e Hol

yes still vacant, lost in

rk. The kids. My brother, Clara, me, and a few others. We were all just children, but we knew

eptilian Elias slept. The only sounds were the rhythmic creak

g rusty knives and makeshift club

knew this was different. This wasn't human flesh. This was... Reptilian mea

e room. "He tried to slip a rope around Elias's ankle. But Elias... he twitched. Just slightly. He made a t

open. My great-grandfather Robert st

ns. He saw the mimic of El

ce instantl

s voice thick with angui

to help the children

he saw was his cousin, the m

ver screamed, but

d with a terrifyin

en to reveal a gory, gaping maw lined wi

ged at

rough the room. Robert's scr

hy, interwoven tentacles wrapped around his

it all, paral

ng eaten. Right in

let out a piercing

assed o

to the spot, eyes wide, wi

eating, alien musk that hung heavy in the air. The sounds were even worse.

out of their shock, driven by

lindly through the snow-covered forest, th

.

y, Hoover paused, his br

. He gasped for air, his breathing rapid and shallow, his ey

ed 911. The paramed

y the second. He slowly opened his eyes, meeting my gaze. He reache

t. It's dangerous," he rasped, his voice fading to a whisper. "T

t time, his eyes empty, de

slack and dropped, h

as g

grandfather, the man who had told the

s echoing in my ears: "Your instinct

couldn't react in t