind of," Gabriel said, pulling something from the dead man's neck and showing it to the group. A throwing knife. "He was one of the guards."
The man was pale, almost paper white, which was unnatural even for a corpse. His chest, torso, and legs had holes, as though something had sucked something out of them, leaving those parts dry. Beside his hand, a white object caught Bia's attention, and she picked it up, only to regret it immediately. It was a piece of human jawbone. That's when the horror began.
The Crow dropped the bone and jumped back. Gabriel did the same but stepped on something that cracked differently from the stones. He lifted his foot and saw a human rib snapped in half.
