My lungs burn as I stumble through the Ironwyrm's twisted wreckage. Metal groans and sparks around me. Behind me, too close, that thing roars again, claws on glass against my skull. "Move, move, move!" I gasp, vaulting over a jutting seat. The floor tilts. I taste copper, blood from biting my tongue during the crash. The creature fills the doorway behind me, all shadow and teeth. Its amber eyes glow in the emergency lighting. I don't look back again. My fingers find the emergency release. Nothing. I hit it again. "Come on!" The door hisses open as something wet splatters my neck. I dive through, rolling across the train floor as claws rake where my head was. I was the only one who survived this attack, well, the only one that has held long enough. Who would have thought I'd be in this unfortunate turn of event twelve hours ago, trying so hard to survive what I see as impossible. My brain is playing tricks on me as I drift back to twelve hours ago when I was still safe in my

If I could describe what hopelessness is, this would be it. The shadow moved, rippled in the emergency lighting. I pressed against the metal wall, breath trapped. Fifteen others did the same. No one whispered. No one moved. An enforcer three seats ahead clutched his bleeding arm, face pale. Blood dripped onto the floor with soft plinks that thundered in the silence. He groaned. The shadow twisted, condensed, and the creature appeared, its massive claws punching through reinforced glass like paper. It wrapped around the enforcer's torso and yanked him through the jagged opening. Toxic gas hissed in. The monster scraped along the Ironwyrm's top with metallic shrieks, then dropped to peer through another window. Amber eyes fixed on the girl near the front. Swift, brutal. Claws sheared through glass and flesh. The girl's scream died with her. Another female candidate shrieked in terror. Those glowing eyes snapped toward us. The creature launched itself forward. She was still scre

Dead faces surrounded me in the darkness, their hollow eyes burning with accusation. The blonde girl stepped forward, her finger pointing straight at my chest. "You let me die," she whispered, blood trickling from her lips. It felt suffocating, like air being sucked from my lungs. I gasped as their hands wrapped around my neck, squeezing it. I wanted to tell them it wasn't my fault, especially to the girl, but I couldn't find my voice. When I thought this was going to be my end, the blazing alarm shrieked through the dormitory, forcing my eyes to snap open. My chest hammered against my ribs. The nightmare clung like smoke, but I was grateful to escape those accusing stares. Soldiers marched in and stood at the entrance. "To the field in ten, nine..." one barked as we jumped from our beds. I got up, disoriented, then saw Tobi still snoring on the top bunk. "Really?" I muttered, shaking him until his eyes opened. "What's happening?" he groaned. "Get up." I pointed at the count

Lex's words hit me as poison fire crawled through my veins. Each heartbeat drove the venom deeper—needles stabbing my skin, metallic blood taste, vision bleeding colors together. Breathing turned to panic. The toxin shut me down piece by piece, fingertips going cold. Through fading sight, I watched Kambi and Lex search for supplies. "What is it?" Kambi's voice echoed distantly. "Something I swore I'd never use again." Lex's hands shook, pulling out an unmarked vial of silver liquid. "Experimental military antidote. No idea if it works on these toxins." Everything spun. Tobi's face flickered above me. "Will it kill him?" Lex hesitated. "It's an antidote, but not for this strain. Still in trials." Molten lead poured through my arteries. My heart stuttered, pumping poisoned blood, black spots dancing across my vision. "Do it," I croaked. Lex knelt beside me, vial trembling. "This will hurt like hell." The needle hit my chest. Silver liquid struck like lightning. Every muscle lo

They dragged me into the chamber like I was carrying secrets I didn’t know I had. The restraints snapped shut, and suddenly every eye in the room burned with the same question."What did your father mean in that message?" The lead scientist leaned close. “I don't know.” I answered. It was news to me too. "Has he been communicating with you?""No.""Do you know where he is?"“Know where he is?” I was stunned. “Isn't he supposed to be dead?”The scientist cleared his throat and went on, "Any knowledge of his whereabouts?""I'm literally confused. My dad left when I was five and never came back."The scanner hummed over my body as the interrogation continued. Shortly after, one of them approached him with the results in his hands. “Sir, I'd like you to take a look at this.” He said, handing it over to the lead scientist. He looked at me with an open-eyed expression "Have you encountered any beasts?"Remembering Kambi's warning, I stuck to the safe story. "Yes. A monster attacked the