Ashwalker

Caves of Guf40 Minutes After Retreat

The caves were too quiet.

Not silent—there was always the soft drip of condensation, the distant moan of air through broken vents, and the echo of bootsteps on rock—but beneath it all, there was something wrong with the stillness.

Kaiell sat against a jagged wall, fingers gloved and trembling slightly as he adjusted the dial on his pulse monitor. His HUD was dimmed to save power. The glow of bioluminescent moss painted the cavern with a ghostly green hue.

A Kruger sat nearby, whispering the rites of stabilization over a cauterized leg wound. Joran knelt beside Halen, wrapping her arm in synth-bandages, Viora still licking faintly across her burned gauntlet.

No one spoke of the six who didn't make it.

Kaiell's arm interface pinged softly.

[Local Environment Scan – Active][Lifeforms Detected: 12 Human | 0 Voidling | Ambient Radiation – Low]

He exhaled. The HEART system hadn't picked up pursuit. For now, they were safe.

But even the air down here tasted… watched.

"Still no signal from command?" Joran asked, voice hoarse.

Kaiell shook his head. "Comms are jammed this deep. Revek's last ping placed him near Guf's secondary tunnel, but nothing since."

"Think they're alive?"

"They have to be," he said. But he didn't believe it.

Nightfell rested across his knees. Its edge glimmered faintly in the dark—humming, barely. Like it too could feel the weight in the stone.

"Do you hear that?" Conzro asked, suddenly. His voice echoed too loud.

Everyone turned. Stilled.

Then came the sound.

Scrrraaaaaatch.

Stone against stone.Somewhere deeper. Below them.

Joran stood. "Movement?"

Kaiell rose with him, pulse already climbing. He tapped the module again.

[HEART SCAN: ACTIVATING][Scanning...][WARNING: NEW LIFEFORM DETECTED][UNIDENTIFIED // PROXIMITY: 82 METERS // INBOUND TRAJECTORY]

One dot. Then two. Then—

[...17 VOIDLING SIGNALS DETECTED – RANGE: 70 METERS – ELEVATION: SUBSURFACE LAYER]

"What the hell—how?!" Conzro backed away, weapon raised. "There weren't any down here!"

"They burrowed," Halen hissed, rising despite her burns. "They're in the walls."

From the far end of the tunnel, dust rained from above.A section of ceiling cracked.

Something was clawing its way up.

Kaiell looked to the others. "Form up. No more running. We hold here."

Stone cracked again—And something smiled behind it.