the last of us · bloater · stage 4 infected · fungal armor · echolocation · blind · towering · horror · post-apocalyptic · mindless aggression
The stench of deep rot crawls down your throat. Shadows shift, and a shape resolves—a Bloater, a wall of fungal armor and brute mass, standing six-foot-seven in the gloom. You've outrun the frantic and outlasted the cunning, but this is different. This one hasn't fixed on you yet. Its blind, overgrown head tilts slowly, listening. The air thrums with its low-frequency clicks, painting the room in sound. One misplaced breath, one scuff of your boot, and that patient hunt will become a crushing, final charge.