The morning sun hung high over the town, warm and golden, like the beginning of a perfect day in late May. The sky was impossibly blue, with only a few lazy clouds drifting overhead. Birds chirped from the rooftops and power lines, their songs echoing softly through the quiet streets.
From high above, the world looked calm. The camera drifted slowly downward, gliding over rows of red-tiled roofs and narrow streets lined with small shops. The camera now going through a tree rustling as it continues, showing the street.
People moved casually below—someone watering plants on a balcony, a cyclist rolling past a bakery, a car waiting at a quiet intersection.
The descent continued.
The sound of birds grew louder. Leaves rustled gently in the breeze.
People walked on the street with peace of mind. Bikes on the side of the road. People making pleasant coversation.
The peace of the town clearly felt everyw-
thump, thump, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, thump, thump, thump—
A figure burst into frame, passing the camera and continuing down the path.
A boy sprinted straight past the camera, slightly shaking it from the heavy steps, back turned, his backpack bouncing wildly as he ran. His shoes slapped against the pavement with frantic rhythm. He didn't look back. Whatever he was chasing—or running from—he was clearly in a hurry.
The camera swung around to follow him. He darted down a sidewalk, cutting across a patch of grass instead of staying on the path. A car honked—"KID! Watch where you're going! HEEYY, DO YOU HEAR ME!?"—as he weaved through traffic at a crosswalk, barely avoiding a passing scooter.
Without even slowing down, he reached out while passing a fruit stand—and snatched an apple.
"HEY!" the vendor shouted from behind him.
The boy simply waved the apple in the air as he kept running. Turning back—
"SORRY! I'm running late, I'll treat you to the bakery later!"
The man at the pazar scoffed and sighed with a frowned expression, but still lightly laughing under his breath—
"This kid, he'll never learn. Always so impulsive." The man was now clearly smiling. "Ah well, I guess he's a little trouble... but he's also the hope and light that keeps us going." now grinning to himself.
The camera cuts back to the boy again—
He hopped over a low railing, slid down a small slope, and sprinted up the final stretch of pavement toward the other end of the street, standing proudly.
Finally—
He stopped.
Now hands on his knees, breathing hard, taking another bite of the stolen apple.
The camera moved closer until it was right in front of his face.
A high school kid. Messy hair, a grin that suggested trouble, and the look of someone who had enjoyed every second of that run.
He wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve and chuckled.
"Damn… that was fun for being so close."
"Hey!"
A voice called out from infront.
"Luka, c'mon man! It's about to close!"
The camera now slowly rotating at a 180° angle toward the right, panning forward, revealing the school gates in front of him. A security guard stood there holding the door half-open, shaking his head.
Luka straightened up, tossing the half-eaten apple into a nearby bin.
"Alright, alright, I'm coming!"
Cut.
A classroom door slid open with a quiet creak.
Luka stepped inside, slightly out of breath. "Sorry I'm late," he said quickly, bowing down in a mocking manner.
The whole class chuckled.
The teacher glanced up from the board with a tired expression, shaking her head, but said nothing.
Luka slipped between the rows of desks and dropped into his seat.
Almost immediately, someone leaned over from the desk behind him.
"Yo bro," Raul whispered, nudging the back of Luka's chair. "Where were you yesterday, man?"
Another voice joined from the side.
"For real, dude. It was lit." Boris grinned. "You know Ashley was looking for you."
Luka leaned back in his chair, laughing quietly.
"Look guys, I told you I couldn't make it. Also stop guilt-tripping me—we all know Ashley is not like that."
Raul scoffed.
"Pfft. Whatever dude. Like I'd lie to you."
Boris paused for a second, then leaned forward with mock seriousness.
"Uhh, I'm pretty sure you said you were gonna start studying since junior year."
For a moment, the three of them just stared at each other.
Then they burst out laughing, trying desperately to keep it quiet.
"Psshh—"
"Shut up, man—"
"Bro you said—"
"You three, be quiet!"
The teacher turned from the board, pointing directly at them.
"It's the same with you three every time."
The boys instantly straightened up, covering their mouths while trying not to laugh. Luka buried his face in his notebook while Raul silently shook with suppressed laughter behind him.
The classroom slowly settled again.
Outside, the birds were still chirping.
Time passed.
Then—
RINGGGGG.
The bell echoed through the halls. Chairs scraped the floor as students began packing their bags. Conversations restarted instantly, the quiet classroom dissolving into the usual end-of-class chaos.
Luka leaned back in his chair again, stretching slightly, taking a moment of relaxation in.
"Dude, stop laying around, c'mon, class is over!" Boris exclaimed.
Luka, smiling, said, "You can keep going, either way, I'll still be at the front gate before you." He was now playfully grinning.
Boris also smiled and instantly started sprinting—
The camera pans on the outside yet again, starting from the school ground, slowly closing in on the main gates of the school. Noise can be clearly heard getting louder and louder, then suddenly—
"THUMP!!!" A loud bang opened the door, followed by Luka and Boris.
"See, told ya," Luka said while teasing Boris.
"Yeah, whatever dude, you cheated," Boris said, slightly panting. "Next time there will be no cheating and I will win."
Raul could be seen behind them walking up—
"Seriously, will you two do this every time? We're sophomores; get a little grip for God's sake," Raul commented.
Both Luka and Boris in unison exclaimed—
"Shut up!"
Then looking at each other, and back to Raul, then back to each other, and bursting out laughing.
And just like that—
The end of the school year was as close as ever.
The camera pans upward, showing the school and scenery of all the students on the school grounds, then slowly turning toward the sun and focusing on it...—
Whoooshh...—
The scenery switches to a ball of the same circle where the sun was.
Swishhh—
"I swear to God if you bail out this time, I'm not gonna entertain it anymore." The camera switching from the rim to all three: Luka, Boris, and Raul. Slowly coming closer to Boris. "You promised next time that you are definitely coming since you didn't last time. Don't you dare chicken out," Boris expresses with a serious tone.
"Look, I already told you-"
"Ohhh stop it man, stop with your excuses already. We all know you're not busy," Raul followed sharply.
Luka, now from slightly smiling, gets a little serious and says, "Guys, I'm being serious. I can't, not this Friday, but I promise next time I'll be there no matter what."
Boris and Raul, still disappointed, looked down and frowned but were still understanding of Luka. Then Raul spoke up—
"Hey look, he's being sincere. Let's give him a break even though he said the same thing last time. C'mon, don't you agree?" directing his attention at Boris.
"Yeah, I guess you're right, but don't slip up, you hear me? There will be no 'next' time." Boris scoffed and pointed at Luka.
"Of course, a promise is a promise," Luka answered.
"Alright, now let's see who can get more three-pointers this time." Standing up and dribbling the basketball, Boris continued, "Or are you too tired already?" he cheekily murmured.
Luka, having heard this for the past two years, couldn't help but laugh each time at Boris's resilience, saying—
"I'm as fresh as a summer morning." Luka pushed back at Boris, then stood up and walked toward the three-point line. Turning back, he said, "You coming?" His gaze shifted toward Raul.
"Heh, you know I never say no to a challenge," Raul exclaimed.
Now the three of them were walking to the three-point line.
Cut.
A door busts open almost with a crash, ringing the bell at the top of the door—
"Luka!? Is it you, honey?" Luka's mother called out.
"Yes mom, I'm home," Luka softly answered, but with a distinct 'I'm in a hurry' tone.
"Luka!" His father strictly cut in, noticing his slight attitude, "Talk to us with manners," while watching the TV.
"Sorry, that was my bad. Just kinda tired from school, that's all," Luka answered truthfully.
"Well honey, you're just in time," his mother cut in. "Dinner's ready and I made your favorite—chicken and rice!" his mother followed excitedly.
Luka, despite that, still answered—
"Sorry, I'm not that hungry right now, but I'll come down later to eat, okay?"
Dropping his shoes and going up the stairs in a hurry.
Woof!, woof!, woof!—
"Hey Max, not right now, I'll come down later, okay?" talking to his dog while petting it.
Mmrrnn... hnn—
Max whined, ears down, licking his nose.
"What's up with him? He's been a little different lately, or am I imagining things?" His mother asked, worried.
"It's probably just puberty poking at him again. You're acting like we weren't in his place once; it happens to the best of us," Luka's father chimed in.
The scene now cuts back to Luka in his room. Dropping his backpack and laying on his bed. Arms fully stretched out and his head leaning back with eyes closed for a moment, then he opens them—
—thinking to himself, "○Where could that old crap be?"
Looking around his room."There you are," finding his crappy laptop under his bedsheets. He grabs it and opens it firmly, starting to type something, his eyes glistening from the screen.
"How many more reports are there gonna be of this? Each week I get more and more suspicious." The camera now cutting to what he was looking at on his laptop—
| | This week another strange occurrence at the construction at St. Wallace 48th: 9 dead and 12 casualties with serious to minor injuries. People have been noticing these bizarre events more and more frequently as time goes on.. | |
"Hmm..." Luka murmured under his breath, continuing to scroll.
| | ..people believe this is somehow connected to a supernatural phenomenon, and as the days pass, this argument is ever so likely to be true; a hot topic on the site now for a few weeks. Theories fly from one person to another: some call them deities, some ghosts, some shinigami, and some even believe that this is a human's doing disguised as a strange occurrence to spike outbursts in the public.. | |
Luka keeps scrolling the site, continuing to read the weekly newsflash.
| | ..this week's hot update is from a user with the username 'Babushkalava_37' leaving a short comment, and I quote: 'All of your accusations and theories are wrong. They are no gods nor ghosts; they are known as Darkins.' This comment, even though not so flashy or different from the others, still caused controversy to arise because the user never replied back and the name he used to explain the incidents, 'Darkins,' isn't something anyone's heard of. To top it off, it sounds like it's not a phenomenon, more so something living that's causing these events, furthermore spiking the public's debate on the site and confirming that something unknown is lurking in the shadows.. | |
"Yeah, something is definitely fishy here. It's been about a month since this started though; I believe it's been going on for longer."
Clicking out of the newsflash tab, he proceeds to try and look for more information about these "Darkins," eventually falling asleep.
The room was now quiet.
Luka laying on his bed, peacefully sleeping, one arm on his chest, the other next to him laying relaxed. The soft glow of the sun setting was the only light in the room, illuminating his bed and Luka.
The camera now began to shift upward, starting low from just being able to see Luka and his laptop.
Slowly... it started to rise.
As the camera slowly shifts upward, now from this more upward angle, we can see Luka and his bed clearly with his floor coming into view softly, now the scattered notebooks and clothes clearly visible on the floor nearby.
The camera kept rising.
Higher.
Higher still.
His room was now almost completely visible.
As the camera reached its highest point and finally stopped—
Switch—
Luka opened his eyes, trying to look around, but he could barely make out anything. Darkness; the only light illuminating was the moon from his window and his laptop, still lightly dimming with his tabs open. For a moment, he let his eyes adjust to the light of his room.
Looking around, he could now make out what was going on.
His sleeping position had devolved into total chaos.
His pillow was no longer under his head—it had somehow ended up on the opposite side of the bed. The sheets were twisted and crumpled like he had fought an invisible battle in his sleep. His blanket hung halfway off the mattress, one corner barely covering his leg while the rest dragged toward the floor.
Luka himself was sprawled awkwardly across the bed at a strange angle, one arm stuck under him and the other hanging off the side like gravity had slowly pulled it there over the hours.
For a moment, the room stayed silent.
Then—
Luka groaned.
A low, tired sound escaped him as he slowly stirred awake.
His face tightened with annoyance as he squinted into the dim light of the laptop screen.
"Ugh…"
He rolled slightly, immediately realizing how uncomfortable his position was. His arm felt numb, his neck stiff.
Grumpily, he pushed himself up just enough to rub his eyes with the back of his hand.
"Man… what the…"
Still half-asleep, he blinked several times, trying to focus. His brain struggled to catch up.
He glanced around the dark room again, confused.
Then his eyes slowly drifted toward the glowing laptop.
"…Wait."
His voice was hoarse.
He leaned forward slightly, squinting harder at the screen.
"How long did I sleep…?"
He rubbed his eyes again, trying to wake up enough to figure out what time it was—and just how much time had passed. Looking at the time on his laptop.
| | 03:06 AM sharp | |
"Aww man... for real... almost 10 hours passed," Luka grumpily exclaimed.
Now almost fully awake, he stands up and rubs his eyes one more time.
"Where are my sliper-"
Slip.
"Phew... that was close, almost fell," Luka continued as he catches himself from falling. "What did I even slip on..? Ah, there you are right in front of me," realizing he slipped on the slippers he was looking for.
He starts reaching for them, but behind him, the sound of chunks of wood hitting the ground and creaking wood could be heard—
Clack, clack, clack—
Kreeeaakk-crrk—
Tak, tak-thunkkk—
Luka slowly turning his head and looking at the spot where the sound came from.
Right where his arm was, that caught him from slipping.
Looking closer and focusing with the light from the moon and dimming from his laptop, he could clearly see the mark of his hand embedded into the wood of the corner of his bed. Around the mark his bed completely shattered like a gunshot hit. Almost like out of a movie.
A pause.
Tick-tack, tick-tack, tick—
Only the sound of the clock in his room could be heard.
Creeakk-thump—
Followed by another smaller creak and fall from the shattered chunks on the bed.
Luka, standing in his dark room next to his bed motionless, not uttering a single sound, stands there for a few seconds confused, thinking—
"○Seriously? I'm still in a dream?" Silence. "○What kind of dream is this anyways?" After which he proceeds to start pinching himself over and over again.
"Damn, that usually works. Eh, whatever, I'll wake up eventually. What I need now is a cold glass of water."
Luka goes down to his kitchen and pours himself a glass of water, refreshing his dry throat of thirst. He also notices—
"Has our faucet always turned this much?" This time not realizing he was the catalyst for why it was so rotated that much to the right.
He then proceeded to come back to his room and scroll on his phone for a bit.
Fifteen minutes or so pass by before he awakes in the real world after being buried in his phone, thinking to himself—
"○How long is this boring dream, man?"
Standing up, now sitting on his bed, his gaze shifted to the broken corner of his bed. Looking at the imprint again, analyzing, pondering... about a minute into thinking, it hit him. This may not be a dream.
A thought like that hadn't popped up in Luka's mind at any point, but now it was becoming very real. His pupils dilated; his breath started to speed up. Slowly, the adrenaline started to pump and sweat formed on his palms and forehead. His heart thumping in the quiet atmosphere—
Tha-dump—
Tha-dump, tha-dump—
Tha-dump, tha-dump, tha-dump—
"○No, no, no, calm yourself Luka. It's not real; it will be over any second." He thought to himself. "Who am I lying to?" he then uttered, realizing he's just lying to himself, coping for his mental well-being.
Throwing his phone away with a serious, slightly sweating demeanor, he stands up and in a flash starts to rush to his bathroom.
Even going there, he realizes something is wrong with him. Luka was always fast, gifted almost, better than most kids at everything, but this—this was clearly a different frequency of speed that he could never reach before.
As he closes in on the bathroom door and tries to open it, the doorknob snaps. Luka looks at his hand, this time with a truly terrified expression—
"○A dream—yes, a dream, it has to be one. I'm just dreaming." He thinks to himself, even his inner voice shaking.
Now continuing to sweat even more and his heart pumping faster than ever, he puts the doorknob back and opens the door gently. Turning his head toward the mirror, collecting his thoughts, he calms for a second. He wants to splash cold water so he can wake up for the third time now, so he turns the sink-
Pfshhhhhhhhttttttt—
Water starts splashing not just at Luka, but everywhere.
Panic yet again starts to set in for Luka, except this time he wasn't able to control himself. While trying to stop the spree of water flooding the sink and the whole bathroom, he says—
"No way, no way, NO WAY!! IS THIS FOR REAL!?" With a slightly shaky voice, he continues, "Is this some type of a JOKE!?"
Now his anger rising within him, followed by a weird feeling in his body. It wasn't pain nor discomfort, but something very different. The only thought in Luka's mind was an electrical shock toy from a few years back. That was the closest thing to what he was feeling in his body. With the anger reaching a certain point, Luka clenches his fist and gathers a windup, preparing a hammer punch—
THUUMPP—
A loud sound, and the water stopped. Now Luka's anger and thoughts were a little calmer, but still confused. Luka then starts to think as if waking up for the fourth time and starts to try and make sense of the situation—
"○Alright, no noise now. Let's think logically here. I broke my bed, then I broke the bathroom's doorknob, and now this. Like c'mon, what am I-"
Ccrreeeeeaakkkkkk—
A long creak from outside the bathroom echoed through the house.
Luka straightened up and his senses sharpened, sensing danger.
"○My room," he thought to himself.
"○Hold on, how did I know it was in my room?" Questioning his own doing, he continued, "○No time for that, focus."
Luka opens the door and peeks outside in his hallway. Palm still sweaty and a sweat drop running down his face. Silence; no sound or movement or any sign of life, for that matter.
He then glances toward his parents' room. The door slightly open. Luka thinks to himself—
"○My parents woke up? Damn it, that's not good."
With slightly more confidence and motivation to see if his parents found out, he steps into the hallway. Each step trying to be quiet, yet the sound could clearly be heard from anywhere.
Still walking.
He stops.
He closes one eye and with the other peeks inside.
His parents.
Thankfully asleep.
"Phew... that got me going for a second there," he whispers under his breath. Relief hit him for the first time in this eventful night.
Crreaaakkk—
The sound again. This time just barely shorter.
Luka, realizing that he still didn't find the source of the sound, tenses up again. His senses again sharper than ever before, he continues walking toward his room this time. The silence was louder than ever; only his footsteps and heartbeat could be heard. Reaching his room, he's unsure if he should look inside.
He was a brave kid, but still a kid. Fear started chiming in and panic rising higher than before. He utters—
"I was confident before, but now that I'm here, I can't get myself to even look. What a wuss." Breathing as if he ran a marathon, trying to gather all his courage, "Don't be a pussy, just don't think, DON'T THINK!" he whispered with a stronger tone this time.
SHH FWHOO, SHHH FWHOO—
Two quick breaths and he darts from his crouching position and into the room.
Again.
Nothing.
Only silence filled the atmosphere like a dark void.
Luka looked around—at the bed, his desk, then the closet and window. Scanning every single point in the room, even checking behind him a few times.
Still not a single sign of anyone entering or leaving his room.
The camera stays still at the door; we see Luka checking his room. Cutting from him under his bed, in his closet, coming to check the hallway again.
Yet nothing.
Luka then stops in the middle of his room, the window illuminating the bright white light of the moon, engraving the now dark figure of Luka. With his hands crossed and one on his chin in a classic thinking manner, he starts to think—
"○Am I this paranoid that I started hearing stuff? But then again, I'm sure this isn't a dream as well," he pondered.
The camera now cutting in front of Luka, almost right in his face. He continues—
"○Maybe it was a bird? No, not possible. The sounds were way too heavy."
"Hmm... honestly, what is with this day?" Luka again hit with the spiral of this weird night.
The camera now shifts to the left, slowly pulling back into the same side-profile position it previously held, but this time, it's tighter, closer to Luka.
Behind him, right in the moon's piercing white light, a silhouette peeks from the edge of the window frame. Human almost, but not entirely. Something's off. And for a brief moment only we can see this silhouette.
"Alright, time for sleep. Enough of this silliness," Luka utters. his voice sounding thin in the empty room.
Not before he checks the door and the window one last time.
He turns toward the camera, then opposite to the window.
"I guess I was too jumpy about nothi-"
He froze.
The camera catching the exact micro-second his pupils dilate.
The reaction to what he saw had a delay.
A standoff. Both he and the silhouette were not moving.
This time Luka didn't sweat or panic. He just felt cold.
His feet and hands, ears and nose, his breath—as if he was standing in the Arctic. A sweat ran down next to his eye—a cold sweat.
His eyes were open wide, wide like seeing a ghost.
A sound broke the silence—
Grrriirss—
Krrkkkrr, krrrr—
Weird noises came from the direction of the creature.
Luka still standing. The camera pans in even closer, almost uncomfortably tight on his face, as if trying to hear the sound of his thoughts.
"○Why... I.. I.. can't move. A single.. muscle. What is that thing!?" His mind was all over the place.
The air felt heavy, the pressure almost physical, but not like the events that happened till now heavy, this was a different type, like diving in the depths of the ocean in the middle of the mariana trench. Any movement felt like it would result in certain death.
.
.
.
"○Move, MOVE!! Why aren't my legs moving? What is.. this? I feel so much pressure." Panicking. "○Is it from that? That—thing, is that what's making me so tense?"
.
.
"○It's.. impossible, my body won't even budge."
The atmosphere still tense as if diving even deeper in the ocean deafening almost.
.
.
.
Breaking the deafening silence again was the dark silhouette—
Garrrgsgsss—
Krsss, karggssss—
The creature, as if it itself has emotions, starts to make sounds. It finally moves. Now his body making weird sounds, not natural to the ear. Jumping on all fours, making clicking noises on the balcony and leaping away from the window into the night.
The camera holds on the empty window for a short beat.
Silence.
For who knows what time this night.
Luka, still not being able to move, slowly turns his head toward the window. Eyes full of terror. Realizing the creature left, only then does his body relieve the tension, granting his limbs back in his command.
"What the hell just happened, what was that!?" Luka asks himself.
"Why couldn't I move there? Nah, scratch that. Why did it just leave?" A more curious question appears.
"Was it... scared? Or maybe just confused like me."
"○What am I doing? There's no time for thinking. I need to tell someone this."
Now with the pressure off, Luka moves to his door and into the hallway. His hand reaching for his parents bedroom. But—
he stops.
For a second he thinks. What would he even say. What would they think of his story, like straight out of a farytale.
"○No, what am i doing this is not the move." Luka thinks to himself. "○Plus it's not like i even saw anything, just something moving on my window."
"○...well it growled and the noises it made..they were there yes. But it's not like i have proof."
He steps back. Thinking on what to do next.
"Yeaa, same goes for the police." he says under his breath.
"○The only real thing i can do now is get proof."
He starts to walk back to his room again.
The silence was loud.
Getting to his room, and peeking the door he starts looking for his phone. Finding it on the side of his desk.
He grabs it.
And starts walking toward his window, each step taking a tool on him. But this time there is no pressure.
As he comes right on the window putting his hands and poping his head out, he starts to look around, alert. Looking in the neighbourhood for the creature.
But it was nowhere to be found.
He pushed the window open a little further and leaned out, scanning the quiet street below.
The night was still. Streetlights cast long, pale circles over the empty road and the silent rows of houses. The wind barely moved the leaves of the trees.
He searched the darkness.
The creature had been there. He was sure of it.
But instead—
Something else caught his eye. A small figure walked slowly along the sidewalk.
Luka squinted.
A girl.
?
She looked young—elementary school age at most. She moved down the pavement in small, uneven steps, her arms hanging loosely by her sides.
Luka frowned.
"What…?"
It made no sense.
Why would a little girl be outside alone in the middle of the night?
He leaned farther out the window, trying to see better.
The girl kept walking.
Slow. Unsteady.
Then Luka noticed something strange. She wasn't walking normally.
Her body swayed from side to side with each step, like someone struggling to keep balance. Like someone drunk.
Luka's confusion deepened.
"Is she… okay?" continuing. "Could this night get any weirder?"
He focused harder, narrowing his eyes.
The streetlight above her flickered slightly as she passed beneath it.
That's when he saw her face.
Or rather—
Her eyes.
Pale. Empty.
They looked washed out, almost ghostlike in the dim light.
And worse—
They didn't move.
They didn't blink.
They didn't react to anything around her.
The girl kept swaying forward, her expression completely blank.
A chill crawled up Luka's spine.
"What the…"
He tried to make sense of it.
"○Sleepwalking? Sick? Drugged?"
None of it felt right.
Then something else moved, just barely.
A shift in the darkness near one of the houses.
Luka's eyes snapped to it.
A bush rustled softly.
Something darker than the shadows themselves slid out from behind it.
Low.
Quiet.
Moving slowly.
Like a predator.
Like a stealthy cat closing in on a mouse.
From the dark the thing crept closer to the girl, keeping low to the ground, its shape almost blending with the night.
The camera cuts to a 'Macro Shot' of the pavement.
As the creature slides out from the bushes, the environment seems to reject it—
The dew on the leaves turns black and shrivels as the creature passes. A dog barking from the house nearby, as the creature passes its porch, the dog starts to whine. Tucking its ears and running inside the house.
The street lamp above flickering cutting between darkness and the things black skin on its limbs.
Luka's stomach dropped.
Before he even realized it—
His body moved.
With one sudden motion, he climbed onto the windowsill and jumped. Down from the window. Over the balcony railing. Into the garden below.
The camera follows Luka as he clears the railing. For a heartbeat, there is no sound just the whistle of wind in his ears.
Halfway through the fall, his brain finally caught up.
"○What the hell am I doing?!"
Luka's eyes widened.
He expects the jarring, bone-snapping impact of a two-story fall. He braces, his muscles coiling instinctively.
Panic shot through him as the ground rushed up.
THUD—
He landed hard.
"○What.. what was i think -"
Before he even catches his thoughts his body launches.
Pain jolted up his legs—but he barely felt it. Because his body didn't stop.
He pushed himself up instantly and sprinted forward.
"○No—wait—stop—STOP!"
Luka tried to slow down.
Tried to regain control.
But his instincts refused.
The camera switches to a Back-Profile High-Speed Tracking Shot behind Luka shaking with the rythm of his steps. The background, the neighbor's fence, the parked cars, the mailboxes—
becomes a smeared blur of light and colors.
His legs carried him straight to the garden wall.
Without hesitation—
He jumped it in one swift motion.
Dropping onto the sidewalk on the other side and breaking into a run toward the girl. His thoughts crashed against his instincts like two forces fighting for control.
"○This is insane," he kept thinking to himself. "○What am I doing?"
"That thing-" he tried to say.
But his body didn't stop. He sprang forward.
Ahead of him, the creature was closing in.
Closer.
And closer.
The girl still walked forward, unaware.
"○I'm... I'm too fast. I'm going to hit her!"
He's closing the distance to the girl fast, it's too fast. His heart isn't just thumping anymore, it's a drumroll.
He has to consciously fight his own momentum, his heels digging into the asphalt and kicking up dust as he tries to "brake" before he accidentally kills the girl he's trying to save.
Then—
The creature lunged.
In one sudden explosive motion, it sprang toward her.
But Luka reached her first. He was faster.
He lunged and grabbed her in his arms, safely, just as the creature tried to engulf her from where she had been standing.
Tumbling and rolling on the ground from the speed and power he built up from his sprint, the girl still in his arms, not letting her go. Eventually hitting a wall.
Luka bolted up on his knee, checking up on the girl. Still pale, still as if in a daze.
Luka now focused down at the girl, his heart pounding violently in his chest.
"Hey!"
He shook her.
Once. Twice. Three times.
"Hey! Snap out of it!"
The girl's head jerked slightly as he shook her again.
Her eyes flickered.
Then suddenly—
Focus returned to her.
She gasped softly, blinking in confusion. Luka didn't waste a second.
"There's no time," he said urgently. "You need to run."
The girl looked terrified, but also confused, not knowing where she was.
But she nodded.
And ran.
Her small footsteps disappeared down the street.
Luka still wondering why he's doing all this says. "Why am I even here, I'm no hero and this isn't something i would ever do." contemplating his actions.
Only then did Luka turn around.
Slowly.
Facing the thing behind him.
He looked up.
And for the first time since the window encounter—
He saw it clearly.
It was not human.
Not even close.
Its body was twisted and wrong, like several shapes forced together into something unnatural. Its limbs bent strangely, and its skin looked uneven in the dim light.
Its fingers stretched outward—
And from each one protruded sharp, fan-like extensions, thin and blade-like.
Its breath heavy you could smell the predatory scent coming from it from a mile away.
But the worst part was its face. Its mouth.
It opened outward in several splitting sections—
A hollow, monstrous opening lined with rows of jagged teeth.
The creature stood there, staring at him. Luka felt the pressure immediately.
Heavy.
Unreal.
The air warm. The smell of th dead hit his nose.
His chest tightened as adrenaline surged through him yet again.
His mind struggled to process what his eyes were seeing.
"This… can't be real, right?"
But the thing in front of him was breathing.
Moving.
Watching him.
And Luka realized.
It hit him like a rock—
This thing in front of him was an unknown creature. Unlike any other animal on this planet. Not close.
Feeling its presence and the unknowns that had happened until now, the dots started connecting.
This was it.
Unknown.
Terrifying.
Dangerous.
Sending out danger signals to his body.
Luka's memory flashed.
Without a doubt, this thing in front of him was a...
His mind raced back to the glowing screen. The newsflash, the pictures he'd been looking at. The anonymous comment. The word no one had heard of until now.
"A..."
All of his sensors pointing to that one single word.
It was...
A
.
"Yes, it has to be..."
.
.
"A..."
.
.
.
.
"Darkin."