"Mom?" the kid asks
The woman lifts up her head,"KAEL?!" she exclaims
She hugs him and tears of happiness flow out of her eyes "are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?" she asks with concern on her face
Kael shakes his head, tears welling in his eyes as he buries his face in his mother's shoulder. "I was so scared, Mom. There are monsters everywhere."
"I know, sweetheart," she whispers, stroking his hair. Her eyes dart to the creature standing a few feet away, watching them. "Did... did that thing bring you here?"
Kael nods, pulling back to look at the strange being. "It's not like the others. It helped me find you."
The creature makes a soft, rumbling sound, almost like purring. It tilts its head, the minimal features on its face somehow conveying curiosity. Kael's mother tenses as it approaches, but Kael reaches out and takes her hand.
"It's okay, Mom. This one's different."
His mother looks skeptical but relaxes slightly. "We need to find somewhere safe," she says, wincing as she tries to stand. Kael notices for the first time that her ankle is swollen and bruised.
"What happened?" he asks.
"I was running from... from those things. Twisted my ankle when one of them chased me in here." She grimaces. "I managed to hide in this corner. Been here for hours."
The creature suddenly stiffens, its head jerking toward the entrance of the mart. It makes a low hissing sound, crouching slightly. Kael's grip on the steel pipe tightens.
"What is it?" his mother whispers.
As if in answer, they hear the scraping of claws against the linoleum floor at the front of the store. The friendly creature puts itself between them and the sound, its arm morphing—not into a blade like the one in the apartment, but into something resembling a shield.
"It's protecting us," Kael whispers in awe.
The hostile creature appears at the end of the aisle—smaller than their protector but with jagged, twitching limbs. It screeches, a sound like metal on glass, and lunges forward. The friendly creature meets it halfway, the two colliding in a tangle of limbs. Kael pulls his mother back against the wall as they watch the brief, violent struggle.
Their protector overpowers the smaller creature, pinning it down and pressing its shield-arm against the attacker's throat until it stops moving.
"We need to leave," Kael's mother says urgently. "There might be more."
She tries to stand again but falters, pain flashing across her face. The friendly creature returns to them, making that same concerned sound Kael heard earlier. It reaches toward his mother's injured ankle.
"No!" she cries, pulling away.
"Mom, I think it wants to help," Kael says.
Reluctantly, she allows the creature to examine her ankle. To their surprise, it produces something from within its body—a strand of fibrous material that it carefully wraps around the injury, creating a makeshift brace.
"Thank you," she says, her voice shaky but grateful.
With the creature's help, they gather supplies from the mart—water bottles, canned food, a flashlight. Kael's mother leans on both him and the creature as they make their way out of the store.
Night is falling as they find shelter in an abandoned gas station across the street. The creature stands guard at the entrance while Kael and his mother settle in the back office.
"What happened to everyone, Mom?" Kael asks as they share a can of beans.
His mother shakes her head. "I don't know, baby. It happened so fast. People just... changed." She shivers despite the warmth of the room. "One minute everything was normal, the next..."
Kael notices beads of sweat forming on his mother's forehead. "Are you okay?"
"Just tired," she says, but her breathing has become labored. She rolls up her sleeve, revealing a small, darkening mark on her forearm. "Kael, I need to tell you something."
The friendly creature, sensing something wrong, moves closer, making distressed noises.
"What's that?" Kael asks, pointing to the mark.
"One of them... scratched me. Earlier today." Her voice is strained. "I thought it was nothing, but..."
She doubles over suddenly, crying out in pain. The creature backs away, agitated, as if it knows what's happening.
"Mom!" Kael cries, reaching for her.
"No—stay back!" she gasps, pushing him away with surprising strength. "Kael, listen to me. I think I'm changing."
Horror fills Kael's eyes as he watches his mother's arm begin to contort, the skin rippling unnaturally. The friendly creature places itself between them, making urgent sounds as if trying to warn him.
"Mom, no, please," Kael sobs, clutching the steel pipe he'd forgotten he was still carrying.
His mother looks at him, love and terror mingling in her eyes. "Kael, I love you so much," she manages to say before another wave of pain hits her. "But you need to go. Now."
The transformation accelerates. Her fingers elongate into claws, her back arching at an impossible angle. But worst of all are her eyes—the warmth and humanity draining from them with each passing second.
The creature nudges Kael urgently, trying to pull him away, but he's frozen in horror.
When his mother lunges at him, she's no longer his mother. The creature intercepts her, the two beings crashing into shelves and supplies. They fight viciously, but Kael can see his protector is holding back, not wanting to harm what was once his mother.
The creature takes a brutal hit, knocked aside by his mother's new, monstrous strength. She turns toward Kael, no recognition in her eyes.
The creature recovers, pinning her down from behind, looking at Kael with what can only be described as sorrow. It holds her still, exposing a vulnerable spot at the base of her neck.
Tears streaming down his face, Kael understands what he must do. With the steel pipe gripped in trembling hands, he approaches.
"I'm sorry, Mom," he whispers.
The creature holds her steady as Kael raises the pipe. He hesitates for just a moment, remembering her smile, her laugh, the way she'd kiss his forehead before bed.
Then, with a cry that contains all his grief and rage, he brings the pipe down.
The pipe connects with a sickening sound. His mother's transformed body goes limp, then still.
Something breaks inside Kael in that moment—something fundamental. The tears on his face dry. His eyes, moments ago filled with anguish, now stare blankly at the body before him. The emotional storm that had been raging inside him suddenly stops, leaving nothing but a vast, empty silence.
He doesn't speak. He doesn't cry. He simply stands there, pipe still gripped in his hand, blood dripping from its end.
The creature makes a concerned sound, gently nudging him. Kael doesn't respond. It tries again, this time taking the pipe from his unresisting fingers.
When Kael finally moves, it's with mechanical precision. No trembling, no hesitation. He methodically gathers their supplies, face expressionless, movements efficient. The passionate, frightened child from moments ago has vanished.
The creature watches him with what appears to be concern, making soft sounds that Kael ignores.
Dawn breaks outside as they leave the gas station, painting the devastated landscape in soft pinks and golds. The beauty is lost on Kael, whose eyes now scan the environment only for threats and resources.
The creature makes a sound, trying to direct Kael's attention to something in the distance—smoke rising from chimneys. Signs of life. Signs of survivors.
Kael registers this information without emotion. He calculates the distance, the risks. His mind now works like a machine, stripped of the messy complications of feelings.
"We'll go there," he says, his voice flat, devoid of the fear or hope that would have colored it before. "It's logical to find other humans."
The creature tilts its head, clearly unsettled by the change in the boy. It reaches for Kael's hand—a gesture that would have comforted him before.
Kael allows the contact but doesn't return it. His small hand remains limp in the creature's grasp. His eyes, once expressive windows to his soul, now observe the world with detached calculation.
Together they walk toward the smoke—the creature protective and concerned, the boy empty and cold. The weight of what he'd done had been too much for his young mind. To survive, something in him had shut down, perhaps permanently.
In the ruins of civilization, a new Kael emerges—a child whose innocence died with his mother, leaving behind someone who might survive this new world, but would struggle to remember what living truly meant.