How did I end up in this haunting situation?
It was July 31st.
Yesterday, a violent lightning storm swept through the city, frying most of the building's circuitry and taking out nearly eighty percent of my electrical appliances, including the fridge and everything inside it.
When I tried to salvage the day with one of my emergency cup noodles, I managed to spill the entire thing into the sink. With no other option, I decided to eat out only to accidentally step on my ATM card while searching for my wallet, snapping it clean in half.
Left with no other choice, I headed to the nearby convenience store, where I ran into my neighbor, who also happened to be the cashier there. After a bit of small talk — and a minor accident along the way — I left in a hurry, worried that Blair might get desperate enough to start rapping again.
Nothing was wrong at that moment. There were no signs that anything bad was about to happen.
Yes, that was the case. Then why…
"Everyone, run for your lives!"
"It's a monster break! A monster break!"
Screams echoed through the streets as people scattered in panic, running without direction or reason. This wasn't some armed maniac shooting at random civilians. In fact, that kind of nightmare would've been preferable to what was unfolding before me.
Crack!
A massive tear split through the air like a knife slicing into cardboard but this was no flimsy piece of paper.
This was the dimensional boundaries of the reality being forcefully split apart.
A Monster Outbreak.
That was the term usually used for when a Gate remained uncleared for too long. Eventually, the entities from the Outer Dimension gained the freedom to cross over into our world.
Normally, the correct reaction to such an event was to run as far and as fast as possible. My instincts screamed at me to do just that but my body refused to move no matter what.
It was as if someone had glued the soles of my feet to the ground.
What the hell was wrong with me? Did I want to die?
Of course not. If I truly wanted to die, I would've done so long ago during that dark period of humanity's collapse. But I didn't. I survived. I persevered.
So why…
"Ah."
And then, I understood.
Trying to run was pointless. Monsters were far beyond the strength of lowly humans like us; they could catch up in an instant. In other words, if you weren't already far from whatever emerged from the Gate, you were as good as dead.
Everyone here was going to die. I finally understood the hopelessness of the situation.
"Curses!"
The word barely left my lips before a massive silhouette shifted within the Gate, moving forward with an ominous intent.
Thud! Thud!
The ground vibrated beneath me with each step the creature took, sending shockwaves through my body. Its size was impossible to comprehend at first glance, towering above buildings, limbs that seemed to stretch endlessly, and a presence that made the air itself feel heavy.
Screams cut through the chaos around me, some shrill, some guttural, as people ran without knowing where to go. Cars screeched, tires skidded, glass shattered. I wanted to move and join the fleeing crowd, but my feet remained rooted in place stubbornly.
A shadow fell over me. My heart skipped a beat.
The vile creature finally crossed the Gate and its appearance became more clearer, perhaps more terrifying than its silhouette, towering over me like a nightmarish omen of death.
A bit stunned, I took a subconscious step back.
The creature before me was a grotesque mockery of anatomy, as if nature had vomited it onto reality. Its legs were twisted and spindly, each joint bending in the wrong direction, ending in split hooves that dug deep into the ground with every step. Its torso was bloated, hunched, and covered in matted, bristly skin that shimmered with a sickly green hue, stretched taut over protruding bones.
Four arms sprouted at uneven intervals — two long, gangly limbs tipped with hooked, blackened talons that scraped the earth, and two shorter, stubby arms that twitched constantly, the fingers ending in ragged stumps as if it had chewed its own hands. Fleshy sacs hung from its sides, pulsating in time with a heartbeat that thudded in my chest, and from these sacs oozed a thick, glimmering ichor that hissed as it hit the assault.
There was a gaping, split maw stretched unnaturally across its face, lined with serrated teeth jagged and crooked like broken glass. Between the jagged edges, a dozen tiny, lidless eyes twitched erratically, milky-white with a faint pink glow, scanning everything around them with insect-like indifference.
From its jaw hung long, sinewy tendrils, wriggling like living worms. The scene was shockingly vivid as, unfortunately, I was among the unlucky few closest to the monstrosity, trapped in a nauseating first-row seat.
Damnit. This is insane, I thought, my legs stiff and unresponsive.
Following that thought, all hell broke loose. The creature lunged and swung its deadly claws through the air toward my general direction. At that moment, adrenaline finally kicked in, and my body obeyed. I threw myself sideways, narrowly escaping its devastating blow.
The split-second move saved my life. Its claws, each as long as a sword, ripped through others mere moments later, spraying blood in violent arcs. Drenched in the hot, metallic torrent, I hit the ground and rolled beneath a nearby car, gasping for breath.
'Please don't notice me. Please don't notice me. Please don't notice me.'
Running wasn't an option. If I tried, I'd be caught before I even got far. But staying hidden wasn't any safer either, there was every chance I'd be found and torn apart under here.
No matter what I chose, death hovered close. My decision hadn't come from logic; it was pure instinct, a desperate act born from fear rather than reason.
So, for that reason alone, I prayed for my survival.
And somehow it worked.
Only shadows flickered beneath the car, but it was clear the monstrosity hadn't noticed me. A deafening chorus of screams tore through the air. Most likely, it had gone after the people still out in the open. Their panicked cries and frantic footsteps had drawn its attention away from me.
I couldn't even say I was grateful because people were dying so I could live.
...It was revolting.
Memories of those times surfaced, and I clenched my teeth.
'Dammit. Dammit. Dammit. Is hiding like a rat all I can do?'
The answer, of course, was obvious. A powerless nobody like me couldn't do anything; not fight, not protect, not even buy time for others to escape. I was simply too weak to make a difference.
So I stayed silent, bit my lip, and waited.
I waited, I really waited and I waited some more.
Seconds bled into minutes, each one dragging by excruciatingly. My heart hammered in my chest so violently I thought it might give me away. The stench of burnt rubber and blood filled the air, thick enough to make me gag.
Outside, chaos continued. The creature's guttural roars reverberated through the street, followed by the sickening crunch of collapsing metal and bone. Every sound was a reminder that I was still alive and that others weren't.
Through the narrow gap beneath the car, I glimpsed the monster's massive legs as it lumbered past. Its hooves crushed what remained of the road, leaving steaming impressions in the asphalt.
Pools of blood collected in the cracks, mingling with mangled limbs and severed body parts. Some victims were torn beyond recognition, no longer human in any meaningful sense.
...Then, suddenly, an eerie silence fell over the street.