He had been running for what felt like hours. Every step sent a sharp pain through the soles of his feet, but he couldn’t stop—not now. He had to make it. He had to survive. Ever since the eclipse, monsters had begun appearing, creatures of all sizes and shapes creeping out from the shadows. They seemed to pour into the world, relentless and unstoppable.

The city had been overrun in minutes, a chaotic nightmare of destruction and fear. Buildings lay crumbled, and the streets were filled with the echoes of screams and monstrous growls. Too many people had been caught off guard, devoured before they even had a chance to understand what was happening. The city had become a graveyard.

So he had run. He ran through streets he once knew, into the thick forest at the edge of town, pushing forward even as the air grew thick with mist and his strength faded.

Then, up ahead, something caught his eye. He froze, squinting through the dim light. It was a figure, human in shape, moving cautiously among the trees. Relief mixed with wariness as he took in the sight. They looked like a person—maybe they hadn’t seen what happened in the city. Maybe they didn’t know about the monsters, the eclipse, or the horror unleashed. Or, just maybe, they could help him.