Seeing that thing in the alley... it still makes my skin crawl when I remember it. It wasn't a nightmare, it wasn't my imagination playing tricks on me. It was real, and the fear I felt was more intense than anything I'd ever experienced before. From that moment on, the vague curiosity I'd felt about my strange abilities transformed into an almost desperate need for answers. I had to know what was happening to me and if I was somehow connected to those horrible creatures.
I returned to the online forums that same night, my heart pounding. I searched harder, sifting through conspiracy theories and science fiction stories in search of anything that sounded remotely similar to what I was experiencing. This time, I didn't read with the skepticism I'd felt before. Every story about inexplicable sensations, about the sudden emergence of strange abilities, resonated with me in a chilling way. I no longer felt completely alone in this madness.
That's when I saw the private message. A small envelope blinking in the corner of the screen. The sender's name was cryptic: "ShadowsInTheNight." I hesitated for a moment before opening it. Who could it be? Someone who actually knew something or just a jokester? The message was short and to the point: "Looking for answers? Sometimes the answers find you."
My stomach churned. How did this person know I was searching for answers? Had they been watching me? The thought chilled me, but at the same time, a small spark of hope ignited inside me. With trembling fingers, I typed a short, cautious response, asking what she meant.
The reply came almost immediately. It seemed like the person had been waiting for my message. "Look around you, Ryu Hyuk," the new message read. "Have you noticed anything... different? The footprints are everywhere. You just need to learn to see them."
The conversation ended there. There were no more messages, no matter how hard I tried to reply. I stared at the blank screen for a long moment, feeling a mixture of confusion and a growing sense of unease. Footprints? What did he mean? And how did he know my name?
In the following days, I followed the advice of that strange message and began paying much more attention to my surroundings. I looked at people on the street, on the bus, at school. I looked for anything unusual, anything that might indicate the presence of other "Marked Ones," as they were called on some of the forums, or any trace of the Troubles. I noticed glances that seemed to linger on me for a moment, subtle gestures that seemed out of place.
One afternoon, while riding the subway home, I thought I saw something that made me catch my breath. In the car, sitting a little further away, there was a man reading a newspaper. But that wasn't what caught my attention. It was the faint blue aura that seemed to emanate from his hands as he held the paper. It was almost invisible, like a subtle glow, but there it was. My heart began to beat faster. Could it be him... another one like me? When the man looked up and our eyes met for a moment, I felt a pang of recognition in his gaze, followed by a quick, almost imperceptible jolt of surprise. As we reached the next station, the man stood up and disappeared into the crowd with surprising speed, as if he had vanished.
Meanwhile, news about the Troubles became increasingly alarming. The reports were more detailed, speaking of direct attacks, injuries, and the intervention of the police and other special forces. The fear in the city was palpable. Even at school, people spoke in hushed voices about the latest incidents, their eyes wide with fear. "Did you hear about the mall?" a girl asked her friend in the hallway. "They say one of those things showed up and wrecked a store."
One night, as I was walking home from the library, I heard screams in the distance. They were screams of terror, high-pitched and piercing. My heart raced instantly. For a moment, I hesitated. Fear paralyzed me. But then the sight of the creature in the alley and the feeling that there were others like me in the world gave me a boost. I had to know what was happening. I ran in the direction of the screams, my heart pounding in my chest.
I arrived at a dark, uncrowded street. Under the flickering light of a streetlamp, I saw a scene that chilled my blood. One of those grotesque creatures, tall and deformed, was attacking a small group of people. They screamed and tried to flee, but the monster was incredibly fast and violent. I saw it strike a woman with one of its long limbs, throwing her against the wall. A man tried to confront the creature but was easily knocked down.
For a moment, I stood frozen in fear, staring at the horrific scene. But then, something shifted inside me. I saw the terror in those people's eyes, their desperation. And I remembered that strange sense of power I'd experienced with metal. I no longer felt just fear. I felt a surge of rage, a visceral need to protect them. I took a deep breath, my hands instinctively tensed, and a silent determination took hold of me. I had to do something. I had to try.
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