"Yuwon!!" I screamed, choking on my own tears and blood.
Every inch of my body burned. Moving felt like tearing muscle from bone; every breath dragged glass through my lungs. I sprinted the last few meters and dropped to my knees beside him, choking on the metallic stench that drowned the air.
That thing-- the thing wearing Josh's face-- stood a few paces away, chuckling. The sound overlapped itself like a broken recording, its pitch rising and falling out of sync. It tilted its head, smiling as if this were all a pleasant joke.
I forced my focus onto Yuwon. The center of his stomach gaped open-- a ragged hole, torn and glistening, his intestines slick and warm across the floor. There was no time for horror, only work.
"No. No, no, no… you can't die on me, Yuwon… anyone but you."
My voice broke, trembling between fury and despair, as if pleading could buy him back from death.
His pulse fluttered beneath my fingers-- faint, but there. He wasn't gone. Not yet.
Hands shaking, I shoved what I could back into him. I didn't know where each organ belonged-- only that they didn't belong outside. I worked blindly, desperate, the copper tang so thick it coated my tongue.
I ripped a strip from my shirt and wrapped it around his midsection, tying it hard enough to stop the bleeding. The cloth soaked instantly, stiffening as it turned black-red. It would only hold for minutes-- but minutes were everything.
"This won't last long," I whispered. "Hold on, Yuwon. Please, hold on."
I snatched my knives from the floor. The metal felt impossibly light. My arms trembled, my breath shook.
The mimic's smile widened. "How quaint," it purred. "You stitch the dead back together like a nurse on a bad day."
"Shut up," I spat. "He's still alive."
It tipped its head. "You really think he's gonna survive? I literally turned him into a donut."
My jaw clenched. The thing was strong-- too strong-- but it had a rhythm. Predators always have rhythms.
'If I could make Josh drop his guard just once... i can't beat him head on. But I can outlast him. I just need to cause damage. To tire him out. To make him bleed.
I counted my heartbeats. One. Two. Move.
I lunged. My right blade drove under his ribs. A hiss-- black fluid spurted out, searing against the metal. It didn't flinch. Its clawed hand whipped toward my head.
I ducked-- too slow. The claw sliced my temple. Pain burst white-hot. I stumbled back, blood running into my eye. I stabbed blindly upward-- the blade tore through its armpit. The mimic roared, a wet, distorted sound that made my bones vibrate.
Then its foot met my spine. I flew, twenty meters, maybe more-- before slamming into the concrete. The impact folded me; air burst from my lungs. I gagged, bile mixing with blood as I rolled over, trying to stand. My ribs screamed.
When I looked up, it was already there. Josh- or what was left of him loomed over me, clawed hand inches from my face.
He smelled of rust and rot. He moved like a predator that knew the kill was certain. The claw arced down, fast as light. I rolled, barely dodging. Pain ripped through my shoulder, a deep gash, hot and wet.
I countered, slashing at his flank. My blade bit deep; black ichor spilled. For a heartbeat, he staggered-- the first falter I'd seen. I drove the second knife in the same wound, twisting hard. Flesh tore; the sound was sickening.
His backhand hit me like a hammer. My ribs cracked. The floor rose up and slammed into me. I screamed silently, breath gone. My right arm hung uselessly.
He laughed-- not Josh's laugh, but something layered and wrong, voices echoing out of sync. He stepped closer, savoring the hunt. The air seemed to shiver around him.
I grabbed a chunk of concrete and hurled it. It hit his head- useless. He caught my wrist, grip like iron, and slammed me face-first into the floor. Blood filled my mouth. My cheek split. I tasted metal and grit.
I kicked, stabbed with the last of my strength, my blade finding flesh under his ribs. He hissed, but it was amusement, not pain.
The walls groaned. Dust rained down. Cracks spidered through the pillars, catching his attention for half a breath.
I took the chance. My knife went up, straight into his chin. It punched through bone, through his palate, out the bridge of his nose.
He froze. Then black blood gushed from his face.
I yanked the blade free and stumbled back, gasping. He crouched, the black spikes on his spine growing as he prepared to launch at me.
"Shit," I whispered. "He's going all out."
I fell, crawling backward as he gathered to leap-- but one of the cracked pillars gave way first. It toppled, slamming into him with a thunderous crash. Debris exploded outward in a cloud of dust and blood.
Silence.
My ears rang. My body trembled as the adrenaline drained away.
"Is… is it over?" I whispered. The words barely left my lips.
Pain hit me all at once. deep, searing, unbearable. "Aghhh!" I screamed. "F-fuck--!"
I didn't want to know how many bones had broken. I staggered to my feet, limping toward Yuwon.
'The exit's right there. Just a few more steps. I can still save him-'
Then... the grind of concrete shifting.
My blood ran cold. I turned. Slowly.
Josh stood again. Blood poured from his mouth and eyes. He shoved the debris aside, trembling. His breathing was ragged, but he was still alive.
'How the fuck is he still standing?!'
I raised my knives, gripped my knifes and got into a stance-- I had only defense left in me.
"No more games," Josh rasped. His voice overlapped itself, cracking, tired but heavy with malice.
'He's exhausted. His body's breaking down. I just need to last a litt--'
He moved.
In a blink, he was on me. His kick struck just above my knee, bending it backward with a sickening snap.
I screamed. The pain turned the world white. I collapsed, but his claw was already descending.
I tried to roll-- not fast enough. His strike carved across my face, splitting one of my eyes clean in half.
No scream came. Just breath. thin, useless.
He lifted his arm again, fingers tightening into a blade. The same motion that gutted Yuwon.
I threw myself sideways, barely escaping. The strike landed on my shoulder, crushing bone and tearing flesh. My right arm came free-- cleanly severed.
I hit the floor, hard. My severed arm dropped beside me with a wet slap.
Blood filled my vision. Everything blurred.
My body floated in it-- heat, copper, silence.
Consciousness fading. Life draining.