The narrow street looked gloomy despite the morning light.

  The buildings stood so close together that the sunlight barely reached the ground. Old posters hung from the walls, most of them torn and fluttering in the wind. Trash bags, broken crates, and overturned bicycles littered the alley.

  Kaelion walked slowly.

  Every step was careful.

  Lucas followed a few steps behind him, carrying the metal pipe over his shoulder, his eyes constantly scanning their surroundings.

  “This street…” Lucas said quietly.

  “I really don’t like it.”

  Kaelion didn’t reply.

  But he felt the same.

  The heavy smells had reached his nose again.

  Because of Rotten Smell, the city felt different now.

  The scent of rotting flesh.

  Blood.

  Damp concrete.

  And…

  something else.

  Kaelion slowed down.

  Lucas noticed immediately.

  “What is it?”

  Kaelion listened for a few seconds.

  Then pointed toward the corner where several trash containers stood.

  “There’s something there.”

  Lucas looked in that direction.

  But he couldn’t see anything.

  “I don’t see anything.”

  Kaelion narrowed his eyes.

  “I smell it.”

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  Lucas frowned.

  “Smell?”

  Kaelion answered briefly.

  “Blood.”

  Lucas gripped the pipe with both hands.

  “Great…”

  “First thing in the morning.”

  They moved a few steps closer.

  The alley was silent.

  Only the wind could be heard.

  Then—

  a faint dragging sound.

  scrr…

  Lucas froze.

  “You hear that?”

  Kaelion nodded.

  “Yeah.”

  The sound came again.

  scrrr…

  This time from behind the dumpster.

  Lucas whispered,

  “Ghoul?”

  Kaelion shook his head.

  “No.”

  “Ghouls don’t move like that.”

  Lucas’s expression tightened.

  “Then what?”

  At that moment something moved behind the container.

  First an arm appeared.

  But the arm…

  didn’t look human.

  Its bones bent at strange angles.

  Its skin was gray and blotched.

  Then the rest of the creature appeared.

  It crawled along the ground.

  Its legs barely worked.

  But its arms were long and powerful.

  Its yellow eyes glowed faintly.

  Lucas’s eyes widened.

  “That thing…”

  “…was that a human?”

  Kaelion shook his head slightly.

  “Once.”

  The creature lifted its head.

  It saw them.

  A low growl escaped its mouth.

  Then it suddenly lunged forward.

  It dragged itself across the ground with shocking speed.

  Lucas instinctively stepped back.

  “It’s coming!”

  Kaelion was already moving.

  He drew his knife.

  The creature was incredibly fast.

  Even crawling, it moved quickly.

  Lucas swung the pipe.

  The metal struck the creature’s shoulder.

  But it only rolled to the side.

  It didn’t stop.

  Instead it lunged toward Lucas.

  “Damn!”

  Lucas stepped back.

  The creature’s claws sliced through the air.

  Kaelion saw the opening.

  He rushed forward.

  His knife flashed.

  The blade cut across the creature’s back.

  Dark black blood splattered.

  The creature let out a sharp screech.

  But it was still moving.

  Lucas raised the pipe again.

  “That thing’s fast!”

  Kaelion answered quickly.

  “Aim for its joints!”

  Lucas understood immediately.

  The creature lunged toward him again.

  Lucas swung the pipe downward.

  The blow struck the creature’s arm.

  A crack echoed through the alley.

  The creature lost its balance for a moment.

  That was the moment Kaelion had been waiting for.

  He lunged forward.

  And drove the knife into the creature’s neck.

  The creature trembled for a few seconds.

  Then collapsed to the ground.

  The alley fell silent again.

  Lucas breathed heavily.

  “That…”

  “…wasn’t a ghoul.”

  Kaelion looked at the body.

  It really was different.

  Thinner.

  Faster.

  More twisted.

  At that moment a system message appeared in Kaelion’s vision.

  Enemy Identified

  Crawler

  Rank: F

  Level: 3

  Kaelion studied the screen.

  A new species.

  Lucas stared at the corpse.

  “How many of those things do you think are out there?”

  Kaelion didn’t answer.

  But the same question crossed his mind.

  The city…

  might be far more crowded than they expected.

  Lucas rested the pipe on his shoulder.

  “So, leader.”

  Kaelion glanced at him.

  Lucas grinned.

  “Still heading for the police station?”

  Kaelion wiped the blood from his knife.

  Then nodded.

  “We keep going.”

  But at that moment—

  another dragging sound came from deeper in the alley.

  scrrr…

  Lucas’s face fell.

  “Please tell me…”

  “…that wasn’t the only one.”

  Kaelion looked toward the dark end of the street.

  And slowly raised his knife again.