The trees towered above them, stark and skeletal like ancient giants draped in shadows — tall, blackened bark twisting upwards, their gnarled branches stretched out like skeletal arms reaching for the sky. As the team ventured deeper along the meandering trail flanked by towering sentinels, the forest's vibrant pulse around them grew eerily subdued. At first, the changes were slight; the birds' melodic songs gradually receded, giving way to an unsettling hush. Insects, those tiny creatures that usually filled the air with a rhythmic symphony, fell silent. Even the gentle whispers of the wind, which previously danced playfully through the leaves, vanished completely, leaving behind a stifling calm. What settled over the woods was not a tranquil silence, but an all-consuming stillness that absorbed everything in its path.
Ansar halted mid-step, the motion sharp as he rose from his thoughts. The rest of the team followed suit, a palpable sense of foreboding creeping down their spines like frigid rain trickling beneath layers of armor. Each footfall felt profane against the backdrop of oppressive quiet. Every breath echoed like a war cry in the silence, every heartbeat felt like a betrayal. "Something's wrong," Ansar said, a low murmur that cut through the suffocating stillness, sharp as a blade in the night.
Eden's fingers tightened around the hilt of her blade, knuckles paling beneath her grip. Alexei's gaze darted nervously across the thick, interwoven canopy above, pale eyes too wide, searching for the source of their unease. Michael's throat constricted, his fingers twitching ominously near the safety latch of his rifle, betraying a sense of urgency that hung thick in the air. There was no rustle of leaves, no skittering of small creatures, not even the relentless buzzing of flies. Just the five of them, trapped in a moment of anticipation, feeling the weight of an unseen presence trailing in the shadows. Then, as if summoned by the silence, the odor hit them like a physical blow, a rancid wall that forced its way into their senses.
It was a fetid mélange of decay clawed at their throats, a nauseating combination of rot, brine, and the sickening sweetness of spoiled meat mixed with burning sulfur. The stench was overwhelming, overwhelming even to seasoned warriors. Eden stifled a gag behind her mask, the horror of the scent overwhelming her. Alexei stumbled backward, his face twisting in revulsion as he struggled to process the sheer wrongness of the air. Michael muttered a curse under his breath, voice rough and low, as if worn down by many close calls, teeth gritted against the rising urge to retch.
Ansar remained perfectly still, the tension coiling in his muscles like a tightly wound spring. His jaw clenched, and the flame-shaped mark on his cheek glimmered faintly, a flicker of warmth amidst the cold terror. His eyes narrowed, not in fear, but in calculation, like a predator assessing its next move. "It's here," he declared, a grim certainty threading through his words.
Then, the earth trembled beneath them as faint, colossal tremors shook the ground, a force too immense to contain. The forest erupted into chaos as it surged forward with blinding speed, beyond the perception of untrained eyes. Flesh sloughed off its frame, as if movement itself was tearing it apart with each vicious move as it lunged. The Flesh Eater zeroed in on the weakest among them, and before Alexei could raise his weapon in defense, something wet and heavy slammed into his side, knocking the air from his lungs. He hit the ground hard, breath tearing from his chest as a burning weight pinned him down, his vision flashing white.
Eden was already moving. Her blade bit into the creature's joints, not a clean cut, but enough to make it shriek and stagger. Still, it didn't let go.
Then the pain came.
Acidic saliva soaked through his uniform, searing into his skin. Alexei screamed and twisted, hands scrubbing uselessly against slick flesh that pulsed beneath his palms, layered wrong, as something tore — hot, jagged — across his stomach.
Michael fired. The shot punched straight through the thick of its neck, spraying rot and bone. The Flesh Eater reared back, howling. As it reared back, they saw its face, if it could be called that. A jaw split too wide, packed with uneven teeth, flesh sloughing away faster than it could heal. Ansar didn't wait for it to fall, blade flashing into the wound, sawing through the resisting spine until something inside finally gave in. The head came free with a wet snap and rolled into the leaves as a denotation of decaying flesh filled the atmosphere. The body collapsed a few seconds later.
Alexei lay gasping in the dirt, smoke curling faintly from his uniform. He hadn't even drawn his weapon.
The body lay still at last, already beginning to collapse on itself. Flesh sagged, liquified. What hadn't been severed was slowly dissolving, sinking back into the forest floor like something ashamed to remain visible. No one spoke at first. Michael lowered his rifle but didn't sling it, his eyes fixed on the corpse, watching as the rot crept inward rather than spreading outward. He crouched just enough to avoid contact — cautious, deliberate.
"Type-Three," he said calmly with certainty. "Feeder variant, ambush first, goes for the slowest or least anchored."
Eden swallowed. She hadn't looked away from Alexei since the creature fell. Blood soaked through her gloves as she pressed down on his wound, hands steady despite the tremor in her jaw. "It didn't just attack him," she whispered, "it chose him."
Michael nodded, "Yeah."
She hated how easily he agreed.
Ansar stood apart from them, blade still in hand, watching the remains melt into nothing. His expression didn't change, but his grip tightened, just briefly, before he wiped the weapon clean, methodically, with purpose. "Fresh," he said, "still hungry, that's why it moved wrong."
Eden looked up at him, "Wrong how?"
Ansar's eyes flickered to Alexei, then back to the forest. "Too fast to be starving, too reckless to be old."
Michael rose slowly, "Means it hadn't learned patience yet." which meant something else had. The silence settled again, different now — heavy, personal.
Eden exhaled shakily and leaned closer to Alexei. "I should've been closer," she murmured, not to them, but to herself.
Ansar didn't soften his voice, but he didn't dismiss her either. "It didn't matter," he said, "You moved when it counted." She glanced at him, surprised. He didn't meet her eyes. Instead, he turned back toward the trees, placing himself between them and the dark without comment.
Michael watched, just for a second, then said, "We'll adjust spacing. No rookies on the edge again." Alexei groaned faintly, still conscious.
Eden tightened her grip. "You hear that?" She said softly, "You're not dead."
She looked at her teammates before looking back at Alexei.
"Don't you dare go unconscious now."
The forest did not answer, but it felt like it was listening.
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