Kai's hands trembled as he gripped the motorcycle handle, twisting the ignition again.
Click.
Nothing.
The engine didn't even try.
"Come on… come on!" he muttered, pressing it again.
Click.
Still nothing.
"It's not starting!" Kai shouted, panic rising in his voice.
Kiera looked back toward the house—and froze.
There, behind the window, stood Kenneth.
Or at least… something that looked like him.
His figure was just a dark silhouette against the dim interior, but something about it was wrong. His head tilted at an unnatural angle… then slowly twisted further, as if his neck wasn't bound by bones anymore.
"Kai…" Kiera whispered, her voice shaking. "He's watching us…"
Kai glanced back—and his stomach dropped.
The silhouette moved.
Not walking.
Gliding.
Toward the door.
"Kai, hurry!" Kiera shouted.
Kai slammed the ignition one more time.
Click.
Nothing.
That was enough.
Kiera grabbed his arm and yanked him off the motorcycle.
"Forget it! Run!"
The front door of the house creaked open behind them.
They didn't look back.
The moment they stepped away from the house, the air changed.
It grew colder—no, not just cold.
Heavy.
Like something unseen was pressing down on them, suffocating the space around them.
They ran.
Their footsteps echoed loudly against the empty streets.
Every house they passed was dark.
Windows black.
Doors slightly open.
No signs of life.
No signs of safety.
"Where is everyone?!" Kiera cried, her voice breaking.
"I don't know!" Kai replied, breathing heavily. "Just keep moving!"
A sound suddenly pierced the silence.
A pig's squeal.
Loud.
Distorted.
Then—
A child crying.
High-pitched.
Desperate.
Both sounds overlapped, twisting together into something unnatural.
Kiera covered her ears. "What is that?!"
The wind whispered.
Soft at first.
Then louder.
Like voices.
Like something speaking—but in a language they couldn't understand.
"This is really… really bad…" Kai said, his voice shaking now.
"I'm s-sorry… for bringing you here…" he stammered. "I didn't think—"
"No!" Kiera cut him off immediately. "We're getting out of here together, okay?!"
Kai looked at her.
For a moment, he wanted to believe that.
But something deep inside him said otherwise.
"I don't think… it's that easy…" he whispered.
Kiera was about to respond—
Then she stopped.
Her eyes locked onto something behind him.
"…Kai…"
He turned slowly.
Near a tree.
Something was there.
A small figure.
A little girl.
But… wrong.
Only her head and hands were visible, peeking from behind the tree.
Her face was deformed, stretched unnaturally, her features twisted into something inhuman.
She wasn't blinking.
She wasn't moving.
She was just… staring.
"Oh… let's go…" Kiera whispered urgently. "What the hell is that?!"
Kai couldn't move.
His body froze.
His mind screamed at him to run—but his legs refused.
"Oh shit… oh shit…" he muttered under his breath.
The girl didn't move.
Still staring.
Still watching.
Kai slowly took a step back.
The moment his eyes shifted away—
The girl moved.
Closer.
Fast.
But when he looked back—
She was still.
"What the—did it just move?!" Kai shouted.
"Don't look away!" Kiera cried.
They both stared at it.
Frozen.
Then Kai grabbed her hand tightly.
"Run!"
They turned and sprinted.
Behind them—
They didn't look.
But they could feel it.
Every time their focus broke—
It moved.
Closer.
Faster.
Like it was playing with them.
"What the hell is this town?!" Kiera screamed.
"F-Fuck! This is the worst thing that's ever happened to me!" Kai shouted, panic fully taking over.
"Kai… I don't care about anything anymore, I just want out… please…"
Kai tightened his grip on her hand. "We will! Just keep running!"
Time lost meaning.
Minutes felt like hours.
Or maybe it was hours.
They ran through empty streets, past endless identical houses, through a town that felt like it had been abandoned by reality itself.
No people.
No cars.
Nothing.
Just them.
And whatever was chasing them.
Eventually, they stopped in the middle of the street.
Both gasping.
Struggling to breathe.
"I can't…" Kiera said, clutching her chest. "I can't keep running…"
Kai bent over, hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.
Then—
"Hey!"
They both snapped their heads up.
A house nearby.
The door was open.
A woman stood there, waving frantically.
"Get inside! Now!"
Kai hesitated for a split second.
But they didn't have a choice.
"Go!" he said.
They ran inside.
The door slammed shut behind them.
Locks clicked.
Silence.
For the first time since arriving—
They felt… slightly safe.
A woman stood in front of them, arms crossed, her expression a mix of anger and fear.
"What the hell were you both thinking?!" she demanded.
Kai straightened up, still breathing heavily. "We came here to help a friend… but something's wrong. Something happened to him… and his father…"
Kiera nodded. "Everyone here… they're not normal. We thought—maybe—you're different…"
The woman's expression softened slightly.
"We know," she said quietly.
A man stepped forward.
"Meet our family," he said.
He gestured behind him.
"Philip. Connor."
Two young boys stood close together, clearly scared.
"My name is William. This is my wife, Bella."
"Nice to meet you…" Kiera said softly. "And… thank you."
Kai nodded. "Thank you…"
He looked around.
The house felt tense—but alive.
Unlike the others.
"Why didn't you leave?" Kai asked. "Why stay here?"
Bella sighed. "We don't have the money to go anywhere else. It's either stay here… or starve."
William added, "Just don't go outside at night. The monsters can't enter homes."
Kai exhaled slightly. "That's… good to know…"
"But why is this happening?" he asked. "What caused all this?"
Bella's face darkened.
"It started after the massacre."
Kiera's stomach dropped. "Massacre…?"
"This town is hell now," she whispered. "There are monsters everywhere."
Suddenly—
"Mom…"
One of the boys pointed toward the window.
Everyone turned.
Outside—
Something stood there.
Watching.
Its eyes glowed red.
Its skin was gray.
Its face… mutilated.
As if something had torn it apart.
And yet—
It was smiling.
"William—cover the window!" Bella shouted.
William rushed forward, pulling the curtains shut.
The room fell silent.
"I don't think we're safe here…" Kai whispered.
Kiera closed her eyes, quietly praying.
Then—
A sound.
From inside the house.
A slow, dragging step.
Everyone turned.
In the doorway of another room—
A figure stood.
A girl.
Her body was decaying.
Maggots crawled across her skin.
Her head tilted slightly.
"Have you seen… my baby girl…?"
Her voice was broken.
Echoing.
Wrong.
She repeated it.
Over and over.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
"I thought… they couldn't get inside…" Kai whispered.
William shook his head. "This… this has never happened before…"
"What do we do?!" Kiera cried softly.
Then—
The lights went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
The children started crying.
And the moment they did—
The creature moved.
Only its glowing eyes were visible now.
Getting closer.
Slowly.
Bella grabbed a flashlight and switched it on—
The beam hit the creature.
It froze.
Then—
It screamed.
And charged.
Straight toward them.
"RUN—!" Kai shouted.
But before it could reach them—
William stepped forward.
Placing himself between the monster—
And his family.