WHISPERS IN THE DARK

CHAPTER 3

The sun rose over the horizon, casting pale light across the ruins. The city was in complete silence. No movement, no crawling shadows, no scream, not even the wind. It was the kind of quiet that made every breath feel too loud.

From the rooftop where Jace had waited all night, he scanned the streets below. For hours, he had not seen any movement. The horror that stalked him had vanished with the dawn.

"Looks like these monsters are scared of the sun." He muttered.

But even as said it, he didn't trust the peace. The voice of Lord Malvoryn still rang in his head like poison: Bring her to the alter. Bring her screaming. Her blood is the key, her heart the candle, her soul the offering.

Jace had thought about turning back after losing his squad, after losing Jones. He could've cut his losses, crossed back over the broken bridge, and left this nightmare behind. But that would make him the same boy who had lost his family all those years ago. Weak, afraid and powerless. But not this time.

"I failed to protect my crew and family. I'm not going to fail Ana this time." He swore.

Her last know location was Creek Falls, and that was all that mattered to him.

With hard resolve, Jace descended in the building below, searching for anything that could guide him to Creek Falls. Dust and silence greeted him. Broken shelves, abandoned clothes, scattered belongings of people long gone. And then... luck. A half-burnt map was attached by the wall with a rusty nail.

On the map, Creek Falls was about 3 miles away from him, heading east. And it seemed close enough for Jace to reach, but far enough to die along the way.

******

The streets were littered with remainders of his fallen crew. Weapons lay where they had dropped them, but their bodies were gone. Jace didn't need to ask why. He picked up what supplies he could carry, burying the ache in his chest.

"They're not your brothers anymore, they're gone." he reminded himself and headed eastward.

******

The sun should have made the journey safer. But as Jace pushed deeper toward the heart of the city, he noticed the light dimming. Clouds thickened unnaturally fast. Every step forward seemed to choke the sky a little darker, until the warmth of the daylight was no more than a sickly haze.

It's almost like the city itself doesn't want him here.

Jace knew something was off, and he had to reach Creek Falls before the dark swallowed him whole. And with that, he ran.

Shadows began to move on the side of his vision. He could hear the guttural growls rumbling from all sides.

"Oh, Ana," he breathed between ragged gasps. How the hell am I supposed to find you?"

The first monster leapt from above, jaws wide, but Jace dropped it with a clean shot mid-air as it's corpse crumpled to the ground. But his victory meant nothing at all, because more were coming in dozens, maybe hundreds. The air vibrated with the sound of their hunger.

Jace ran as fast as he could with burning lungs, until Creek Falls came into view.

There was a curved sign-post by the road, smeared in dirt bit still legible:

WELCOME TO CREEK FALLS.

"Almost there..." He said

Suddenly, he stopped. The way forward was blocked as shapes shifted in every direction, cutting him off. He was completely surrounded.

"Damn it." He muttered as his eyes searched desperately across the street.

No escape, no cover, until he spotted an abandoned shop leaning against the ruins of a larger building.

Without thinking, he ran straight crashing through the door, slammed it shut and braced his shoulder against it.

The monsters rushed toward the door, pounding it hard from outside as the metal joints began to fall out. The door wouldn't hold for long.

Jaces moved backwards and raised his gun, aiming at the door, ready to make his last stand as he heart pounded. This was it.

But suddenly, the pounding stopped and the silence was worse.

Breathing heavily, Jace moved closer to the door and pressed his ear against it. But there was not even a sound. Sunlight suddenly spilled faintly through the cracks, stronger than before, as if mocking him.

Confused but unwilling to question a miracle, Jace opened the door and aimed his weapon. The streets were empty, the monsters were gone and above him, the sun blazed brighter than before.

"You bastards really don't like the light, huh?" He smiled.

Without waiting a second, he pushed forward as Creek Falls awaited.

******

Stepping into Creek Falls, it wasn’t what he expected.

The city's devastation ended at it's borders. And Within, the streets looked untouched. Houses stood straight, windows unbroken, lamps glowing with steady light. It was as if he had walked through a portal into another world, one where the horrors outside didn't exist.

'What the hell is this place?' He thought.

The deeper he went, the darker the sky grew. The sun had no meaning here. Instead, lanterns flickered to life on every corner, casting a warm glow that felt anything but safe.

Suddenly, movement caught his attention.

He saw a figure inside one of the buildings, a woman. She looked normal like a human, and she was sweeping the floor calmly as if nothing was wrong with the world at all.

"is this some kind of a trick?" Jace whispered, heading toward the building.

Stepping inside, he raised his Weapon looking around but there was no else but her. The woman stopped for a moment, immediately he saw Jace, and went back to sweeping.

"Hello, ma'am. I didn't mean to come in and scare you like that." Jace said, apologizing but the woman said nothing in return.

"I don't want to bother you," Jace said carefully. "But I'm looking for someone. Have you seen this girl?" He held up Ana's photograph.

Her gaze lingered on the picture for a moment. Then, without a word, she returned to her sweeping.

"...Okay." Jace lowered the photo and turned away.

Suddenly, a nervous feeling occurred when he heard it, the soft scrape of metal sliding free.

He turned just in time to see her lunging, knife flashing for his throat. Instinct took over as he dodged the attack, and pointed a gun at her.

"Stay back!" Jace barked. "I don't want to hurt you."

Despite Jace pointing a gun at her, she didn't hesitate. With a brutal scream, she threw herself at him again forcing Jace to shot.

The bullet hit her heart as she staggered backwards dropping the knife. And then... she began to change.

Her body stretched unnaturally tall, bones snapping as her skin twisted. Her eyes ballooned, black and wide, until nothing human remained.

"Shit!"

Jace rushed for the door, pulled a grenade free, and tossed it behind him. The explosion ripped the room apart, tearing the monster into burning shreds. He jumped through the doorway as fire lit the night.

Without thinking, he ran into another building and slammed the door shut. Sweating and breathing heavily.

But inside the building he ran into, he heard a strange sound that made him froze.

He wasn't alone.