[Scene 1 – The Breaking Point]
The footsteps stop right outside the door.
I can hear them breathing.
One breath is slow, ragged. Another is sharp and fast, like a runner's. The third… it's deep, rumbling, almost a growl.
The fourth — the girl tied to my chair — doesn't move. Her eyes stay locked on mine.
"They won't leave," she says.
No kidding.
The first bang rattles the steel. Then another. Chains clink against the frame.
I grab my rifle, check the chamber — one mag, maybe 10 rounds. Not enough if these things get inside.
The bangs grow louder, faster. My safehouse feels smaller by the second.
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[Scene 2 – They Get In]
The chain holds for a while… until it doesn't.
With a deafening snap, the lock gives, the steel door slamming open so hard it hits the wall.
Three figures spill inside.
I recognize them instantly.
Level One sister: Her eyes are wet, tears mixing with blood on her face.
Level Two sister: She darts from wall to wall, barely staying still.
Level Three sister: Towering, hunched, claws dragging across the floor.
And all three are staring at me like I'm dinner.
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[Scene 3 – Forced Outside]
The Level Three lunges, swiping at my chest. I dodge, but the impact sends me sprawling. The Level Two is on me in seconds — faster than I can aim. I fire once, the bullet grazing her shoulder.
The Level One screams, the sound almost human, and charges. I roll, get to my feet, and bolt through the open door.
Outside, the street is empty except for us. My boots slam the cracked asphalt as I backpedal, rifle up.
They circle me — coordinated, like wolves.
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[Scene 4 – The Fainting]
I'm about to fire again when the strangest thing happens.
The Level One's legs buckle. She drops to her knees, clutching her stomach. The Level Two stumbles mid-run, hitting the ground hard. Even the hulking Level Three sways like she's drunk.
Hunger.
The girl from my safehouse appears in the doorway, breathing hard. "They haven't eaten in days," she says.
I lower my rifle a fraction. "Not my problem."
"It will be," she says — just as the Level Two surges back up and leaps at me.
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[Scene 5 – The Restraint]
I'm pinned. Claws dig into my arms. Her teeth snap inches from my neck.
I brace for the bite… but it never comes.
The girl — my girl — has her arms around the Level Two's throat, dragging her back with inhuman strength.
"NO!" she roars. "Not him!"
The other two sisters stagger toward me, eyes burning with hunger.
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[Scene 6 – The Choice]
I'm out of time. If they lunge again, I'm dead.
I glance at my arm — the scar from my last cut still fresh.
My hands move before my brain catches up. Knife. Slice. Pain. Blood dripping onto the cracked street.
They freeze, nostrils flaring. I step forward and hold my bleeding arm out.
"Eat," I say.
They do.
And for the first time… I see all three of them slow down. Their movements steady. The hunger in their eyes fades — not gone, but dimmed.
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