Kael walked for days—he couldn't tell anymore. Time had blurred into nothingness, just a sequence of sunrises and sunsets, of footsteps and silences. The world around him remained a husk of what it once was: broken buildings, scorched cars, and the occasional flutter of ash drifting like snow through the air.
The supplies he'd taken from the settlement were packed tightly in a worn backpack that didn't quite fit his frame. The knife was always at his side. His hand rested on it often, not from fear, but from routine.
He had no destination. Just a direction: away.
He slept only when exhaustion demanded it and ate only when he calculated it was necessary. He avoided roads. He moved through woods, collapsed suburbs, and abandoned factories, his mind cataloging every detail. Every sound. Every risk. Every possible exit.
One evening, Kael came upon a crumbling bus station. It looked empty. Quiet. Useful.
Inside, the walls were covered with faded posters and graffiti. The benches had decayed, cushions torn, metal rusted. Yet the roof held. It was shelter. And more importantly, it had a vantage point—a staircase that led to an overlook where he could see the surrounding area.
Kael set up camp in silence. A small fire in a hidden corner. No light through the windows. He ate in silence. He slept in silence.
But sleep did not keep the silence.
In his dreams, his mother called his name again. "Kael? Sweetheart? Over here."
He saw her smiling at him beneath the flickering lights of the shopping mart. The friendly creature stood beside her, making its soft purring sound.
But then the light changed. Her eyes darkened. Her limbs twisted. The creature cried out in pain, the way it had when it was struck. Kael stood there, unable to move, watching both of them reach for him—his mother clawed and snarling, the creature bleeding and falling. Both reaching.
He awoke with a jolt, drenched in sweat, breathing heavily. But his face remained blank. Emotion flickered, then vanished again.
He didn't speak of the dreams. Not to himself. Not to the wind. Not to the empty world.
Days later, Kael stumbled upon something unusual—a child's voice.
It was faint, carried on the wind. A laugh? A sob?
He ducked behind a wall and observed from a cracked window of a half-collapsed restaurant. Across the street, he saw movement.
Children. Three of them. One older girl, maybe twelve. Two younger boys who looked identical. They were skinny, dirty, dressed in mismatched clothing. One of the boys was crying.
Kael's eyes narrowed. He scanned the area. No signs of creatures. No adults. No immediate threats.
He watched them struggle to lift a manhole cover. They were trying to get underground. The older girl was determined but clearly exhausted. One of the boys had a sling on his arm. The crying one fell to his knees.
Kael did nothing. Just observed.
Then the noise came. A screech. A Familiar one. A creature—thin, long-limbed, huge, walking on all four.
Kael acted without thinking.
He crossed the street in seconds, silently, quickly. The girl saw him too late. Her eyes widened.
"Who—?"
"Quiet," Kael said, already lifting the manhole cover with strength and precision. "Get in."
"What—"
"I said get in. Now."
The boys scrambled into the hole. The girl hesitated.
Kael looked at her with cold, hollow eyes. "do you want to die? , if not then move."
She obeyed.
Kael dropped in last and pulled the cover back over them just as the creature reached the edge. In the dim tunnels beneath, the kids breathed hard, their panic echoing off the damp walls.
Kael stood there silently, holding the knife. Ready.
The girl turned to him, her voice trembling. "Who are you?"
He didn't answer. Just stared.
One of the boys whimpered. "Is it gone?"
Kael listened. Silence above.
"For now," he said. "But it'll be back. They don't give up easily."
The girl tried to steady herself. "We've been running for days. We were going to the city. Heard there were safe zones there."
"There aren't," Kael replied flatly.
They all looked at him.
"But…" the girl started, voice breaking. "You don't know that."
Kael looked her in the eyes. "I do."
He turned away, walking deeper into the tunnels.
The girl hesitated. "Wait! Where are you going?"
"Somewhere safer than here."
They followed him.