It had been a normal evening. Mellali Mohamed and Alibida Hadjer were winding down after a long day. Their lives, though hectic, were simple. Mellali, a programmer and X-ray tech, had been tapping away at his laptop, while Hadjer, a nurse with dreams of becoming a dentist, sat beside him, leafing through study materials for her exams. They were engaged, about to be married, and life—despite its challenges—seemed to be on track.

That is, until the air in their small apartment shifted.

At first, it was subtle—a low hum that rattled the windows, making Mellali glance up from his screen in confusion. He checked the outlets, the wires, the power. Nothing was out of place, but the sound was growing, buzzing in his skull like the feedback from a bad connection.

Hadjer noticed it too, her brow furrowing. "Is that—?"

Before she could finish, a blinding light burst from Mellali's computer screen, so intense that it seemed to burn the edges of the room away. For a moment, it felt like they were suspended in time, weightless, lost in the light and noise. Then came the falling sensation—like the ground had been ripped out from beneath them.

---

The Arrival:

They hit the ground hard.

The first thing Mellali noticed was the air—cold, sharp, and unnatural. He was lying face down in the dirt, his limbs numb with shock. His heart hammered against his ribs, and his mind raced with fragmented thoughts. Where were they? What just happened?

He blinked, trying to make sense of his surroundings. Dark trees loomed above, their twisted branches clawing at the sky. The wind howled through the forest, carrying with it a bone-chilling cold. The scent of wet earth and decay filled his nostrils.

"Hadjer!" he called out, his voice raw with panic. He scrambled to his feet, disoriented, his legs unsteady beneath him.

"I'm here," came Hadjer's voice, weak but steady. She was lying a few feet away, pushing herself up with trembling hands. Her normally composed face was pale, her eyes wide with fear and confusion. "What... where are we?"

Mellali scanned the forest, his breath coming in short gasps. "I don't know," he said, his mind racing, trying to grasp onto some logic, some explanation. But nothing made sense. They had been at home, safe, just moments ago.

---

The First Threat:

A sudden rustling in the undergrowth snapped them both to attention. Movement—fast, deliberate. Something was out there, watching. Mellali's instincts flared, and without thinking, he grabbed Hadjer's arm and pulled her up.

"Run," he whispered urgently, his heart pounding in his throat.

Hadjer didn't hesitate. Together, they sprinted through the trees, their footsteps pounding against the forest floor. The branches tore at their clothes, and the cold wind bit at their skin, but they didn't stop. The sounds behind them grew louder—something was chasing them.

Panic clawed at Mellali's mind as he ran. He could hear the heavy, unnatural breathing of whatever was pursuing them, its footsteps crashing through the undergrowth. His lungs burned with the cold air, and his mind struggled to focus. They couldn't outrun this thing—not like this.

And then, it happened.

---

The Discovery of Power:

As Mellali ran, something shifted inside him—a strange, foreign sensation that buzzed at the edge of his consciousness. It was like his mind had brushed against something immense and terrifying, a vast ocean of energy that pulsed and swirled just out of reach.

His heart pounded in his chest, his breath coming in ragged gasps. The fear, the desperation—it twisted something loose inside him.

Suddenly, his vision blurred, and he felt a strange pressure build behind his eyes. The world around him began to twist and distort. For a split second, he could see the thing chasing them—a grotesque, shadowy figure with twisted limbs and hollow eyes—before his mind reached out, instinctively, with a force he didn't understand.

CRACK.

A bolt of raw, chaotic energy exploded from Mellali, shooting forward and slamming into the creature. The impact was deafening, and the creature let out a horrific screech as it was flung back into the trees.

Mellali skidded to a stop, gasping for breath. His hands were trembling, and his vision swam with confusion and fear. "What... what just happened?"

Hadjer, breathing heavily beside him, stared at him with wide eyes. "What did you do?"

"I don't know," Mellali said, his voice shaking. He looked down at his hands. They were crackling with faint traces of energy, flickering like static. His heart raced in his chest, the adrenaline surging through him, but there was also something else—a dark, unsettling thrill. Whatever he had done, it had worked.

---

But the danger wasn't over. The creature was already recovering, its twisted form shifting and writhing as it pulled itself back up. The air around them grew colder, and Mellali's head swam with chaos, a strange pressure building in his skull again.

Before he could move, Hadjer grabbed his arm, her eyes sharp. "We need to go. Now."

Mellali nodded, shaking off the dizziness. They didn't need to understand what had just happened—not yet. They just needed to survive.

The Tension Rises:

Mellali's heart pounded as they ran. His legs were burning, lungs aching, but there was no time to stop. He could still hear it—the creature behind them, crashing through the undergrowth. Whatever it was, it was relentless, and Mellali had no idea how long they could keep this up.

Hadjer was right behind him, her breath ragged but controlled. She wasn't a runner, but she wasn't panicking either. That was one of the things Mellali had always admired about her—Hadjer didn't lose her cool, even in the worst situations. She'd seen more than her fair share of emergencies as a nurse, always focused, always practical. But this wasn't an emergency room. This was something else entirely.

The forest around them seemed to close in, the twisted trees throwing long, jagged shadows across their path. Mellali's mind raced, trying to make sense of everything. How did we end up here? He had no answers—only fear and the instinct to survive.

Ahead, Mellali spotted a break in the trees—a narrow path leading deeper into the woods. "This way!" he gasped, pulling Hadjer along with him.

---

The First Sign of Power:

As they turned down the path, Mellali felt a sudden, disorienting pressure in his skull. His vision blurred, and a low hum filled his ears, like static from an old radio. He stumbled, clutching his head.

"Mellali?" Hadjer asked, concern creeping into her voice, but they didn't have time to stop. The creature was still close, its unnatural growls growing louder.

"I—I don't know what's happening," Mellali stammered, his voice shaking. He could feel something stirring inside him, something foreign and terrifying. The pressure in his head was building, and with it came a strange, pulsing energy, like electricity running through his veins.

Instinctively, Mellali reached out with his mind—he wasn't sure how or why, but something inside him surged forward. Suddenly, a flash of chaotic energy burst from his body, like a psychic shockwave. The air around them seemed to ripple, distorting reality for a brief moment.

The creature behind them let out a distorted shriek as the energy hit it, sending it stumbling back.

Mellali gasped, stumbling again, his head spinning from the effort. "What the hell was that?"

Hadjer grabbed his arm, steadying him. "I don't know, but keep moving!"

---

A Practical Instinct:

They kept running, Mellali still reeling from the sudden burst of power. His legs were weak, and the world felt disjointed—like something fundamental had shifted. But Hadjer, though breathing hard, remained focused. She hadn't felt the strange energy that Mellali had, but she didn't need to. Her only concern was getting them out alive.

"I think we can lose it if we find cover," Hadjer said, her voice calm despite the situation. She was scanning the forest, looking for anything they could use. There was no time to wonder about what had just happened with Mellali. Survival first.

They stumbled upon a cluster of rocks, large enough to hide behind but still too exposed to be safe for long.

"This won't hold for long," Hadjer muttered, thinking fast. She had always been the one who remained clear-headed in emergencies, but this... this was a new kind of emergency.

The creature was back on its feet, the sounds of its pursuit echoing through the trees. They were running out of time.

Hadjer's eyes scanned the forest floor, instincts sharp. There was a pile of loose branches nearby, the remnants of a fallen tree. Without a word, she knelt down and began stacking them, trying to create some kind of barrier between them and the monster. Her hands moved quickly, muscle memory from countless hours of first aid and sutures guiding her.

She wasn't thinking about magic or powers. She wasn't even sure that was real yet. But she knew how to stop bleeding and stabilize a wound. Right now, they just needed to stabilize the situation.

---

The Moment of Discovery:

But as she worked, something strange began to happen. As Hadjer stacked the branches, focusing all her energy on building a barrier, she felt a warmth spread through her hands. It was subtle at first, just a tingling sensation that she dismissed as nerves. But then it grew stronger.

She paused, looking down at her hands. The tingling was turning into something else, something... alive. She could feel the ground beneath her, the pull of the earth, the weight of the forest around her. It was like the world was breathing in sync with her movements.

"Mellali," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "Something's... happening."

Mellali, still recovering from his own shock, turned to her. "What do you mean?"

Before she could answer, the ground around them shifted, almost imperceptibly, but enough for her to notice. The branches she had stacked began to intertwine, almost on their own, forming a stronger barrier than she could have built with her hands alone. The earth beneath the rocks seemed to harden, pulling the ground up to shield them further.

Hadjer blinked, her breath catching in her throat. "I didn't... I didn't mean to—"

But it had worked. The creature, now close enough that they could see its twisted form through the gaps in the barrier, snarled in frustration. It slammed against the rocks, but the makeshift wall held.

Mellali's eyes widened, not with fear, but with the same kind of thrilled confusion he had felt earlier. "Hadjer... I think we both have powers."

Hadjer stared at her hands, still trembling from the effort. Her mind raced, but her instincts told her to stay calm. This wasn't a magic spell, not in the way she had always imagined magic would feel. It was just... an extension of her, a natural reaction to the fear and the need to protect Mellali.

But the realization still terrified her.

---

Escaping the Threat:

The creature slammed into the barrier again, harder this time. The rocks shifted, but the earth held firm. For now.

"We need to move," Mellali said, his voice more focused now. He had recovered from his own power surge, though his mind was still buzzing with questions.

Hadjer nodded, her heart still racing. There was no time to process everything now. Whatever had just happened, whatever they had become, they could figure it out later—if they survived.

Together, they slipped away from the barrier, keeping low as they moved through the trees. The creature, confused by the sudden disappearance of its prey, snarled in frustration but didn't give chase. For now, they were safe.

---

The Aftermath:

It wasn't until they had put several miles between themselves and the creature that Mellali and Hadjer finally stopped to catch their breath. They found a small clearing, just big enough to sit and gather their thoughts.

Mellali, still breathing hard, leaned against a tree. "Okay," he said, his voice shaky but determined. "What just happened back there? Because I don't know how to explain it."

Hadjer, still staring at her hands, shook her head slowly. "I don't know either," she admitted. Her voice was soft, but there was a strength behind it. She wasn't the type to panic, even now. "But whatever it is... it's not just you."

They sat in silence for a moment, both of them trying to process what had just happened.

Mellali let out a long breath, his eyes fixed on the horizon. "We need to figure out what this place is," he said. "And what we are now."

Hadjer nodded, her expression serious. "But first," she said quietly, "we need to survive."