WHAT LIES BENEATH
841 Words
The ground split open.
Not wide.
Not yet.
But enough.
A crack tore through the center of the ruins, jagged and deep, as if something beneath had pushed against the surface… and was still pushing.
Seren stumbled back, her breath catching.
“What is that?”
Ryker didn’t answer immediately.
His focus stayed locked on the fracture.
“Something that shouldn’t be waking up,” he said finally.
The markings carved into the stone began to glow.
Faint at first.
Then stronger.
Lines of light ran through the ruins, connecting symbols, forming something whole.
A seal.
Seren’s chest tightened.
“It was holding something,” she said.
“Yes.”
The ground trembled again.
Stronger this time
A low sound echoed from below
Not a growl.
Not a voice.
Something deeper.
Alive.
Seren’s pulse spiked.
“That thing… from before,” she said.
“Is this connected to it?
Ryker’s jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
Before she could ask more
The forest shifted.
Multiple presences.
Closing in.
Fast.
Seren turned sharply.
Shapes moved between the trees.
Not one.
Not two.
At least four.
Her instincts screamed.
“They’re here,” she said.
Ryker nodded once.
“Stay behind me.”
“No.”
The word came out before she could stop it.
He glanced at her.
“I won’t just stand here,” she said.
A brief pause.
Then
“Then don’t hesitate.”
The first figure stepped into the ruins.
A wolf.
But wrong.
Its body was larger than normal, its movements stiff, unnatural. Its eyes glowed faintly, empty, hollow.
Not alive.
Not fully.
Another stepped forward.
Then another.
Seren’s breath slowed.
“They don’t feel… right,” she said.
“They’re not,” Ryker replied.
The wolves spread out slowly, circling.
Hunting.
The crack in the ground pulsed again.
The sound beneath it grew louder.
Like something was waking.
Seren’s chest tightened.
“This is bad,” she whispered.
“Focus,” Ryker said.
The first wolf lunged.
Fast.
Seren reacted instantly.
She moved
Dodged
And reached for the power.
It surged.
Not wild this time.
Sharp.
Controlled.
The shadows snapped outward
Wrapping around the wolf mid air.
It froze.
Then slammed into the ground.
Hard.
Seren’s breath hitched.
She didn’t stop.
Another wolf attacked from the side.
She turned
Faster now
Her body moving with instinct.
The power followed.
She struck
Not with claws
With force.
The shadows lashed outward, slamming the second wolf back.
It hit the stone and didn’t rise.
“Good,” Ryker said.
But there was no time to focus on that.
Two more charged.
At once.
Seren’s focus slipped.
Just slightly.
The power flickered.
One wolf broke through.
It hit her hard.
Seren crashed to the ground, pain shooting through her side.
Her breath knocked out.
For a second
Everything blurred.
Then
“Get up!”
Ryker’s voice cut through.
Seren gasped.
No.
Not again.
Not weak.
Not helpless.
The power surged.
Stronger than before.
It didn’t wait for her.
It moved.
The shadows exploded outward
Violent.
Uncontrolled.
The remaining wolves were thrown back instantly.
The ground cracked further.
The seal flickered.
Seren froze.
That wasn’t right.
The power didn’t feel stable.
It felt
Connected.
To something else.
Below.
The crack widened.
A deep sound echoed up from the darkness.
Closer now.
Awake.
Seren’s breath slowed.
“It’s reacting to me,” she said.
Ryker turned sharply.
“Then stop using it!”
“I can’t!”
The power pulsed again.
The markings on the stone glowed brighter.
Then
They began to break.
Lines of light shattered across the ground.
The seal was failing.
Seren’s chest tightened.
“I’m making it worse”
“Listen to me,” Ryker said, grabbing her arm.
His grip was firm.
Grounding.
“You need to control it. Not push it. Not fight it.”
Her breathing was uneven.
“I don’t know how!”
“Yes, you do.”
His voice didn’t waver.
“Feel it.”
Seren forced her eyes shut.
The power roared inside her.
Wild.
Chaotic.
But beneath it
There was something else.
A pull.
Deep.
Ancient.
Calling.
Her eyes snapped open.
“It’s not just mine,” she whispered.
Ryker’s expression darkened.
“I know.”
The ground cracked again.
Wider.
Something moved beneath the surface.
Seren took a slow step back.
“What happens if that thing gets out?”
Ryker didn’t answer immediately.
That was answer enough.
The crack split open further
And something rose.
Not fully
Just enough.
A shape
Dark
Massive.
Watching.
Seren’s breath stopped.
It wasn’t the creature from before.
This was worse.
Much worse.
Its presence crushed the air around them.
The shadows bent toward it.
Even her power
Pulled.
Drawn.
Like it belonged there.
Seren’s voice barely came out.
“What… is that?”
Ryker stepped in front of her again.
But this time
Even he didn’t look ready.
“That,” he said quietly,
“is why you were never meant to exist.”
The thing beneath the ground moved again
And this time
- Writer
