Laila was sitting, hugging her knees to her chest, her eyes fixed on the man who was crouched in front of a narrow opening. His eyes scanned the darkness like a poised wolf, and his ear listened intently to every sound coming from the street.
"What's your name, by the way?" she asked.
He replied distractedly, "Samer."
Laila murmured, "I'm Laila, anyway."
"Do you... do you think they've left?" Laila whispered, the sound barely escaping her trembling lips.
Samer did not answer immediately. His body remained taut, like an unstrung bowstring, his eyes watching the outside cautiously. He replied in a low voice, "I don't think so... they're still close... I can hear their footsteps."
Laila gasped, a soft, tearful sound, but it was enough for him to quickly turn to her, raising a finger to his lips. "Don't make a sound... the slightest noise could give us away."
She pressed her palm to her mouth to suppress her crying, her heart pounding wildly, echoing in her chest. She remembered clearly how her life was just hours ago... ordinary, quiet, safe... but it had suddenly turned into a hell where souls writhed.
She whispered again, "Samer..."
He finally turned to her. He couldn't see the features of her face in the dark, but he could feel her fear. "What is it?"
Laila replied in a faint voice, "Do you... do you think anyone survived besides us?"
Samer was silent for a moment, then raised his eyes to the cracked ceiling, as if searching the heavens for an answer. "I don't know... I hope so."
She shook her head slowly, her mind racing ahead of her heartbeat, with questions that found no way out. "And where is your family?"
His features froze, and his fist clenched the stone in his hand until his veins bulged. "I don't know..." The words came out rough, heavy, carrying a weight greater than he could bear.
Laila felt pained for him, noticing the tremor in his hand and the strength of his grip. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..."
He shook his head quickly, interrupting her words before they were finished: "It's alright." Then he let out a long sigh, trying to shake the dust of the catastrophe from his chest. "Now we have to think about what comes next... we can't stay here forever."
A heavy silence settled between them, broken only by their ragged breaths and the sounds of the creatures crawling over the destroyed ground.
After a moment, Laila whispered, "But... where to? Where will we go?"
Samer looked again at the narrow opening, where there was only darkness punctuated by burning eyes, watching and waiting. "We have to find a safer haven..."
"But they are everywhere, Samer! How can we move without them sensing us?"
He said in a calm tone, "We have to be smarter than them."
She raised her eyebrow in desperate sarcasm: "Smarter than killing beasts that can tear us apart in the blink of an eye? What a brilliant plan!"
He couldn't suppress a small smile, despite the horrible circumstance. His ability to find room for sarcasm still brought him some relief. "But it's our only chance."
"How?"
He turned his face toward her, then looked at the window of the dilapidated building surrounded by cracked concrete blocks. Samer said firmly, "This place won't hold up for long. I heard their voices outside... it won't be long before they catch our scent." He paused, then added, "But there's a back passage beneath this building... it used to be used to deliver goods when this was a famous store. If we can reach it, we can get out of here without them noticing."
Laila said worriedly, "But... what if they're everywhere?"
Samer looked at her confidently despite his inner tension: "We'll risk it... Staying here means death. We might die if we go out, but there's a chance, however slight, that we survive. If we stay, we won't have any chance at all."
Samer stood up and extended his hand to her. She hesitated for a few seconds, but then took it and rose. They approached a corner where there was a small, semi-demolished door. Samer pushed the door with extreme caution, creating a faint creak, then revealed a dark, dusty passage.
Laila whispered, "It looks like it hasn't been used in years."
Samer offered a light smile, trying to ease her tension: "Better... that means they won't expect it."
They entered the passage, which seemed to swallow their breaths in its darkness, where only their soft footsteps and the echo of their breathing could be heard.
Laila whispered anxiously, "Samer... what if this place collapses on us?"
Samer joked, "Then we'll be mashed potatoes."
Laila frowned and pinched him, and he laughed softly.
They reached the end of the passage, but were surprised by a solid wall blocking the way. Samer struck the wall with his hand in frustration. Laila whispered in terror, "What now?!"
Samer ran his hands over the wall, searching for any openings, until he felt a slight current of air. He pointed to it: "Here... there's an opening behind this rubble!"
He began to pull the concrete pieces away with difficulty, while Laila watched nervously. Suddenly, they heard a sound coming from the passage behind them... heavy footsteps!
Laila whispered urgently, "They're coming!"
Samer said tensely, "Help me!"
She began pulling with him without thinking, until they opened a small hole, barely big enough for their bodies. Samer pushed Laila first. He said in a sharp voice, "You go first!"
"How can I go first? I won't leave you!"
"Don't argue! Come on, we don't have time, hurry!"
Laila crawled through with difficulty, and when she got out to the other side, she found herself in a back street filled with fog and building ruins. Samer followed her in the nick of time.
But there was no time to rest... from behind them, a huge monster emerged from the rubble. Laila screamed in fear, "Samer!"
Samer pushed her to run: "Run! To those alleys!"
They ran without looking back, between the ruins, over rusty iron pieces, and sometimes they had to jump over debris. But the monster was fast, and the sound of its heavy footsteps shook the ground behind them. Finally, they found a small iron door in one of the collapsed walls. Samer pushed it hard, it opened with great difficulty, and they entered a small, old room, like a storage unit.
Laila was panting: "We won't survive long like this."
Samer looked at her, sweat dripping from his forehead: "There's an old tunnel under this area, I read about it in the construction maps... but its entrance is on the other side of the destroyed market."
Laila replied in a weary voice, but with a glimmer of hope: "Then we have to reach it."
Samer looked at the door, which the monster was starting to pound on from the outside: "Now or never."
He opened a small hole in the back wall of the storage room, which led them into a narrow passage that barely accommodated their bodies. They continued to crawl through it, hearing the monster smashing the doors behind them and roaring angrily. The passage led them out to another street, but this time the street was filled with other monsters roaming the area.
Laila gasped in fear: "They're everywhere!"
"We need to sneak through the ruins... over there, behind the market."
They moved with slow, careful steps, hiding behind columns and twisted wires, while the monsters passed in front of them without seeing them. But suddenly, one of them turned, sniffed the air... and let out a loud roar.
Samer shouted, "Run!"
They ran with all their might until they reached the destroyed market. The ground was cracked, and rubble covered the place.
Laila was breathless: "Where... where is the entrance?!"
Samer searched with his eyes quickly: "Look for a circular iron cover! It must be here!"
They began searching frantically among the debris. Finally, Laila found the cover. Laila shouted, "Here!"
They ran towards it, and Samer helped her lift it. It was heavy, but the adrenaline gave them unusual strength. Samer: "You go down first!"
Laila descended into the darkness, then Samer followed her and closed the cover above them just as the monsters reached the edge.
As soon as Samer closed the metal cover over them, their voices were trapped in that dark, damp place. They both sat panting, and their heartbeats began to fade little by little... but the sounds of the monsters above them did not quiet down.
Samer put his ear to the stone ceiling. He heard the monsters roaring and pounding hard on the ground above them.
While the monsters continued to roam above the place where Samer and Laila were hiding, the air was filled with the sound of their heavy breathing. One of them, who seemed larger and more powerful than the rest, was watching silently from above the ground where one of the monsters began pounding on the iron door with the intention of destroying it.
The larger monster, Synarc, said in a stern tone, "Stop... leave those two."
Kamheir rushed toward him: "But they are here! They are underground, wouldn't it be better to go down and finish them? They are just humans, they can't have anything to stop us."
Synarc gave him a sharp look, then glanced at the ground which was covered with metal tools and debris. Synarc replied in a low, decisive voice, "They are humans, they have no magical power... even if they discovered something about our weaknesses, they won't pose a threat to us. We have more important things than chasing two insignificant people."
Kamheir hesitated: "But... what if they discovered something? What if they have something hidden?"
Synarc sighed: "No, there is nothing in them worth following up on. The ground here is filled with things that matter more to us than two fleeing humans. We will not waste our time on them. Let them think they have escaped. In the end, they are just weak creatures, they will be of no use to us."
Then Synarc turned to the rest, raising his head to the dark sky. "Let us continue the search for the Prince...!"
The monsters retreated away from the place, leaving the debris behind.
"What do you hear?" Laila whispered.
"A conversation between them."
Laila composed herself and took a deep breath. She listened in silence, but could not hear what was happening above her.
Laila replied worriedly because she couldn't hear anything: "What were you hearing? Was it... about us?"
Samer looked at her with a sigh and raised his hand to reassure her slightly. Samer: "Yes... they were talking about us. One of them said we were humans and worthless. But... I don't think they'll leave us alone."
Laila replied in shock: "But... what about their talk of discovering us? Does that mean they know we're here?"
"Definitely, they saw us hiding. But they seem to consider us mere weak creatures, and they won't waste their time on us. Nevertheless, we must be cautious."
"Then... we must move quickly. If they don't care about us now, they might come back at any moment."
Samer confirmed her words and began to move: "Yes, come on, we can't stay here for long."
They advanced together in the darkness, each carrying a doubled anxiety in their heart, not knowing what the future held for them in this dark, underground world. They stopped after a considerable distance to rest inside the temporary hideout.