Chapter 3 THE HUNT BEGINS

The moment the creatures locked their glowing golden eyes on Ethan, every instinct in his body screamed at him to run. The pack surged forward like a living wave of black fur and claws, their massive bodies tearing across the ruined street with terrifying speed. The ground seemed to tremble beneath their weight. Ethan stumbled backward from the shattered pharmacy window, his heart pounding so violently that it felt ready to burst from his chest. He had never seen anything move that fast. One second the creatures were halfway down the street, and the next they were already closing the distance.

Glass exploded inward and a monstrous wolf crashed through the front entrance.

Its jaws snapped shut inches from Ethan's face.

He threw himself sideways and slammed into a shelf. Medicine bottles scattered across the floor as the beast landed where he had been standing only moments earlier. The creature snarled and turned toward him. Thick black saliva dripped from its fangs while golden veins pulsed beneath its skin.

Ethan scrambled to his feet, the metal pipe remained clenched in his hand.

The wolf lunged.

He swung with everything he had and the pipe connected with the side of the creature's skull. The impact echoed through the building, the wolf staggered slightly.

Only slightly, fear flooded Ethan's chest, that strike should have shattered bone instead, the beast looked almost annoyed.

Another growl echoed from outside, then another, then another. The rest of the pack was entering the pharmacy.

Ethan didn't hesitate, He turned and sprinted toward the back exit.

The rear door burst open as Ethan crashed through it and stumbled into a narrow alleyway. Garbage bins lay overturned while smoke drifted through the gray afternoon sky. The city felt less like a community and more like a battlefield abandoned by civilization.

Behind him came the sound of claws scraping concrete.

The pack was still following him but Ethan ran harder.

His lungs burned, His legs screamed in protest.

But survival pushed him forward.

A terrified crowd suddenly rushed across the next intersection. Men and women carried bags, children, and whatever supplies they had managed to save. Their faces were filled with panic.

"Run!" someone shouted.

"They're coming!" The crowd scattered in every direction, a scream erupted behind them.

Ethan glanced over his shoulder.

One of the creatures had caught a man attempting to climb into a truck. The beast dragged him to the ground with horrifying ease. Blood splattered across the pavement.

Ethan forced himself to look away. Stopping meant dying. He sprinted through another street and nearly collided with a military barricade. Several soldiers stood behind armored vehicles. Their weapons pointed toward the advancing infected.

A loudspeaker crackled.

"Remain where you are!" but nobody listened. The survivors continued rushing forward, the soldiers looked terrified.

Then the creatures appeared, everything descended into chaos.

Gunfire erupted. The deafening roar of automatic rifles echoed through the street, several wolves collapsed beneath the barrage but others kept moving.

One leaped onto an armored vehicle and ripped through metal as if it were paper, the soldiers broke formation.

People screamed, vehicles crashed, smoke filled the air.

Ethan seized the opportunity and slipped through the confusion.

Home No More, by the time Ethan reached his neighborhood, the sun was beginning to set, the streets were eerily quiet, too quiet.

His stomach tightened, something felt wrong. He quickened his pace, the familiar houses appeared ahead several doors stood open, windows were shattered not a single person remained outside.

Ethan approached his home cautiously, the front door hung crookedly from broken hinges.

His pulse quickened.

"No.."

The word escaped before he realized it, he rushed inside, furniture lay overturned, drawers had been emptied, the living room looked as though a hurricane had passed through it.

"Mum!"

He shouted but no answer, He searched every room.

The kitchen, the bathroom, His parents' bedroom but found nothing, the house was empty.

Then he spotted a trail of blood leading toward the back door.

His chest tightened, every step felt heavier than the last, the trail continued into the backyard.

There, partially hidden behind an old storage shed, he found his mother's scarf, the same blue scarf she wore every winter.

It was stained with blood, fresh blood.

Ethan's knees nearly gave out, for several moments he simply stared at it, the world around him seemed distant, unreal.

He had already lost his father, now his mother was gone too, whether she was dead or alive, he didn't know. The uncertainty hurt even more.

His fingers tightened around the scarf, then a sound interrupted his thoughts, footsteps several of them was approaching rapidly.

The Survivors

Ethan spun around and raised his pipe, three figures emerged from the neighboring yard.

A middle-aged man carrying a shotgun stepped forward first. Behind him stood a teenage girl with a backpack and a younger boy no older than ten.

The man raised both hands.

"Easy."

Ethan didn't lower the weapon.

"Who are you?"

"Name's Marcus."

The man nodded toward the street.

"We saw you running."

"What do you want?"

Marcus sighed.

"Same thing everyone wants."

He looked toward the darkening sky.

"To survive."

For a moment nobody spoke, then the younger boy pointed toward Ethan's hand.

"Is that your mom's scarf?"

Ethan glanced down, the knot in his chest tightened.

Marcus immediately understood.

His expression softened, "We've all lost people."

The simple statement carried more weight than any speech could have, silence followed then Finally, Ethan lowered the pipe.

Marcus nodded.

"Come with us."

"Where?"

"We found a shelter."

Ethan almost laughed.

"There are no shelters left."

"This one is different."

Marcus exchanged a glance with the teenage girl.

Then he leaned closer.

"The military is protecting it."

That caught Ethan's attention, the military had abandoned most of Ashvale.

Why protect a single shelter?

Before he could ask, distant howls echoed through the neighborhood and everyone froze.

The wolves are close, Very close.

Marcus immediately grabbed his shotgun.

"We need to move now."

The four survivors moved through the gathering darkness as quickly as possible. The city had transformed completely. Fires burned across the horizon while distant screams drifted through the night. Ashvale no longer resembled the place Ethan had grown up in.

As they crossed an abandoned highway, the howls suddenly stopped, the silence felt unnatural.

Marcus frowned, "I don't like this."

Neither did Ethan, a strange feeling crawled along the back of his neck, Like they were being watched.

He slowly looked toward a nearby rooftop.

His blood turned cold immediately.

A massive figure stood silhouetted against the moon, It dwarfed the wolves.

Black fur covered its enormous body.

Golden veins glowed beneath its skin like rivers of fire.

Its eyes burned brighter than anything Ethan had ever seen.

The creature wasn't hunting, It wasn't chasing It was observing, watching and tudying them.

The smaller wolves appeared around nearby buildings and immediately lowered their heads, as if acknowledging a king. The gigantic beast never took its eyes off Ethan.

Then something impossible happened, the creature smiled. A slow, terrifying smile that revealed rows of razor-sharp teeth. And for the first time, Ethan realized the horrifying truth.

The wolves weren't acting on instinct rather they were following orders.

Someone or something was controlling them.

The giant beast opened its mouth and a deep roar exploded across the city.

Thousands of howls answered from every direction.

The hunt had only just begun.