The Corrupted were still pursuing the evacuees as earnestly as ever but the rain had slightly hampered their pace. The pale humanoid creatures crawled around an abandoned camp under the pouring rain. It was night and they knew that it was the time where most prey, including humans, would be vulnerable.

The pouring rain seemed to glide off of the leathery skin of the Corrupted, not affecting them in the slightest. One particular Corrupted, the largest out of the group of dozens, seemed to be sluggish. It moved along with them but would occasionally let out a stifled and pained groaned. Suddenly, its muscles began swelling and it growled loudly gaining the attention of the entire pack. They paused before moving over to investigate but were met with an aggressive snarl which made them keep their distance. After a few minutes, they seemed to instinctively understand what was happening, the groaning Corrupted was evolving into a Variant.

“Auuuuueeergh!” A deep roar echoed throughout the forest as muscle mass of the evolving Corrupted increased.

There were suspicions regarding the lack of presence from the Corrupted but it became clear in an instant. The entire species of Corrupted were essentially scourge to all living creatures. If even 5% of their total population possessed the ability to evolve it would prove fatal to mankind.

Thirty minutes later and the Corrupted had grown to stand at 8 feet tall when bipedal, the size of a horde leader. Its body was littered with grotesque muscles and veins that squirmed as they readjusted.

Previously, the Corrupted that were pursuing the inhabitants of town C-23 were all too weak to stay with the horde. As of now? The Corrupted Variant would be able to take over as leader of the horde if it wanted to. But those thoughts didn’t cross its mind at all...The transformation had left it starved. It was a violent hunger that showed no sign of dissipating and the Variant felt as if it would be consumed by it if no prey was found.

It issued a series of low-pitched cries and the rest of the Corrupted responded with cries of acceptance. The group followed the traces of humans with a new sense of purpose. After all, with a Variant among their ranks, survival would come easier.

A flash of lightning illuminated dozens of amber eyes moving through the wet forest. While the rumbling of thunder obscured their heavy footsteps.

…

“Hey...where are you going, Bill?” A woman whispered from under a tarp. She just barely poked her head out to avoid being soaked with rain.

“I gotta use the bathroom.” Bill, her husband, answered.

He took a quick look around the silent campsite to see many people huddled under tarps while a few people with reflective stripes on the back of their clothes were on guard. Bill made his steps audible in order to avoid scaring one of the people guarding the camps.

“Is it alright if I take a quick piss?” Bill asked.

“Sure...Just help me real quick.” The man on night duty was clearly distracted. He attempted to light up a cigarette but the wind and the rain made it a futile task.

Bill sighed before cupping his hands around the matches. After a few tries, a match caught fire and the man hurriedly lit his cigarette.

He took a deep puff before speaking, “Don’t take too long.”

“I got it,” Bill responded as he moved toward a spot that wasn’t too far. As he prepared to relieve himself he saw something shift in the darkness.

Lighting struck and he was briefly able to see it, Corrupted crouched on branches and skulking through the mud.

“Corrupted!” Bill opened his mouth and screamed at the top of his lungs but unfortunately, the sound of thunder blocked his voice. He tried to fish out the revolver underneath his jacket but a few of the Corrupted pounced toward him. A pale hand gripped his neck before teeth were sunk into his throat, silencing him forever.

The man on night duty squinted his eyes suspiciously before he flicked his cigarette away. He released the safety on his rifle and raised it to a shooting position.

“You alright over there?” He shouted while aiming toward the darkness.

“Say something!” It was clear he was becoming nervous.

Then, he finally received an answer. A low growl that crawled up his spine and filled him with the urge to flee. A Corrupted Variant slowly raised itself to stand in front of him. A bright flash of lightning allowed him to see better and it did nothing but cause the man to be even more fearful.

“No!” He raised his rifle and fired at the beast which caused it to reflexively raise its arms to defend itself.

The bullet barely penetrated its layer of leathery skin and the Corrupted figured out that there wasn’t any danger. It brought its thick claws down and opened a huge hole in the man’s chest.

“Aaaaaah!” Along with the gunshot, his screams served as an alarm bell but the Corrupted were already rushing toward the campsite by the time his body hit the ground.

…

The sound of gunfire made its way into Visette’s ears. She checked her hunting rifle to make sure it was loaded before she headed toward the commotion. Another attack from the Corrupted was out of her expectations, especially so soon.

Visette infused psionic energy into her legs and lowered her posture before sprinting forward. With each step she took, mud was splashed around but she paid it no mind. She could see guns being fired through the curtain of rain and slowed down when she reached the edge of the campsite. Figures were constantly shifting around in the darkness and the screams, cries, and gunshots didn’t make it any easier to distinguish who was who.

Suddenly, lightning flashed and Vis could see humans fighting and fleeing the Corrupted but the brief light source didn’t help much.

“Help!” A wounded man limped toward Visette.

She quickly drew her revolver and pointed it at him before speaking, “Do not bother me.”

The man was clearly out of his options and could only grit his teeth before moving on.

After he moved away she exhaled before concentrating as hard as she could. Her automatically pupils dilated to take in more and her mind was filled with extreme focus. She raised the hunting rifle and those her body stopped moving entirely. Water trailed over her eyes but she didn’t even blink. The nanites inside of her held control over her nervous system and allowed her to achieve an inhuman level of awareness.

The unending attack on humans didn’t cease and Visette seemed to be completely unmoved by their voices.

“Stay together!”

“No! Run!”

“Idiot, we can’t run in this weather!”

“My sister! Where the fuck is my sister?!”

Lightning struck once again but in Visette’s eyes, everything became slower. First, she identified all the Corrupted in her line of sight. Then, she prioritized them into those about to attack and those who were busy killing. Finally, she estimated the distance and rate of movement in order to prepare.

As soon as she blinked her eyes everything seemed to return to its normal speed. Without any hesitation, she raised the hunting rifle and fired into the night. Her arm moved mechanically as she pulled the bolt ejected a round before she fired again. The bullets zipped past and landed in the skulls of unsuspecting Corrupted, sending blood and grey matter splashing. She ran out of bullets for the rifle quickly and tossed it to the side before switching to her revolver and continuing.

A woman screamed and closed her eyes as a Corrupted raised its claws to rip her apart but she her a bullet whizz by and the monster fell to the ground limply. Somewhere else, a man was carrying two children while a Corrupted pouncing toward him but a bullet tore into his skull and it fell out of the air lifelessly.

Exhaustion overtook Visette but she forced herself to continue while trying to leave enough psionic energy for herself to flee. She was nearly out of round for her revolver so she switched to the shotgun and ran closer.

Those who chose to look back while fleeing could see the muzzle flash of a shotgun and briefly make out a young girl with white hair. Any Corrupted that was unlucky enough to be within the radius of Visette died by a spray of shotgun pellets.

That was until the Corrupted Variant finally noticed her, its speed was incomparable to the weaker Corrupted as it arrived in front of her with a few seconds. She raised the shotgun and fired it only to see the pellets rip off a chunk of skin and nothing more. Her eyes slightly widened in surprise but that was only for a moment. The Variant raised its arm and slapped Visette away, sending her flying. She reinforced her body with psionic energy before she crashed into the muddy ground and continued rolling.

‘I shouldn’t fight it, but I will not be able to escape if it pursues me.’ Visette thought to herself as she slowly climbed to her feet. Her entire body ached and she used an immense amount of energy to withstand the blow, then there was also the mental exhaustion that came from concentrating so much. She had dropped the shotgun somewhere but the revolver, though covered in mud, was still holstered on her hip.

As if on cue, lightning brightened up the darkness for a split second. It allowed Vis to see the hulking Variant barreling toward her with a rabid enthusiasm.