Aiden walked slowly down street of Horseshoe, breathing in fresh air. His hood was pulled up, but it didn’t help much - the rain quickly seeped under the fabric,making him shiver from the cold. Rain pattered softly against the houses of Villedor. Heavy, dark clouds hung all over, and even daylight seemed muffled, as if stuck in a viscous haze. A cold wind walked among the ruins, turning over remnants of newspapers and fragments of old posters that had once called for resistance.

In recent days, rumor had spread through the city - mysterious creature which movedat night. People called it variously: ”spirit”, “demon” but most often - “kitsune”. Many laughed, saying that it's just fiction, tales of those who'd lived in fear for too long. But there were also those among the residents who swore they'd seen something.

Pilgrim paid no attention to it at first. Surviving in Villedor demanded too much of him to worry about yet another legend. But that day,something had changed,all he had to do was visit the forsaken motel to wait out the annoying weather. And the door creaked open into the darkness and smell of dampness,dust, long-abandoned things filled his nostrils. It's quiet inside, too quiet even. The sound of rain drumming on the windows seemed muffled, as if muffled by the walls. He took a few cautious steps, his hands automatically touching the hilt of his weapon. His instincts were rarely wrong,and now they said clearly: someone else here. His eyes instantly caught a figure in the far corner of the room. He tensed,his heart beating faster involuntarily. But instead of danger, he saw... something else.

Its lay curled up in a fluffy ball on an old,almost intact bed. Light from the UV lamp barely touched it, casting subtle reflections. The fur,glistening in dim light, seemed unrealistically soft.

His mind instantly tried to find a rational explanation for what he's seeing. Was it a figment of his imagination? Or was it simply a consequence of fatigue,exhaustion? But feeling of reality didn't disappear. It breathed,moved.