Nicolas clenched his injured hand, pain shooting through his arm.
"Run," he whispered urgently.
Then louder—
"RUN!"
They sprinted.
Their footsteps echoed through the hollow street.
Behind them, the creatures stirred.
Then came the sound—
Scraping.
Crawling.
Dragging.
Dozens of limbs are moving unnaturally fast.
"They can smell you," Sierra gasped as she ran. "They're following the blood."
Nicolas's breath was uneven, his heart pounding violently in his chest. Every drop of blood felt like a beacon, calling the monsters closer.
The sounds behind them grew louder.
Closer.
Sierra glanced back—and her blood ran cold.
"They're gaining on us!"
Suddenly, she pointed ahead.
"That house—get inside!"
They burst through the door, slamming it shut behind them.
"Upstairs!" Sierra cried. "Fast—fast!"
They rushed up the staircase, taking the steps two at a time. The wood creaked under their weight, each sound echoing like a scream.
Nicolas stumbled, gripping the railing with his injured hand. Blood smeared across the old wood.
They reached the terrace and turned—
Then froze.
Something was wrong.
The crawling sounds were no longer below them.
They were—
Above.
Around.
In the air.
Sierra's face was drained of color.
Slowly, she lifted her eyes.
Her breath caught in her throat.
The monsters were also up in the sky
Some hovered.
Their hollow eyes locked onto them.
"Oh no…" Sierra whispered.
Nicolas followed her gaze.
His stomach dropped.
"Shit," he muttered, his voice shaking. "What are we gonna do now?"
His mind raced.
His body trembled.
His wounded hand throbbed violently.
They were trapped.
Surrounded.
Cornered.
The monsters coming towards them in the moon light sky"
Their claws stretched.
Their mouths opened.
Their hunger was unmistakable.
They were ready.
Ready to claim their prey. They move towards them with their wings spread.
"What the hell is that?" Nicolas whispered, his voice trembling as his eyes darted around the space. "And why didn't we notice it earlier?"
A sudden, wet scraping sound echoed from above.
Sierra's breath hitched.
They hastily stepped backward, each movement careful, each footstep light—until Nicolas froze.
His blood ran cold.
Sierra clutched his sleeve then said.
"Nicolas…The monsters were also downstairs,so we couldn't go downstairs,"
"What do we do now?" Nicolas said.
His eyes scanned the down around the house window, searching for anything—anything that could save them.
Then he saw it.
"Look!" he whispered urgently. "The hay bales!"
They were piled near an opening that led into open air, far below.
"We can jump there. I'll go first."
Sierra grabbed his arm. "Wait!"
Her voice shook. "Isn't there… any other way? Any at all?"
Nicolas looked at her.
Then at the monsters.
Then back at her.
"There are only two options," he said quietly. "One—get torn apart by those creatures,Two—jump from here."
He forced a crooked smile, though fear burned in his eyes.
"And honestly, I'd rather break my bones than let those things sink their claws into me."
Sierra swallowed.
Her legs trembled.
Her heart thundered.
Then she nodded.
"…Then let's jump."
The monsters come towards them.
KRRGGGHH
Nicolas didn't wait.
He grabbed Sierra's hand and ran.
The cold air rushed toward them.
The ground vanished beneath their feet.
They jumped.
The world flipped.
Wind screamed past their ears.
Sierra's scream tore from her throat.
Nicolas felt weightless—then—
They crashed into the hay.
The impact knocked the breath out of him.
Pain exploded through his back.
He rolled, gasping.
Sierra landed beside him, coughing violently, clutching her chest.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Above them—
The monsters screeched in frustration.
Nicolas turned his head slowly toward Sierra.
"…We're alive," he whispered.
Sierra laughed weakly, half-hysterical, half-relieved.
"Barely."
Their relief was short-lived.
Far too short.
Nicolas was still catching his breath, still trying to calm the violent pounding of his heart, when he felt it—a warm, sticky trickle sliding down his fingers.
Blood.
His injured hand had started bleeding again.
Sierra noticed it at the same moment.
Her face was drained of color.
"Nicolas…" she whispered.
A low, wet sound echoed from behind them.
Not close.
But not far either.
The monsters had stopped screeching.
They were sniffing.
Tasting the air.
Hunting them.
Nicolas's stomach twisted.
"Oh, no… no, no, no," he muttered.
Then he heard it—
A long, dragging inhale.
Like something pulling the scent deep into its lungs.
His heart dropped.
"Shit—again!" he shouted. "Run!"
They didn't hesitate.
They ran.
Their feet slammed against the uneven stone streets, echoing through the dead town. Nicolas's lungs burned, every breath tearing painfully through his chest. His injured hand throbbed violently, each heartbeat sending a fresh wave of pain through his arm.
Behind them—
Scraping.
Crawling.
Skittering.
The monsters were moving.
Fast.
Too fast.
Sierra's hair whipped wildly behind her as she sprinted, her boots slipping on loose stones. She nearly fell twice but forced herself forward.
"Nicolas!" she cried. "They're getting closer!"
He grabbed Sierra's hands and pulled her forward.
They turned sharply into a narrow alley, then another, then another—zigzagging blindly, praying to find something, anything.
Their footsteps echoed.
Their shadows twisted along the walls.
Then—
They skidded to a stop.
A wall.
Collapsed rubble.
No way through.
A dead end.
Sierra's breath hitched. "N–Nicolas…"
He spun around, eyes wide, chest heaving.
"Where do we go?" he gasped.
The scraping sounds were louder now.
Closer.
Too close.
His eyes darted wildly—and then he saw it.
A half-broken door.
A dark, abandoned house.
"There!" he shouted, pointing. "Go inside!"
They sprinted toward it.
The door slammed open.
They rushed in—
And slammed it shut behind them.
The monsters' screams echoed outside.
Their shadows passed beneath the cracks.
A Monster sensed the blood odour. Then it breaks the wall.
But… there was no one.
Nicolas and Sierra were in the rooms inside the building to hide from them.
They stumbled into the building and slammed the door shut behind them, pressing their backs against it as if their bodies alone could keep the horrors outside. Their chests heaved violently, lungs burning, hearts hammering like they were trying to break free.
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.
They just listened.
Scraping.
Sniffing.
Low, wet sounds from outside.
Nicolas slowly stepped away from the door, his eyes scanning the dark interior of the room. Broken furniture lay scattered, dust coating every surface like a thin layer of ash.
Then he saw it.
Something… off.
A faint gap beneath the old wooden almirah.
"Sierra," he whispered, lowering himself slowly. "There's something under this."
She hurried to his side and bent down, brushing aside dirt and torn cloth.
Her breath caught.
"It's… a hatch."
For a moment, hope flickered in their eyes.
Then fear swallowed it.
"Let's move it," Nicolas whispered.
"Yeah," Sierra nodded.
They placed their hands against the almirah, pushing as gently as they could, trying not to make a sound.
The wood resisted.
Their muscles strained.
Nicolas's injured hand screamed in pain—but he didn't stop.
Then—
KRRRRK
The sound of moving the almirah tore through the silence.
Both of them froze.
Outside—
THUMP… THUMP…
Heavy.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Sierra's face drained of color. "It heard us…"
Nicolas swallowed hard.
He pushed harder.
With everything he had.
BA-DUMP!
The almirah collapsed onto its side with a deafening crash.
The sound echoed.
Nicolas tore the hatch open.
Darkness yawned beneath them.
"Go—FAST!" he whispered urgently.
Behind them—
THUMP. THUMP.
The monster was running now.
Sierra didn't hesitate. She dropped into the hatch, gripping the ladder as her boots scraped loudly against the metal.
Nicolas turned just in time to see the creature burst into the room.
Its shape twisted unnaturally.
Its mouth opened too wide.
It screamed.
KRRRGGGHH!
It charged.
Nicolas jumped.
His foot barely caught the ladder as he slipped down.
He slammed the hatch shut above them.
SLAM!
The impact shook the walls.
Sierra screamed.
Dust rained down.
Then—
KRRGGGHH!
The monster slammed into the wall instead.
Wood cracked.
Stone shattered.
It couldn't stop.
Its own momentum drove it straight through the side of the building.***