**Thud-thud-thud-thud—**
The tunnel shook with footfalls, heavy and unrelenting.
Don ran up front, pace quick enough to maintain the lead, but not enough to leave the others behind.
He kept his head low, feet cutting silently across the damp ground. The walls around them writhed with sick light as the reflections of their movement bounced across slime and embedded limbs.
Charles followed close behind—silent. The occasional wet crunch underfoot didn't faze him. He moved like a man used to chaos, just not usually this viscous.
Behind them, Agent Hathaway wasn't faring quite as elegantly. Every few meters he slowed, turned, and BOOM—his sidearm screamed through the narrow corridor, flash flaring off the filth-covered walls.
Each shot echoed like a bomb, the blast punching one creature back into the swarm.
The recoil buckled his arm slightly every time.
The momentary flashes stunned the beasts. It bought them seconds. Not more.
"Keep moving!" Don called back.
