He didn't know it yet—but that step?
That was the beginning of everything.
Kade stood at the mouth of the alley, hands buried deep in the pockets of his worn hoodie. The sound he'd heard wasn't normal. It wasn't a dog. It wasn't a raccoon rustling through trash. It was… wrong. Wet snarls, claws dragging along brick. And underneath it all, a low, bone-deep growl that didn't sound like anything that should exist in a city, or anywhere.
Most people would've turned around. Most people would've told themselves it was nothing and gone home.
Kade took another step.
He wasn't brave. He just didn't have much left to lose.
As he moved deeper into the alley, the darkness seemed to shift. Like it wasn't just the absence of light, but something alive. Watching.
And then—he saw it.
Or rather, he saw them.
A figure slammed into the wall ahead, hard enough to crack brick. Sparks flew from something metal. A blade. Another person leapt from a fire escape above, landing with impossible grace, striking a creature with a long, curved staff.
There were creatures. Not men. Not animals.
Tall, hunched things with gnarled limbs and bone-white skin that shimmered like oil. Their faces twisted like broken porcelain masks, mouths stretched too wide. Ancient. Wrong.
Kade's breath hitched.
"What the hell…"
There were four people fighting. Two guys, two girls. One of the guys—a tall, lean one with storm-colored eyes—was barking orders.
"Ren, left flank—Lila, go high!"
The girl named Lila—short hair, tattoos up her arm, and a snarl on her face—kicked off the wall and drove a knife into one of the creatures' necks. It didn't go down easy. None of them did.
They fought like they'd done this a thousand times before—but it wasn't enough. The creatures were everywhere. Too many.
Kade stood frozen, hidden just behind a dumpster, heart thundering in his chest.
"Fall back!" the leader shouted.
"We can't!" one of the other guys yelled—he was younger, maybe Kade's age, with messy hair and blood dripping down his cheek. "They'll get past us—get into the street!"
Kade's eyes darted to the creature nearest him. It hadn't seen him yet, focused instead on the younger fighter, who was stumbling, his leg clearly messed up.
Kade's pulse spiked.
The creature lunged.
And something in Kade snapped.
He moved without thinking.
One second he was behind the dumpster. The next, he was slamming into the creature's side, throwing it off course. They hit the ground hard, and Kade rolled, grabbing a broken pipe from the trash and swinging it with everything he had.
The pipe connected with a sickening crunch. The creature shrieked, flailing, claws slicing into Kade's shoulder. Pain exploded through him, but he didn't stop.
He couldn't.
Not while someone was in danger.
The younger fighter scrambled to his feet, eyes wide. "Who the hell—?!"
Kade didn't answer. He just kept swinging.
Then something clattered to the ground—metal against stone.
A strange, dark object. Like a bracelet—but pulsing. Glowing faintly with deep red veins.
It had fallen from one of the fighters' packs during the chaos.
And it rolled… right to Kade's feet.
He stared at it, chest heaving.
Then it moved.
It crawled. Just slightly. Like it wanted to be picked up.
"What the—"
The thing latched onto his wrist.
He screamed. Not from pain, but from the burn. It seared into his skin, sinking like it belonged there. His vision blurred. His ears rang. The world spun sideways.
Then silence.
And a voice in his head—not human, not kind. Just a whisper:
"Chosen."
Kade collapsed.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
---
He woke up groggy and stiff, lying on cold pavement.
His shoulder throbbed. So did his head. Everything was sore. He blinked up at the four figures surrounding him.
They weren't attacking. Just watching.
The guy who looked oldest among them—tall, sharp-eyed, and calm even now—spoke first.
"I'm Ren," he said evenly, kneeling down. "That's Lila." He gestured toward the tattooed girl with her arms crossed. Her expression was less calm. She looked like she wanted to punch something, or someone. "The quiet one there is Ava." Ava nodded once, no emotion on her face. "And the kid you helped? That's Nico."
Kade squinted. "You gonna explain what the hell is going on?"
Ren tilted his head. "We're a group. We fight things most people can't see. Supernatural creatures. They're coming faster than we can handle them. And whatever that relic is…" His gaze dropped to Kade's wrist, "…it chose you."
Kade looked down. The artifact was still there, tight against his skin like a second bone. It pulsed once, faintly.
Ren extended a hand. "You should come with us."
Kade stared at it.
Then stood up on his own.
"Nah. I'm not buying whatever crazy cult crap this is," he muttered, brushing himself off. "Fighting monsters? Ancient relics? I don't know what kind of fantasy novel you're all living in, but count me out."
He turned and started walking off.
Lila stepped forward. "I told you we should've killed him," she snapped. "I said it the moment that cursed thing clamped onto him."
"Lila," Ren said, low but firm.
"No," she barked. "You saw what happened. That relic hasn't responded to any of us. And now it chooses some random loser who barely knows how to swing a pipe?"
Kade stopped, still facing away. His fists clenched.
Ren stood his ground. "It chose him. That means he's part of this now, whether we like it or not."
"You're risking all of us," Lila said coldly.
"I'm trusting the artifact," Ren replied. "And my gut."
Back at the alley's edge, Kade exhaled slowly. The night was quiet now. But he knew—deep in his gut—that something had changed. Something he couldn't walk away from.
He looked down at the artifact again.
It pulsed.
"Chosen."
Whatever that meant... his life would never be normal again.
To be continued…