The group moved carefully together.
Every step they took echoed too loudly in the underground ruin, even when they tried to tread lightly. The neighborhood was still recognizable—almost—but that familiarity only made things worse.
There was no sky... no sun... no moon.
Above them was a vast, uneven ceiling of stone and fractured concrete, stretching so high it disappeared into darkness. Strange crystalline formations jutted downward like the teeth of some ancient beast, faintly glowing and casting warped shadows across the ground.
The street itself still existed...
But it had been... edited.
Buildings that once stood three or four stories tall were now fused into each other at impossible angles. Staircases rose from the ground and led nowhere, stopping abruptly midair. Others descended into darkness, spiraling down like invitations to death.
Paths branched unnaturally, splitting and rejoining in ways that defied logic.
Some led into narrow corridors between collapsed structures.
Others widened suddenly into open plazas littered with debris and strange symbols carved into the ground.
The ground beneath their feet wasn’t asphalt anymore... it was a mixture of stone, cracked concrete, and something else... something smoother, darker, faintly warm to the touch.
West walked at the front instinctively with the others following behind.
"We need a direction," someone whispered from the back.
West stopped and turned.
"Listen," he said quietly. "This place still mirrors our neighborhood layout. The ruins warped it—but they didn’t erase it."
He pointed ahead.
"Our street used to end at a T-junction near the old convenience store. If ruins follow spatial anchors like the books say, then exits usually form at the original boundaries."
A few people exchanged glances.
"So you’re saying...?" someone asked.
"The exit is most likely near where the street used to end," West said. "Or where it began."
Silence followed and some nodded in agreement to the logic but there was a disagreement...
"That’s a guess," a man scoffed.
West turned toward the voice.
It was Harlan, a broad-shouldered man in his late thirties, with a hard face and permanent scowl. He stood protectively in front of his wife and two kids with his arms crossed tightly.
"You don’t know," Harlan continued. "And I’m not putting my family’s lives in the hands of a kid."
West didn’t react emotionally.
"That’s fair," he said calmly. "Then suggest a better plan."
Harlan snorted. "We follow instincts. Stay alert. Not blindly follow theories."
His wife shifted uncomfortably behind him.
West nodded. "You’re free to do that. No one’s forcing you."
That seemed to irritate Harlan more than if West had argued.
They continued moving.
Not long after, West froze and raised his fist.
Everyone stopped instantly.
"Hide," he whispered.
They pressed themselves against the nearest structures, ducking behind fallen walls and debris.
From the left, something moved...
A creature slithered into view.
It was low to the ground with its body elongated and segmented like a centipede but thicker and much larger. It was at least the size of a car and chitinous plates covered its back, etched with glowing lines that throbbed slowly. Its head split into four mandibles that clicked softly as it moved with its antennae twitching as it tasted the air.
The thing reeked of damp stone and rot.
It paused and the group held their breath as it scanned around.
Ten seconds ticked by... then twenty...
The group was starting to turn restless but after thirty seconds... it moved on.
West exhaled slowly and behind him Harlan moved before he gave the signal.
A stone clattered under his foot and the creature that hadn’t gotten too far away, twitched.
West shot him a glare.
Harlan froze as sweat dripped down his temple.
The creature turned back around and lingered for a few tense seconds... then slithered away.
They waited.
Only after it disappeared completely did West motion for them to move again.
Several people glared at Harlan now.
"Are you trying to get us killed?" someone hissed.
Harlan bristled. "It was an accident."
But it didn’t stop there.
Later, when West signaled for silence again while navigating a narrow corridor, Harlan whispered too loudly.
"What if there’s something behind us?"
His wife grabbed his arm. "Harlan—stop."
Another time, when West took a longer route to avoid a faint, distant sound, Harlan scoffed loudly.
"This is stupid. We’re going in circles."
People began whispering.
Anger crept in where fear once ruled.
Even Harlan’s children looked at him uneasily now.
"You’re not helping," his wife snapped under her breath.
But Harlan couldn’t stop.
He hated that people were listening to West.
Hated that a boy half his age had naturally become the axis everyone rotated around.
Finally, he snapped.
"I’m not following him anymore," Harlan said loudly. "This kid doesn’t know what he’s doing."
Before anyone could respond, a woman stepped forward.
It was the beautiful woman West had helped earlier... the one whose fiancé now leaned heavily on her shoulder.
"He saved my fiancé," she said firmly. "Without him, he’d be dead."
Harlan scoffed. "That doesn’t make him a leader."
Aria stepped up next.
"He got me out of the building before it could crumble so yes, he saved me as well... I trust him," she said without hesitation.
Auntie Maribel nodded. "So do I. West’s always been a good, smart boy."
Others murmured agreement.
Harlan’s face darkened and the group moved on.
After another ten minutes of moving cautiously, West stopped abruptly.
He crouched low, peering around a corner.
Ahead was a wide open stretch... what used to be a small plaza and there was movement.
A herd of creatures were passing through.
They walked upright on long, jointed legs and their bodies were covered in leathery hide. Their faces were flat and expressionless, with hollow eye sockets glowing faintly. Each carried a bone-like staff or weapon grown directly from their arms.
There were at least a dozen.
West gestured urgently.
"Hide. Don’t make a sound."
Everyone complied, hiding behind massive pieces of rocks or rusted metal... everyone except Harlan.
His eyes flicked around as he stared at the creatures.
Then his eyes flicked back and he saw the way attention was centered on West.
People watching him... trusting him... Following him.
Harlan’s lips curled as he bent down slowly.
He secretly picked up a stone and threw it sideways.
It clattered loudly across the ground and every creature stopped.
Their heads turned in unison towards the group and panic exploded.
Harlan shouted, "See? I told you we shouldn’t follow the kid blindly!"
The creatures made a weird shrieking sound and charged at them.
---