Zion placed his new companion on a relatively clean desk and summoned a few pieces of chicken breast in front of the little creature. "Take your time eating, little guy. I'm going to explore inside, it might be dangerous. Wait for me to come back." The tiny milk cat looked up at Zion before continuing to eat. Zion smiled and gently patted the cat's head, thinking he'd name it once he returned.
Zion took out his knife and slowly moved deeper into the police station. "What happened here? Did everyone evacuate? It looks like a tornado hit this place." The hallway had a large hole in the wall, revealing scattered files and broken furniture inside.
Gathering his courage, Zion pressed on. "Finding survivors seems unlikely. Maybe I can find some useful gear."
Suddenly, a low growl interrupted his thoughts. "Damn it! What was that? I need to get out of here!" Zion turned and started running. The sound of shattering glass echoed behind him.
"Don't look back, just run," he told himself. Reaching a corner, he risked a glance back. That single glance nearly made him collapse in fear. A massive, hairless creature, as large as a bear, was charging towards him. "What the hell is that thing?" Zion's mind screamed.
The monster had one bleeding, blind eye and a limp, with one of its back legs appearing broken. It wobbled and occasionally crashed into walls. "Move, damn it, move!" Zion was paralyzed with fear for a moment, but survival instincts kicked in, propelling him forward. He quickly reached the entrance. Looking towards the desk where he had left the cat, he saw it was empty. "Looks like the little guy ran off. At least it won't get caught by this monster."
Just as Zion was thinking this, a loud thud came from behind. He turned to see the creature crashing into the wall again, off-balance. "Damn it!" Zion panicked and made a break for the exit, but the scattered desks and chairs turned into obstacles. In his haste, he tripped over a table. The monster was closing in, drooling mixed with blood dripping from its mouth and eye socket. Zion, terrified, crawled backward, watching as the creature raised its paw, ready to strike.
"Am I going to die here? Butter won't help against this thing!" Zion frantically thought of a way out. Just then, a loud "meow!" distracted both him and the creature. The little cat he had fed earlier leaped towards the monster. Zion saw a blur of black as the cat swiped at the creature's good eye. The monster howled in pain, now completely blind, and started thrashing around wildly. After a few seconds, it sniffed the air and began moving toward Zion. "Wait, it can smell me!"
A desperate idea struck him. Zion summoned a handful of white powder in his hand. He covered his nose and mouth with one hand and threw the powder at the creature with the other. The monster sniffed the powder and began sneezing uncontrollably, shaking its head violently. It was momentarily distracted. "Ha! Even monsters can't handle pepper!" Zion thought. He quickly looked at the cat that had saved him, scooped it up, and ran out of the police station. He grabbed a thick branch from the ground and jammed it into the door handles, securing the entrance. Looking through the glass, he saw the monster still thrashing around inside.
"It seems safe for now. I need to get out of here," he muttered. Holding the cat close, Zion took off running again, heart pounding and hands trembling, but with a renewed determination to survive.