The Harvester’s smile did not look human.

Its cracked lips stretched too far across its rotting face, revealing blackened teeth stained with dried blood. Chains rattled softly as it leaned forward inside the containment chamber.

Ethan stumbled backward in horror.

“No...” he whispered.

The creature’s pale eyes remained fixed on him.

Then it spoke.

“Ethan.”

The room went silent.

Maya slowly raised her revolver.

Selena’s expression hardened instantly.

“That shouldn’t be possible,” she muttered.

The chained Harvester tilted its head unnaturally.

Its voice sounded broken, as though multiple people were speaking beneath the same skin.

“You left him behind.”

Ethan turned pale.

“How does it know my name?”

The creature smiled wider.

“Lucas waited for you.”

Maya’s pulse quickened.

Selena moved quickly toward a nearby control panel, slamming her hand against a rusted switch. Red warning lights flickered across the containment glass.

“Don’t talk to it,” Selena ordered sharply.

The Harvester began laughing softly.

Not animalistic.

Human.

“You still believe they are infected,” it whispered.

Maya looked at Selena.

“What is this thing?”

Selena hesitated.

For the first time since meeting her, fear appeared in her eyes.

“It’s Subject Nine.”

The room’s emergency lights flickered again.

Rainwater dripped slowly from the ceiling pipes above them.

Ethan stared at the creature inside the chamber.

“You experimented on them?”

Selena said nothing.

The silence itself became an answer.

Maya grabbed Selena by the arm.

“What did BLACKTHORN do?”

Selena pulled free violently.

“We were trying to save people.”

“That’s not what this looks like.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Selena snapped.

Her voice echoed through the bunker.

For several seconds nobody spoke.

Then Selena finally exhaled slowly and looked toward the containment chamber.

“The infection didn’t begin naturally,” she said quietly. “It started here.”

Maya felt coldness spread through her chest.

“Three years ago BLACKTHORN discovered something buried beneath the grain silos during a government excavation project. A fungus unlike anything ever recorded.”

She pointed toward the chained creature.

“It could connect nervous systems together. Animals exposed to it began moving in groups. Sharing instincts. Sharing awareness.”

“The hive mind,” Maya whispered.

Selena nodded.

“We thought we could weaponize it. Control fear responses in soldiers. Increase survival behavior during war zones.”

Ethan stared at her in disgust.

“You turned people into monsters.”

“No,” Selena said darkly. “Something else did.”

The chained Harvester suddenly slammed itself against the glass.

The entire chamber shook violently.

“IT WOKE UP,” the creature screamed.

Its voice distorted unnaturally.

Every monitor inside the bunker suddenly flickered alive.

Static filled the room.

Then a deep horn echoed through the underground halls.

The same sound from the silos.

Ethan collapsed to his knees, clutching his head in agony.

Black veins spread rapidly across his face now.

“He can hear it,” Selena whispered.

The radio on the desk burst into life again.

“...feeding cycle initiated...”

“...prepare the lower gates...”

“...the Shepherd is awake...”

Maya looked sharply toward Selena.

“The Shepherd?”

Selena’s face went pale.

Before she could answer, the bunker lights suddenly died.

Darkness swallowed everything.

Then came the sound of metal doors unlocking throughout the underground facility.

One by one.

Heavy footsteps echoed somewhere deep below them.

Not running.

Walking.

Slow.

Deliberate.

The chained Harvester inside the chamber began trembling violently with excitement.

And in the darkness beneath BLACKTHORN Division—

Something massive had started moving.