It was the next evening, just past 6 p.m.
Thalia and Chris strolled down the sidewalk toward Stonewall station, dressed like they'd just stepped off the set of an old Hollywood red carpet.
Chris wore a black tuxedo tailored to near perfection, his bow tie crisp, shoes polished until they gleamed. His dark hair had been slicked back with enough gel to withstand a hurricane, giving him that timeless, debonair charm.
Thalia walked beside him in a show-stopping golden dress that shimmered every time the streetlights touched it. A slit ran dangerously high along her thigh, nearly revealing too much, yet somehow keeping everything perfectly in place. White heels clicked beneath her with each confident step, and a small gold purse that she clung to. Her dark hair, usually a chaotic mess, was now straightened and pinned just enough to frame her natural beauty, piercing blue eyes and a radiant confidence that made strangers stop and look.
They looked expensive.
They looked powerful.
They looked like they belonged.
The city streets were alive with celebration. People packed the sidewalks in clusters, wearing capes, wings, masks, and body paint. Kids ran with glowsticks mimicking their favorite heroes' weapons. Food trucks lined the avenue, pumping out scents of funnel cakes and spiced noodles. Street performers dressed as famous heroes juggled or breathed fire, and holographic ads hovered in the air, replaying Solar's greatest feats.
"Hero Day", as the people so rightly named it, wasn't just a holiday. It was the holiday.
A man wearing a bright blonde wig and a wrinkled, homemade Solar suit sprinted by, his voice raw with excitement.
"WOO! SOLAR'S NUMBER ONE!!!" he screamed, arms raised like he'd just flown through a building.
He kept running, vanishing into the crowd of equally enthusiastic fans, his voice fading into laughter and cheers.
Thalia and Chris burst into laughter.
"Oh my God," she said, wiping a tear from her eye.
"He looked like Solar if he worked in a pizzeria," Chris joked.
They stepped down into the subway station.
Like the streets above, the station was alive. Buskers strummed guitars in the corner while families in matching hero shirts posed for photos against tiled murals. The walls were plastered with event posters and holographic projectors looping Hero Day trailers.
The energy was vibrant, everyone riding the high of a city in celebration.
Two police officers stood by the stairs, standing like sentries to ensure the environment was safe for all.
They reached the platform. Chris checked the digital board. "Looks like this is us," he said, nodding toward the next arrival, just one minute away.
Thalia clasped her hands together with a dreamy sigh. "I can't wait. This is gonna be the best night of our lives."
Chris raised an eyebrow. "So how exactly are you planning on getting us in again?"
She grinned. "You remember Caleb, right?"
"From camp?" Chris asked, squinting. "You mean crybaby Caleb?"
Thalia playfully shoved his shoulder. "Okay, maybe don't call him that when we get there, but yes. He's working catering tonight. I gave him a hundred bucks to sneak us in through the vendor entrance."
Chris laughed. "Not bad, T. Looks like you actually thought this one through."
The familiar screech of metal on metal echoed through the station as the train approached. The tunnel lights flashed across the platform, followed by the massive gust of wind that always came just before a train arrived. The crowd pushed forward, ready to board.
But Thalia's smile vanished.
"Wait," she said, pointing to the windows of the train. "Is that… blood?"
A dark red smear stretched across several windows of the front carriage. It wasn't paint. It was thick, streaked, and dripping.
Chris leaned in to get a better look, but before they could say another word, a shrill, blood-curdling scream erupted from farther down the platform.
Then another.
And another.
A chorus of terror.
Then—
"MONSTERS! RUN!" someone screamed.
And all hell broke loose.
The two uniformed officers stationed by the stairs immediately snapped into motion. Hands flew to holsters, weapons drawn. Their boots pounded against the concrete as they rushed toward the swelling chaos near the center of the platform.
That was when something erupted through the train window.
Glass and metal exploded outward in a deadly storm, and before either officer could react, a blur of muscle and teeth snatched one of them clean off the ground.
It all happened in seconds.
The officer screamed, his upper body already deep inside the beast's gaping mouth. The creature's jaw clenched, and the scream was cut short. A sickening CRACK echoed through the station as the officer was bitten in half. His legs and half-torso were flung across the platform like a soaked towel, slapping against the tiled floor in a wet, splattering heap.
Gasps turned to screams.
Then, it stepped forward.
It stood at least eight feet tall, its grotesque frame glistening under the flickering fluorescent lights. Its body was a distorted, sinewy blend of exposed muscle and hardened, reptilian armor, like some hellish crossbreed between a dinosaur and an anglerfish. Thick, black veins pulsed beneath its skin, feeding into long arms that ended in serrated talons. Its legs were bent backward at the knees like a bird of prey, but its feet ended in claws sharp enough to split concrete.
A long, serpentine tail slithered behind it, twitching erratically. The tail alone looked strong enough to break bones on impact.
Its head was elongated, alien. No nose. Just a wide jaw lined with rows, not a row, rows, of razor-sharp, jagged teeth, all glistening with saliva that dripped to the floor in slow, heavy droplets. Its eyes glowed bright red, void of mercy, and perched atop its skull were tentacle-like appendages, twitching and curling like they were sniffing the air for more prey.
It was grotesque and utterly monstrous.
"What the fu—" Thalia started, but before she could finish...
The remaining officer opened fire, unloading every round from his sidearm with a trembling hand.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The bullets struck the creature's hide, pinging off its armored skin like pebbles against a tank. They ricocheted harmlessly into walls, columns, and signs, not even causing the creature to flinch.
Still, the officer kept shooting, even when the chamber ran dry.
Click. Click. Click.
No more bullets.
The beast turned its grotesque head, staring at the officer with a slow, calculated tilt, like it was studying him. Then, in a blink, the creature's tail swung clean across the air,
CRACK.
The officer's head was gone, and that's where he stood for a few more seconds, headless, gun still raised. Then his body crumpled forward, kneeling, then falling flat. Blood pooled fast, spreading like ink on paper.
The platform descended into absolute panic. Screaming civilians trampled over each other in a desperate attempt to flee to the opposite end of the platform, but the exits were bottlenecked, chaos flooding every path.
The monster screeched, a piercing, otherworldly howl that shook the walls and sent a fresh wave of terror rippling through the crowd.
Then, it locked eyes with Thalia and Chris.
"T..." said Chris
"Y-yeah?" She replied
"Run!" He whispered.
Thalia took a step back. Then another.
And another.
Each one she took, the monster took one to match. Its red eyes were locked on her, unblinking, fixated.
"Shit…" Chris whispered, barely able to get the word out.
Then, a baby cried.
The sharp, innocent sound cut through the chaos like a blade. The beast's head snapped toward the source with sickening immediacy, abandoning its pursuit of Thalia and Chris. A mother stood frozen in place, cradling her baby, tears cascading down her face. Her body trembled like a leaf in the wind. Fear rooted her to the ground.
Further down the platform, a second creature tore into fleeing civilians. Blood misted the air, painting the tiled walls a sickening red. People screamed. Bones cracked. Flesh was ripped like wet paper.
The exits were blocked.
They were trapped.
Thalia's heart pounded. She turned to Chris.
"Chris, when I say run, you make a break for it. Find the nearest Hero phone and report this."
Chris blinked. "Are you insane?! I'm not leaving you—"
"Chris, this is NOT the time," she snapped. "If we don't do something, everyone here is dead."
There was hesitation. Fear gripped him like a vice.
But he saw it in her eyes. She was serious.
Grinding his teeth, Chris slowly began to backpedal, keeping his eyes on the monster now inching toward the mother and her baby. The creature tilted its head, growling low and guttural as it crept forward. It was hunting. It was enjoying it.
When Chris reached the stairs, he bolted. Full sprint. No looking back.
Thalia turned back to the platform.
"Okay, Thalia. Don't be a hero. Just buy them time. That's all you need to do."
She slipped off her heels and planted her bare feet on the cold concrete. Her dress fluttered around her knees as she took a deep breath.
The creature was right in front of the woman now. Its hot breath blasted into her face, reeking of death. It extended its grotesque tongue, long, black, and thick like a sewer pipe, dragging it slowly across the woman's face. Saliva oozed down her cheek and onto her trembling hands.
Thalia grabbed the slit of her dress and tore it clean off for more mobility. She gripped her purse, wound up, and hurled it across the platform.
THWACK!
The purse slammed into the back of the beast's head.
It whipped around with a snarl, scanning the empty platform.
But Thalia had already moved, dashing into its blind spot.
With all the courage she could muster, she leapt, one foot on the train's edge, the other on the monster's back—and grabbed onto the slithering tendrils atop its skull.
They were slick with ooze, her grip weak.
The beast screeched, the sound rattling every train window still intact.
"RUN! NOW!" Thalia shouted, holding on with everything she had. "Take your kid and GO! HURRY!!"
The woman didn't hesitate. She bolted past the creature, clutching her baby tight to her chest. Thalia held on, swinging wildly, getting whipped back and forth like a ragdoll, but she didn't let go.
She caught one final glimpse of the woman slipping on the stairs, catching herself, then disappearing up to street level.
A wave of relief.
Thalia exhaled, then agony.
Something pierced her side from behind.
A shriek escaped her lips. The beast's tail, sharp like a spear, had bent upward and skewered her from above, plunging through her abdomen and into its own skull. The impact left her suspended mid-air, bleeding out, her body trembling in shock.
She gasped, the air escaping her lungs in ragged bursts. Her vision blurred. Blood soaked her golden dress, dark red pouring from the open wound and trickling down the tail.
Her arms fell limp.
The creature lifted her higher, tongue hanging lazily from its mouth, catching every drop of her blood like a delicacy. Its jaws opened wide, and the stench of rotting meat and iron hit her hard.
Her body started to shut down.
Everything slowed.
Her heartbeat, once thunderous, faded to a hollow thump...
She could feel her fingers go cold.
The creature began to lower her into it's mouth but she acted quickly, bracing herself between the creature's teeth using both of her legs and all the strength she could muster, fixing her in place like a vice.
But it was futile , withing a few seconds its jaws snapped shut, severing both of her legs above the thigh. The pain hit a second later like a freight train.
"AAAAAAAAAAH!!!"
Her scream tore through the station, bouncing off walls, twisting with the other screams of panic and despair.
Blood gushed violently, painting the beast's face, the train, the walls.
And still, the monster licked it off, savoring it. Toying with her. Enjoying it.
Her breath grew thin.
Her head slumped.
"Shit, am I really gonna die?" she whispered. "I don't wanna die! Please! No!" the thoughts racing through her mind.
The edges of her vision caved in. Darkness stretched from the corners of her eyes. Every sound around her became muffled, distant, like she was underwater. The last thing she heard before her consciousness gave way were the dying screams of civilians being torn to pieces.
Then, finally…
Nothing.