Chapter Text
Rain came down like shattered glass today in the Zone.
It hit the windshield in sheets so heavy that the driver, Y/N, could barely see the road ahead. The sky had turned an unnatural shade of green-gray, pulsing faintly with light from distant storms and anomalies that didn't sound like thunder at all.
"Tobias? Francis? You hear me? Visibility's gone," she muttered, switching the wipers to their highest setting. "I need to pull over — I can't see a damn thing."
Tobias' voice crackled over the radio. "Yeah, that would be for the best. Let me check the old maps... There's a service tunnel about a kilometer ahead."
Francis chimed in, tracking the maps as well. "Just the next right — keep driving, but slow and careful. It should give you cover until the storm passes."
"Copy that. Thanks, guys."
She drove slowly, eyes straining through the haze until the silhouette of a concrete arch loomed ahead. The tunnel's mouth yawned open — dark, dripping, half-swallowed by the forest.
The moment she rolled inside, the pounding rain dulled to a distant roar. She exhaled.
"Alright, I'm here. It's still dark, but thankfully a few dim lights still work in here."
"Good," Tobias said. "Just stay put, Y/N. That storm's not normal."
"Define normal," Francis added dryly. "In the Zone, I think 'weather' is just another word for 'trap.'"
"Comforting. Thanks, Francis," Y/N said, cutting the engine. She stepped outside the car and walked toward the wall, looking around.
The tunnel stretched ahead into blackness, dotted with flickering lights. Water dripped from the ceiling in slow, echoing drops. She leaned back against the wall, rubbing her temples — when suddenly the lights buzzed... then went out.
All of them.
Darkness swallowed her whole.
Then, a faint red glow seeped through the tunnel — emergency lights, maybe, or something less explainable. The air felt heavier. Colder.
"Guys?" she whispered.
Static. Then Tobias' voice: "We lost your signal for a second — are you alright?"
"The lights went out," she said quietly. "There's... something weird with the air in here. Feels electric."
"Y/N, don't stay there," Francis said, voice tight. "Get back to the car and turn on the headlights."
"On it."
She grabbed her flashlight from her backpack and started back toward the driver's door. The sound of dripping water echoed louder now, the red glow painting the walls in ghostly streaks. Her boots splashed as she walked.
Halfway there, she stumbled. Her breath caught as she hit the ground hard.
"Ow — what the—"
Something cold and hard was wrapped around her ankle. She pointed the flashlight down.
A hand.
No — plastic, not flesh. A mannequin's arm, jutting out of the cracked concrete floor, fingers curled tight around her boot.
Her stomach dropped.
"Oh no... no, no, no," she whispered.
"Y/N?" Tobias' voice rose in alarm. "Talk to us — what happened?"
She tried to calm herself, fear creeping through her. "One of those damn mannequins — a Tourist! It grabbed me, made me trip."
Francis cursed under his breath. "Get out of there. Don't — don't look away from it."
She knew that rule. They only moved when unseen.
Her breath came fast as she knelt, staring at the thing. She pried its fingers loose one by one, hands shaking. When it finally let go, she stumbled backward — eyes still locked on it.
"Okay," she muttered. "Okay, I'm out. I'm moving."
"Slow but steady. Don't lose sight of it," Francis warned her.
"Don't worry, we're here with you. Just get in the car and—" Tobias didn't finish his sentence before he and Francis heard a loud crash over the radio. The sound made them both flinch — full of concern, they held their breath.
The floor beneath Y/N gave way and crumbled, dragging her down with it.
She fell — concrete, metal, darkness — the impact knocking the air from her lungs. She hit something wet and cold below, gasping, pain shooting up her ribs.
"Y/N!" Tobias' voice cracked through the radio, full of panic now. "Y/N, respond, please!"
Silence for a few moments.
"Damn it, Y/N! Say something!" Francis shouted into the radio, terrified.
She coughed, pain sharp in her side. "I'm — I'm here," she rasped. "Think I broke a rib or two."
"Oh God," Francis breathed. "We thought—"
"OW! Dammit, Yeah... definitely broken," she groaned, forcing herself to stand despite the pain. "I'm fine. Mostly. The floor collapsed and took me with it."
"Alright, just don't overdo it. Be careful, but you have to get out of there," Tobias said, trying to sound calm.
Y/N turned slowly, shining her flashlight around to see where she'd landed. The beam swept across damp walls, exposed pipes — and then she froze.
Figures.
Standing motionless in the red haze — maybe a dozen of them. Mannequins. Headless, cracked, some missing limbs — all facing her.
Her hand tightened on the flashlight. "Fuck!" she whispered.
"What's wrong?" Francis asked, concerned.
"They followed me," she whispered. "The mannequins... I'm not alone down here."
Static answered her. Tobias and Francis could hear her fear through the radio.
The radio hissed. Then Tobias' voice, distant and strained:
"Y/N... whatever you do... don't look away."