Johnquis looked away, his heart pounding, but his voice stayed calm.
"It's alright. We have to stay quiet. We can't let it know we're here. Let's just hope it goes away."
They stayed quiet, listening to the runner brutally tearing through Randy and Mars. After a few moments, the sounds stopped. It was done eating.
The silence pressed down hard, heavier than the darkness itself. Johnquis's heart slammed in his chest each beat loud in the silence.
He pressed his back against the cold metal floor of the bus, eyes fixed on the cracked window above them. Lex was trembling beside him, barely breathing.
Then, slowly, the Runner moved. A massive shadow shifted outside.
Johnquis's breath caught as he sensed its heavy steps circling the bus, claws scraping the ground, searching.
"It knows we're here."
The creature's snarls grew louder, a low growl that shook the wreckage. Lex whimpered softly, clutching Johnquis's arm.
Johnquis whispered,
"Stay still."
Outside, the Runner's claws scratched the metals just inches from their faces. Each step made the bus creak.
Johnquis could feel its hot breath through the cracks, smell the stench of death and rage.
Lex's fingers trembled, digging into his arm. Johnquis forced himself to remain calm, heart racing.
The Runner's snarl turned into a guttural hiss and silence. Johnquis held his breath. So did Lex.
However, the Runner moved across the top of the flipped bus, its steps slow and deliberate. The metal groaned under its weight as it crept directly above them.
Each step caused the glass above to crack, groan, and tremble. A faint rain of dust and tiny shards drifted down as its claws slid along the metal.
Johnquis held his breath.
Lex had both hands clamped over her mouth, shaking violently. Her soaked pants clung to her legs. Her breathing was rapid and shallow, trying to stay quiet—but panic was rising like bile in her throat.
"Don't move. Don't breathe."
A new crack spidered across the glass window above them—right above Lex. Her eyes widened. The Runner's claw slammed down hard on the glass.
The impact sent a ripple of sound through the bus. The metal frame moaned.
Lex gasped.
It was a small sound. Barely louder than a breath. But it was enough. The Runner halted. The cracking above them stopped.
Nothing moved.
Until—
THUD.
THUD.
THUD.
It was moving again. Faster now. Hunting for more flesh.
It let out a chilling growl, crouched low, and peeked upside down through one of the broken upper windows. It's face pressed against the glass, inches from them.
Johnquis froze, staring into its eyes…
A second later, their eyes met.
He whispered, but too late.
"Run."
The Runner screeched.
"RRAHHSSSHHKKK!"
It burst through the narrow window frame, twisting its limbs and collapsing into the narrow bus interior.
Johnquis grabbed Lex and tried to shove her back, deeper into the flipped bus, but the corridor was too tight. No room to run. No escape route.
The Runner's claws scraped the floor as it crawled low.
Lex screamed, panicked, and kicked back.
"NO, NO, NO! PLEASE!"
The Runner slammed into her, claw pinning her chest, fangs dripping inches from her face.
Lex screamed so loud.
"GET IT OFF ME! JOHNQUIS PLEASE! HELP!!!!"
Johnquis charged forward,
"LET HER GO!"
He swung, hitting the creature's shoulder. It didn't even flinch.
Lex was sobbing now, screaming through blood.
"HELP ME! PLEASE! IT HURTS!!! REX!!! BROTHER!!!"
SLASH.
Its claw carved through her abdomen.
Lex wailed.
Johnquis lunged again but the Runner kicked him, knocking him sideways, slamming him against the bus wall.
Lex reached for him.
"JOHN—!"
Her voice choked mid-word.
The Runner bit down.
CRUNCH.
Her throat collapsed between its jaws. Her scream died in a wet gurgle.
Blood sprayed across the inside of the bus as the Runner tore into her open abdomen.
Johnquis gasped.
"LEX... No…"
Her body twitched once. The Runner turned, blood dripping from its fanged maw. Its eyes locked onto him. And it was still hungry.
Johnquis's ears rang.
The Runner turned to him slowly blood smeared across its jaw, claws wet and twitching with anticipation. Its crooked limbs moved like a spider's, one by one clicking against the metal.
Johnquis stood still. His heart thundered. His hands trembled.
"I've faced death so many times fighting your kind… and this won't be the end. I still need to see my sister."
He took a step back slowly, eyes locked with the runner, and let it come.
"I won't give up!"
SLASH!
It lunged, claws dragging across the wall of the bus as Johnquis ducked and rolled under a pair of shredded seats. Sparks flew. The narrow width of the flipped bus kept the runner's swings awkward, forced to twist and contort just to move forward.
Johnquis panted under the seats. Think. Use the space.
The Runner jumped, hitting the low ceiling its claws stabbing through but it couldn't fully stretch.
Johnquis leapt up and smashed an elbow into the side panel to disorient it, then drove both knees into the side of its leg. It stumbled, slamming into the wall.
He shouted.
"C'mon! Come get me in here. I dare you."
The Runner hissed and charged again but the narrow corridor forced it into a sloppy, twisted crawl. Johnquis vaulted over a mangled bench and grabbed a loose rod of twisted steel from the floor, stabbing it into the creature's shoulder. It roared and slashed back, catching Johnquis across the chest.
Blood sprayed.
He staggered. Vision doubling but he kept standing.
Then something clicked in his mind. The air shifted. His right hand burned. The chain wrapped around it, his Eater Blade, suddenly pulsed. Johnquis felt the power deep in his spine.
A whisper in his head. A name.
[Skill: Chain Slave — Blood Cost 0%]
He clenched his right hand tight. He narrowed his eyes.
"You ate my Squad, you hunted them. Left Randy in pieces. Killed Mars. Tore Lex apart."
He lifted his bleeding hand.
"Even if only for a little while, they were my first squad."
He gritted his teeth.
"Our lives aren't yours to eat."