“What is that?”


Soldier’s whisper was barely audible, but the one thing that slipped through it, something he normally wouldn’t allow, was fear.


His voice shook, and he couldn’t stop it.


Civilian raised a finger to where his mouth would have been behind the mask and hissed:

“Shhh.”


It was quiet, but it carried the weight of a command.


They both pressed against the wall, crouched in the shadows of a crumbling building. Dust settled in the folds of their clothes, and the cold of the bricks seeped into their backs.


And then...it moved again.


Soft, almost imperceptible footsteps. The kind you wouldn’t notice until it was too late. Thankfully, Civilian had known. He’d pulled them into the ruins just in time.


Now, something big was moving through the rubble outside.


The air trembled with a strange pressure, like something had opened that wasn’t supposed to.


And then...a growl.


Not human. Not quite animal. Low, guttural. Tearing. Hungry.


Soldier clenched his fist instinctively. He was kicking himself for not bringing a weapon. He’d wanted to, but they had told him not to. Said he wouldn’t need it. And he hadn’t argued. He never did.


But they weren’t the ones hiding now, helpless in the dark, as something slithered past with no way to fight back.


He flinched when Civilian suddenly grabbed his wrist. He must’ve seen it. The panic. His grip was strong, firm enough to say trust me. Don’t move.


He tried. It wasn’t easy.


A shift in the air.


A faint exhale, warm and damp, drifted out from the dark. It had smelled them.


Somewhere nearby, rubble shifted.


It was coming closer.


Soldier shut his eyes. If this was the end, he didn’t want to see whatever was making that sound.


Then... A sudden, deafening crash.


Something massive collapsed in the distance. The screech of twisting metal, the roar of falling concrete, and a deep, rolling boom echoed through the streets. The buildings around them shook.


It was huge. So impossibly huge. And it was close.


A blurred shadow swept past the rubble. Stone fragments scattered in its wake as the thing vanished into the rainy city, drawn by the new sound. Soldier stayed frozen. Still not believing it was gone.


Only after a long silence did Civilian finally speak.

“Shadows.”


He said it softly, with a bitterness in his voice, like the word itself had a taste that stung on the tongue.

“When it rains, the oldest ones roam the city. Like I said… rain makes everything worse.”


He took a deep breath, braced himself against the brick wall, and slowly peeked outside. Another flash lit the sky, but far on the horizon, he saw daylight.


The rain would soon let up. And with it, came time to move again.