The voice vanished as quickly as it appeared.
"Kill."
One word.
Nothing more.
Yet it lingered in Kai's mind.
The monster tilted its head.
Its crimson eyes glowed beneath the moonlight.
Watching him.
Studying him.
Waiting.
Kai tightened his fists.
The knuckleduster felt heavier than before.
His breathing steadied.
Fear still clawed at his chest.
But there was something else now.
Anger.
Lily's body lay behind the creature.
A child.
A girl who had laughed only hours ago.
Gone.
The monster clicked its teeth together.
Mocking him.
Then it moved.
---
It disappeared.
Kai's eyes widened.
Again.
Gone.
The shadows swallowed it completely.
Instinct screamed.
He threw himself sideways.
A claw tore through the air where his chest had been.
The impact shattered part of a tree trunk.
Wood exploded outward.
Kai rolled across the ground and scrambled back to his feet.
Fast.
Way too fast.
The creature wasn't merely strong.
It was hunting.
Using the darkness.
Using fear.
The monster circled him.
Its red eyes appeared briefly between the trees.
Then vanished again.
A predator.
Enjoying itself.
Kai turned slowly.
Trying not to lose sight of it.
Trying not to panic.
The forest suddenly felt much smaller.