The monsters stopped coming as the sky slowly lightened.
One by one, the distant howls faded, swallowed by the quiet of early dawn.
The street, once alive with claws and screams, lay still. Broken bodies littered the asphalt, steaming faintly in the cold morning air.
Clyde lowered his spear at last.
"Enough," he said.
No one argued. Their legs barely held them upright.
Mina motioned toward a nearby house they had cleared earlier, its windows barricaded and door reinforced.
Together, they made their way inside while stumbling and silent.
The moment the door shut, the tension broke.
John dropped his chair leg and slumped against the wall, breathing hard. Ren sat on the floor, staring at his crowbar like he had never seen it before. Yuri hugged her knees, rocking slightly as exhaustion caught up to her.
James pulled Regina into his arms. She clutched his shirt and sobbed openly. Emi stood frozen for a heartbeat, then collapsed into them, crying harder than either of them.
