Day 4: Learning the Hard Way
As dusk began to fall, Eli found himself wandering the ruins again, this time with a little more confidence. He had learned the creatures' patterns, their habits. They were fast, but predictable in some ways. And while he couldn't fight them, he could outrun them. He could escape.
But when he saw another survivor sprinting toward him, pursued by three Wraithkin, his heart dropped. The woman was fast, but the creatures were gaining on her, their long, bony limbs stretching out as they closed in.
Without thinking, Eli darted into a nearby alley, crouching behind a pile of debris. He had learned to stay hidden, to wait for danger to pass.
But this time, something was different. The woman's desperate panting, her terrified gasps, struck something deep inside him.
Eli's breath hitched. He couldn't just leave her.
He scanned the alley, looking for something, anything, that could help. His eyes landed on a broken ladder hanging from a nearby fire escape. An idea sparked in his mind. Run. Distract them.
It was risky, but what other choice did he have?
He burst from the alley, sprinting toward the woman and yelling at the top of his lungs. "Hey! Over here!"
The Wraithkin froze for a moment, their heads snapping toward Eli. It worked. Without wasting a second, Eli led them toward the alley, ducking and weaving between the debris. He could feel their presence behind him, could hear their hissing breaths, but he didn't look back.
Just as he reached the ladder, he jumped, grabbing onto the bottom rung and pulling himself up. The Wraithkin screeched as they reached the alley, their long arms swiping at him, but Eli was too fast. He climbed higher, heart pounding, until he was out of their reach.
Below him, the creatures hissed in frustration, circling the alley before slinking away into the shadows.
Eli climbed down cautiously once they were gone, his body shaking from the adrenaline. When he reached the ground, the woman was there, watching him with wide eyes.
"Thanks," she said, her voice breathless but steady.
Eli shrugged, trying to mask his own nerves. "I couldn't just let them get you."
The woman gave him a small, grim smile. "You're not bad at running."
Eli chuckled darkly, shaking his head. "It's all I'm good at."
The woman extended her hand. "Cass. You?"
"Eli."
Cass's gaze lingered on him, something unreadable in her eyes. "You've got instincts," she said. "You stick with me, and I'll teach you the rest."
Day 5: Learning the Hard Way
Eli could barely sleep that night. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the Wraithkin's glowing, empty gaze fixed on him. The image of the creatures stalking through the streets, their long, bony fingers reaching for him, replayed over and over in his mind. Even though he had survived, even though he had somehow outwitted them, it didn't feel like a victory. It felt like he had barely escaped by the skin of his teeth—and Cass had been the real reason he'd made it out alive.
Cass, for her part, hadn't said much after their narrow escape. They had huddled in a small, crumbling shelter, some old supply room deep in the subway tunnels, and she had stayed up most of the night on watch. Eli had tried to rest, but his body ached, and his mind refused to quiet down.
When morning finally came—though the perpetual red sky outside made it hard to tell time anymore—Cass nudged him awake with the heel of her boot. "Get up," she said, her voice low but firm. "We need to move."
Eli groaned, pushing himself to a sitting position. His muscles were sore, his legs heavy from all the running, but he didn't dare complain. Cass was already gathering their supplies, checking her weapons and preparing for another day of survival.
As they prepared to leave the shelter, Eli hesitated. "Cass," he said, his voice hoarse from lack of sleep, "I don't know how to fight. I mean, I can run, but I don't know how to… defend myself. Not like you do."
Cass glanced at him, her expression unreadable. For a moment, Eli thought she might tell him that running was enough—that maybe he could keep relying on his ability to escape. But instead, she sighed and shook her head.
"You're going to have to learn," she said simply. "Running will only get you so far. Eventually, you'll be cornered. And when that happens, you'd better know how to fight back."
Eli swallowed hard. He knew she was right, but the idea of facing one of those creatures head-on made his stomach churn. "How do you do it?" he asked. "How do you keep your cool when they're right in front of you?"
Cass gave a bitter smile. "You don't. You just push through it. Fear doesn't go away, Eli. It's always there. But you use it. You let it fuel you."
She tossed him a small, makeshift weapon—a short blade, carved from what looked like scrap metal. It was crude, but sharp. Eli turned it over in his hands, feeling the weight of it. He had never held a weapon before, and it felt foreign, wrong in his grip.
"Today," Cass said, crossing her arms as she looked him over, "you're going to learn to fight. I'll teach you the basics. Then we'll see how you hold up."
They spent most of the morning in a narrow, secluded alley that Cass deemed safe enough for training. Eli's body ached from exhaustion, but he pushed himself to focus. Cass was a tough teacher—harsh, with little patience for mistakes. Every time Eli hesitated, every time his strikes were too slow or sloppy, she barked at him to try again.
"Faster," Cass snapped, stepping behind him and grabbing his wrist to adjust his grip. "You're swinging like you're afraid of it. You don't hesitate when you're up against one of those things. You hit fast, and you hit hard."
Eli gritted his teeth and swung again, the blade cutting through the air with a sharp whoosh. His arms felt heavy, and his shoulders burned from the effort, but he refused to stop. The image of the Wraithkin tearing through the city, those empty eyes boring into him, fueled him. He couldn't just run forever. Eventually, he'd have to stand and fight.
But the more he practiced, the more doubt crept into his mind. No matter how many times he swung the blade or followed Cass's instructions, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was hopelessly outmatched. Cass moved like she was born to fight—fluid, precise, deadly. Eli felt clumsy, slow, and weak in comparison.
At one point, after hours of grueling practice, he dropped the blade, panting. "I'm… I'm not cut out for this," he muttered, wiping sweat from his forehead. "I can barely hold my own. What good am I if I can't even—"
"You're not supposed to be good yet," Cass interrupted, her voice sharp but not unkind. "No one's born knowing how to survive this. It takes time. And you've already survived longer than most."
Eli frowned, unsure whether to take that as a compliment or an indictment of his luck. "But I'm only good at running," he admitted, frustration seeping into his voice. "I don't know how to fight like you do. All I've done is survive by running away."
Cass stepped closer, her gaze hard. "Then keep running when you have to. But if you're cornered, you fight. You can't give up because you're afraid."
Eli looked down at the blade in his hand. His grip was unsteady, his arms sore from hours of practice. "And if I'm not fast enough?" he asked quietly.
Cass hesitated for a moment, then spoke, her voice softer. "Then I'll be there. But you have to learn, Eli. You can't just rely on others to save you."
By midday, they were forced to move again. The Wraithkin had been unusually quiet for the past few hours, and that made Cass uneasy. "When they're this quiet," she muttered as they moved through the ruined streets, "they're hunting."
Eli shivered. The idea of those creatures hunting, silently stalking them through the city, made his skin crawl. He clutched the blade in his hand, though he doubted it would do much good if they were caught. Cass, on the other hand, moved with calm confidence, her eyes scanning their surroundings for any sign of danger.
As they rounded a corner, the faint sound of footsteps echoed in the distance. Cass tensed immediately, holding up a hand to stop Eli. "Stay quiet," she whispered, her eyes narrowing as she listened.
Eli's heart raced in his chest as the footsteps grew louder, heavier. Whoever—or whatever—it was, they were getting closer.
Suddenly, from the shadows, a Wraithkin emerged. It was tall, towering over both of them, its pale, skeletal limbs stretching unnervingly as it glided across the ground. Its glowing white eyes locked onto them, and a low, guttural hiss escaped from its throat.
"Run," Cass ordered, already drawing her bone knife. She didn't wait for Eli to respond, charging toward the creature with terrifying speed.
Eli's instincts screamed at him to flee, but his feet felt rooted to the ground. The Wraithkin moved faster than he expected, its long arms lashing out toward Cass. She dodged its strike with a fluid motion, slashing at its side with her knife.
Eli's breath caught in his throat. I can't just stand here.
His body finally responded, and he turned to run, his heart pounding in his ears. But before he could make it far, a second Wraithkin appeared, cutting off his escape. Its glowing eyes fixed on him, its mouth opening wide in a grotesque, silent scream.
Panic surged through Eli's veins. He fumbled with the blade in his hand, but his limbs felt sluggish, his mind clouded with fear. The creature was closing in fast, its bony fingers reaching for him.
I'm not fast enough, Eli thought, his mind racing. I'm not fast enough to run, not fast enough to fight—
Just as the creature's hand brushed his arm, there was a flash of movement. Cass slammed into the Wraithkin, her knife driving deep into its side. The creature screeched, its body twitching violently as it dissolved into black mist.
"Move!" Cass yelled, grabbing Eli's arm and pulling him away from the alley. "We need to go, now!"
They sprinted through the streets, the sounds of the remaining Wraithkin's screeches echoing behind them. Eli's chest burned, his legs aching from the exertion, but he didn't stop. He couldn't stop.
By the time they found another safe spot—an old, abandoned factory on the edge of the city—Eli was barely standing. He collapsed against the wall, gasping for breath, his entire body trembling with exhaustion and fear.
Cass leaned against the opposite wall, wiping the blood from her knife. "You need to move faster," she said, her voice blunt but without judgment. "Those things don't give second chances."
Eli nodded weakly, still catching his breath. "I'm sorry," he muttered, frustration bubbling up inside him. "I froze. I just… I couldn't—"
"You didn't freeze," Cass interrupted, her voice firm. "You hesitated. There's a difference. But next time? Don't. If you run, you run fast. If you fight, you fight hard."
Eli swallowed, his throat dry. He didn't know how to respond—didn't know if he even believed he could do what she was asking of him.
But when Cass looked at him, there was something in her eyes that steadied him. "You're not alone in this," she said quietly. "I'm not going to let you die out here. But you have to be willing to keep going. You understand?"
Eli nodded, his voice barely a whisper. "Yeah. I get it."
And for the first time, he believed it.