"(Y/N)?", over and over again, Chris called your name into the dark, hoping you would answer.

But the only thing that greeted him was silence. Silence and cold.

It was nothing the first time he found himself in such a lifeless place. But this time he hoped it would be the last.

With a dissatisfied look, he wandered through the darkness, from tunnel to tunnel. Although this vault looked suspiciously like a place to live and breed, nothing could be found that pointed to the lycans. They were simply tunnels, abandoned and meaningless.

Again Chris had to sigh heavily. He had done it so often in the last few days that he thought he would soon choke on it.

"What trouble have you caused me again?", he muttered with a grim expression in his eyes and contacted the remaining team. "Tundra, how does it look from above? Is the signal still on the way?"

"One moment.", the sound of keys sounded, then beeping. "Signal has stopped. A few meters ahead, then you should be there."

"All right. I'll let you know if there's anything to report."

She snorted in amusement. Apparently she didn't think he could make it. She seemed to already be looking forward to it when he got back in touch and reported on a fallen comrade.

Just the thought made him angry. Hastily he shook his head not to forget what he was walking through the cold underground for.

"(Y/N)!", this time his voice was so loud that it made the cave shake.

For a moment it was silent again. His heart was already threatening to stop out of disappointment, when suddenly a noise sounded in the darkness.

At first he thought it was a lycan that had lost its way. He raised his gun, trying to make out something with narrowed eyes.

Suddenly something moved in the darkness. Loud breathing reached his ears. It sounded trembling, so full of pain and weak. White clouds rose into the air.

Suddenly Chris's heart began to beat like mad. He wanted to run and see who it was. But his legs stopped as if petrified. He was not allowed to make the same mistake again.

Carefully, he slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the flashlight. The light was so bright that he was blinded by it for a moment.

The person he was pointing at stirred slightly. But nothing happened.

"(Y/N)?", his voice was so full of hope. "Are-...  Are you alive?"

A groan sounded. Then the figure coughed. It sounded more like retching, as if the person had to vomit, but the stomach was empty.

For a second, everything became quiet again.

Then the shoulders twitched and a deep, shuddering breath followed.

"Chris...", the voice was hardly more than a whisper, a begging.

Immediately his heart leapt. He would have recognized that voice anywhere. Shit, even if he had been deaf he would have noticed it was you.

Relieved, he ran over to you, dropped to his knees, and grabbed your shoulders.

You flinched at the touch. The pain was hellish, inhuman. But you were breathing. At least still. Trembling, you raised your eyes and looked at him.

The sight almost broke his heart.

"Shit...", he whispered and stroked a strand of (H/C) hair from your bloodied face.

A few warm drops of blood were still dripping from the corners of your mouth. In the light of the flashlight they shone like rubies.

"Chris...", you murmured and reached out a hand to touch his cheek. "You-you have to... argh!"

A hellish pain suddenly chased through your chest, silencing you.

With all his caution, he slid a hand under your butt and lifted you up. It seemed so easy, like he was a weightlifter with immense muscles. He paused briefly. He had carried you many times before.

You were light for him, no question, but somehow something seemed different.

You were light. Too light.

Skeptically his eyes wandered over your face. Your nose was just the right size and shape, your mouth was familiar to him, and your (E/C) eyes were the same as always.

Everything was as always, just with more blood and scratches mixed in.

A sigh left his lips.

With your eyes half closed, you raised your head to look at him.

"C-Chris...", you whispered as if it was something important. "Please... you have to... you have to go..."

Exhausted, your head fell against his chest, a heavy sigh leaving your trembling lips. For a moment he just stared at you, half dead and yet still full of the will to live. But something was off. He just didn't know what.

"Am... I imagining things?", he murmured, more to himself than to you.

He could see how shallow your breathing was. The last shred of life was slowly fading. But for some reason, you didn't seem alive to him. At least not the way he knew you were.

"Did you say something, boss?", Tundra's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. "You haven't moved for some time. Have you found your little friend?"

He grumbled, visibly annoyed by her lack of concern for the others well-being.

"I did.", he informed. "Get ready, I want to get back to the surface as soon as possible."

"That can be arranged. A suitable place would be-!", suddenly her signal stopped.

Confused, Chris frowned. He could feel you moving slightly in his arm, but didn't look down.

"Tundra?", he asked. "Are you there? Is there any trouble?"

No one answered. Instead, a strange sound spread through the signal. It sounded a bit like a muffled beep or a screech, like when the TV stopped displaying a picture. At first it was very quiet, then it grew louder and louder.
Finally it became so loud that it hurt Chris' ears.

"Argh, fucking hell!", he cursed, setting you down on the floor and ripping his headphones off his head. "What the hell?"

The strange noise still reached his ears, mixed with different sounds. Suddenly, a human scream shattered the silence.

Then everything was as quiet again. Just like a graveyard.

"What the hell was that?", his eyes wandered through the tunnel, his breath held. "Did you hear that? (Y/N)?"

But when he turned his head to look at you, you just sat there, eyes tightly closed as if you were sleeping. Your head was slowly sinking and as he bumped your shoulder, you didn't even flinch in pain.

"No!", he gasped, grabbing your face with both of his hands. "Don't! Don't leave me. You promised! You promised it will never happen again... (Y/N)!"