Prologue
"What the heck is that!? " I exclaimed as I fled from creatures that looked as though they had crawled straight out of a horror movie.
People ran and shouted alongside me. There were too many of them to count. The sounds they made were unsettling, nothing like the screams you hear in movies. These were real. Everything about this was real.
A woman stumbled and fell ahead of me.
My breath caught. My stomach dropped.
The look on her face said everything. She understood what was about to happen. I did too.
For a split second, my focus wavered.
That was all it took.
A scaly monster crept up behind her, claws drawn and ready to strike. It didn't hesitate. Its build reminded me of Blue, the velociraptor from Jurassic World, but without the intelligence or any chance of being human-friendly.
This is not happening.
I tried to convince myself it was just a nightmare, something born from all the gory movies I had watched. But the fear in my chest felt too real. The ground beneath my feet felt too solid.
Somehow, giant monsters were hunting us.
A piercing shriek cut through the chaos. Sharp. Inhuman. Close.
I risked a glance back while still running.
Something was chasing me.
Its shape was wrong. Too human, yet not human at all. Black fur stretched over its frame, its mouth lined with sharp teeth that glinted as it moved.
My throat went dry.
I had never imagined myself as prey, let alone as a meal for giant lizards. I planned to keep it that way.
So I ran.
Faster than I ever had before. Turns out, survival is a great motivator. If I had to, I would outrun anyone. Even Usain Bolt.