Chapter 9:Screaming Silence

They were close—so close.

The broken road had led them to the outskirts of a shattered refugee camp. Beyond it, the crumbling husk of a hospital stood, weathered but intact enough to offer shelter. It loomed against the skyline like a dying promise. They didn't care how broken it was—they needed it. Ethan needed it.

Ava's arms trembled under Ethan's weight, but she didn't stop. Jake led the way, his weapon drawn, eyes sweeping left and right with growing urgency. The silence wasn't comforting. It was too quiet.

Then came the sound—small, sharp claws scraping against concrete. One at first. Then dozens. Then hundreds.

Jake froze. "They're here."

From behind abandoned tents and broken fences, they came. Fear-born, but twisted and underdeveloped—freakish, malformed things. Not strong, not fast. But they were endless.

Ava cursed under her breath, stepping protectively in front of Ethan's fragile form. "We can't take all of them."

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Jake raised his weapon. "We can't run either. We're surrounded."

That's when it happened.

Before either of them could move, a figure slipped past them—a girl they hadn't noticed, hadn't heard. She walked straight into the path of the swarm.

"Wait!" Jake shouted, but she didn't turn. Didn't speak.

She was small. Quiet. Unarmed. Her steps were unsure, but her eyes—those were locked on the creatures, steady and unflinching.

The monsters closed in.

Then she stopped.

She raised trembling hands to her throat, and in one grotesque motion, tore. Flesh and blood. The ripping of something vital. Her mouth opened wide—but no words came.

What came was sound.

A deafening, raw eruption—a scream not made by lungs, but by pain, fury, and something unnatural. The pressure of it blasted outward like a shockwave. The swarm shrieked in agony, bodies rupturing mid-sprint, turned to dust and gore in a heartbeat.

Even Ava and Jake were thrown back, hands to their ears, eyes wide as the earth cracked beneath their feet. Windows shattered in buildings that hadn't seen movement in years.

Then silence.

The monsters were gone—nothing left but blood and ruin.

And the girl—she was on her knees, blood dripping from her neck, her breathing shallow and ragged. Jake rushed to her, stunned.

"Who are you?" he asked, crouching beside her.

She looked at him, pain in her eyes. Her voice came out a whisper, torn and broken.

"I screamed."

And then she collapsed.