The rain became relentless, pelting down in frigid sheets as the party staggered inside the abandoned school's dimly illuminated corridor. The sound of the door's rusted hinges echoed, and Sam, little and trembling, looked at Mia, his eyes wide with mute curiosity. Zoe's towering and sturdy frame walked purposefully in front of them, her fist clamped around a makeshift blade.
Inside, it became still. The walls were worn and peeling, with paintings depicting long-forgotten memories. Desks and chairs lay scattered, the relics of lives that once hummed through those halls. Most effectively, the smooth crunch of footsteps broke the silence.
"All and sundry, gather up," Zoe said. Her voice, chilly and piercing, had a hardness that kept the group moving as tiredness clawed at their bones. She scanned the distance with sharp, watchful eyes. "That is where we are staying for the night. "Mia, take Sam and installation over there," she said, pointing to a nook with ancient lockers lining the wall, providing some cover. "I'll preserve watch."
Mia gently urged Sam to nestle down against her coat, using her fingers as a pillow. He hadn't spoken since that truck, and his features appeared faded in the dim light of her flashlight.
"Hey," she said quietly, brushing a stray lock of hair off his brow. "It's going to be ok."
However, Sam's quiet became heavy, weighted by shadows she couldn't touch. He turned aside and curled himself tighter.
Meanwhile, Zoe paced the entrance, shoulders stiff. She kept her gaze fixed, searching for any glimmer of movement in the shadows, any sound that could indicate danger. Her eyes were large, unfocused, and keen, as if she had been transported to another world.
Mia across the room was also trembling. Her visions were flowing faster now, shards slipping within and out of recognition, each more frightening than the last. She forced her eyes shut, feeling them approach again - the walls around her appeared to fade into shadow, and inside them, twisted faces and blazing eyes stared down back at her, clawing for her and screaming things she couldn't comprehend.
A voice broke through her darkened thoughts.
"I see things when I sleep, too," Sam said softly, scarcely audible.
Mia's heart tightened. "Do you?" She muttered, barely audible.
He nodded, looking at her with knowledge that much exceeded his years. "however yours... they come real, don't they?"
She held her breath, frightened to respond, afraid he knew already. A tremor passed through her. Sam's words lingered, settling into a profound worry she couldn't shake.
All at once, a sound broke the silence: the clatter of something outside, the scrape of metal on metal. Zoe spun, her stance ready, her eyes narrowing as she tried to see through the darkness. Mia's hand tightened over Sam's shoulder, drawing him closer and automatically sheltering.
"Live quiet," Zoe muttered, lifting her palm as a token of relaxation. She slid toward the door, her steps quiet and controlled.
The minutes passed slowly, each second ticking loudly in Mia's ears. She couldn't get the image of the shadows stretching and waiting out of her thoughts. In that silence, something altered, something intangible yet undeniable. She felt it like a pulse in the air.
Then, like a bolt of cold through her veins, a voice pierced the silence, this time from behind her rather than the doorway.
"Mia."
She turned around, her heart thumping, but the room was empty. Her thoughts must be sending indications, she reasoned, shaking her head to clear it.
But suddenly she sensed something cold and close. Something turned into staring. Sam clung to her side, his small hands pressing against her arm.
"Mia," he said again, his voice cracking. "I... I don't suppose we're on my own."
The words sent shivers down her spine. Her grip on him tightened, and she looked at Zoe, hoping for a clue. But Zoe was already at the entrance, checking the perimeter.
As if on cue, footsteps echoed along the empty corridor outside, gradually and deliberately. They sounded too close, too realistic.
Zoe's expression stiffened. "We need to transport."
Mia shook her head and pulled Sam closer. "We will not outrun them in this rain and darkness. "We need to wait it out."
Sam shuddered in resistance to her, pressing his face against her shoulder. His breathing became shallow and rapid.
"Do you feel it too?" she said gently, her pulse racing with unspoken terror.
He nodded, his lips squeezed tightly. "They're seeking out us, Mia... they want..."
"Shh," she muttered, wrapping her palms over him as a shadow moved outside the window, a sliver of black in the pouring rain.
Then Zoe appeared, her voice quiet and unwavering. "Pay attention." We stay close and quiet, and if anything comes through that door..."
She left the danger striking, her eyes impossible to read, but Mia understood. On this planet, there was only one certainty: they would do whatever it needed to survive.
They sat in horrific quiet, the thunderstorm obscuring their breathing. Every flash of lightning lighted the area, creating weird shadows that twisted over the walls.
Mia couldn't take the silence for much longer. "Zoe, what do you notice while you sleep?" she inquired, the question surprising even herself.
Zoe didn't respond right away. Her jaw clinched, and her gaze became faraway, as if she were staring at something far away, something she may wish to forget.
"Nothing proper," she said in the end, her voice taut.
Another roar of thunder, closer now. The wind howled through the smashed windows, and Mia believed she saw someone standing just beyond the glass, peering in with soulless eyes. Her pulse skipped a beat, and she or he looked again, but the shadow had vanished.
Zoe shifted alongside her and took out a small, pointed bit of metal. "Get some rest, Mia. I'll save the watch."
Mia hesitated, looking over at Sam, whose eyes were already drooping from exhaustion. She lay him down, staying close, her gaze drawn to Zoe, who stood rigid, her stare set on the darkness beyond.
The minutes passed with the help of. Mia's eyelids were heavy, and her thoughts clouded as she fell into a restless sleep.
A scream pierced the darkness, breaking through the thunder.
Mia snapped awake, her eyes wide with fear. Zoe became alert and ready with her weapon. "Live returned!" she exclaimed, and the words were filled with a ferocity that made Mia freeze.
In the doorway stood a determined figure, tall and silent, staring at them with bloodless, soulless eyes.
"Mia!" Zoe's voice grew sharper. "Get Sam out of here. Now."
Mia grabbed Sam and pulled him close as she backed away, but her glance was drawn to the discern. She recognized that face, that empty expression. It turned out to be someone she'd seen before, but where?
"Run!" Zoe's command snapped her out of it, and she or he rushed, pulling Sam with them, their toes booming through the corridor as they staggered into the night.
However, when they fled, Mia couldn't shake the feeling that they hadn't actually escaped. The image, with its empty expression, was seared in her mind, a shadow that followed them with each step.
The storm raged behind them, and in its screaming gus
ts, Mia heard something else: a faint but pure voice, promising that this was far from done.