The street was empty, but the silence felt suffocating. Daniel, Aisha, and Kieran leaned against a brick wall, trying to catch their breath. Every echo of distant footsteps made them flinch.
"We need a plan," Daniel whispered, scanning the deserted street. "We can't just keep running blindly."
Kieran's jaw tightened. "Running blindly is exactly what got us here. We need to hit back, at least enough to survive the night."
Aisha glanced nervously down the alley they had just escaped. "And if they're already… waiting for us somewhere else?"
"Then we use that to our advantage," Kieran replied. His eyes darted around the street, calculating, always calculating. "We know their patterns. They hunt in pairs, always leaving one to chase and one to flank. If we split them… we might get out of this."
Daniel swallowed hard. "Split them… like we did in the alley?"
Kieran gave him a sharp nod. "Exactly. Only this time, we set the trap."
A sudden noise—a metallic clang from a nearby dumpster—made them all spin. Kieran moved like lightning, disappearing into the shadows before Daniel could protest.
Aisha grabbed Daniel's arm. "Wait! Where are you going?"
He shook his head, fear tightening his chest. "I… I don't know. Just… stay close to me."
For a tense moment, they stood frozen, listening. The city's night seemed alive with whispers, with eyes they couldn't see. Then Kieran's voice floated back, low and urgent: "Now!"
Figures emerged from the darkness, moving toward them with deliberate steps. Daniel's heart raced, but something about the way Kieran positioned himself—calculated, fearless—made him realize they might have a chance.
Aisha clenched her fists. "I don't want to run anymore."
Daniel nodded, feeling the same fire rise within him. "Neither do I."
And for the first time that night, as the shadows closed in, they didn't just survive—they fought back.
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