Unlike the person I used to be, the one who froze and trembled at the first glimpse of a monster, but this time I didn't move. I didn't flinch. I didn't even breathe hard as the beasts came snarling toward me, their red eyes locked on me like prey.
I stood my ground, heart steady, fire crawling through my veins like it had been waiting for this moment.
"Come at me, you ugly bastards!"
I shouted, my voice echoing off the broken buildings, a wild grin tugging at my lips.
Then I turned and ran deliberately, not out of fear, but to draw them away from the others. My companions had gone in the other direction. They needed to get away. I only needed to buy them time.
I sprinted through rubble-strewn streets, dodging twisted metal and shattered glass. Flames licked the edges of crumbling structures, and the air was thick with smoke and dust. I didn't know where this path would take me. I didn't care. I just had to lead the monsters away.
But of course, luck wasn't on my side.
