The air in the tunnels felt colder than it had the first two times they'd ventured below campus.

Karl couldn't tell if it was just his imagination, but every step he took seemed to echo louder, and every shadow felt like it was stretching too far. He clutched his flashlight tightly, his knuckles white as he followed Drista and Nick deeper into the labyrinth of concrete and rust.

Drista, as usual, was at the front, the map in one hand and her flashlight in the other. She seemed completely unfazed by the oppressive atmosphere, her footsteps quick and confident as she navigated the twisting corridors.

Nick, on the other hand, was sticking close to Karl, his jaw tight and his eyes darting nervously at every sound.

"This is stupid," Nick muttered under his breath. "Why are we doing this again?"

"Because it's fun," Drista called over her shoulder.

Karl swallowed hard, his heart pounding. "I wouldn't call this fun."

"Adventurous, then," Drista said with a grin.

Karl wasn't sure how she managed to stay so calm. His own nerves were shot, and the faint scraping noise that had haunted his dreams was now back, faint but unmistakable, somewhere in the distance.

"You hear that, right?" he whispered to Nick.

Nick nodded, his flashlight beam trembling slightly. "Yeah. I hear it."

"Probably just rats," Drista said, her voice echoing in the narrow tunnel.

Karl wasn't convinced. The sound was too deliberate, too rhythmic to be rats. But he didn't say anything, afraid of letting his fear get the better of him.

---

They stopped in front of another door, identical to the ones they'd found before. The rusted handle looked like it hadn't been turned in decades, and the faint outline of a handprint was smeared across the surface.

"That's new," Nick said, nodding toward the handprint.

Drista frowned, her confidence faltering for the first time. "Could've been one of us last time, right?"

"No way," Karl said. "We didn't even come this far."

"Maybe someone else has been down here," Nick said, his voice low.

"Like who?" Drista asked.

Nick shrugged, but his expression was grim. "Maintenance workers? Or someone we don't want to run into."

The thought made Karl's stomach churn.

"Let's just get this over with," Drista said, grabbing the handle and twisting it.

The door groaned as it opened, the sound reverberating through the tunnel like a warning.

---

The room beyond the door was smaller than the others they'd explored, but it was no less unsettling. The walls were lined with more shelves, and the floor was littered with scraps of paper, broken glass, and something that looked suspiciously like old medical equipment.

In the center of the room was a large table, its surface covered in dust and rusted metal tools. "This is disgusting," Nick said, wrinkling his nose.

"It's awesome," Drista said, stepping closer to the table.

Karl stayed near the door, his flashlight sweeping across the room. Something about this place felt wrong—more so than any of the others they'd been in.

And then he saw it.

On the far wall, etched into the concrete, was a symbol.

It was crude, like it had been scratched into the surface with something sharp, and it vaguely resembled an eye.

"Uh, guys?" Karl said, his voice trembling.

Drista and Nick turned to look at him, following the beam of his flashlight to the symbol. "What is that?" Nick asked, stepping closer.

Drista tilted her head, studying it. "Looks like graffiti."

Karl shook his head. "It's not graffiti. Look how deep it's carved. Someone went out of their way to put that there."

"Why?" Nick asked.

Karl didn't have an answer.

---

They spent the next few minutes searching the room, their flashlights illuminating more strange details—a pile of broken glass in one corner, faded diagrams pinned to the wall, and what looked like an old journal tucked beneath a stack of rusted tools.

Drista grabbed the journal, flipping through its pages. Most of it was unreadable, the ink smeared and faded, but a few lines stood out:

The substance is unstable. Side effects are unpredictable.

Halloway insists we continue, but I have my doubts.

This will not end well.

Drista's grin widened as she read the lines aloud. "This just keeps getting better."

Karl frowned, his stomach twisting. "Side effects? Side effects of what?"

Drista shrugged. "No idea. But whatever it was, it sounds like it freaked them out."

"Maybe for good reason," Nick said, glancing uneasily at the symbol on the wall.

---

As they prepared to leave, Karl noticed something on the floor near the door—a faint trail of smudges leading out into the tunnel.

"Wait," he said, crouching down. "What's this?"

Drista and Nick leaned over him, their flashlights illuminating the trail.

"Looks like footprints," Drista said.

"Barefoot," Nick added, his voice tight.

Karl's blood ran cold. The smudges were faint, but they were unmistakably the outline of bare feet.

"They're heading back the way we came," Karl said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Drista frowned. "We didn't see these on the way in."

Nick stepped back, his expression hardening. "We need to go. Now."

For once, Drista didn't argue.

---

The walk back through the tunnels was tense, the silence broken only by their hurried footsteps and the faint sound of dripping water.

Karl couldn't shake the feeling that they were being followed. Every so often, he glanced over his shoulder, half-expecting to see someone—or something—lurking in the shadows.

Nick stayed close, his flashlight beam steady but his jaw clenched.

"You okay?" Karl whispered.

Nick nodded, though his face was pale. "Just keep moving."

---

When they finally emerged into the night air, Karl let out a shaky breath, his hands trembling.

Drista turned to face them, her usual grin replaced by a look of quiet determination. "Well," she said, tucking the journal into her bag, "that was... eventful."

Nick shot her a glare. "Eventful? That was insane."

Karl stayed quiet, his mind racing. The footprints. The symbol. The journal.

Whatever they'd stumbled into, it was bigger than any of them had realized.

And deep down, he knew they weren't done yet.