If you do not pay three hundred credits within twenty four hours, your housing permit will end.The words burned into my eyes as I stood under the dripping roof of our apartment building. Rain trickled down the back of my neck, freezing my skin, but the heat in my chest made me clench my fists until my nails bit into my palms. Three hundred credits. I had eight.I pushed open the squeaky metal door of our third floor apartment. The smell of boiled broth filled the small hallway."Ethan?"Lily came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on an old towel. She was sixteen years old, with thin shoulders and eyes that were far too large for her pale face. Every time she breathed, a tiny wheeze rattled in her chest."You are soaked," Lily said, stepping forward to take my wet delivery jacket. "Put the bike keys down and sit near the heater. I made soup."I forced a smile onto my face and sat on the worn wooden chair. "Did you take your medicine today?"Lily stopped moving. She hung my jacket o

My helmet visor fogged up from the cold air as I parked my delivery bike outside a busy beast training shop in the market district.The street was full of people leading creatures on heavy chains and thick leather leashes. A merchant near the corner shouted prices for bags of dried beast meat and metal training spurs. Students from the wealthy academies stood by the shop windows, laughing while their bonded pets showed off tricks for passing crowds. Overhead, small flying beasts darted between the streetlamps, carrying messages for rich shoppers who never had to step foot on the muddy concrete below.I stepped off the bike and grabbed my heavy delivery bag. My mind drifted right back to the eviction notice waiting on the wooden table at home. Three hundred credits were due by tomorrow morning, and my current earnings would not even pay for a tenth of that amount. I needed money, and I needed it immediately. Lily was counting on me to bring back her lung medicine tonight, but every pas

A cold chill ran down my neck as I stared at the metal door of Warehouse Seventeen.The building looked dead from the outside. Its roof sagged in the middle, and broken glass littered the muddy ground around the rusty foundation walls. No signs of life appeared anywhere near the main entrance. But as I stepped closer over the wet gravel, my eyes caught a detail that did not belong on an abandoned structure.Fresh tyre tracks cut deep into the mud right in front of the loading bay. The dirt was damp and turned over recently, showing that a heavy vehicle had parked there only hours ago. Oil spots dripped onto the wet stones, still shimmering under the faint moon light.I pulled out my phone and tapped the delivery application to check the instructions again.The screen showed the address and the payment amount, but the recipient contact button was greyed out. I tapped it three times, but a red notification popped up saying the user number was no longer active. A cold knot formed in my s

A soft, mournful whine drifted through the narrow gap of the service door, wrapping around my heart like a cold, tightening fist.I knew I should turn around right now and run back to my motorcycle. Every logical thought in my head warned me that slipping inside an illegal facility in the dead end industrial sector was a fast way to disappear forever. But the memory of that pitiful sound pushed my feet forward. I pulled the heavy iron panel wider, slipping my body through the crack into the dim interior before I could talk myself out of it.The heavy door clicked shut behind me with a muffled thud, cutting off the howling wind of the rail yard.The air inside hit my face like a wall of hot, chemical heat. It smelled thick of burnt copper, antiseptic fluid, and unwashed animal fur. I pressed my back against a stack of empty wooden crates, keeping my breath shallow and quiet while my eyes adjusted to the amber glow coming from overhead lamps.From the outside, Warehouse Seventeen looked

Heavy footsteps slammed against the concrete floor just a few yards away, threatening to shatter the fragile silence of the back room.My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped animal, screaming at me to run away while I still had the chance. Every logical voice in my head warned me that staying here was absolute suicide. I was an ordinary delivery rider with no combat training, no powerful beast to protect me, and no idea how to fight men who wore tactical gear and carried heavy weapons. If they caught me tampering with their cages, they would not listen to any excuses. They would throw me into a cell, lock the door, and let me rot away in the dark where nobody would ever find me.Yet my feet refused to turn around toward the service door.I looked down through the reinforced glass panel at the small black puppy. Its glowing blue eyes stared up at me with quiet suffering, showing no trace of anger or hostility, only a desperate plea for survival. It reminded me too much of Lil