"RUN!"
Everything broke at once.
Iris moved first. Her hand shot out—grabbing Veronica's wrist, pulling her forward without thinking. No hesitation. No second glance. Just movement.
The group scattered instantly. No formation. No plan. Just survival.
Feet slammed against uneven ground. Dry leaves crushed underfoot. Branches snapped against skin and clothing. Breathing turned ragged almost immediately.
Behind them— something was closing in. Fast. Too fast.
Iris didn't need to look to know the distance was shrinking. Still—she turned.
Her hand moved without thought, snatching the gun from Marcus as she twisted her body mid-run and fired.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
The recoil bit into her palm. The sound split the forest apart. The shots landed.
But—
They didn't stop. The bullets struck the creature's hide and barely sank in. Shallow. Like hitting dense wood. Useless.
The monster snarled, a low, vibrating sound that seemed to shake the air itself. Its speed increased.
Iris' grip tightened around the gun. Not effective.
"They're not slowing down!" someone shouted, panic bleeding into their voice.
The group began to fracture under pressure.
Spacing widened. Movement lost rhythm.
Claire struggled behind them, half-dragging Daniel. His weight slowed her down—every step heavier than the last. Too slow. Too exposed.
One of the disheveled women screamed. High-pitched. Sharp. Breaking. The creature was already too close. In blind panic— she shoved Claire forward. Claire stumbled. A sharp gasp tore from her throat as her footing slipped—
—but Caleb caught her instantly, steadying her before she could fall. "Watch it!"
The woman didn't respond. Her eyes were wide. Wild. Unfocused. Survival had already stripped something away from her.
The monster lunged again. And this time—
she shoved someone else. Her friend. For a split second, their eyes met. Confusion. Shock. Betrayal.
The creature's jaws closed.
A wet, crushing sound echoed through the trees. Bone gave way like brittle glass. Blood sprayed across the ground in a violent arc. The scream didn't last. It didn't need to. The body dropped. Still. No one stopped. No one could. Another shadow moved— Too fast. It was already there. Right beside Claire.
Its jaws opened wide, rows of saber-like teeth catching what little light filtered through the canopy. Close. Too close.
Her body locked. Her heart— stopped. This is it.
Bang.
The shot rang out. Sharp. Clean. Final.
The bullet pierced straight through the creature's eye—straight through—and out the back of its skull. The force snapped its head back. Its body collapsed instantly. Dead before it hit the ground.
[Level 3 Sabertooth Beast eliminated.]
[+30 EXP]
[+30 Copper]
Iris didn't lower the gun. Her breathing remained steady—but her mind moved rapidly, piecing it together. Not the body. Not the hide. But the eyes.
"That's the weak point!" she snapped, voice cutting clean through the chaos. "Their eyes! Aim for their eyes!"
Marcus reacted immediately. "Formation!" The shift was instant.
The bodyguards snapped into position, movements sharp and trained. They closed ranks, forming a tight defensive circle.
Back-to-back. Weapons raised. The weaker members were pulled inward. Claire. Daniel. The Hales. Protected.
Iris didn't step inside.
She stayed just outside the formation, gun raised, eyes scanning the tree line. Watching. Tracking.
The remaining creatures didn't attack immediately. They circled instead. Slow. Controlled. Deliberate. Watching them. Learning them. Not mindless. Not like the zombies. These were different, Stronger, Faster, Smarter.
Iris' gaze narrowed slightly. That made them worse. Far worse. One shifted. Then another. Their muscles tensed—
Then they lunged. The formation tightened instantly, weapons rising—
Then— They stopped. Mid-motion. And just as suddenly— they retreated. Gone.
Vanishing back into the forest like they had never been there. Silence fell heavy, thick and suffocating. No one spoke. Only the sound of uneven breathing filled the space.
Snow whimpered softly. The small sound cut through everything. Iris turned immediately.
A shallow gash marked its side, staining its Matted white fur with streaks of red.
Her chest tightened—just slightly.
"…Hold still."
Claire moved in quickly, hands already steady despite everything, assessing the wound. (She's the medic. She knows what to do.)
Iris' gaze shifted to the two women—
They didn't move. Didn't breathe. They were just there… still. Unnaturally still.
A thick pool of blood spread beneath what remained of them. Limbs lay scattered across the ground, twisted at angles that didn't belong to anything living. The metallic scent hung in the air. Heavy.
Iris looked at them for a second longer— Then looked away. Her grip tightened around the gun.
Protection period…?
They had been attacked within minutes. Minutes. Her eyes lifted slowly toward the forest, toward the place those creatures had disappeared into.
If this was protection—
Then what waited beyond it…
would be worse. Much worse.
Iris exhaled slowly. The sound was quiet. Controlled.
But something inside her had already shifted. This wasn't survival anymore. Not the kind she knew. This was something else entirely. And hesitation—
would get them killed.