The sky was a cold, bruised shade of gray, its heavy clouds pressing down on the earth like a suffocating blanket. The world had been quiet for too long. Cities had crumbled into silence, overrun by twisted versions of life that crawled, stalked, and hunted in the ruins. They called it the *Rebirth, a name filled with cruel irony. It wasn't new life that came from the virus but a hideous mockery of it.

Jess stood at the kitchen window, her breath fogging the cracked glass, staring into the distance where the forest loomed—dark, still, and wrong. Her hands trembled, a reflex she had tried to suppress for months. She didn't know why she kept watching, why she kept hoping for some sign of normalcy. The earth didn't care. It had shifted beneath them, transforming animals into grotesque monstrosities, their forms writhing with fused parts of other creatures, even humans.

Behind her, the old wood floor creaked.

"Mom," whispered her youngest, Riley, just ten years old. He was a quiet kid, once vibrant and energetic, now reduced to a pale, trembling shadow of himself. "Dad says it's time to go."

Jess nodded, wiping her eyes with the back of her sleeve, turning to see her family gathered by the front door. Paul, her husband, stood with his rifle slung over his shoulder, his face hardened by exhaustion. He hadn't slept in days. Neither had Jess. Their two other children, Grace and Leo, stood beside him, clutching backpacks too large for their small frames. Grace was thirteen, her eyes sharp and untrusting. Leo was fifteen and barely spoke anymore.

They had been hiding in the farmhouse for weeks, a relic of Paul's late grandfather, isolated enough that the horrors of the cities hadn't found them immediately. But they couldn't stay. Not after what happened to the animals in the woods. Not after the screams they'd heard echoing across the fields last night.

"They're getting closer," Paul said in a low voice, his eyes scanning the walls as if the creatures might burst through at any moment. "We leave now, before nightfall."

Jess swallowed hard and nodded. There was no use in pretending they had a choice.

--

The forest seemed alive, pulsing with an unsettling presence, as if it were aware of their every step. The deeper they went, the more the trees loomed, their twisted branches clawing at the sky. No birds sang. No insects buzzed. The absence of noise was deafening.

Leo walked at the front, gripping a machete Paul had given him. He hadn't wanted to take it, but Paul insisted. "You've got to be ready, son." Jess watched his back, feeling a knot tighten in her stomach. Leo had changed the most. It was like the world had stripped the boy from him, replacing him with something colder.

Hours passed, and still no sign of the creatures. Jess almost let herself hope. Maybe they had escaped.

Then, a sound—a wet, dragging noise—echoed from behind them.

Paul froze, raising his hand. The family stopped in unison, their breath caught in their throats. The noise grew louder, closer, like something heavy and unnatural moving through the underbrush.

Riley whimpered, clutching Jess's leg. She shushed him gently, but the terror was gnawing at her insides. Her heart pounded in her ears, and she dared not turn around, not yet.

Leo gripped his machete tighter, eyes wide. "It's coming," he whispered, voice trembling.

From the shadows of the trees emerged a creature—a beast with the head of a stag, its antlers twisted and broken, but its body was all wrong. Its limbs were unnaturally long, ending in fingers, *human fingers*. Its torso was split open, ribs visible and shifting, and something inside moved, writhing beneath the skin like a parasite. The thing was a blend of flesh and fur, its mouth too wide, jagged with sharp teeth.

Jess couldn't scream. Her throat closed up as it locked its eyes—human eyes—on them.

"Run," Paul barked, firing a shot into the air, his voice cracking like a whip. The sound shattered the eerie stillness, and the family broke into a sprint, feet pounding on the dirt. But the creature didn't flinch. It stalked after them, faster, silent, moving in jerks and fits like it didn't know how to control its own body.

They ran deeper into the forest, but Jess could hear it following, the trees themselves seeming to shift and part for it.

Grace tripped, her scream cut short by Paul pulling her up again. Jess was losing her breath. Riley was sobbing.

"We have to make it to the clearing," Paul said between gasps. "There's a cabin there... shelter."

But Jess wasn't sure any place was safe. Not anymore.

--

They burst through the trees into the clearing, the cabin a dark silhouette against the dying light. Paul shoved open the door, ushering the kids inside while Jess stumbled in behind them. Paul bolted the door, but Jess knew it wouldn't hold. Not against what was out there.

For a moment, the only sound was their ragged breathing. Jess clutched Riley, who was shaking uncontrollably. Grace stood beside them, her face pale, eyes wide with shock. Leo backed away from the door, gripping his machete, but his hands were trembling now.

And then they heard it again.

A low scraping sound from the roof. The thing was above them. Jess's heart slammed in her chest, panic overtaking her as she looked to Paul, but he was frozen, staring at the ceiling, his eyes wide.

A sickening thud followed as something heavy landed on the porch. The door shook as it pressed against it, testing the wood with unnatural patience. Jess could hear the scraping of nails—*human nails*—along the doorframe.

Paul lifted his rifle, his hands steady now. He motioned for the kids to stay behind him.

And then the door shattered.

The creature slithered inside, its body too large, bending at grotesque angles as it forced itself through the doorway, limbs cracking, reforming. Its eyes, still so disturbingly human, scanned the room, and a grotesque gurgle escaped from its throat.

The family pressed back, but there was nowhere left to run.

Leo was the first to move, letting out a roar of fear as he charged with the machete, slashing wildly at the beast. He caught it in the neck, but it barely flinched, its body already knitting itself back together as it lashed out with a clawed hand, sending Leo sprawling across the floor.

"NO!" Jess screamed, lunging forward, but Paul grabbed her, holding her back, his grip ironclad.

"We... we can't..." he whispered, his voice breaking.

The creature's jaw unhinged, stretching impossibly wide as it loomed over Leo, its mouth dripping with a foul, thick fluid.

The last thing Jess saw before darkness consumed her was Leo's wide, terrified eyes as the thing descended on him.

And then the screaming stopped.