By the time the sun dipped behind the red-brick rooftops of City H, the power had been out for over five days.
At first, no one cared.
It was summer, after all. Students spilled out of the university buildings with ice coffees and end-of-term energy. The dormitory floors buzzed with energy—laughter, music, flickering candles meant for ambiance, not survival. Most assumed it was a simple grid reset. A routine blip.
But Sera didn't.
She had felt it in her skin—like pressure building under her fingernails. Not the creature, but something else. A memory, maybe. Something whispered by the part of her that always listened when no one else did.
By nightfall on the first day, the panic began.
