The forest path crunched softly beneath their shoes as Kai and Noah walked away from the clearing.
The air had grown cooler as evening settled over Willow Creek.
Neither of them spoke much. They simply enjoyed each other's presence.
Kai kept his eyes on the ground, still thinking about what he had seen earlier between the trees.
The shadow.
The claws.
Maybe it had just been the light playing tricks on him.
Maybe.
But then again… it had looked far too strange to be just a trick of the light.
I'm probably just overthinking it, he thought, sighing quietly.
They were halfway down the narrow trail when Noah suddenly stopped.
"Wait."
Kai looked up. "What?"
Noah patted the pocket of his hoodie.
"Oh no."
He checked his other pocket. His face immediately dropped.
"My phone."
Kai groaned. "You're kidding."
"I must've left it back at the hideout," Noah said, already turning around. "I'll be quick."
Kai sighed. "Seriously?"
"Two minutes," Noah said. "Don't wander off."
He jogged back up the path and disappeared between the trees.
Kai stood alone.
Silence surrounded him, and despite trying not to, his thoughts drifted back to what he had seen earlier.
Without Noah there, the forest suddenly felt much larger. Much quieter.
The wind moved softly through the leaves above him.
Somewhere deeper in the woods, a branch cracked.
Kai shoved his hands into his hoodie pockets and leaned against a tree.
"Two minutes," he muttered.
He glanced up toward the sky—and froze.
The sky between the branches looked strangely orange.
His chest tightened.
Not again.
The air shifted.
At first it was subtle.
A strange pressure filled the clearing, like the forest itself had taken a deep breath and forgotten how to exhale.
The light dimmed.
Then suddenly—
Screaming.
Shouting.
Kai looked around in shock.
The forest was gone.
He was standing in the middle of the town.
People ran past him in panic, screaming and pushing each other as they desperately searched for a way to escape whatever disaster had struck.
Kai's chest heaved.
Everywhere around him were ruins. Buildings burned, their flames lighting the sky with a terrifying glow.
Someone nearby pointed upward.
When Kai looked up, his blood ran cold.
The sky itself had been torn open.
A massive claw-like tear stretched across the heavens.
And from it came monsters.
Not just any monsters.
Creatures so horrifying they made his entire body shiver.
Their bodies were covered in eyes—dozens of them—blinking constantly as if they were always watching.
They attacked the people like predators hunting prey.
One of the creatures grabbed a screaming man in its massive jaws.
Its skinless mouth snapped shut.
Bones crushed instantly.
The man's screams stopped.
Then one of the creatures paused.
Slowly, it turned its many eyes toward Kai.
All of them blinked in the same rhythm.
The monster dropped the dead body from its mouth.
And began walking toward him.
Calmly.
Kai panicked and turned to run—
But the ground beneath him crumbled.
Everything vanished.
Suddenly he was back in the forest.
Kai collapsed to his knees, clutching his chest. His eyes were wide with terror as sweat poured down his face.
He struggled to breathe.
His head pounded.
His pulse thundered in his ears.
Then—
A voice spoke behind him.
"You look like you've seen the end of the world."
Kai spun around.
A girl around his age sat on the ground behind him, watching him closely.
Almost like she had been enjoying the show.
She was strikingly beautiful—pale skin, long dark hair, and delicate features that seemed almost too perfect to be real.
Her dark eyes held a strange depth, faintly glimmering when the light touched them.
She smiled softly.
It was the kind of smile that should have felt warm.
But something about it made Kai uneasy.
Like a secret was hiding behind it.
"Who are you?" Kai asked. "What are you doing here? How long have you been here?"
He stood up quickly.
The girl also stood and began walking toward him, but when she noticed him unconsciously stepping back, she stopped.
"Were you having a seizure?" she asked. "Should I call an ambulance?"
She completely ignored his questions.
Then she whispered softly—but loud enough for him to hear.
"Wasn't that beautiful?"
Her lips curved into a faint smile.
"I can't wait for that to happen."
Kai blinked in confusion.
"What? What are you talking about?"
But the girl simply stared at him, her smile lingering a second too long.
Then suddenly, as if waking from a spell, she stretched out her hand.
"With all that aside," she said brightly, "I'm Nyx! I'm new here and I don't have any friends yet. When I saw you and your friend coming here, I decided to follow you. But I lost you guys… then I found you again!"
She sounded unbelievably excited—like Kai was some celebrity she admired.
Kai stared at her with a blank expression.
"That's called stalking."
"Well… I'm sorry," she said, smiling even wider.
Kai frowned in confusion, still thinking about what she had said earlier. What did she mean when she said she couldn't wait for it to happen? The way she had said it almost sounded like she was talking about something real.
Kai hoped—desperately—that it wasn't what he thought it was.
"Did you see anything strange?" Kai asked. "Like the sky changing color or something?"
"No," she said innocently. "Is that from some kind of movie?"
Kai rolled his eyes.
"Never mind."
Then they heard footsteps approaching.
"I am ba—"
Noah stopped mid-sentence.
Noah stared at Nyx dreamily.
"Wow… who is she?"
He turned to Kai, clearly stunned.
"You never told me you had a younger sister. And she's pretty."
"Thank you," Nyx said, blushing slightly. "But I'm not his sister."
She then explained the same thing to Noah that she had already told Kai.
"In short, she's a stalker," Kai added flatly.
He didn't know why, but something about her felt… wrong.
"A beautiful stalker," Noah said with a grin, nudging Kai's arm.
Kai simply rolled his eyes and walked ahead of them.
He needed time to gather his thoughts.
More importantly, he needed to figure out what that vision meant.
Behind him, Noah and Nyx followed slowly, chatting as they walked.
"So you're new here, huh?" Noah asked.
"Yes," Nyx replied. "I just moved here yesterday. I was at the park earlier when I saw you two walking into the woods."
"Well, you definitely made the right choice following us," Noah said with a playful wink.
But Nyx wasn't paying attention.
Her eyes were fixed on Kai's back as he walked ahead of them.
And slowly—
She smirked.