The air was thick with tension as Ethan and the Reapers approached the pit. The closer they got, the more unnatural the world around them became. The ground trembled beneath their boots, the sky darkened with an eerie, swirling mist, and the stench of decay was suffocating.
"We're close," said Captain Rhodes, the squad leader, his voice steady but grim. "From here on out, expect the worst."
Ethan gripped his combat knife tighter, his eyes scanning the shadows ahead. The pit was no ordinary mutant nest—it was the heart of the infection, the birthplace of horrors beyond imagination. And now, they were stepping right into its maw.
As they descended deeper into the ruined landscape, a chilling realization struck them—gunfire was useless. The first shots fired at the emerging mutants did nothing. Bullets bounced off their flesh, leaving no wounds, no impact.
"They're… invulnerable," whispered Carter, one of the newer recruits, his voice laced with fear.
Ethan narrowed his eyes as the creatures moved forward, their grotesque forms shifting in the dim light. Their bodies were dense, muscles coiled with inhuman power. Then, one of them lunged.
Rhodes barely dodged in time. "Switch to melee!" he roared. "Blades, hammers, bats—whatever you've got, use it!"
The squad sprang into action. Ethan didn't hesitate. He slashed his knife across a mutant's throat. Unlike bullets, the blade cut deep, sending a spray of blackened blood into the air. The creature shrieked, stumbling before collapsing.
"Melee works!" Ethan confirmed, his pulse pounding. "Stay close! Don't let them surround you!"
The Reapers fought with newfound purpose. Swords, axes, and blunt weapons became their salvation. Carter swung a reinforced bat, shattering a mutant's skull. Rhodes drove a machete into another's chest, twisting it before yanking it free.
But these creatures weren't just tough. They were fast. They were strong. Superhuman.
Ethan barely dodged a clawed hand that came inches from tearing through his ribs. Another mutant caught Carter by the leg and flung him like a ragdoll against a crumbling wall. Bones snapped. A scream echoed before being cut short.
There was no time to mourn.
"Keep moving!" Ethan growled, slicing through another abomination. "Don't let them corner you!"
Every step deeper into the pit felt like descending into hell itself. The further they went, the stronger the mutants became. Their roars reverberated through the air, shaking the very ground beneath them.
And then, in the distance, they saw it.
The entrance to the true pit.
A gaping abyss that led to something darker, something worse.
Ethan's grip tightened on his blade. "We keep going."
No one argued.
Because there was no turning back now.