Chapter 1
The world I was born into is enclosed within five enormous walls, each a separate world with its own name and sentence.
The outer, longest, and harshest is Westwitch. It absorbs the first blows of war; its inhabitants breathe the dust of ruins and sleep to the accompaniment of nighttime cries. Second, Cina is a forge and a staging area: here they keep weapons and raise soldiers for walls they will never see. Third, Rina is a living, bustling artery: markets, crafts, squares; they call it a pearl, forgetting that pearls are born in a prison shell. Fourth, Covenant, a repository of energy, taxes, and memories of what was before the Wall. Fifth, Mountain, an impregnable spire of the elite, from which orders and "volunteers" are sent to explore lands from which no one returns.
But even five Walls are no panacea. The wind from the Wasteland brought not sand, but news: the monsters were gaining strength, and the people beyond the wall were disappearing, as if erased by the darkness itself. And more and more often at night, the wind carried not a howl, but a staccato sound, like a team of scientists.
Finn, wake up.
Mika touched his shoulder. Finn sat up and stretched.
How long did I sleep?
About two hours. Your mother was looking for you. She asked me to tell you dinner was waiting.
At home, your mother smiled slyly:
You're late. I'll have to share your clothes if you manifest after everything cools down.
I dozed off outside, Finn muttered sheepishly.
After dinner, the three of them—Finn, Mika, and Ren—ran to the square. The "Steel Blade" was returning—the one who emerges from behind the wall. Heroes who bring the truth.
What they saw stunned them. Armless, with burned skin, with empty eyes beneath bandages. Stretcher after stretcher with bodies covered in tarpaulins. The crowd was already hissing, "Worthless! Years go by, and nothing happens!"
"They risk everything," Finn said quietly. "So that we can live."
People need results, not the price, Ren shook his head.
If they had been there, the Blade would have surrendered on the very first night.
Later, when the streets were empty, the night watch assembled at the Main Gate. The commander with the scar across his eye said, "
Perimeter inspection. Half a mile. Silence and shadow. Understood?"
The Gate rumbled open, revealing a door.
The squad stepped into the darkness. And walked into an ambush.
"Hunters" appeared out of nowhere. Silently. Ten of them. Long, stiletto-like fingers dug into their throats. Four collapsed without a sound.
Only the commander survived. He staggered back and saw a wall rise from behind the rising body. Not a wall, but a mountain of muscle, pierced with bone plates. "Armored." The monster ignored the humans. Its target was the Gate.
CLOSE! the commander yelled, retreating toward the gap. CLOSE!
The "Armored" slammed its shoulder against the door. The metal howled, but it was impossible to move the creature. The Gate hung, ajar, two meters.
From behind him, new silhouettes appeared. More "Hunters." And two more "Armored."
And then the commander understood. This wasn't a defense. This was an operation. The monsters weren't breaking in from the inside. The first "Hunters," having slipped through the gap, didn't even rush to destroy the city. They, as planned, melted into the narrow alleys of Westwitch, their goal not panic, but silence. And the "Armored"... they didn't enter, but began to block the passage with rock debris from the outside, cutting Westwitch off from the rest of the walls. They weren't storming. They were isolating.
The last thing the commander saw was a dark paw covering him.
Silence reigned in the streets of Westwitch. Deep, ringing, unnatural. No one knew that the city was already cut off from the world. And that silence
is the first cry.
Chapter 2
After the monsters entered, the hunters quietly hid. The armored monsters began making loud noises. They smashed houses, trampled people, and roared so loudly that even glass broke. The hunters were quiet, as if waiting for their victims. The entire city woke up, and the residents didn't understand what was happening. They were afraid and terrified as they went outside. The entire building was being smashed by the armored monsters, trampled people, and were completely covered in bones, like armor, with no gaps. A glowing heart in the middle indicated their core and weak point. The hunters quietly killed their victims using their hearing. Panic erupted in the city. Everyone ran in fear to the emergency door, to the wall of the building, to survive.
Finn's mother grabbed Finn to go through the emergency door for safety.
When Finn's mother left the house, she saw the hunter on the roof. He stood motionless, his ears moving as if he was waiting for a sound and waiting for his victim. Finn's mother knew they couldn't escape. And she decided to give herself up so that Finn would survive.
Finn's mother said quietly: "Finn, run, don't look back, go through the emergency exit. The city guards will be there. Go quickly!"
Finn's mother rushed to the side and screamed to attract the hunter's attention. Her last words were: "Finn, I just ask you to keep living. Run, Finn!" Finn watched this horror and began to run in tears, barely holding his voice back. His mouth was dry, and he watched his mother run screaming to save the monster.
Finn ran and cried, terrified, not kno
wing what to do. He just ran to a safe place, trying to find an escape door for safety. Finn saw that a nightmare was unfolding around him, people panicking, trying to save their lives, not noticing anyone. The main thing for them was to escape. It was like someone was clicking everywhere in the streets. The city was complete hell. When Finn ran, he met Mika.
Fin waited for the right moment to use the surrounding noise to avoid attracting the hunters and began screaming for her to notice him: "MIKA I'M HERE."
Mika heard Finn and ran toward him, almost tripping over rocks.
Finn, you're alive, I'm so glad," Mika said anxiously.
"I'm glad you're safe too," Finn said.
Mika said: "We need to find Ren so we can escape together."
Finn said with a sigh. In an uncertain voice: Mika, but we don't know if Ren is alive or not. Maybe he's dead.
Mika responded, saying: "But we have to try to find out if he's alive or not. We have to believe that he's at least alive."
Finn agreed. They went looking for Finn together. They saw the destruction as the city was gradually being destroyed. Finn and Mika ran to Ren's house, hoping that he was there. When they arrived at Ren's, they immediately entered the house, abruptly opening the door. They saw the horror of Ren's parents being killed by a hunter. Ren was sitting nearby. He sat quietly, covering his mouth with his hands, not making a sound. He knew he was focusing on the sound. There was fear in his eyes. He saw his parents being killed, and the hunter turned his head toward Finn and Mika. They stood motionless, gesturing for Ren to come toward them. Ren waved his head left and right, meaning he didn't want to go and would wait for him to leave, but Mika gestured and urged him to get up and come toward us quietly, without making a sound. Ren began to stand up very quietly and carefully. Slowly approaching his friends, the hunter didn't notice them, fixated on Ren's parents. They saw the hunter's strange actions: he began eating his parents. Finn and Mika witnessed this horror. Ren walked with his back to his friends, not turning around and ignoring the sounds behind him. Ren successfully exited his house and joined his friends. Finn grabbed Ren so he wouldn't turn around and see this. The three of them quietly walked away from Ren's house and ran to the nearest safe house to discuss their escape plan.
Ren was terrified and horrified, his parents killed before his eyes.
Ren, "It's good you're alive," Finn said.
Mika: "Ren, are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine," Ren replied with tears in his eyes and fear in his voice, his voice hesitant.
Finn hugged Ren and said, "We'll get out and stay alive. I've also experienced the death of my parents. You're not the only one."
He began to calm Ren down. When Ren began to feel better, the boys began to discuss their escape plan.