The Beacon's glow grew stronger as Artemis approached the outskirts of the city. This part was worse—no buildings still standing, just shattered remnants swallowed by vines and ash.
She paused, narrowing her eyes.
Smoke.
A plume curled upward in the distance, black and thick.
She broke into a run.
Whatever was burning, it wasn't old. Something—someone—had caused it.
The Beacon pulsed faster.
That's when she heard it—screams.
Artemis launched herself over a broken wall, boots skidding across cracked pavement. A group of survivors was under attack. At least three of the creatures circled them, tall and spider-like, with long serrated limbs.
A child was trapped under rubble. A woman—likely her mother—was fighting with a metal pipe, bleeding and frantic.
"No time," Artemis muttered, heart pounding.
Her body moved without hesitation. That something inside her—the power, the instinct—it surged forward.
She leapt into the fray, landing hard behind one of the creatures.
It turned, sensing her—but too late.
Slash.
Her claws burst out as she tore through its torso. The creature shrieked and fell in two.
The others turned, snarling, scuttling toward her.
The survivors screamed.
Artemis didn't flinch.
She met the second creature head-on, sliding beneath its attack and driving her claws upward. It shrieked, convulsed, then went still.
The third—smarter—backed away and hissed, its limbs twitching.
"Come on," Artemis growled, flexing her hands.
It lunged.
She spun and ducked, slashing at its legs. It staggered, then roared in frustration and sent out a sonic burst that threw her into a crumbled wall.
Her vision blurred. Ears ringing.
Move. Get up. Her mind screamed at her.
She pushed off the ground, breathing hard, blood dripping from her temple.
The creature loomed above her, jaws open—
CRACK!
A shot rang out. The monster froze, then fell over dead.
Behind it, one of the survivors held a makeshift rifle, eyes wide with fear.
"You alright?" he called out.
Artemis nodded, wiping blood from her brow. "Yeah… thanks."
The woman rushed over to the child trapped under debris. Artemis joined her, lifting chunks of stone like they were nothing.
The kid coughed, but she was alive.
"You're strong…" the woman said, awe in her voice.
"Just different," Artemis replied, standing up. She checked the Beacon.
Still glowing. Still pulling her forward.
"Why were those things here?" she asked.
The man with the rifle spoke up. "We lit a signal fire, trying to draw help. But instead, we got them."
"Signal fire…" Artemis muttered, her heart skipping a beat. What if—
"What did you use?" she asked quickly.
The man pointed to a crushed tech crate near the fire. "Old comms beacon. One of the girls who passed through left it behind. Said someone was looking for her."
Artemis's breath caught.
"Her name wasn't… Elara, was it?"
The woman blinked. "Yeah. How'd you know?"
Artemis's heart slammed into her ribs.
"Where did she go?"
"South. She said she was following some kind of signal. Figured her girlfriend might be out there looking."
Artemis swallowed hard, blinking back sudden tears.
"She was right," she whispered.
Then she looked to the horizon.
And she ran.