Three students darted recklessly through the crowded streets, shoes splashing through puddles, cold rain biting at their skin. The wind howled between buildings, tugging at their uniforms like invisible hands.
"I'm sorry, guys," the tall one huffed between breaths. "You're going to be late because of me."
"You can't know that," the girl shot back, defiant.
"Look what you've done," the brunette snapped. "Now my perfect attendance is ruined."
The girl swatted him on the head. "Kevin. Can you not be an asshole for five seconds?"
"We've known each other for a year, Anna. That's biologically impossible."
She rolled her eyes. "Why can't you be more like Manny? He talks like he has more than one brain cell."
Kevin smirked at Anna "You know bad boys are way better than boys with two brain cells."
"Hey don't—!"
But Anna didn't finish. A stranger shoulder-checked her hard in the crowd, knocking her down.
"Anna!" Manny skidded to a stop, reaching out his hand. "You okay?"
She took it, brushing wet hair from her face. "Thanks... I should know not to argue with Kevin anyway."
"It reduces your IQ," Manny said with a soft smile.
Anna laughed.
Kevin offered a hand too, still scowling. "Holding my arm won't lower your IQ, right?"
Anna hesitated, then smiled slyly. "I feel like the main character in a romance novel. How sweet."
"So—"
"So—"
Both Kevin and Manny said in unison.
"I'll go with—"
Thunder cracked above. The sky opened up. Rain fell in sheets.
They arrived at school late. And soaked. And laughing.
But something else had arrived too—something lurking just out of sight.
In exactly fourty-eight hours, one of them would be dead.
The Country of the Turtle was known for its calm—a kind of stillness that sat over the streets like a thin fog. Maybe it was because, unlike the other kingdoms, this land had roots that traced all the way back to Earth.
But today, the calm was pretending.
Across town, boots splashed through puddles. A General from the Country of the Phoenix, draped in a dark, soaked uniform, moved with quiet purpose. Her long coat dragged through the water as she walked, eyes locked ahead. She wasn't here to talk. She was here to destroy.
Kevin stood beneath the awning of a coffee shop he occasionally went to, water dripping from his sleeves. The rain was slower now, but the sky still hung low and heavy.
Anna appeared at his side. Without asking, she looped her arm through his.
Kevin raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"
Anna didn't answer him. Instead, she grinned at Manny, who stood a few feet away, trying to wring out his jacket.
Manny saw the arm-link. Froze. Then gave a nervous smile.
Anna turned back to Kevin. "You're like a rock, you know that? A stone with sarcasm."
Kevin blinked slowly. "Must everything be a problem with you?"
She shot him a dirty look. "Are you a masochist or just emotionally constipated?"
Manny coughed awkwardly. "You two look… close."
Anna spun toward him, smiling mischievously. "Would you prefer if I held your arm instead?"
Manny's face turned bright red. "N-No! I mean—I didn't mean—why would I want that—"
The sound of screams—sharp, loud, and too real to be a joke—echoed down the narrow alleyway beside them. The rain blurred the world into streaks of gray, but the fear piercing through those voices was crystal clear.
The three froze.
Anna turned slowly toward the source, her usual fire dampened by unease. Kevin instinctively stepped in front of both of them. Manny, despite the lump in his throat, clenched his fists and stood beside him.
"That wasn't... normal," Anna whispered.
"No," Kevin muttered.
The scream cut off abruptly, replaced by a low thud and the sound of something dragging across the wet concrete.
They took a cautious step toward the alley.
Anna hesitated. "Should we really—"
"We can't just ignore it," Manny said, moving forward. "Someone might be—"
Drip... drip... drip.
A slow rhythm of droplets hitting metal. The air felt suddenly heavier.
They turned the corner.
There, slumped against a dumpster, was a student. A girl in the same uniform as theirs. Her head was tilted unnaturally, eyes wide open in lifeless shock. The lower half of her body was missing. Blood pooled into the cracks of the street, diluted by rain, running like crimson veins through the stone.
Anna gasped and stumbled back.
Manny looked like he was going to be sick.
Kevin didn't move.
"W-What the hell is this…" Manny stammered, his voice cracking.
"We need to go. Now," Kevin said coldly, grabbing both of them by the wrist.
Before they could take a step back,
Then... a whisper.
"You're next."
A hand grasping a rusted sword reached out—long, thin, pale like it had never seen light—and began to crawl from the darkness. Not walk. Not slither. Crawl.
"Run!" Kevin barked. There was something in his tone Manny had never heard before. Not sarcasm. Not irritation.
Manny's lungs burned as they ran, the cold air slicing his throat like broken glass. Kevin's grip was iron around his wrist, dragging him faster, but his mind kept flashing back—The girl's body. Her open eyes.
Then it was there again.
Blocking the path.
Not creeping now—but standing. Bent over like something broken. Shoulders arched. Head cocked to the side, twitching with every breath. Like a weasel ready to pounce.
Manny didn't think.
He charged. Pure instinct. No plan—just raw adrenaline and a need to end this before it got worse.
But fingers gripped his arm—tight.
"Stop!" Anna yanked him back.
He stumbled, confused. "We can't just—!"
She stepped past him.
Her face was different now. Not teasing. Not loud, but Sharp. Focused and Ready to kill.
Manny's heart pounded. She was going to do it. She was actually...
SHNK.
A flash.
Manny barely registered the movement. One second the creature was there. The next—Kevin stood over it. It's sword in hand.
The thing had been cut in half. Clean. Effortless. Like it was nothing.
Manny couldn't speak.
He watched Kevin, silhouetted against the rain and gray light. His shoulders were rising and falling. The sword dripped with black, oozing blood. And his expression—Completely blank.
Anna stepped forward slowly. "You… you killed it."
Kevin didn't respond at first. Just stared at what was left of the thing.
"No."
It wasn't even a whisper—just a breath. A thought spoken aloud.
That's when they heard it.
A hiss.
Low and sickening, like steam leaking from a dying engine. The creature's severed halves trembled on the ground, tendons twitching, bones cracking in reverse.
It was reforming.
Manny stepped back, bile rising in his throat. "What… what is that?"
Kevin didn't answer.
Anna's eyes narrowed. It's regenerating… could it actually—?
The thing lifted its head—barely and smiled.
Even in half… it smiled.
It tried to rise and fell.
Its legs buckled, slamming into the pavement. A moment passed before they realized—Kevin had severed its Achilles tendons.
"Let's go," he said, already moving.
Anna followed. But Manny didn't.
He stopped, looking back at the mangled figure still twitching in the rain.
"What if it kills someone else?"
Anna turned, breath catching. "You're right… but there's nothing we can do. It's better to wait for the authorities."
"Run, idiot!" Kevin barked. "Before that thing finishes regenerating and tears you apart!"
But Manny's feet stayed planted. His hand reached down, wrapping around a rusted metal pipe on the ground.
"I can't just sit back and watch," he said quietly. "Call me an idiot all you want… but I'm not a coward."
Anna reached for him. "Manny, don't—!"
She took one step forward.
Kevin grabbed her wrist.
"It's too late for him," he said, voice firm. "I'm not losing you too."
Anna turned sharply, her eyes wet with fury—then slapped him across the face.
"You know I can obliterate that thing in seconds," she snapped. "Don't play dumb. You know exactly who I am. And you—". She scoffed. "Kay the Quick Blade. The Turtle's Pillar and the strongest man in the world."
Kay chuckled, rubbing his cheek. "Damn. I thought I had you fooled at least a little. But the name you chose, it was like you wanted to be found out—Anne, the Undead"
"I could say the same to you--K."
Anne's gaze drifted toward the corner where Manny had vanished. His voice dropped. "What do you think he'd do if he found out about us?"
"He already knows." He crossed his arms. "He's military. Same as us."
Kay raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding."
Anne looked surprised herself. "But he seems so… weak."
Kay let go of her hand. "That's the point. He was chosen to be bait. A face you'd never expect to be a threat."
He turned toward the alley. "He should be back by now."
"You sure he's strong enough?"
Kay hesitated. "Yeah. That thing was weak. He's trained. Should've been an easy cleanup…"
Then he stopped mid-sentence. His body jolted forward and ran around the corner, but Manny and the creature were gone.
And to make matters worse, so was Anne.
TEN HOURS LATER
Anne sat in restraints, arms crossed, eyes cold. Kay stood across from her, jaw tight.
Manny stood quietly at his side.
Anne's voice cut through the silence. "You know what he'll do when he finds out you're holding one of his own prisoner?"
Kay's expression didn't change.
"Don't worry you will care soon?" she added, her voice laced with venom.
Kay didn't answer.
But Manny looked at her—silent, unreadable.
Something had changed.
And none of them were ready for what was going to happen in the next twenty eight hours.