A Few Hours Later…
Under a storm-darkened sky, massive stone slabs loomed like silent sentinels, spaced irregularly across the barren land.
A boy darted across the open field, his movement so fast it blurred into the night.
With effortless agility, he vaulted over a towering gate and landed silently on the other side, weaving between trees and jagged rocks with the precision of muscle memory.
A distant thunderclap rolled across the heavens, and a streak of lightning briefly illuminated his face, sharp features half-obscured in motion before he vanished again into the shadows.
The weather had shifted.
The clouds swelled with an unspoken rage, promising rain soon.
The streets of the nearby district were still.
Midnight had stripped the world of activity, and the blackout that consumed both moonlight and electricity left homes steeped in silence or not.
Behind drawn curtains, the absence of light stirred primal instincts.
