The worst part wasn't the monsters.
It was the hunger.
I don't know how long it had been since I last ate. A day? Two? My body was weak, but I couldn't even cry about it anymore. Crying took energy.
After Drexigora, I didn't check outside. I didn't move. I just sat there, waiting to rot. My stomach felt like a knot of acid.
That's when my phone buzzed.
Not a warning.
A… reward?
---
🜂 FALLEN'S GIFT – REWARD FOR SURVIVAL (0002)
> REWARD: RATION CAPSULE (1X)
DESCRIPTION: NUTRITIONAL CORE. CANNOT BE RECREATED.
CLAIM? [YES] / [NO]
---
I tapped YES without thinking.
A sound like a bell rang from the phone, and suddenly, it was in my hand—a small, black capsule, warm and pulsing slightly, like it was alive. I didn't care. I bit into it like a rat.
And then—
I tasted everything.
Rice. Meat. Curry. Soda. Sugar. Bread. Milk. I couldn't even identify half of it, but my body didn't care. I chewed and swallowed and screamed from the back of my throat. It was the best thing I had ever eaten.
And I hated myself for loving it.
The Fallen had given it to me. The same entity that summoned the horrors. The one sending these messages.
Was this a game to it?
Was it watching me eat?
I stared at the dark phone screen, hating how grateful I felt.
---
The countdown started again:
⏳ NEXT ARRIVAL: 16:27:55
I wanted to scream.
There were no stores open. No neighbors. No food except what it gave me. The roads were covered in dead bodies, some in pieces. I checked my fridge again. Empty.
It wasn't just my fridge.
Everything was gone.
Even the trash bins.
Like someone had pressed a "delete" key on every resource that wasn't earned.
I curled up on the floor.
I laughed.
Then I cried.
Then I laughed again.
Something inside me was breaking. I didn't even care about the next monster. I just wanted to know what it was so I could get it over with.
My phone buzzed.
---
⚠️ WARNING #0003 ⚠️
> ENTITY CODE: THORAMAW
TYPE: DREAMWRAITH
TIME OF ARRIVAL: 00:00 – MIDNIGHT
ABILITY: FEARFEAST – induces fatal heart attacks through exposure to its face. Victims die in their sleep after viewing it.
PHYSICAL TRAITS: Absence of eyes. A perfectly circular mouth stretching across its head, filled with millions of tiny, wet, clicking teeth.
SURVIVAL TIP: DO NOT SLEEP.
NOTE: IT DOES NOT NEED TO OPEN DOORS. IT ONLY NEEDS YOU TO CLOSE YOUR EYES.
---
I stopped breathing.
Midnight?
It comes when I sleep?
So what, I stay awake until morning?
I stared at the warning. Over and over.
DO NOT SLEEP.
The words felt like a noose tightening around my brain. My hands were shaking again. I hadn't even recovered from the last one, and now I couldn't sleep?
I sat up. Poured cold water on my head. Slapped myself.
Then I heard something.
Creeeeak.
My bedroom door.
It was opening.
I turned slowly.
It didn't make sense.
I had locked it.
I had locked it.
There was no breeze.
No sound.
Just that quiet creaking as the door opened an inch… then two… then—
I saw it.
Standing there.
THORAMAW.
Its head almost touched the ceiling, hunched and crooked like it had grown wrong. Its face was a perfect circle. No eyes. Just that mouth—glistening with wet, snapping teeth that never stopped moving. They jittered like they were hungry. Or laughing.
It didn't walk.
It just shivered closer.
I backed away. My phone buzzed again.
---
WARNING: YOU ARE IN ITS PRESENCE
> DO NOT CLOSE YOUR EYES
DO NOT BLINK FOR TOO LONG
THIS IS NOT A DREAM
---
I bit my tongue to stay awake. Hard. Blood ran down my chin.
I couldn't move.
It stared without eyes.
I stared back without blinking.
It inched closer.
I wanted to scream, but if I did, I might blink.
Seconds turned into minutes.
Then the sun began to rise.
And it was gone.
Just like that.
Like it had never been there.
---
YOU SURVIVED WARNING #0003
> REWARD UNLOCKED: STIM-CAPSULE (1X)
NOTE: THE LONGER YOU SURVIVE, THE LESS HUMAN YOU WILL REMAIN
---
I lay on the floor, blinking slowly, eyes burning, breath ragged.
Three down.
Nine hundred ninety-seven to go.
I don't know how much more of me is left.
But something inside me is starting to change.
I don't want to survive anymore.
I want to understand.