𝗙𝗔𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗘𝗦 𝗕𝗘𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗬 , 𝗔𝗢𝗧

𝟎𝟐:𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋

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ᴀᴄʀ ᴏɴᴇ ꜰᴀʟʟ ᴏꜰ ꜱʜɪɢᴀɴꜱʜɪɴᴀ

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴡᴏ

ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴅᴀʏ

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MORGAN RAN AS FAST AS HER FEET COULD CARRY HER,

her lungs burning with each rapid, shallow breath. The world around her devolved into a blur as she darted and weaved through the throng of panicked people. The streets, once familiar and navigable, had become an unpredictable obstacle course of flesh and fear.

Her body was forced forward by pure adrenaline, every muscle fiber straining toward the singular goal of reaching her home. In this tumultuous river of humanity, collisions were inevitable. She felt the jarring impacts as she bumped and jostled against others, each encounter an unwelcome reminder of the desperation they all shared.

At one harrowing moment, her foot came down on something softer than the hard ground—a hand, an arm, she couldn't be sure. The brief, sickening sensation of crushing something human sent a jolt of horror through her, but the luxury of remorse was one she could not afford.

Morgan's heart hammered against her chest, guilt, and fear intertwining as she forced herself to keep moving. She couldn't afford to look back, and couldn't stop to offer apologies or assistance. The screams and cries for help that rose behind her were a siren song of despair, beckoning her to turn, but she steeled her resolve.

She wasn't trying to be a hero—there was no room for heroism in this flight. Her focus narrowed to a razor's edge: her mother. The need to find her, to see her face, to confirm with her own eyes that she was unharmed—it eclipsed all else. She had to know that the one person who had always been her anchor in any storm was safe. She had to know, or nothing else would matter.

But the guilt no matter how much she tried to ignore it, came back, whispered in her ears to turn around, to help those.

Everything in her body screamed at her and begged her to stop. The tears running down her eyes blurred everything around her other than those monsters. She saw them clearly. A nightmare she won't ever wake up from. She had never knew how fucking ugly they were.

Her flimsy shoes offered no defense against the shattered remnants of the buildings that surrounded her. As a sharp object pierced through the sole of her footwear and into her delicate flesh, a searing pain shot through her foot, causing her heart to plummet into the pit of her stomach and her anxiety to twist her insides into knots. The sensation of hot, crimson blood seeping from the wound only intensified her distress.

Each step grew increasingly agonizing as if each footfall might leave a trail of blood behind. But as she approached her house, still standing tall, a small smile crept onto her face. At that moment, the world around her ceased to exist, and the haunting horrors that had plagued her nightmares were banished.

"Mom!" Morgan's desperate cries cut through the chaos, each word strangled by the terror gripping her heart.

Anxiety surged through her veins like a toxic torrent as her hand clutched the doorknob. The oppressive weight of fear seemed to close in on her, suffocating her with its icy grip. Before she could muster the courage to step inside, her trembling hand fell to her side, and her breath lodged itself in her throat.