CHAPTER 59: CHAPTER 11: SIDE CHAPTER ROSA’S HUNT

# Side Chapter: Rosa’s Hunt

With a resounding clang, the steel door slammed shut, creating a barrier between us. I could hear Jin’s footsteps echoing down the corridor, each thud a frantic heartbeat fading into the distance.

*What a fool,* I mused, gripping my makeshift satchel of shock mines. The rough canvas strap pressed uncomfortably into my shoulder.

"Forty seconds," I whispered, eyes locked on my chronometer. The numbers glowed green. "Thirty-nine... thirty-eight..."

Sera was already in full commander mode, barking orders at Clara, but I tuned them out. I had my own appointment with a nightmare of crawlers to keep.

"Rosa." Sera’s voice cut through my consciousness. "You sure going to B-6? Alone?"

I flashed her my signature grin. "Yeah don’t worry about me! I’ve been wriggling through tighter spaces than this since I was twelve. I used to slip past White House security just to show the President his locks could use a serious upgrade."

"Ten seconds," Clara called out, fingers dancing across her tablet. "I-I’m reading six Crawlers that didn’t follow Jin. They’re... they’re spreading out to multiple areas."

My grin widened, though my pulse quickened. "Ah, splendid! I’ve always thrived on a good adrenaline rush."

"Rosa—" Sera started.

"Save it." I was already moving toward the maintenance hatch. "Our Hero is out there, I need to do my part at least."

*Five... four... three...*

I yanked the hatch wide, and to my surprise, the shaft loomed even darker than I’d imagined. Maintenance Shaft B-6 sprawled before me, a tangled mess of grinding pipes and bare wires. Somewhere in the shadows, water trickled ominously, adding to the atmosphere.

I moved silently.

Twenty meters in, I reached the first junction. Three smaller shafts connected here. I pulled out the first shock mine. Clara had outdone herself—fifty thousand volts packed into something the size of a hockey puck.

"Hello, beautiful," I murmured, activating the magnetic clamp. The mine attached with a soft click, its proximity sensor already blinking red. "Let’s see how those freaks can handle this baby."

One down. Nine to go.

As I was heading to the second spot, I suddenly caught this weird noise. It was this wet, dragging sound, kind of like someone was pulling a heavy trash bag full of meat across the concrete. The sound was coming from my left and getting closer. Then I picked up some breathing noise, and unnatural. It didn’t sound human at all anymore.

*Shit. Not part of the plan.*

My hand found the mono knife at my hip, fingers wrapping around the grip. The breathing was getting nearer. I could actually smell it now—like something was rotting.

I pressed myself against the wall, controlling my breathing, terrified.

The Crawler emerged from the side shaft, and my stomach lurched.

At one point, it kind of resembled a person, with tattered pieces of a maintenance uniform hanging on it. But the virus didn’t just give it a new look; it turned it into a totally warped and terrifying monster.

*DONT LOOK! DON’T LOOK! DON’T LOOK!* as I prayed really hard while closing my eyes.

Then my first mine went off.

The blast of electricity lit up the tunnel like a flash of lightning. I heard a shriek—not from the Crawler right in front of me, but from another one that must have set off the mine.

My Crawler buddy wasted no time and darted towards the noise, probably drawn in by its packmate’s last moments. I decided to wait until it was completely past before I moved.

"Thanks for the help!" I said, but as soon as I did, I regretted it. The odor it left behind made me want to gag.

*Dang it! Eight more to go, I need to hurry up*

I picked up the pace, using the dying Crawler’s noise to mask my movement. Second mine at the thermal regulation panel. Third at the emergency ladder access. Each placement calculated to create overlapping kill zones.

I picked up my speed, using the noise from the dying Crawler to cover up what I was doing. I set one mine by the thermal regulation panel and another by the emergency ladder access, making sure each was set up to overlap their kill zones.

By the time I got to the seventh spot, my hands were shaking. Not really out of fear—well, maybe a little—but mainly from the adrenaline rush. That thrill was starting to fade, giving way to a cold dose of reality.

*This is insane..*

"Come on, Rosa," I muttered, placing the seventh mine. "You’ve done crazier things"

Static burst in my earpiece. Clara’s voice, distorted: "R-Rosa? Are you... *static* ...picking up multiple... *static* ...your position!"

"C-Clara? How many?" I hissed back. Only static answered.

*Shit.*

Only three mines to go and just forty meters to reach the finish line. But now I could hear them—loads of claws tapping on metal, getting closer from behind.

"Alright then." I drew my mono knife.

I dashed over to spot eight, dropping my stealth. I had to set up the mines; otherwise, Sera and Clara would be in serious trouble.

I planted the eighth mine just as the first Crawler turned the corner. No time to admire my work—I was already heading to position nine.

The Crawler hit mine number six, and the explosion lit up the tunnel like a disco ball. Its scream was cut short, and the air was filled with the smell of burnt meat and ozone.

But its death brought friends. I could hear them converging, the sound like a swarm of giant roaches.

"Come on, come on," I muttered, fumbling with the ninth mine. My hands were steady—but my heart hammered against my ribs.

*Jin better appreciate this.*

I activated the final mine in my hand, the device humming to life.

The mine locked in just as a couple more Crawlers showed up. These ones were a bit different—looked a little newer, maybe. Their transformations seemed more finished. One was crawling on the ceiling, its fingers stretching out into hooks that stabbed through metal. The other scuttled like a spider, joints clicking with every move.

’Hey guys,’ I shouted, stepping back to my last spot. ’You here to have some fun?’

They split up. Clever move.

The device landed right on target, and the magnetic clamp kicked in. The Crawler barely had time to glance down before fifty thousand volts zapped it into a twitching, howling mess. The smell was something else—like burnt hair, meat, and a whiff of chemicals.

The last mine was set just in time as three more Crawlers came into the shaft.

They spotted me. They saw their fallen buddies. Their combined scream was enough to make my teeth rattle.

"Job well done," I said, starting to back out. "Now for the fun part."

They charged at me, I desperately ran for my life.

Behind me, shock mines triggered in sequence. The shaft became a lightning storm of death. But one Crawler was faster, fresher. It close on me with every step.

Ten meters to the exit. Five. Three.

Claws raked across my back.

The pain was immediate and shocking. Four parallel lines of pain from shoulder to hip. I felt my jacket part, felt warm blood soak through my shirt. But the momentum carried me forward. My hand hit the emergency release.

Something grabbed my ankle as I pulled myself up. I looked down to see a Crawler’s face—too human, too wrong—inches from my leg. Its split jaw opened wider, revealing rows of teeth that shouldn’t exist.

With a surge of adrenaline coursing through my veins, I plunged my knife deep into the creature’s eye. The moment the blade pierced through, it made this unsettling, squishy sound—a wet pop that echoed in the eerie silence of the room. Almost immediately, the thing’s grip around me spasmed in a desperate reaction, as if it was trying to make sense of what had just happened.

Taking advantage of the chaos, I quickly kicked my legs free. I rolled onto the upper level just in the nick of time, narrowly escaping the snapping jaws that clamped shut just inches away from where my foot had been just a heartbeat before.

My heart raced, and I could feel the tension in the air as I scrambled to regain my balance, realizing how close I had come to becoming its next meal.

The adrenaline surged through me, igniting a fire in my chest, and all I could think was that I had to keep moving, to stay one step ahead of this monstrous predator.

The hatch slammed shut. The electromagnetic lock engaged.

"Rosa!" Clara’s voice, clear now. "Are you okay? Your vitals spiked and—"

"Peachy," I gasped, hand coming away red from my back. The cuts were deep but not fatal. Probably. "All mines placed. The highway to hell is open for business."

Through the hatch, I could hear the remaining Crawlers hitting the shock fields. The shrieks mixed with electrical discharge created a symphony straight from hell.

I allowed myself ten seconds to breathe, then started moving. Sera and Clara needed to know the route was clear, and somewhere in this metal maze, Jin was playing tag with the rest of the pack.

*Better not die on us, hero,* I thought, leaving bloody handprints on the wall as I moved. *I didn’t just get my back turned into abstract art for nothing.*

My part was done. The mines would hold. But as I made my way to the rendezvous, I couldn’t shake the image of that Crawler’s face. Too human. Too aware.

These things weren’t just monsters. They used to be people. People like us.

And that made them so much worse