The plateau stretched endlessly.
Jagged stones glinted under the harsh sunlight.
The wind carried everything —
screams, wingbeats… and the stench of blood.
His children —
That was the first thought. Not where am I. Not what is this. Just them. Two faces that had been beside him at the amusement park, laughing at something he'd already forgotten, and now —
Gone. Separated in whatever had brought them here.
Or not here at all.
He didn't know which was worse.
A shadow dropped.
A boy struggled to stand nearby, too young, too exposed, no one moving toward him.
He moved.
Not because he was brave. Not because he had a plan.
Because the boy looked about the same age as his son, and that was enough.
Grabbing a jagged stone, he rushed forward and swung.
The hit landed — but barely.
The creature shrieked, pulling back —
But more were already circling.
Too many.
The orb hovered faintly beside him.
Still glowing.
Still there.
He hadn't trusted it yet.But it had followed him anyway, patient in a way that felt almost deliberate.
His grip tightened around the stone.
Another creature dived — not toward him, toward a woman who had tripped ten meters to his left. He changed direction without deciding to, covering the distance faster than he should have been able to, placing himself between her and the descent.
Something in his body shifted as he moved.
Not strength exactly. More like — responsiveness. Like the distance between thought and action had shortened. His body moved before his mind caught up.
The creature pulled up, adjusting its dive angle.
He was already repositioning.
Not fully in control of it. Not yet. But present in it.
Not strength.Not fully.But enough.
I have to keep moving.
"Move! Get down!" he shouted, shoving the boy behind a low boulder.
A creature dived straight at him.
He rolled.
Too slow.
Claws tore across his shoulder.
His vision whitened for half a second.
He staggered —
But didn't fall.
Adrenaline forced him forward.
Another screech.
Behind him —
Someone tripped.
A woman cried out as claws grazed her arm, blood staining her sleeve.
Focus.
React.
He grabbed a broken branch and thrust it forward.
The tip struck.
Not deep —
But enough.
The creature recoiled, talons scraping the ground inches from his chest.
He swung again.
Missed.
Ducked.
Rolled.
Everything blurred.
No technique.
No plan.
Just survival.
A child screamed.
Another one landed — too close.
He charged.
No hesitation.
The rock in his hand slammed into the creature's side.
It shrieked, wings thrashing wildly before pulling away.
He didn't chase.
A sharp sting ran down his arm.
He looked.
A deep cut across his forearm.
Blood dripping fast.
Still alive.
"Stay low! Follow me!" he barked, voice hoarse.
A few people moved.
Others froze.
Too scared.
Too slow.
He didn't have time to convince them.
He turned, grabbing a limping man by the arm and pulling him forward.
"Move! We can't stay here!"
Above —
Shadows circled again.
One dropped.
His body reacted before his mind could.
He stepped aside.
Swung.
Blocked —
barely.
The impact sent pain shooting up his arm.
He almost dropped the branch.
Another scream —
Someone's leg was slashed.
He grabbed them, dragging them behind a ridge of stone.
The boy from earlier —
still there —
shaking, unable to move.
"You're not dying here." he muttered.
More to himself than anyone else.
But even as he said it —
Two other faces surfaced in his mind.
He pushed them down.
Not now.
Not yet.
Time lost meaning.
Minutes —
or hours —
he couldn't tell.
People fell.
Some didn't get back up.
The creatures thinned out — for now.
The survivors —
scattered, injured —
but breathing.
Still alive.
His chest rose and fell rapidly as he forced himself to look around.
Then —
he saw it.
Near the edge of the plateau.
Partially hidden by stone and dry shrubs.
A dark opening.
A cave.
"Over here!" he shouted. "There's a cave! Move!"
No hesitation this time.
Those who could move followed.
Those who couldn't —
were carried.
Dragged.
Supported.
Step by step.
The boy clung to his hand.
Silent.
Terrified.
They stumbled inside.
Darkness swallowed them.
One by one —
they collapsed.
Bruised.
Bleeding.
Alive.
The man dropped to his knees.
His entire body trembled.
His chest heaved as he stared at the rough cave walls.
"We're not safe…" he whispered.
"…but we're alive."
Silence filled the space.
Heavy.
Uneasy.
Then —
a voice.
Shaking.
"How… how were you fighting like that?"
He didn't answer immediately.
"…Aren't you scared?"
He let out a slow breath.
Then looked down at the orb floating beside him.
"I am."
His voice was quieter now.
"But the moment I touched this…"
He raised his hand slightly.
"…something changed."
"Not enough to win."
"…just enough to not die."
He didn't say the rest.
That every time something dropped toward someone too slow to move —
He'd already been moving.
That it hadn't felt like courage.
It had felt like something older than that.
Like what happened to a person when the alternative was unthinkable.
The orb pulsed faintly.
Once.
Then again.
Like it was listening.
Or learning.
Outside —
the wind picked up again.
And in the distance —
something screeched.
This time —
louder.
Closer.
But his thoughts had already drifted —
Past the cave walls.
Past the plateau.
To somewhere he couldn't see and couldn't reach.
Soon.