RUN

Chapter 1

At first, I thought it was my broken alarm clock again—the low hum, like a machine dragging metal across stone. But when I opened my eyes, I froze.

There, looming in the shadows beside my bed, was something massive. Black fur shimmered in the dark, catching the faint moonlight through my curtains. Thick, crooked antlers—or branches, or bones—I couldn't tell—jutted out in all directions, scraping the ceiling.

It took up the entire other side of my room.

I didn't scream. I couldn't. My body instinctively slid from the bed, inching toward the door like prey trying not to startle the predator. My bare foot touched the carpet, and I cringed at the tiny creak beneath the floorboards.

The door groaned as I reached for it.

Two neon green lights blinked open. Eyes. They locked onto me.

My breath hitched. The thing shifted—slowly, deliberately—and stood up.

I stumbled backward, feet slipping on the rug. There was no room left. My back hit the wall. It moved closer.

Closer.

Its face—or what I thought was a face—hovered inches from mine. I could feel the heat of its breath. And then—

BANG.

My door slammed open.

Gunfire erupted, rapid and endless, a silver blur in the air. The creature recoiled, green eyes flashing violently before its body crashed backward—straight through my wall, leaving a jagged crack like broken glass across reality.

A man stepped into the smoke.

He extended his hand.

"Kristen," he said calmly. "Come with me."

I hesitated only for a second before reaching out. His grip was firm as he pulled me up and led me into the living room. It was unrecognizable—furniture scorched, shelves overturned, pictures shattered across the floor.

"I'm going to scan you," he said.

I nodded, numb.

He pressed a small device to my stomach. It beeped in quick, mechanical tones. My eyes stayed fixed on the wreckage until he raised the gun again and fired straight up.

The ceiling exploded.

Light poured in from above as we began to rise—slowly, impossibly—into the air. My home shrank beneath us. And then I saw her.

Mom.

She was sprawled across the roof.

Blood pooled around her.

"No!" I lunged, tried to jump from the man's arms, but he held me tight. I kicked, screamed, thrashed—but it was no use. My cries echoed uselessly into the sky as the house became smaller and smaller, until all I could see were clouds.

Everything was clouds.

My chest tightened. My heart raced like I'd just run a marathon. I couldn't breathe. My head spun.

And then—we stopped.

Suspended in stillness.

The man looked at me, unshaken. "Kristen, I know this sounds insane," he said, "but I'm going to let go now. You're going to fall. But you won't die. Someone will catch you. And your new life... it begins now."

His voice was fading. I could barely process what he was saying.

"Wait—what?"

Too late.

He let go.

I screamed as the clouds tore past me, air rushing in my ears. I was falling. Not dreaming. Not floating. Falling.

The ground rose fast. People below looked like ants—until they didn't. I could see faces now. Hundreds of them.

One face stopped my heart.

William.

And then—I crashed into his arms.

He caught me. He held me. Said nothing. Just wrapped me in his arms, and I buried my face in his shoulder, shaking. My eyelids fluttered.

And then everything went dark.

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I woke up in William's arms.

My head ached. My limbs were heavy. I blinked, trying to understand where I was.

Stone walls. Dim lighting. An endless silence that buzzed with electricity.

"Where... are we?" I murmured.

"I think we're underground," William answered. "It would make sense. If people are dying, they wouldn't want us to see it."

My heart clenched.

"Why would anyone do this?" I asked, my voice barely more than a whisper.

"People are dying," he said, his voice hollow. "I don't know why. But something's happening. Something big."

I already knew.

I had seen one of the things responsible. But I needed to know I wasn't alone.

"William... how did you get here?"

He hesitated. "I don't know. I woke up here. The only person I know who's here is—"

"Does anyone know where the nearest mall is? I just bought myself a new purse!"

I froze.

That voice.

I turned my head slowly. Recognition bloomed like a firework.

"I know that voice," I whispered.

And I did.