Chapter 2: The First Kill
The world was on fire.
Astro sprinted through the ruined streets, his breath ragged, legs burning from exhaustion. His mind was running as fast as his body, trying to piece together how everything had collapsed so quickly.
Just hours ago, the city had been normal cars honking, people laughing, life moving forward as it always had. Now, all that remained were screams, crumbling buildings, and the scent of blood and smoke thick in the air.
Flaming cars lined the streets, twisted metal and shattered glass reflecting the eerie red glow of the fractured sky. The once-thriving city was unrecognizable, reduced to a graveyard of the past.
"Find Mom. Find safety."
The thought repeated over and over in his head, a desperate prayer against the horror unfolding around him.
But survival had other plans.
At first, he heard nothing but his own frantic breathing and the distant wails of those who weren't fast enough to escape.
Then the chittering began.
A sickening, insect-like clicking echoed through the empty streets. Sharp. Unnatural. Wrong.
Astro skidded to a stop near an overturned truck, his heart hammering against his ribs. The sound wasn't human.
Something was close.
He swallowed hard, trying to quiet his breath as he scanned the ruined landscape. The flickering light of a half-destroyed streetlamp barely illuminated the crumbling buildings, casting deep shadows across the pavement.
And then, he saw it.
Perched on the remnants of a shattered wall above, a creature unlike anything he had ever seen twitched in the dim light.
Its body was an unholy hybrid of mantis and wolf, its elongated limbs thin but muscular, covered in jagged black exoskeleton. Its gaping mouth stretched unnaturally wide, lined with rows of uneven, serrated teeth, still glistening with the remains of its last meal.
Worst of all were its eyes—six of them, glowing with a predatory hunger, locked directly onto him.
Astro's stomach dropped.
It's hunting me.
Slowly, carefully, he stepped backward. Don't run. Running triggers predators.
But just as he placed his foot down
A loose rock cracked beneath his shoe.
The monster's head snapped toward him instantly.
For a fraction of a second, the world held still. Then It lunged.
Astro barely had time to react before the creature was on him. He threw himself to the side, hitting the pavement just as razor-sharp claws tore through the air where his head had been.
A deep gash appeared in the asphalt beside him.
His hands scraped against the ground as he scrambled backward, mind racing. His chest rose and fell in rapid, panicked breaths.
"No weapon. No plan. No way to fight."
The monster stalked closer, its movements eerily precise. Its mouth parted slightly, dripping thick saliva onto the cracked pavement. The stench of rotting flesh filled Astro's nostrils, making his stomach churn.
"I'm going to die."
His body screamed for him to move, to run, to do something, but he was frozen trapped in the gaze of a predator.
Then his eyes landed on the wreckage of a car nearby.
The windshield was shattered, and from the broken frame, a metal rod jutted out sharp, rusted, a potential weapon.
His heart pounded.
There. That's my only chance.
He didn't think he moved.
The moment Astro lunged for the rod; the creature sprang forward.
The world blurred as his fingers closed around the cold steel, yanking it free with a desperate pull. He turned just as the monster's claws sliced through the air toward him.
With a wild, panicked yell, he swung.
The metal rod slammed into the creature's face with a sickening crack.
It let out a piercing shriek, stumbling backward. A deep gash had opened across its middle eye, thick black ichor oozing from the wound.
Astro was panting, chest rising and falling erratically.
He had hurt it.
The realization hit him like a punch to the gut. He could fight back. He could survive.
But the victory was short-lived.
The monster recovered too fast. Its wound seemed to boil and seal itself, the bleeding slowing within seconds.
Then it snarled.
It wasn't in pain anymore. It was angry.
And it charged again.
Astro barely had time to react before the monster was on him.
He raised the metal rod, but this time, the creature was faster—it knocked him off balance, sending him stumbling backward.
The world spun as he hit the ground hard, the air rushing from his lungs. The rod slipped from his fingers, clattering against the pavement.
The monster loomed over him, its glowing eyes narrowing. It had him cornered.
"No. No, no, no!"
His fingers desperately grasped at the ground, searching—there! His hand closed around a chunk of broken concrete.
With every ounce of strength left in his body, he swung it upwards.
The concrete slammed into the monster's jaw, momentarily staggering it.
Astro didn't waste time. He lunged for the metal rod again, gripping it tightly with both hands.
"Move first."
He drove the rod forward.
The rusted metal pierced straight into the creature's chest, sinking deep into the soft flesh beneath its armoured exoskeleton.
The monster let out a guttural screech, thrashing violently. Thick, black ichor splattered across Astro's face, burning his skin with its unnatural heat.
But he didn't let go.
With a final, desperate push, he forced the rod deeper.
The monster let out a final, wheezing gasp then fell limp.
Silence.
Astro stayed frozen, gripping the rod with bloodied hands. His breath came in ragged, uneven gasps. His arms ached, his legs felt like jelly, his whole body was trembling.
He had done it.
He had killed.
The body of the creature lay still at his feet, its lifeless eyes staring into nothing. Black blood pooled beneath it, the stench of death filling the air.
Astro's stomach twisted. He stumbled backward, his breath hitching.
His first kill.
And it wouldn't be his last.
The distant roars of more creatures echoed through the ruined city.
Astro forced himself to stand.
He was alive.