Cassie's fate may have been predetermined, but how she lived it was in her hands. Her mind was filled with images of Kevin, her younger brother still waiting at home. She knew that what she faced wasn't just about herself but also about the people she loved, about a world teetering on the edge of destruction. She couldn't give up.
Cassie slowly walked to the open window, the night breeze brushing her face. Outside, the sky was still dark, but a faint light on the eastern horizon signaled the coming dawn. The man's words still echoed in her ears. *When dawn comes, everything will change.* Whatever it was, darkness was closing in, and she had to be ready.
Her eyes swept the view beyond the window, trying to find answers hidden within the encroaching darkness. The shadows in the distance, once faint, were now becoming clearer. They moved—not like people walking, but like larger, more terrifying creatures, as if the darkness itself had taken a physical form.
