Pulled back again into a flashback—
We see Luka punching a bag of sand. Visibly, he's smaller. Younger.
Each hit lands with effort, but also with discipline.
Thump—thump—thump—
His breathing is sharp, controlled, but still inexperienced. From another room, his father calls out—
"Dinner's ready!"
"Coming!" Luka replies.
He throws one last punch before stepping away.
Getting to the living room his father looks at him with a warm smile and asks—
"How did it go, did that combo i taught you work well?"
"Yea it was very interesting and smart." Luka says excitedly.
"Well, dig in. After a workout you need nutrients to grow strong, ya know."
Luka smiles and sits at the table, immediately digging into the food in front of him.
His father follows behind, sitting beside him, still warmly smilling. He puts his hand up toward Luka balled up in a fist.
"C'mon put it here."
Luka smiles back and makes a fist, putting his hand to make a fist bump.
The contact is soft, but firm. A silent promise between them in the sun-drenched living room.
"Feel that?" his father asks, his voice dropping into that serious, teaching tone. "It's not just skin hitting skin. It's the energy you've built up. The focus. If you keep your fist tight, the power has nowhere to go but forward."
His father's large hand covers Luka's small fist, squeezing tight.
The camera zooms in tight on the two fists pressed together. The golden afternoon light makes the dust motes dance around their knuckles. Than zooms out again panning toward Luka and his light smile.
Slowly, the light begins to drain away. The warmth of the room is replaced by a biting, metallic chill.
The smooth, clean skin of the young boy's hand begins to crack and darken. The white walls of the home dissolve into the jagged, dark silhouettes of the suburban street at 4:00 AM.
The camera remains locked on the hand.
The small, innocent fist is gone.
In its place is the hand of the present—shaking violently, the knuckles split open and weeping red, dirt packed under the fingernails. It's no longer a boy's hand; it's a weapon held together by nothing but sheer, stubborn will.
The fist flies, making contact with the Darkin, Lukas skin tearing, the Darkins getting pushed inward. From the impact it's pushed back staggering.
Through this small flashback we see why Luka was moving so swiftly. He used to box for a few years getting home schooled by his father.
Still—
This doesn't explain exactly what happened; why didn't he move like this before?
It was simple really.
This time, similarly like the first time he sensed danger, his body was moving on its own.
No control, no manual thinking.
His senses guiding him and his instincts executing the job.
And Luka didn't fight back; this time he indulged, giving in to his primal pull from deep within.
Back to Luka and the Darkin.
The balance shifted dramatically. Before, Luka was barely keeping up.
Now they were on equal footing.
No—
More so Luka was pushing it back now.
Camera now panned on the Darkin. Breaths loud, rugged, skin half with blood–torn in places, chunks falling from its body and the pole still stuck in it.
The creature mostly operated on instinct but still had some form of intelligence.
It knew the tide of the battle was rolling on thin ice. The boy before him was a threat.
Dropping on all fours and looking down with its head, half lowering it, from its back something pops up.
Clicks. Then rises. Shortly after it stops.
A weird shape. The size of a palm.
Gzzing-gzzing, gzzing-gzzing—
Noises.
Luka's eyes narrow, squinting trying to make out its shape. Confusion flashing across his face as he tries to process what he's seeing.
"○What is it now. A sound?" his mind already racing.
The sound—
Gzz-gzzing, gzgzgzggzggzziizggziizgzgzgziigzizgzigzi—
Only intensifies.
The weird shape on its back pulses.
Vibrates.
Faster. Louder. More erratic.
Luka tenses but tries to focus again—
"○What could this be, some kind of big attack? A defense tactic? No, makes no sense."
Gzihgzigzigzizgigzi—
The noise doesn't stop like a bell constantly ringing, drilling the ear.
Luka tenses. His instincts tell him trouble.
His body tightens.
Something's coming.
.
Abrupt silence.
The noises finally stopped.
His eyes snapping the surroundings, looking around alert, Luka knows danger is close but where?
He keeps glancing at the Darkin then to the sides and back to the Darkin, behind it, around.
Expecting something—
A sneak attack or perhaps a head-on sudden strike.
But..
Nothing.
Nothing like that happens.
Still he doesn't relax.
Taking a step back positioning himself carefully and making sure the girl behind is safe. He thinks to himself—
"○Is.. that it?" the camera now close on him.
"○What was that noise for. A recovery ability? A scare tactic? Or.. was it a-"
Then to the left, his eye catches something.
A flicker.
A slight movement.
Just enough to get noticed.
His eyes snap to the left.
Turning his head directly where he caught a glimpse.
In the distance on top of the roof of a house, a figure emerges that was blending with the darkness of the night.
The camera now cutting closer to the house.
From there standing up slowly—
With each movement looking less and less like a human.
Emerges another Darkin, its mouth sprawls out, limbs and legs both on the tiles of the roof.
Scraping.
Making screeching noise while twitching—
AuGRHrrss—
It makes the growl Luka's been hearing all night.
The Darkin steps down from the house and starts to emerge from the shadows of the garden, creeping in closer.
Luka as he saw the monster, the same instant.
He realized the noise was no tactic nor a power up.
A signal.
A call out, a siren for backup.
With no time to think now he has to be high on his guard. A quick look back to the girl, then down on his body.
Not good.
His body, at the brink of failing.
The situation—
Worse.
The situation was becoming dire by the second.
His thoughts flashing back again to the situation before, how he wanted to let go.
But.
No time for that now, he has to protect the girl behind him.
"○What am i supposed to do here." thinking to himself. "○How do i make sure th.. this girl gets out of here safe."
Assuming a stance.
Luka readies himself.
Flicker, flicker-flicker—
His eyes snapping to his right.
Krssnnssss—
Scraping on the ground.
From the bushes on the garden from a house on the opposite another figure emerges.
Luka's chest completely drops. His heart skips a beat.
From the bushes and shadows, again.
Another one.
Another Darkin emerges.
Scraping with its claws directly coming their way, eyes never budging from Luka's direction.
Could this get any worse?
Has fortune given up on him so quickly?
Luka, despite scared and completely lost in this situation, has no time to whine—
"○What.. do i even do here."
"○I can't let the girl run, their speed is too great, i couldn't escape."
The Darkins coming closer, all three in front of Luka. Bloodlust on their mind.
"○Ah man, i gotta atleast protect her before i die. I..gotta try."
He glances back at the girl to tell her to stay behind and hold tight.
"Listen. Kid, hold on ti-"
"Hu.. huhh..?"
The girl is gone.
Before he can panic—
To the side, the girl wakes up coughing. Looking around her eyes full of tears and a blood trail running down the side of her head. Locking eyes with Luka.
.
She was knocked out all this time.
.
.