CHAPTER 108: Hell in Berlin

CHAPTER 108: Hell in Berlin

The streets of Berlin overflowed with orange lights, improvised lanterns, and children in costumes running amidst laughter, their plastic pumpkins filled with candy. The atmosphere was almost festive, as if the city had decided, for one night, to leave behind the weight of routine.

In a dimly lit alley, a couple was kissing passionately against a damp wall. The silence of their intimacy shattered when they both felt eyes staring at them. They turned their heads in unison and saw the silhouette of a skeletal figure, tall, with skin pale as chalk, eyes red like burning coals, and fangs that gleamed in the faint neon light.

The young man barely had time to scream before the creature lunged at him, sinking its fangs into his neck. A harsh sucking sound filled the alley. The girl, terrified, ran out, her footsteps echoing against the wet asphalt. She burst onto the main street, screaming, her makeup smeared by tears:

"A vampire! There are vampires!"

People laughed. Some thought it was part of a costume or a prank. Others pointed at her, muttering that she was on drugs.

But then, metallic noises came from the sewers, like manhole covers being dragged from within. Within seconds, the iron lids flew off, and pale figures began climbing out with animalistic movements. From the roofs of old buildings and shadowy balconies, more creatures descended with claws extended.

The vampires multiplied like a plague. Within minutes, the streets transformed into a slaughterhouse. Piercing screams replaced the background party music. Children dressed as monsters fell to the ground, dragged into the darkness, their candy bags flying through the air as fangs tore their throats. Women were trapped in the middle of alleys, elderly people lay on the ground with their skin ripped off by a claw swipe.

The chaos escalated when the first cars tried to flee. Panicked drivers hit the accelerator without looking back, running over pedestrians. Others crashed into each other, and soon the sound of car alarms and the smell of gasoline mixed with the blood in the air.

The vampires, relentless, hurled themselves against windshields, smashed car roofs, and pulled passengers out, tearing chunks of flesh amid piercing shrieks. A group of teenagers dressed as zombies got trapped between two creatures, and within seconds, only scattered limbs remained.

The city, which just minutes before was wrapped in laughter, had become a nightmare stage. Lights flickered, screams mingled with the screech of bending metal, and blood flowed like a dark river through the streets.

This wasn't an attack.
It was the very definition of chaos.

They had been on the platform for half an hour. The night line train had left, and the station smelled of dampness and metal. People returning home, a lost tourist with a map, two young people laughing with half-empty bottles: everything seemed mundane, too normal for the night that was coming.

Fénix leaned his back against the cold wall, arms crossed; Anna was beside him, hands in her pockets, observing the people with the serene curiosity that defined her.

"Nothing," murmured Anna. "Everything's calm for now."

Fénix nodded. There was something about the station's normality that set his nerves on edge. He had been through enough ambushes to know that the calm before the storm always sounded too clean.

Then, a scream shattered the routine.

A man staggered in from the ramp, eyes wide, clothes torn. Dried blood streaked his shirt. He shouted something incomprehensible, and people looked at each other before instinctively moving away.

The man fell forward. Fénix reacted without thinking: he stepped forward and caught his torso before he collapsed onto the ground. He felt the rigidity, the racing pulse. As he brought the injured man's face close to his, he saw the marks: two wide, deep, perfect indentations on his neck.

"They're coming!" the man shouted with a broken voice. "They're going to kill everyone! Run!" Blood bubbled at the corner of his lips as he pointed behind him.

Anna and Fénix looked at each other for that second, senses on high alert.

"Who?" asked Anna, though the man could no longer hear her; his gaze was fading.

A noise came from the tunnel: first a murmur, then a scraping sound. A pale mass began to emerge from the darkness. As it approached the light, the human form seemed impossible: skin like parchment, eyes bloodshot red, long fangs gleaming sharply.

The first vampire emerged with fluid, feline movements. It didn't charge at the injured man; it went straight for the crowd.

Panic ignited like gunpowder. Screams, shoves, people running in all directions. Anna grabbed Fénix's arm.

"Fénix!" she shouted. "What do we do?"

He pulled from the holster: Matilda gleamed under the station's white light. He gripped it, aimed, and pulled the trigger. The shot thundered like an echo in the station's vault. The bullet hit the creature's chest… and bounced off. A dull sound, as if the ammunition had met impossible skin. The creature didn't even flinch; it lunged at a civilian trying to flee.

Fénix gritted his teeth, lowered the pistol slightly, and scanned the scene. Normal bullets wouldn't do enough damage. There was something about the fang's gleam, the skin's texture: that ammunition wasn't the solution.

"Anna, we have to get out of here," he said, his voice tense. "Now."

"Out?" She looked at the main exit and saw it: people pushing, vehicles trying to approach, but the ramp was full of bodies and shadows descending. From above, more figures were coming down stairs and skylights.

She squeezed Fénix's hand tightly. "Then through the tunnels."

They headed for the service entrance, but before they could push the door, other creatures began dropping through hatches and vents. A pair of vampires jumped from a ventilation shaft and landed in the middle of the station as if the ground were their territory. The main exit was blocked by a pale tide moving with terrible intelligence.