Nox darted forward, heart racing as he bolted toward the ruined building where Luke had taken cover. His thoughts were sharp and focused—the monsters had surrounded each other, too distracted by their own brutal struggle to notice his presence. It was his chance.

  Moving with precision, as if he were someone who had practiced this too many times to count, he sprinted from one hiding spot to the next, not pausing even when a sudden cold wind swirled through the wreckage. He finally crouched behind an overturned car, just a few paces from his target. He couldn’t rush out into the open—not yet—not with nowhere to hide if they noticed him.

  He needed to be quick, silent.

  His mind flashed back, involuntarily. As a child, when he first saw these creatures—these monsters—he used to cling to his mother, his small hands grasping at her skirts as she tried to comfort him. The first time he'd seen one so close, he had screamed. She had held him close, whispering in his ear that they were just shadows, nothing more, and that he had to stay calm. But it was impossible. The creatures could see him, and he could see them—forever bound in this silent, horrifying world. Now, years later, he was facing that same terror, though this time he wasn’t clinging to anyone. He had no choice but to stand his ground.

  He snapped out of his thoughts and grabbed a nearby can. The dirt on it didn’t faze him—not in this moment. He hurled it toward the group of humans hiding behind debris, hitting the woman squarely on her back. The dull thud of the impact sent a ripple through the air, but it was perfect—a simple, swift distraction.

  The woman spun around, startled. Her wide, fearful eyes locked onto his, and for a moment, time seemed to stretch. She froze, her body tensing before relaxing, her gaze shifting to her children before she nodded imperceptibly, understanding the silent communication. Her police uniform was smudged with dirt, the badge still visible on her chest despite the grime. The faintest glint of recognition passed through her eyes—a hint that, despite the chaos, she was trained for moments like this.

  Nox, who had moved closer to the edge of the car for a better view, carefully watched the monsters. They were still too preoccupied with each other to sense his movements. He stretched out his arm in a small, controlled wave—motioning for them to come closer. His breath held, his pulse hammering in his throat.

  The woman didn’t hesitate. She shoved one of the children forward, the boy trembling so violently that he could barely stand, much less move. She gave him a push, and the child lurched forward, colliding with Nox with all the speed and fear of a desperate animal. The force knocked the wind out of him, but he barely registered the pain as he instinctively wrapped his arms around the child, holding him close.

  The child’s body was stiff with fear, and Nox could feel the small hands clamping over his mouth, trying to stifle the cries. He needed to stay focused—he couldn’t afford to get distracted now. His eyes returned to the fight between the monsters. The moment had to be right.

  After a beat, he motioned for the woman again. She hesitated, her eyes darting between the child in her arms and the carnage unfolding nearby, before finally nodding. She grabbed the second child, her grip tight, and bolted toward them. She was swift, her movements fluid as she reached the car, breathless but unharmed.

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  "Thank you," she whispered, her voice hoarse with relief. Nox simply nodded, not trusting his voice to respond.

  He gestured toward a nearby store, its door hanging off its hinges as if ripped away by some unseen force. The woman gave him a sharp nod, and without another word, she grabbed one child and dashed toward the door. Nox followed closely behind, his body coiled tight with tension.

  Once inside the store, the dynamic shifted. The woman ducked behind the counter, peering cautiously over it as she took the lead. Nox, cradling the child in his arms, crouched low, the child’s small fingers grasping desperately at his neck. The fear was palpable, but there was no time for comforting the child now—every second counted.

  “The shelves,” Nox whispered softly. “We’ll use them to reach the wall. There’s a hole—a passageway connecting to the buildings next door.”

  The woman nodded, her expression hardening as she listened. The plan was simple: Use the ruined buildings to move undetected, from one structure to the next, taking advantage of the holes in the walls. They would go through the coffee shop, using the back to access the fire escape corridor that led to the apartments above. They’d move quickly, but Nox hoped the monsters would finish their battle and leave before they had to make their move. The distant sounds of growls and screeches told him otherwise, but he didn’t have a choice.

  They moved swiftly through the store, the monsters’ fight still rumbling faintly in the distance. At the end of the store, the fire door stood ajar, offering a passageway to the alley. They slipped through it, sticking close to the crumbling walls as they made their way to the main street. Nox pointed toward a parked truck just ahead. That was their final obstacle before reaching Luke.

  They moved faster now, each step bringing them closer to safety. When Nox saw Luke’s anxious face peering out from behind a broken window in the building, a wave of relief washed over him.

  But just as they reached the truck, everything went to hell.

  Luke’s expression went from anxious to terror in an instant. His mouth opened in a silent scream, and his eyes widened with horror. He shouted without sound—Run!

  Nox barely had time to process the warning before a deafening thud echoed through the street. He turned just in time to see the massive form of the snake monster—its body, a grotesque mix of scales and spikes—crash into the parked truck. The force was enough to rip the truck from its axles, the creature’s body slamming into it with a sickening crunch.

  Nox felt the air shift as the truck was torn away, leaving him exposed. The cold wind of the monster’s movement raked across his skin, and he knew they were no longer safe.

  "Run!" he screamed, urgency spiking in his voice.

  The child in his arms, powered by adrenaline, didn’t hesitate. The moment Nox set him down, the small body scrambled toward the building, driven by fear.

  But Nox couldn’t move—not yet.

  The monster was upon him.

  “Nox,” he could hear Luke scream, but didn’t pay it any mind.

  “Go,” he shouted back, as his eyes locked onto the monster in front of him.

  For some strange reason, just thinking about facing this monster made shivers run down his spine, yet in that moment, he felt calm. The fear that he had expected to grip him didn’t come.

  ‘Huh,’ he wondered. ‘Thinking back…’ His thoughts flickered like a flashback before his death. ‘Since I was a child, I could always see them. Just like they could see me… We shared a world that nobody else had access to.’

  He paused, almost wanting to chuckle, but held back. ‘Well, at least until now.’

  ‘All my childhood, I was terrified,’ his eyes traced the figure of the monster in front of him. ‘Terrified of those I could see… Terrified of them hurting me, haunting me. The nightmares, the fear…’ It all felt so long ago to Nox.

  And maybe for that reason, he felt so calm. So tired of being afraid. ‘We share a world now. We always did.’

  In that moment, his eyes rose with newfound courage, and his gaze pierced the faceless creature before him.