WHISPERS IN THE DARK

CHAPTER 7

The voice echoed again, thin and sweet, like a child lost in the dark.

"Help me... please..."

Jace's gut screamed trap, because the tone sounded as if it was calling on purpose. It didn't sound like the panicked cry of a trapped child, it sounded like a bait.

Ana suddenly, Ana held Jace's arm tightly, trembling. "It's... it's a kid," she whispered, her voice breaking.

"No, Ana," He said sharply. "That's not a child."

The creeping sound grew louder as Jace's flashlight, caught the long limbs of a monster with shiny skin, gleaming like black tar. It's face looked shadowy, twisted with a childlike smile, it's eyes were empty holes, and from it's mouth spilled that same innocent plea.

"Help me..."

Ana tried not to scream and stumbled away.

The monster lunged forward, Jace fired immediately. The shot punched into it's chest, spraying dark fluid against the stone.

The monster shrieked like a metal tearing apart, before it's limbs lashed forward, smashing into the wall where Ana had been a moment ago

"Run," Jace roared.

He pushed Ana ahead, bullets cracking the darkness as he backed toward the exit. The monster struggled, dragging itself faster, hungering for their retreat.

They both burst out of the tunnel into the open night, stumbling into the ruined street. Behind them, the creature slammed against the tunnel's mouth, too massive to squeeze out as it's voice howled after them.

"Don't leave meee..."

Ana was sobbing, her body shaking as she collapsed against a wall. Jace grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to focus on his face.

"Look at me!" His said, cutting through her terror. "That thing isn't human. Nothing in this city is. The only chance you've got is sticking with me. Do you understand?"

Ana's eyes brimmed with tears, her lips trembling, but she nodded.

Jace let her go, scanning the streets.

"We're running out of bullets, Ana." He said. "We need supplies, some guns, ammo, whatever we can grab."

He glanced at her for a moment, her torn dress was filthy, stained with blood and dirt.

"You need to change and wash out. That dress will get you killed."

Her cheeks burned with shame and refusal. "You want me to... bathe... in this nightmare?"

Jace's mouth twisted into something like a humorless smile. "Yeah. Smelling blood is how you end up as bait. We find a safe spot, you clean up, we gear up, and then we keep moving."

Ana looked away, hugging herself tightly. But she didn't argue.

The silence between them stretched as the city moaned around them, alive with distant screams and the shuffle of things hunting in the dark.

Finally, Jace adjusted his grip on his pistol as he studied the crumbling city.

"Stay close, Ana." Jace said. "From here on out, every second we're breathing is a borrowed time."

******

The house they broke into was halfly collapsed, it's roof bent from years of decay. Dust hung thick in the air, lit only by the weak flicker of Jace's flashlight. He checked every corner with his pistol raised, until he was sure the building was clear.

"Here," he said, pulling a door off it's broken hinges.

The room inside was an old washroom with cracked tiles and a rusted basin, but it still held a working pipe that ran water.

"It's not much, but... it'll do." Jace said.

Ana hovered by the doorway, uncertain. Her dress was torn and bloodstained, clinging to her like a reminder of everything she had survived. She hugged herself tightly, but finally nodded.

"I'll keep watch," Jace said firmly. "Lock the door behind you."

She nodded and disappeared into the room, the sound of running water was faint but steady. Jace exhaled, turning back to the main hall.

He searched the building and found some weapons buried under a scattered wreckage. With steady hands, he worked in silence, sorting ammo, checking chambers, pocketing what he could salvage. Two pistols, one shotgun, and a handful of grenades. Enough to hold their ground, but nowhere close to win this war.

Time slipped away as he worked. But when the bathroom door finally creaked open, Jace froze.

Ana stepped out barefoot, wearing a simple change of clothes he had scavenged from an upstairs closet. A clean shirt, a pair of fitted jeans. Her hair was wet, falling loose over her shoulders, and for the first time since he found her, she didn't look like a hunted animal. She looked... alive.

For moment, Jace forgot to breathe.

"You look..." His voice caught, the word hanging in the air between them.

Ana lifted a brow, a spark of defiance in her cautious stare. "You mean beautiful?"

He swallowed, caught off guard by the sharpness in her tone. "...Yeah. something like that."

A hint of smile appeared her lips as she stepped further into the room, her tension easing just a little.

"You don't talk much, do you?" She asked softly.

"Talking gets you killed," Jace muttered, checking the shotgun's chamber before setting it down beside the pistols. "But for what it's worth... you don't know how long I've been looking for you, Ana."

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you were real back there." Ana said, apologizing.

"You don't have to apologize, Ana." Jace said. "I would have done the same if I were you. I'm just glad the poster I found on a rooftop led me to you."

"What poster?" Ana asked.

He pulled one of the crumpled posters from his pocket and held it out.

Ana's face drained of color. She took the paper with trembling hands, reading the words aloud in a broken whisper.

"Her blood is the key. Her heart the candle. Her soul the offering..."

Her fingers tightened around the edges of the sheet.

"I never knew this was why I was captured. I thought I was just... unlucky. Wrong place, wrong time. But all this time... it was because of me."

She sank against the wall, eyes wide with fear.

Jace crouched in front of her, his voice steady, grounding her.

"Ana, listen to me. Whatever you did to escape those monsters... whatever it took... it means you're stronger than they'll ever know."

She looked up at him, her eyes shiny with tears she held back.

He held her gaze. "I'm really proud of you, Ana."

The words seemed to disarm her more than the monsters had. Her breath caught, her lips parting as though to argue... but no words came. Instead, she lowered her eyes, clutching the ruined poster in silence.

"I know you must be starving," Jace said, pulling a small pack from his vest.

He set a few crackers on the table, and placed a bottle beside them. A faint, rare smile flickered across his face.

"I know it's not much but, I think it'll keep you on your feet." He said.

"Thank you, Jace," she murmured, her voice softer now, carrying the weight of exhaustion and something almost like trust.

"Just eat what you can," Jace replied, scanning the shadows creeping through the broken windows.

"Get some rest, I'll keep watch until dawn." He said, moving to the far end of the room, his shadow sharp against the faint glow of the ruined city.

The room settled in silence, only the faint drip of water from the bathroom faucet broke the stillness for the first time since the nightmare began.

The chaos of Creek Falls felt distant, as if the world had finally, gave them a merciful pause.

But peace never lasted here, because in the darkness, just beyond the walls, something else was already stirring.