When fate and worlds collide

35 | Strange Nightmare

The question lingered, sharp and unwelcome, as I ran. As if the ferals could smell my intent, every route back to the Tower gate closed the moment I committed to it. Each turn I took was answered by snapping jaws and flashing eyes. I skidded around a corner, my foot slipping on water-slick stone. My sword lashed out on instinct, catching the jaw of the beast that lunged for my spine. The impact jolted clear through my arm, its wolfish body crumpled, crashing into another and sending both skidding across the pavement. My heart thundered against my ribs. The chase swelled behind me—howls, claws, the promise of teeth if I slowed. Death wasn’t just close; it was enthusiastic.

A scream ripped through the night.

Not feral.

Something else. More deadly. The growls behind me faltered, shifting into uneasy whines. Their paws softened against the stone, momentum breaking. I didn’t question my luck, I grabbed it with both hands. Slowing my pace, I pulled on my powers and threaded them upward, landing hard on the nearest rooftop. The second I released the magic, my leg buckled and I pitched forward, barely catching myself before my face met concrete. My hunting knife clattered beside me as something inside my chest twisted.

Not pain—something different. Something wrong. My hands shook as panic bloomed once more, sharp and invasive. I clenched my jaw, fighting for control, but the truth settled like ice in my veins. Ever since Clarice, something in me had shifted. I shoved the thought aside and forced myself upright, scanning the area. I sheathed my blade slowly, unease tightening when I spotted the ferals trotting away in the opposite direction. They didn’t retreat. Not that easily. The distance to the Tower gate was still too far. Shouts carried faintly on the wind—gunfire, dying screeches, chaos. My stomach knotted as that scream replayed in my mind.

I needed to be careful. Quiet. If a nightmare caught my scent, I wouldn’t make it back, my life would essentially be forfeit. They were smarter, faster and more brutal than ferals. Relentless in a way that made running feel like a cruel joke. I leapt to the next building, keeping my powers just within reach. The remaining structures loomed higher than I could safely scale, and eventually I had no choice but to drop back to street level. Clouds swallowed the moon, plunging the street into suffocating darkness. My breath hitched. The silence pressed in, so thick I could hear my own heartbeat pounding like a war drum.

I moved quickly and quietly, sticking to the shadows as I made my way up the street. The hairs along my neck rose, dread coiling tight in my gut as I swept the area with my Aura.

‘Please,’ I thought grimly. ‘Let there be no nightmares nearby.’

I was about to cross the street when my blood turned to ice. A scream tore through the silence, vibrating the air around me. The window of the building opposite me exploded outward. Glass rained down in a glittering cascade as something hit the pavement with a bone-shaking thud.

A nightmare.

My body was frozen in place, breath locked in my chest as its blood-red eyes snapped onto me. Its mouth twisted open in a perpetual snarl, canines so long they jutted past its lips. When it straightened, it unfolded into something grotesquely tall—elongated arms ending in talons that nearly brushed its ankles. Flesh had fused with scraps of clothing, seams of skin melted and warped. Its broad shoulders were pink and scar-mapped, a history of violence written into its body. I had never seen one this close. When Rowan and I had been fighting for our lives after the world ended, we survived by never being out after dark. We hid in any hole we could find until morning. It’s why I built safe houses across the city, so no one would ever have to face this. And here I was, standing in the open like an i***t, wishing I’d aimed for one of them instead of the Tower.

The nightmare hissed, the sound scraping along my nerves as it began to circle me. Slowly, I drew my blade and pulled on my Aura, keeping my movements measured. I had no frame of reference here—no one I’d ever met had killed a nightmare and lived to talk about it. Its gaze flicked to my hand and a shriek rattled from its chest, sharp and warning. I’d expected a charge, brutal and immediate, its violent and hostile nature leaving no room to escape. Instead, it stalked me, deliberate and calculating, drool slipping from its twisted mouth. It was thinking. Measuring. Waiting for the exact moment to strike.

One chance. That was all I’d get.

I lunged, aiming to surprise it to give myself an advantage—and missed. The nightmare flowed aside with terrifying speed, shock rippling through my chest. Pain exploded across my shoulder as claws raked through flesh. I stumbled back, heart hammering, left arm going numb as warm blood spilled down my side.

“s**t,” I muttered, teeth clenched. ‘Faster than expected.’

Frantically thinking of my next move, that strange panic surged again, tight and invasive. The creature sniffed the air, head tilting as it caught my scent. I could have sworn it smiled—its already warped mouth pulling wider as it tasted victory. I retreated, eyes scanning for an escape point, gauging how long I had before blood loss dulled my magic. A small landing, a few blocks away, looked doable—if I moved now. I started to gather my power, threading it swiftly, when the nightmare charged, lightning-fast. I barely had time to dive as claws sliced through the space where my head had been. Agony ripped through my shoulder as I hit the ground and rolled. I scrambled up, spinning to face it, blade raised, and lungs burning.

‘i***t. Absolute idiot.’ I cursed inwardly.

I tightened my grip, setting my stance; if this was it, I wasn’t dying quietly, or alone. The nightmare screeched and launched again, the speed of it making my stomach drop. Time seemed to stretch, thin and fragile, as I yanked my magic forward—hard, reckless, unconcerned with the cost. Flame out or not, this thing was going down with me. It hesitated—just a fraction—as if sensing my power. But hunger won. Blood trumped instinct as it pressed on, eyes wild, locked on the crimson trail down my arm.

The clouds slid away from the moon, silver light flooding the street, illuminating every scar carved into its body. And for one suspended, brutal moment, we faced each other in full light—predator and prey—both committed to the end.

Just as the nightmare was about to collide with me, something hit it from the right. It came out of the shadows like a missile. The impact sent the creature flying clear across the road, its body slamming into the opposite building with a wet, bone-crunching crack. I sagged where I stood, heart hammering, a single, ridiculous thought flashing through my head:

‘Please let that be enough. Please let whatever did that leave me.’

Hope, as usual, was premature. The nightmare twitched, then it pushed itself upright, shaking its head as if dazed. Its blood-red eyes swept the street before locking back onto me, a snarl curling its ruined mouth. But instead of charging, it faltered, lurching forward slightly. Confusion seemed to ripple across its twisted face as it looked down at its chest, where its heart should have been. Dark blood poured freely as the organ—its heart—protruded grotesquely, half outside its body. A wet, gurgling sound bubbled from its throat, disturbingly human, and my stomach lurched. I watched, frozen, as the heart was drawn back into the cavity in a slow, obscene reversal. The nightmare collapsed, hitting the pavement with a heavy, lifeless thud. My gaze dragged upward, and my heart very nearly stopped. A man stood where the nightmare had been. Perfectly, unnaturally, still.

Moonlight washed over pale skin that seemed to glow, dark hair slicked neatly back. He was dressed like he’d stepped out of a black-and-white film—long coat, tailored trousers, fitted shirt, vest buttoned with precise care. Every line of him was deliberate, controlled, and powerful.

My eyes lifted to his face. Unnaturally perfect. Sharply handsome. Strong, chiseled jaw, straight nose, full lips—and blood-red eyes.

Holy. s**t.

They were identical to the nightmare’s. And yet he looked nothing like the feral horrors that hunted the streets at night. He was watching me, expression unreadable, as he slowly lowered his arm. Black ichor coated his hand and forearm, dripping thickly as his fingers opened. The nightmare’s heart fell to the pavement with a wet, final thump. I didn’t move. Didn’t breathe. My mind raced, questions colliding into one another.

‘Who is he? What is he? If that thing is what we call a vampire—then what the f**k does that make him?’ There were no answers. No logical explanation. Only the unbearable intensity of his stare. And worse—a primal pull towards him. Unwanted. A dangerous thread tugging at something deep in my chest. Fear curled through my stomach at the sensation, sharp and instinctive. I gathered my powers, threading them close, coiling them tight around myself. Saving my life didn’t make him safe. His expression shifted then, a faint frown creasing his flawless features—as if he’d sensed my Aura power.

And then—he was gone. I blinked, my brain lagging behind reality. One second he was there, the next the street was empty. I spun, heart pounding, expecting him behind me., but there was nothing. Silence enveloped the street, pressing in around me, thick and unnatural. The distant gunfire had ceased. Feral screams now absent. No chaos. I wasn’t sure what unsettled me more—the sudden quiet, or the fact that something with the eyes of a nightmare had spared me. I turned to leave and nearly fell. The world tilted, head swimming as pain and blood loss caught up with me. The wound in my back burned, refusing to heal—the nightmare’s toxin gnawing at my system. The safehouse wasn’t far, but even as I aimed for it, I knew the truth. I wasn’t going to make it. Still, I staggered forward, one foot in front of the other, dragging the thought of my son to the forefront of my mind like a lifeline.

Just a little further.

Dark spots crept into my vision. Exhaustion whispered promises of rest, of relief. I ground my teeth, refusing to listen—but my body betrayed me. I hit the ground hard, a grunt torn from my chest from the impact. With the last shred of strength I had, I wrapped myself in my powers and flung them outward, blindly, desperately—hoping it would carry me close enough to the Tower the pack would feel my presence.

Darkness surged up to claim me. The last thing I saw, through the narrowing tunnel of my vision, was a pair of vintage shoes stepping into view…