Night fell slowly, reluctantly, like the sun knew what was coming and didn't want to go. They moved to the hiding spot in silence, each lost in their own thoughts, their own fears.
This one was new, one of the hole locations Levi had pointed out, finished by others over the past week. It sat at the edge of the residential area, close enough to the forest that you could hear the trees groaning when the wind picked up. Far enough from the main bunkers that, hopefully, the creatures wouldn't check it first.
And if they did, Levi himself worked on it a little in his spare time to make an emergency way out. The entrance was narrow, hidden beneath a false mound of dirt and overgrown grass. Miguel went first to scout, then Elena, then Ariana. Levi came last, pulling the cover back into place and plunging them into darkness before lighting the small lantern they'd brought.
Elena settled against one wall, Miguel beside her. Ariana claimed the spot next to her mother, which left Levi across from them, close enough that their knees almost touched in the confined space.
The lantern cast dancing shadows across their faces, making them look almost ghostly. No one spoke. There was nothing to say that hadn't been said a hundred times before. Stay quiet. Don't move. Hope they pass by.
Above them, the town sighed.
SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
The first screech tore through the night like nails on a chalkboard. Levi felt Ariana flinch beside him, saw Elena's hand find Miguel's in the dim light.
Footsteps followed. Slow, deliberate. The crunch of gravel under feet that didn't need to hurry because they had all night, and their prey had nowhere to go.
Levi's hand moved instinctively to his mace, even though he knew it was useless down here. If they were found, a weapon wouldn't save them. Which is why he had two bottles of Molotov ready by his side.
More screeches joined the first, a chorus of wrongness that made his teeth ache. They were spreading out, searching, playing their nightly game of hide-and-seek where the stakes were life and death and the house always won.
Elena's hand tightened on her husband's. In the lantern light, Levi saw tears tracking silently down her face. She made no sound, just let them fall, like her body had learned to cry without permission.
Ariana noticed too. She shifted closer to her mother, pressing against her side in silent comfort. Elena's free hand came up to stroke her daughter's hair, the gesture automatic, maternal, heartbreaking in its tenderness.
This was their reality. Had been for weeks. It would be for however long they lasted.
And Levi was falling in love with someone trapped in it.
The thought hit him like a physical blow, stealing his breath. He'd been trying not to name it, trying to keep it vague and undefined so it wouldn't hurt quite so much when the inevitable happened. But sitting here, watching Ariana comfort her mother while monsters hunted above, he couldn't lie to himself anymore.
He loved her.
Loved the way she'd tried to tell a joke in a murder forest just to make him smile, or as she put it, lift the mood. Loved how she'd insisted on coming with him even when she was terrified. Loved her stubbornness and her kindness and the way she looked at him like he was worth something when he'd spent most of his life being told he wasn't.
But something that was far more mysterious, she liked him back based on all the signs she was throwing at him, on top of directly telling him so.
That was much scarier than being stuck in this nightmarish town.
A sound ripped through the night—human, terrified, cut short with brutal efficiency.
"HELP! PLEASE, SOMEONE—"
The voice died. Not faded. Not trailed off. Just ended, like someone had flipped a switch.
Then came the wet sounds. The tearing. The feeding. Or at least, Levi assumed it was feeding. He didn't know where all the victims' organs would go after the monsters were done playing around.
Elena pressed her hand over her mouth, shoulders shaking. Miguel pulled her closer, his jaw clenched so tight Levi could see the muscles jumping. Ariana had gone rigid, her eyes wide and fixed on the ceiling like she could see through the dirt to the horror above.
Levi's hand found hers in the darkness. She gripped it with desperate strength, her nails digging into his palm hard enough to hurt.
"It's okay," he whispered, knowing it wasn't, knowing nothing about this was okay. "Just breathe. Focus on breathing."
She nodded jerkily, her breath coming in short, sharp gasps that sounded too loud in the confined space. He squeezed her hand tighter, trying to ground her, trying to keep her from spiraling into panic.
Above them, the feeding sounds continued. Lasted longer than they should have. Like the creatures were savoring it, drawing it out, making sure everyone hiding could hear exactly what awaited them if they were found.
Time passed in that strange, elastic way it did when you were hiding. Minutes felt like hours. Hours collapsed into seconds. The lantern's oil burned lower, the light dimming to barely a glow.
Miguel had fallen into an uneasy doze, his head tipped back against the dirt wall, but ready at a moment's notice. Elena was exhausted by grief. Her hand stroked Ariana's hair in a rhythmic, unconscious motion.
And Levi sat across from them, holding Ariana's hand, his heart hammering out a rhythm that had nothing to do with fear and everything to do with what he was about to do.
He waited until Elena's eyes drifted closed, until her breathing evened out. Waited until the only sounds were the distant screeches and the faint rustle of movement above.
Then he leaned forward, close enough that his whisper would only reach Ariana.
"Can I ask you something?"
She turned her head toward him, her face half-shadowed in the dying light. "Now?"
"Especially now."
Something in his tone made her straighten, made her attention sharpen despite the exhaustion dragging at her. "Okay."
Levi took a breath. Another. His hand, as if having a brain of its own, was still holding hers tightly, begging her not to withdraw, and he could feel her pulse racing against his palm. Could feel his own heart trying to beat its way out of his chest.
Do it. Push hard. Make her run.
"Marry me."
The words fell into the space between them like stones into still water. Ripples spread, touching everything, changing everything. Miguel's eyes snapped open, and Elena froze.
Ariana's breath caught. Her hand went still in his. "What?"
"Let's get married." He forced his voice to stay steady, to sound certain, to sound like this wasn't a desperate ploy to scare her away. "Tomorrow. Or the next day. As soon as we can."
She stared at him. In the dim light, he couldn't read her expression, couldn't tell if she was shocked, horrified, angry, or something else entirely.
"Levi-" Her voice was careful, just as he'd predicted, and her hand wormed itself out of his, just as he had hoped. His heart thrashed around in anger, mad towards the driver of the body, Levi himself.
Silence stretched between them, broken only by the sound of her parents' quiet breathing, trying their best not to meddle, for now at least, and the distant cries of the monsters above.
She shifted her body, torso towards him, eyes on his face, as if she could see right through him and his ploy. Levi looked away, controlling his breathing, no matter how much his chest hurt in anxiety.
She opened her mouth, but Levi quickly interjected. "You can take your time. You can tell me tomorrow, or after tomorrow. Whenever you'd like." He wanted to smack himself for not even being able to commit fully.
But it was done, and he noticed Ariana nod, eyes now distant as she turned back to her initial position. But their hands weren't joined. Elena didn't speak, didn't question. She just wrapped an arm around her daughter, almost reflexively sheltering her from the emotional fallout as much as the monsters above.
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