Everyone rushed toward the tent where the terrified scream had come from. Milo quickly picked up a large stone from the ground as an improvised weapon, then ran with Jamie toward the scene, his heartbeat already beginning to race.
By the time they got there, a crowd had already gathered around the tent. Without much hesitation, some of the students grabbed the entrance and forcefully pulled it open, tearing the flap badly and leaving it nearly unusable.
A few students immediately entered the tent, while others remained outside, peeping through the torn opening to see what had happened.
Inside, a girl was seated on a blue mattress decorated with flower designs—clearly the one who had screamed. She held her phone tightly in one hand, her mouth slightly open, and her eyes wide with fear as she stared at the screen like she had just seen a ghost.
"Are you okay?" William asked cautiously, glancing around the tent for anything dangerous.
The girl didn't answer immediately.
Her eyes remained locked on the phone screen, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"No, I'm not."
She started fanning herself with one hand like she was about to faint from stress.
"There's no network connection in this place, and I need to check on my page so badly!" she cried out, her voice full of genuine panic.
For a brief moment, the entire tent went silent.
Then the whispers came.
"You screamed for that?"
"You're such an attention seeker."
"You just wasted everyone's time."
Some of the students spoke under their breath, while others didn't even bother lowering their voices. Most of them had expected something serious—maybe a dangerous animal or at least a real emergency—but instead, they had all rushed over because someone couldn't check social media.
But before the students could completely dismiss her, another girl wearing a large sweater slowly pulled out her own phone and frowned.
"Uh… guys, my network connection is gone too."
That single sentence changed the atmosphere almost immediately.
One after another, everyone began pulling out their phones to check. Milo was the only one who couldn't, since he couldn't afford one, so he quietly leaned toward Jamie's screen instead, trying not to look too obvious.
A strange silence slowly settled over the group.
Everyone had the same result.
No signal at all.
"When did you last check your phone?" Milo asked Jamie quietly.
"Last night, before the fog came. The network was stable back then… don't know what's wrong now," Jamie replied, still staring at his screen.
Milo's chest tightened a little.
Suddenly, before anyone could think too deeply about it, the sound of hurried footsteps came from behind them.
Everyone turned at once and saw four boys running toward the campgrounds from the direction of the toilets, breathing so heavily it looked like their hearts were lodged in their throats.
"Guys!" the boy in front shouted as soon as he got close enough, his face drenched in sweat. "Something weird has happened to the city!"
Those words alone were enough to make the entire group go still.
First the network connection vanished, and now something strange was happening to the city too. At this point, it was becoming painfully clear that whatever had happened the previous night had not ended with the fog.
If anything, it had only just begun.
Almost immediately, everyone left the tent and followed the boys toward the toilet side of the campgrounds to see what they meant. Surprisingly, Mr. Knuckles had no interest in coming with them at all. He simply muttered something about needing sleep and stayed behind.
After a short walk, they finally reached the edge of the mountain near the toilets, where there was a wide view overlooking Clinton City below.
And the moment they looked down, the entire group fell silent.
On a normal morning, the city would already be alive. Cars would be filling the streets, people would be moving everywhere, and every corner would be buzzing with activity as workers went about their day.
But today, none of that was there.
The cars were visible, but they weren't moving.
The roads were open, but empty.
The city was so unnaturally quiet that it felt wrong.
Like the entire place had been abandoned overnight.
This has to be some kind of prank… right?
Milo's breathing became uneven as he stared at the strange sight.
Questions immediately stormed through his mind, and that uncertainty made the fear settle deeper into his chest.
Panic spread through the group in a matter of seconds. Some students immediately tried calling their parents again, even though they already knew there was no signal, while others simply stood there frozen, trying desperately to make sense of what they were seeing.
But as more time passed and no explanation appeared, one thing slowly became clearer than ever.
Someone had to go down to the city and find out what was happening.
Almost immediately, one name started coming up more than the others.
Milo.
"Try being useful for once in your life," one of the boys who was always mocking his mother said, stepping closer and flicking Milo on the forehead. "Everything will be fine. Just go down there and find out what's happening."
"I always give your mother my leftovers. It's time for you to repay us," a girl added with a nasty expression.
"If someone has to die, it should be you. We come from rich families, unlike you," another voice said without hesitation.
The words hit Milo hard.
One after another, they stabbed at the same old wounds he had carried for years. As more students slowly turned against him, he could feel the pressure building around him like wolves circling prey. It was already becoming obvious that if he refused, they might even force him to go down there themselves.
Somehow, beneath the fear and humiliation, another thought slowly rose in Milo's mind.
What if this was finally his chance to do something meaningful?
Maybe then they would stop mocking his mother and finally treat her with some respect.
It was a fragile hope, but in that moment, it was enough to steady his heart.
Milo slowly clenched his fists and lifted his head.
"Fine, I'll go."
The moment those words left his mouth, some of the students smiled.
Not with gratitude, but with satisfaction.
As if the poor boy had finally remembered his place and done what he was supposed to do.
Jamie's expression changed immediately after hearing Milo accept. He knew very well that this mission was closer to a death sentence than an act of bravery, and by agreeing to it, Milo was practically walking straight into danger.
"I'll go with him too," Jamie said without hesitation.
Milo turned toward him almost instantly, his eyes practically saying, You don't have to do this.
Jamie's resolve didn't shake.
"Count me in too," Sabrina added a second later.
Milo looked at her in surprise, and just like that, the team had become three.
For a brief moment, the three of them looked at each other, and despite the fear hanging over everything, there was still a trace of the bond they had shared since childhood.
But just as it seemed like the group was complete, Sabrina's boyfriend stepped forward as well.
"Where my baby goes, I go too," William said confidently, resting an arm over her shoulder.
A lot of the girls nearby looked like they wanted to scream from jealousy.
After all, William wasn't just one of the most handsome boys in school—he was also one of the most popular. Seeing him volunteer like that instantly looked romantic in their eyes.
Milo himself wasn't happy about it either.
A part of him had hoped this journey might create some distance between Sabrina and William, but instead, it was probably going to become yet another reminder of how close they were.
Just like that, the group was set.
The four of them would go down and find out what had happened to Clinton City.
…..... ..... ....
The four had already begun descending the mountain. Using their feet carefully as brakes, they slid and stepped their way down the rough path, trying not to lose balance.
Thankfully, there was a road leading through the mountain, which made the journey easier than it could have been.
The conversations, however, were not.
The silence between them was heavy and strangely divided.
Milo and Jamie talked from time to time, but only to each other and only briefly, while Sabrina and William mostly kept to themselves. Even without anyone pointing it out, the distance between the two pairs was obvious.
After a few more careful steps, they finally reached the bottom of the mountain and stepped onto the tarred road leading toward the city.
Small junk bins lined the street, and just ahead, the first buildings of Clinton City were beginning to come into view.
As they kept moving forward, William suddenly noticed something strange lying ahead of them on the road.
"Hey guys," he said, pointing toward it. "What's that?"
Immediately, everyone stopped walking.
At first glance, it looked like some strange dead animal curled into itself like a tire.
None of them had ever seen anything like it before. Even Milo, who had some experience with animals.
"Don't be scared, it's probably just a dead dog or something," William said with a boldness that sounded more like he was trying to impress Sabrina.
Without waiting for anyone else, he started walking toward it.
Milo's expression tightened.
His heart began to pound like he was running a marathon. Every instinct in his body screamed danger.
But before he could say anything—
The strange round thing suddenly moved.
Everyone froze.
Slowly, it began stretching itself across the road in an unnatural way, like it was waking up from sleep.
Then its real shape revealed itself.
It was far too tall.
It had the height of a very large basketball player—maybe even taller.
Its body was covered in hard, segmented skin that looked like layers of natural armor stacked over each other. Its legs resembled those of a cheetah, especially the paws, except they too were covered in the same rough plating.
Its eyes were tiny.
Its ears looked like hanging strings.
And its face…
Its face looked so unnatural that Milo's mind almost refused to accept what he was seeing.
There was no doubt anymore.
This thing was not from Earth.
William, still trying to act brave, walked even closer like he was some kind of beast tamer.
"Hey… what are y—"
He never got to finish.
With a burst of speed so sudden and terrifying that none of them could properly follow it, the creature vanished from where it stood and reappeared in front of him in the same instant—
Then effortlessly kicked William's head clean off his neck before anyone had the chance to react.
For one horrifying second, his body remained standing.
Then blood burst violently into the air.
His severed head spun upward before landing somewhere farther ahead on the road, while the rest of his body collapsed a second later like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
"No!"
Sabrina screamed in disbelief.
Jamie stumbled backward in pure shock.
And Milo…
Milo couldn't even breathe.
Because standing in front of them now was not an animal.
It was a monster.