'There are kids on the roof! I need to get up there.' Without hesitation, Samuel dashed off, searching for the stairs.
He climbed the stairs until he reached the door leading to the rooftop. Peeking out, he got a clearer view of the area.
He spotted three kids in hoodies–a boy, a girl, and a smaller boy, and all of them had brown hair and light skin—the girl had a child hugging her leg. The boy who looked older was holding a pipe and carrying a duffle bag, while the other was holding the younger kid's hand.
The older kid attempted to intimidate the bird, a giant bird, by shouting and swinging the pipe, while the younger girl dragged the child with her and slowly retreated.
Samuel examined the giant bird, he gulped, as he took in its horrifying features—a raven about the size of an ostrich with three eyes. Coming out of its beak are tentacles with human lips at each tip, jet-black feathers, and enormous talons on its feet, dripping with a greenish liquid.
It's a fucking monster!
The bird perched on the railing of the rooftop, glaring down at the three kids as it analyzed its prey. It opened its beak, and the tentacles began to cry out, 'Help me!'
Seeing this, Samuel broke into a cold sweat.
'It can mimic people's voices!' With this revelation, he began to wonder if the two kids might also be monsters.
'Should I help them or not?' Samuel wondered. 'What if they're monsters disguised as people?' Panicking, he hesitated, unsure whether to save them.
Meanwhile, the child near the girl suddenly began crying, drawing the bird's attention.
The giant bird suddenly took flight, startling both Samuel and the kids.
'Shit! I have to help them!' Samuel steeled himself, ready to run to rescue the kids at any moment.
High in the air, the bird suddenly dove toward the girl holding the kid.
Samuel quickly tackled them out of the bird's path, narrowly preventing its capture. The kids were startled by his sudden intervention.
The boy with the pipe immediately shouted, "Run! Go inside the hospital!"
Samuel and the girl rushed to their feet and aimed for the door, going to the hospital.
As they all began to run, the boy shouted, "Get down!"
Hearing this, Samuel dropped to the ground with the girl and the child, barely avoiding the bird's talon, which grazed his arm.
'Holy shit, that was close!' Samuel quickly ran to the door and slammed it shut behind him.
The boy yelled, "We need to get downstairs and hide! That bird could easily destroy the door!"
The kids rushed down the stairs, with Samuel following closely behind. Once they reached the lobby, Samuel sat down on one of the seats.
As soon as he sat down, the boy with the pipe pointed it at him and demanded, "Hands up! Did you follow us from outside?"
Samuel quickly raised his hands and said, "Hey, I just saved both of you. Can you at least be grateful?"
The girl holding the baby leaned in and whispered something into the boy's ear. The boy then lowered the pipe and responded, "Okay, thank you for helping us."
"My name is Elijah, and these are my siblings, Erina and Ethan," the boy said, introducing his younger sister and younger brother.
"Thank you for saving us," Erina said, expressing her gratitude to Samuel for helping her and her brother.
Samuel introduced himself in return. "My name is Samuel. Nice to meet you, Elijah and Erina."
"Now, can you tell me where everyone is and what that giant bird was?" Samuel asked, looking to Elijah for answers.
Hearing his name and looking at his face closer made Elijah and Erina widen their eyes in shock. They were frozen in place as they both stared at Samuel as if they had seen a ghost.
"Hey, you guys good?" Samuel asked, raising an eyebrow as he watched them freeze like deer in headlights.
Elijah's eyes lit up with an intensity that could melt steel. He practically vibrated with excitement as he blurted out, "You are awake!?"
"Huh? Do you know me?"
Samuel barely had time to nod before Erina exploded, "Brother, he finally woke up!"
Samuel blinked. "Wait, what do you mean?" He glanced at Elijah, who was still staring at him like he was the last slice of pizza at a party.
Elijah sighed dramatically. "We were waiting for you..."
Samuel crossed his arms. "Cool, cool… one tiny problem, I don't remember ever meeting you."
Elijah waved a hand dismissively. "That's because we haven't met. But our dad sent us to retrieve you."
Samuel frowned. "Your dad?"
"Dr. Rittenhouse," Elijah clarified. "The one who talked to you about that experimental lung cancer treatment?"
Samuel's eyes flickered with recognition as he studied the kids in front of him. "Wait a second… Dr. Rittenhouse? You're his kids?" The resemblance was undeniable.
Elijah nodded. "Yeah. He's our father. We were told to retrieve you, but, honestly… we didn't think it would take this long."
Samuel waved a hand, cutting through the moment. "Hold up. Before we get into all that, answer my damn question. What the hell was that giant bird?"
"Oh, right, sorry! Got a little ahead of myself," Elijah said, his excitement dimming just a little. "That thing is called a Night Stalker. It's a mutated Corvus corax, basically, a raven."
Samuel let out a sharp laugh. "Yeah, no shit. But ravens don't get that big."
"Not normally, no. But after the outbreak, everything changed. The plants, the animals, mutated beyond recognition. Some things are still edible, but most… aren't, and humans who get infected with it are basically turned into zombies, but some infected humans mutate differently; they become mutants, their consciousness intact, but their appearance differs," Elijah said, his voice showing exhaustion.
Samuel exhaled. "Alright. Hit me with it. Good news first."
Elijah locked eyes with him, voice steady. "Good news is, we've got food. Fresh vegetables. We won't starve."
Samuel narrowed his gaze. "And the bad news?"
Elijah's face darkened. "The bad news… is that our food is on the roof. With that bird. And unless we feel like starving, or taking our chances scavenging through god-knows-what, it's the only thing edible in this entire city." He sank onto a bench, staring at the ground. "If we don't kill that thing, it's all gone."
Samuel closed his eyes. One word burned in his mind, 'Shit.'
But he could feel the weight of the siblings' fear pressing in, suffocating the space around them. He forced a smirk, straightening his shoulders. "Screw that. We're not going hungry. We're killing that damn bird."
Elijah studied him, reading the fear beneath the bravado, but he gave a small, knowing smile. "Alright then. Let's start planning."
A heavy silence hung between them.
Then, a bloodcurdling screech tore through the air.
Samuel's breath hitched.
Elijah's face paled.
It knew.
It was waiting.
And it was hungry.