The thing above the hatch dropped fast. Moonlight glinted off its pale skin, stretched too tight over bone. Its eyes glowed like dying coals, and its mouth split open in a grin filled with jagged, broken teeth.
Kade reacted on instinct. He pulled Ayla back down just as the creature's clawed hand swiped at the space where her head had been a second before. The girl screamed, stumbling away from the edge of the hatch, her back hitting the roof.
The stranger below launched himself up the ladder, his blade already raised. He moved fast, faster than Ayla expected. His sword sliced through the air, catching the creature across the chest. Blood, dark and thick, splattered the walls.
The creature shrieked, more animal than human, and lashed out. The stranger ducked under its swing, driving the blade up through its jaw and into its skull.
The body went still, then slid off the blade and crashed to the floor below.
"Out," the stranger snapped.
Kade didn't need telling twice. He shoved Ayla upward, and she scrambled through the hatch onto the rooftop. The girl was already there, sobbing quietly, her eyes wide with terror.
Kade followed, then reached down to pull the stranger up.
Below them, the tunnel echoed with more sounds. Groans. Claws scraping stone.
"They're coming," Ayla said, breathless.
The stranger pulled himself onto the roof and slammed the hatch shut.
For a second, they just stood there. The city spread out around them, broken and burning in the distance. The moon hung low, casting the world in silver and shadow.
But there was no time to rest.
"We can't stay here," Kade said.
"No," the stranger agreed. "They'll find another way up."
Ayla wiped blood from her face, the burn of her shoulder making her lightheaded.
"Where then?"
The stranger pointed to a building across the street.
"There. We can hole up until morning. Then we move."
Kade glanced at the gap between the roofs.
"We'll never make that jump with her injured."
The stranger smirked.
"Watch me."
He took a few steps back, then ran and leapt. His boots hit the far roof with a thud, his arms windmilling for balance before he straightened.
Kade shook his head, half impressed, half annoyed.
"Show-off."
He turned to Ayla.
"Come on. I'll help you."
Ayla hesitated. The gap looked wider than it was. Her legs felt like lead, and her shoulder throbbed with every heartbeat.
Kade saw the hesitation.
"You can do this. I've got you."
Ayla took a breath, nodded, and ran.
Her feet left the edge, the wind rushed past her, and for a second she thought she wasn't going to make it.
But Kade's hands caught her, pulling her up.
"You're good," he said, voice low.
She managed a shaky smile.
The girl followed, Kade helping her too.
The stranger was already moving, leading them toward a stairwell at the far end of the roof.
They slipped inside the building, the air cool and musty.
"This place looks empty," the stranger said, his voice low.
Ayla wasn't so sure.
They moved down the stairs, every creak of the wood loud in the silence.
Kade kept his knife ready. The stranger's sword glinted in the moonlight filtering through cracked windows.
Ayla's pulse raced.
At the bottom of the stairs, they found a door half open. Beyond it was a wide room filled with old furniture covered in sheets. Dust floated in the air, and the floor was littered with broken glass.
The stranger stepped inside first, his movements careful.
"We'll stay here for now."
Ayla sank onto an old couch, her body aching.
The girl clung to Kade, still shaken.
The stranger checked the windows, the door, every shadow.
And then something creaked above them.
All of them froze.
Another creak. Heavier this time.
Kade tensed.
"They're already inside."
The stranger's eyes narrowed.
"No. That's not one of them."
Another sound. A slow, deliberate step.
A shadow moved at the top of the stairs.
And then a voice, smooth and cold, echoed down.
"I was wondering when I'd run into you."
The stranger's grip on his sword tightened.
Ayla saw it in his face.
He knew that voice.