The creatures looked at them not with curiosity, but with hunger.
In the dim silver light that filtered through the fog, their eyes gleamed like molten glass, their bodies trembling with unnatural motion. Muscles twitched beneath skin that no longer looked entirely human. Some moved on two legs, others dropped to all fours, bones cracking as if rebelling against the shape they were forced to keep.
Before Ahce could issue an order, one of them lunged forward. It moved faster than human sight could follow, its shadow splitting through the mist. Mira reacted instinctively. Her rifle thundered once, the sound ricocheting across the trees. The creature collapsed mid-leap, writhing, its crimson eyes still fixed on them as black blood pooled beneath its body, steaming against the cold earth.
But the gunshot awakened the forest.
