Elijah and Samuel had strategized as they climbed the stairwell. Every step felt heavier under the weight of the plan they were about to execute.
"We need that bird to commit to a dive before we throw the bola," Elijah said with a focused tone. "Wait for the swoop, that's when its movement is predictable."
Samuel nodded as he adjusted the weighted makeshift bola in his hand. "You're taking point, right?"
"Yeah," Elijah confirmed. "I'll go out first, make a lot of noise, draw it toward me. It won't expect you. But listen, if you miss, we don't get a second shot. That bird is smart. One mistake and it won't fall for it again."
"How long is the charge-up on the defib?" Samuel asked as he gripped the spear tighter.
"Five seconds," Elijah replied, glancing sideways at him. "You'll need to time your attack perfectly. Trigger the charge the moment you commit to the strike. Hit it on the fifth second, no earlier, no later. Otherwise, you're just swinging a hot stick."
Samuel exhaled through his nose. "And the extinguisher?"
Elijah's lip curled slightly into a grim smile. "After the shock, drop the backpack and hit the regulator. The gas will surge through the hollow spear and into the wound. The sudden pressure and cold will do the rest. If the charge doesn't take it down, that blast might. And if that doesn't work…" He tapped the steel pipe resting on his shoulder. "Then we beat it the old-fashioned way."
They reached the rooftop door.
"You ready?" Elijah asked, hand on the handle, face tight with tension.
Samuel flexed his fingers around the spear shaft. "As ready as anyone can be when picking a fight with a flying mutant nightmare."
Elijah smirked. "That's the spirit."
With no more words, he flung the door open and stormed out onto the rooftop. The sky was smeared in dusky hues, clouds thick and restless. Elijah raised a metal pan and began hammering it with his pipe, the clanging ringing out like gunshots.
"Come on!" he shouted into the sky. "Come on, ugly!"
Samuel stayed just behind the door, heart pounding in his ears, the weight of the backpack and the spear grounding him. He peeked out, scanning the skies.
The bird responded.
A dark blur broke through the clouds above, slicing downward in a controlled dive, wings tucked. It had locked onto Elijah.
"Now!" Elijah shouted, backpedaling as the creature shrieked.
Samuel sprinted into the open and swung the bola with all his strength. The I.V. pole wheels spun in the air like whirling anchors and struck the bird's wing, the cords tangling mid-flap.
It didn't completely immobilize it, but it still threw off its balance. The creature crashed hard onto the rooftop, wings flailing as it tried to tear itself free from the bindings.
Samuel charged. Thumb on the defib trigger.
The creature stood up, but its wings were now tangled.
Five…
The bird screeched and charged towards Samuel.
Samuel braced himself.
Four…
It hissed, mouth open, revealing the tentacles inside.
Three…
Sparks danced along the wires coiled inside the spear shaft.
Two…
The bird's gaze locked onto Samuel, unflinching.
One…
Samuel plunged the spear straight into its chest. "Zero!"
The defib discharged.
A loud crack split the air as the current surged into the creature's body. The mutant convulsed, wings snapping rigid as every muscle locked in place. Its scream was unnatural, the mimicked cries of a human, but warped and broken. The vocal cords, overwhelmed by the current, sparked and sizzled into silence.
Seizing the moment, Samuel ripped off the makeshift backpack and slammed the extinguisher's valve.
A hiss exploded from the tube as carbon dioxide burst through the spear and into the wound. Frost bloomed across the bird's chest. The rapid freezing locked joints and veins alike. Pressure built inside as cold gas rushed through tissue not made to hold it. The creature spasmed, limbs twitching, then fell still, stiffened and steaming, mist curling from its open beak.
Samuel staggered back, panting. His heart thudded in his throat.
'That was almost too easy,' he thought, lowering the spear.
"Behind you!" Elijah's voice shattered the silence.
Samuel spun, instincts flaring.
A massive tentacle, slick and pale, cracked down like a whip.
He had been quick, but not quick enough. The tendril clipped his arm hard, sending a jolt of pain through him, and in the same fluid motion, it coiled around the dead bird and yanked it skyward.
Samuel fell to one knee, clutching his shoulder. He looked up and froze.
Drifting above them was something out of a nightmare.
A vast, jellyfish-like creature hovered in the evening sky, its shape outlined by eerie blue bioluminescence. The main body was smooth and massive, shaped like a drifting whale crossed with a squid. Translucent pulses rippled down its back. Dozens of long, curling tendrils hung below it, swaying with an unnatural grace. Each one glistened in the twilight, lined with faint ridges and barbs.
The sky itself seemed to warp around it.
Elijah rushed over and helped Samuel to his feet. "Come on!"
They bolted back toward the rooftop door. Its presence was thunderous. One of the tentacles lashed down, smashing into the rooftop as they slipped through the doorway.
Elijah slammed it shut just as a thick tendril punched through, trying to wedge its way inside. The doorframe cracked, but the creature's size worked against it. The stairs were too narrow for it to follow.
"Go!" Elijah yelled, and they raced downward, breath ragged, the thunderous impact of the creature's movements echoing above.
By the time they reached the lobby, the building groaned under its own weight.
And then…
They heard it.
A long, hollow horn echoed from above.
The sound was deep, alien, and shook the floor beneath their feet. Lights flickered. Dust rained from the ceiling.
Samuel caught his breath and stared up toward the roof. "Shit. What the hell was that?"
"As long as we don't go outside, we should be okay," Elijah muttered, crouching beside him. His face was pale, slick with sweat, his breathing labored.
But then…
More horns.
Not one.
Not two.
Three… four… five.
Each bellowing note vibrated in the walls like a warning bell from some forgotten god.
Samuel and Elijah sat against the wall, staring at the ceiling, too tired to speak, too alert to close their eyes. The hunt wasn't over.
The sky had sent a new predator, and it isn't alone.