The scratching stopped.
That somehow felt worse.
Silence settled across the garage again, thick and unnatural, as though the house itself had gone still to listen. Amara could hear Luca breathing beside her, uneven and tense, and somewhere near the ceiling, the faint buzz of dying electricity flickered weakly before disappearing again.
The garage door bent inward with another violent slam.
Metal groaned.
Luca stepped backward immediately, gripping the wrench tighter. "Okay," he said quietly, voice tight with panic, "I officially hate whatever's outside."
Amara barely heard him.
Her attention stayed fixed on the girl.
For the first time since meeting her, she looked afraid.
Not nervous.
Not cautious.
Afraid.
And somehow, that terrified Amara more than the thing outside.
"You said they found me," Amara said quietly. "Who are they?"
The girl looked toward the garage door just as another impact shook the room. Dust drifted down from the ceiling.
"You really don't remember anything, do you?" she asked softly.
"I don't even know what I'm supposed to remember," Amara snapped.
The girl hesitated, like she was deciding how much truth to give.
"You weren't supposed to awaken this early," she said finally. "None of this was supposed to happen yet."
Outside, something dragged slowly across the metal.
A long scrape.
Sharp.
Deliberate.
Like claws testing weakness.
Luca swallowed hard. "Can we maybe explain the terrifying monster situation while running?"
The girl ignored him again.
Her eyes stayed locked on Amara.
"When someone awakens," she said quietly, "they become visible."
Amara frowned. "Visible to who?"
The answer came too quickly.
"To things that shouldn't exist."
The words settled heavily into the room.
No one spoke for a moment.
Then—
The garage door dented inward violently.
Hard enough to make all three of them jump.
Something growled outside.
Low.
Deep.
Wrong.
It didn't sound human.
It barely sounded alive.
Luca's face went pale. "Nope," he whispered immediately. "Absolutely not."
The girl stepped forward quickly now, serious in a way she hadn't been before. "Listen to me carefully," she said to Amara. "You have two options."
The metal bent again.
A small crack appeared near the bottom of the garage door.
Something dark moved behind it.
Watching.
Waiting.
"You come with me," the girl continued, "and maybe I can teach you how to survive."
"And option two?" Luca asked.
The girl looked toward the door.
"You stay here," she said quietly.
Another slam.
Louder.
Stronger.
"…and they learn what you taste like."
Luca stared at her. "What the hell does that even mean?"
No one answered.
Because at that exact moment—
Something punched through the metal.
A hand.
Except—
It wasn't a hand.
Too long.
Too thin.
Its fingers bent the wrong way, dragging slowly against the concrete floor with a sharp metallic screech.
Amara froze.
Her chest tightened instantly.
Fear rose fast.
Too fast.
The lights overhead exploded.
Glass shattered.
The air shifted violently around her.
She felt it again—
That dangerous pressure building inside.
Stronger than before.
Her shadow stretched unnaturally across the floor, twisting toward the broken garage door like something alive.
"Amara," Luca said carefully.
But she barely heard him.
Because something strange was happening.
The fear didn't feel like fear anymore.
It felt like power.
Hungry power.
And somewhere deep inside her mind—
Something whispered.
Finally.
The creature outside pushed harder.
Metal screamed.
The garage door began lifting upward slowly.
Too slowly.
Like something beneath it was forcing its way inside.
Amara took one step forward.
Then another.
The girl immediately grabbed her wrist.
"No," she said sharply.
Amara looked at her.
"What?"
"You don't understand your power yet," the girl said. "If you use too much right now—"
She stopped.
Her expression tightened.
"You'll lose something you won't get back."
Amara's stomach twisted.
"What?"
The girl hesitated.
Then whispered—
"Someone."
Silence.
Heavy.
Impossible.
Before Amara could respond—
The garage door ripped open.
And something stepped inside. 🖤