**Hidden Within — Chapter 2: It**
It was like 2 a.m. when I woke up again. The hospital was quiet... too quiet.
My head still spinning from what happened. My home... my mom... gone.
*BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...* the heart monitor beeping.
Then it stopped.
"Wait, what the—?"
The screen went black. The lights flickered. Outside, something glowed — a dim white light coming from the direction of my neighborhood.
"No way... no freaking way..." I whispered. I stood up, yanking off the hospital cords.
The nurses were gone. The halls were empty. Even the guards outside... vanished.
I ran out the door. Cold wind. The smell of burnt metal. Smoke still rising in the distance.
---
When I got back to the ruins of my home, the meteor was there — cracked open like an egg.
Inside, it glowed bright white, blinding almost.
Then it moved.
A long, smooth, *scaly* shape slithered out from the crater.
It was a **serpent** — a giant white monster, its eyes glowing pale blue, its fangs sharper than swords. It hissed, the air shaking like thunder.
"W-what the hell..." I whispered, stepping back slowly.
It turned its head toward me.
Those eyes... they saw me.
"OH HELL NO—"
I bolted.
**SSSSHHHHH!!** The serpent smashed through a building, chasing me down the street.
"WHY IS THIS HAPPENING AGAINNNN!?" I screamed, almost slipping on broken glass.
Cars flipped behind me. The ground cracked like lightning. The serpent roared, its body coiling through the streets like a wave of white death.
I ducked into an alley, breathing heavy. My heart pounding.
Then I heard it — *thud... thud... thud...* It was sniffing the air, looking for me.
Its head rose above the rooftops — huge, monstrous, like a ghost made of bone and scale.
"Please... please don't see me..." I whispered.
The light from its body reflected off the walls, bathing everything in white.
Then — its eyes snapped toward me.
"C'MONNNNNN!" I yelled, sprinting again.
The creature smashed through the alley, barely missing me. Bricks flew everywhere. My ears rang from the sound.
I jumped into an abandoned bus, ducking under the seats, gasping for air.
Everything was shaking.
Then... silence.
I looked up through the cracked window. The serpent was gone.
Or at least... I *thought* it was.
I took one small breath of relief.
Then a massive white eye appeared right outside the bus window.
"OH COME ONNNNNNNNN!!!"