Kairo moved through the ruined street with slow, careful steps. Every sound—broken glass under his shoes, fluttering paper, a distant clang—felt dangerous. The world wasn't just silent… it was listening.
The glowing blue light he had seen earlier flickered again between two broken buildings. It wasn't bright, but in this ruined world, even a dim glow was unusual.
He kept his distance, crouched behind an overturned car. From there he watched the empty street, scanning for movement. He had learned one thing in the last seven days:
If something looks safe,
wait and watch first.
A cold breeze swept through the street, pushing dust and paper scraps across the ground. Kairo shivered. Not because of the cold—but because he knew creatures could hide inside that dust, that darkness.
As he prepared to move again, he froze.
Footsteps.
Soft. Rushed. Not his.
He held his breath and ducked lower.
Someone—or something—was moving nearby.
A moment later, a figure stumbled out from behind a broken bus. It was a person—a boy, maybe a little younger than Kairo, holding a metal pipe as if it weighed too much for him.
The boy's face was pale, sweating.
He kept looking back, terrified.
Kairo peeked through the cracked mirror of the car to see what the boy was running from.
Then he heard the growling.
A deep, throaty, unnatural sound.
Three mutates crawled into the street—gray-skinned, long-limbed, their bodies twitching in broken motions as if they weren't meant to exist. Their glowing eyes fixed on the boy.
Kairo's heart tightened.
He should run.
This wasn't his fight.
He had no weapon. No strength.
But the boy screamed, "Help! Please!"
The mutates lunged.
Kairo didn't think. His body moved before his mind could stop him. He grabbed a piece of metal from the ground—basically a broken pipe—and sprinted toward the boy.
"Move!" he shouted.
The boy stumbled aside while one mutate jumped toward him. Kairo swung the pipe wildly—not skillfully, not strongly, just desperately.
The metal hit the creature's jaw with a crack.
The creature screeched and reeled back.
Pain shot through Kairo's arm. His hands stung from the vibration, and he almost dropped the pipe.
The second mutate lunged.
Kairo grabbed the boy and pulled him behind a fallen street sign.
"What were you thinking?" Kairo whispered, panting.
"I—I was trying to get to the light," the boy gasped.
"Same." Kairo forced himself to stand, gripping the pipe again. "Stay behind me."
Even though he was shaking, even though he was weak, something inside him felt different. For the first time, he wasn't running away alone… someone was depending on him.
And that thought gave him strength he didn't know he had.
One mutate crawled up the sign like a spider.
The other two circled around.
Kairo took a shaky breath.
You can't win this.
He knew that.
But he also knew this:
If he didn't fight, both of them would die.
The mutate jumped.
Kairo swung.
The pipe hit its head this time, harder.
The creature crashed to the pavement.
The second one tackled him. Its claws tore into his jacket as he struggled on the ground. The boy behind him cried out, frozen in fear.
Kairo shoved the creature with all his strength, barely pushing it off. He scrambled back, panting, body trembling.
Just as the mutate leaped again—
A gunshot echoed.
Loud. Sharp. Controlled.
The creature's head snapped back, and it collapsed.
Kairo jerked his head toward the source.
Three people stood near the gate with the glowing blue light. They were armed—properly armed. One held a rifle, the other two carried reinforced batons and protective gear.
The rifleman approached.
"You two," he said with a stern voice. "Move. Now."
Kairo nodded, grabbing the boy and helping him stand. The remaining mutates hissed but didn't attack—the gunshot had pushed them back.
The soldiers led them toward the gate.
As Kairo stepped through, he saw the symbol again—three lines crossing under a circle.
The rifleman shut the gate behind them and locked it.
The boy collapsed on the ground, shaking. Kairo leaned against the wall, barely breathing.
The rifleman studied them for a moment, then said,
"Welcome to Outpost-13. If you're alive, it means you're lucky… or stupid."
Kairo managed a weak, exhausted smile.
"Maybe both," he muttered.
The man smirked slightly.
"We'll see."
Kairo didn't know it yet, but this moment—this gate—would change everything.
He had just stepped into the last safe place in the city.
The place where his journey truly began.
The place that would make him… or break him