By late afternoon, the roads were eerily quiet. Emily steered the old station wagon toward the nearest highway, hoping to reach the relative safety of her aunt's house outside the city. The traffic was sparse, littered with abandoned cars, their doors swinging open, tires shredded, as if their owners had vanished into thin air.
Lily clung to her sister's arm. "Em… why is it so empty?"
Emily swallowed hard. "People… they're leaving. Or… running."
As they drove, a figure stumbled onto the road. Emily slammed on the brakes, heart hammering. A man, pale and bloody, moved with unnatural jerks. His eyes—empty, lifeless—locked onto them. Emily's breath caught. "Oh God… Lily, stay down!"
Lily shrieked as Emily grabbed the wheel and swerved off the road, narrowly avoiding the creature. Heart racing, Emily backed the car into a small clearing, trying to catch her breath.
"What… what was that?" Lily whispered.
I don't know," Emily admitted, voice trembling, "but we have to keep moving. Don't look at it, okay?"
The sisters huddled together in the backseat, Lily clutching her doll. Emily glanced around, calculating. The nearest gas station could provide supplies, but venturing out meant facing more of… whatever that thing was.
"Stay behind me," Emily murmured, trying to channel every ounce of courage. Her mind raced. She remembered stories of survival from movies and books—but this wasn't fiction. This was real, and it was hunting them.
When Emily finally stepped out to grab supplies, she moved cautiously, scanning every shadow. Each metallic groan and distant scream echoed through the empty streets like a warning. Her heartbeat sounded deafening in her ears.
And somewhere in the distance, she could hear them—low, guttural moans that made her skin crawl. The beginning of the nightmare had arrived, and there was no turning back.