The alarm blared through every corner of Settlement C, its shrill cry echoing off the stone walls like a thousand warning bells. A voice followed, deep and steady, though it carried a weight of dread that pressed down on everyone who heard it.
ATTENTION ALL RESIDENTS. MONSTER WAVE DETECTED. ALL FOUR GATES, NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, AND WEST ARE UNDER SIEGE. REPEAT, ALL FOUR GATES ARE UNDER ATTACK. CURRENT REPORTSINDICATE THE WAVE IS BEING LED… BY A GREATER BEAST.
Gasps and screams rippled throughout the crowd. The words Greater Beast were like a curse something out of old tales, the kind of monster no one believed could appear on Floor One.
Lior blood turned cold. His first instinct wasn't the guards, or the plaza, or even the spreading panic. One thought pierced through everything else, his sister.
He turned to Frank, eyes wide. "I have to get back home. Now."
Frank grabbed his arm. "Lior, wait! The streets are in chaos! You'll get caught in…."
But Lior had already pushed his hand away, shoving past fleeing merchants and panicked children. His heart hammered in his chest as the alarm's echo mixed with distant roars outside the walls. Every step was a blur. He didn't care about the crowd's panic or the guards shouting orders he could only
see his sister's face, waiting for him at home.
Lior footsteps pounded against the cobblestones, the air thick with the sound of shrieks and clattering boots. Just as he turned down the familiar street that would lead him closer to home, the voice of another announcement cut through the chaos again, harsher, faster, as though even the officials were beginning to panic.
"EMERGENCY ALERT! EMERGENCY ALERT! THE SOUTH GATE HAS BEEN BREACHED! REPEAT, THE SOUTH GATE HAS BEEN BREACHED! ALL RESIDENTS NEAR THE SOUTHERN SECTOR EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY! EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY!"
Lior's heart stopped. His stomach dropped as if the ground beneath him had caved in.The South Gate, He muttered to himself. His home wasn't far from it, just a few blocks off the outer wall. Ashley was there.
"No, no, no…" he muttered under his breath, legs pumping harder. His lungs burned, but he pushed past the ache. Every second he lost meant the monsters were one step closer to his sister.
Around him, people were no longer just running in panic, they were stampeding, trampling stalls, dragging children by the hand as the crowd funneled away from the southern district. Guards barked orders, steel flashing as they tried to hold lines against the tide of frightened civilians.
Lior shoved past them all, teeth clenched, fighting the current like a man swimming against a river. He could almost picture Ashley sitting in their little home, waiting, maybe wondering why he'd stormed out earlier.
And then, beneath the wailing alarms, he heard it again, a low, thunderous boom that shook the very air. The kind of sound no human could make. The sound of something enormous entering the city.
The announcement still echoed in his head as Lior sprinted down the stone street. South Gate breached… South Gate breached…
His lungs burned, but he didn't slow. Home was close three blocks. Just three blocks, and he would be with his sister.
A thunderous crack split the night. The ground shook. From the direction of the South Gate, a wave of dust rolled down the road, and out of it came the monsters.
They spilled into the streets like a nightmare coming to live. A woman screamed. A man tried to run, only to be dragged down by something with too many limbs and a jaw that opened far too wide. The air turned hot with fire and thick with the copper stench of blood.
Lior skidded to a stop, his heart slamming against his ribs. For a second, all he could do was watch the slaughter unfold.
His hand slipped into his pocket almost on instinct. Fingers closed around the handle of his knife.
He pulled it out, the small blade catching the flicker of torchlight. Against the tide pouring into the settlement, it looked pathetic.
But it was all he had…
He forced his shaking legs to move. "Ashley…" he whispered, voice cracking. "Hold on I will soon be home."
Meanwhile...
A hour before the attack, back at home.
The slam of the front door still echoed in Ashley head.
She sat at the dining table, arms folded, glaring at the empty chair across from her. "Tch. He didn't even listen. Always acting like I'm some annoying kid…"
Her stomach growled, breaking her sulk. With a huff, she dragged the flask toward her and unscrewed the lid. Steam rose, carrying the scent of spiced stew. The neighbor girl's cooking. Ashley muttered, "At least someone around here has manners."
She ladled the food into a bowl and ate in silence, the room too quiet for her liking. Her eyes flicked again and again to the chair her brother always sat in.
When she was done, she stacked the dishes but didn't feel like washing them yet. Instead, she slumped into Lior chair, hugging her knees against her chest.
The house felt different without him in it. Too boring. Too empty.
She let out a sigh, her eyelids heavy. He'll come back. He always comes back.
Her head tilted against the backrest, her thoughts drifting between irritation and drowsiness. She didn't even notice how much time had passed.
The steady tick of the wall clock was the only sound filling the room. Ashley dozed lightly in her brother's chair, chin tucked against her arms, when a sharp wail split the silence.
WOOOOO—WOOOOO—WOOOOO!
Ashley jerked upright, her heart hammering. The AFA Demoster Alarm.
Her blood turned cold. That sound wasn't for practice drills. It was the sound every resident prayed they would never hear.
A crackling voice followed through the speakers mounted across the district,
ATTENTION ALL RESIDENTS. MONSTER WAVE DETECTED. ALL FOUR GATES, NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, AND WEST ARE UNDER SIEGE. REPEAT, ALL FOUR GATES ARE UNDER ATTACK. CURRENT REPORTSINDICATE THE WAVE IS BEING LED… BY A GREATER BEAST.
Ashley's breath caught in her throat. She stumbled to her feet, knocking over the chair. "No… no, no, no this can't be happening."
The windows rattled faintly as people outside broke into chaos, shouts and hurried footsteps echoing in the street. The low, wails of alarms, layered with the sirens, gave birth to a rhythm of panic beating into the bones of the Settlement.
Ashley froze her body trembling. She wanted to run, but only one thought clawed through the panic clouding her head:
Lior…
Where was he?
Some minutes later she began moving trying to pack. Her hands shook as she shoved things into a small satchel, some bread, a water flask, the small
charm their mother once gave her. She didn't know what to take or what would matter if the settlement really fell, but doing something kept her from breaking apart.
Just hold on, Ashley, told herself. Once Lior comes back, we'll run together. We are going to make it to the evacuation center.
But the minutes dragged like hours. The sirens kept screaming. The air outside trembled with running footsteps, panicked voices, and the distant, bone chilling roars of beasts breaching the Settlement walls.
And then....
BANG!
The front door swung open with a violent crash.
Ashley spun around, clutching a kitchen knife she had grabbed in her panic. Her eyes widened in horror.
A twisted beast forced its way inside, a creature with a grotesque jaw and claws sharp enough to shred through the wood of their door. Its eyes glowed faintly red in the dim light, fixed directly on her.
Ashley forgot how breath for a second. She staggered back, nearly tripping over the chair. No, not here, not now..
The monster lunged towards her.
And in that instant…
SHHHK!
A black coated figure blurred into the doorway, blade flashing. One clean stroke split the beast's skull. It collapsed with a wet thud, twitching once before going still.
Ashley froze, the knife slipping from her trembling fingers.
The figure straightened, shadows draping over his face beneath the hood. His voice was calm, deep, and steady, "Miss Ashley. We are here to save you."
Her mind reeled. Save me?
"Who-who are you?" she stammered, backing toward the table.
The man stepped closer, raising a gloved hand as if to calm her. But instinct screamed danger, she snatched the knife again, holding it out with both hands, ready to fight even as her arms shook.
He didn't flinch. Instead, he spoke clearly, "We are from the Crimson Vale Institution. Our orders are to take you to safety."