Patrick stood at the brink of a world he could almost see. Muffled sounds, people and buildings reduced to ink. Air that smelt fresher than he’d ever known trapped in the city. A home he never had.

  Is this all yours?

  The voice came from behind Patrick. He didn’t care to turn around.

  “I wouldn’t say so,” Patrick admitted. “These aren’t my memories. This is what I carry with me. What mum and dad gave me.”

  Do you wish to make it yours?

  “Hell yeah, but I can’t anymore. Not in this world. This place doesn’t exist anymore, it’s been crushed just like America has.”

  Could you bring it back?

  “No. History’s being burned. It lives on in memory now. Even if I got the chance, is it my place to rebuild it? Someone who’s never been there?” He chuckled. “Who am I kidding? We’d never get the chance to begin with.”

  Why?

  Patrick held out his hand. A few drops of rain landed on his palm.

  “Because what could I change? What could I do? What could any of us do? This world is broken beyond repair, at least for people like me. We’re just here to watch the show unfold. Watch the collapse. Enjoy what time we have left until we’re all drowned by the icecaps or locked in workhouses or nuked for something we don’t know.”

  Have the others given up like you have?

  Through the voices, Patrick could hear rain. The ink around him was beginning to run.

  “I don’t think I’ve given up. I like living. I will try to live my own way until the end. How I live is the only thing I can change anymore. I think the others are like me too.”

  And if they’re not?

  “Then they’re too damn na?ve.”

  The ink and the sound was washed away as the rain intensified, absolutely deafening, the colours pooling around their feet as everything began to be reduced to darkness.

  I reject you as a candidate.

  In that single second, the rain stopped.

  >>>

  The group stood there in disbelief and horror at what they saw. James, on the other hand, didn’t seem to be phased in the slightest. He ran towards the metal fencing surrounding the construction site, and immediately started climbing up. The skyscraper they were building was currently just metal girders that barely reached up higher than the school, and construction equipment and tools had been left in the open. It might be against regulations, but James really did not care.

  “Get over here!” He shouted to the others, who quickly unfroze as adrenaline kicked in. They scrambled over the fencing and ran into the dirt and gravel of the construction site as the streetlamp Draconautis had been standing on broke. The monster sprinted across the street, and as he did so the group unanimously decided to hide, taking cover behind the equipment and hoping Draconautis couldn’t see through the relative darkness of the construction site. James and Amelia hid together, behind a stack of steel bars near the front of the site, while Grey hid behind a cement mixer, and Patrick hid behind a girder near the stairs to the second level.

  Draconautis shredded the fence easily with their claws and stomped into the site. They glanced around, sniffing the air for the scent of their prey. They hadn’t hunted this way in a very long time, and it was very satisfying for them to do so.

  “You really thought you could outrun me just by turning the game off, James?” Draconautis shouted. “You are incredibly na?ve. And you too, Amelia. It’s been a long time since we saw each other. You were my favourite kill in quite a long time.”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “This isn’t real,” Amelia muttered, “It can’t be.”

  Draconautis walked past the metal pipes Amelia and James had crouched behind. It glanced in their direction for a moment. The two held their breath, but soon it kept walking.

  “And then there’s the other two,” The monster continued. “It’s a shame you don’t remember the pleasure I had eating you. The story of your family truly is a tragedy, Patrick, and one I intend to repeat. And then there’s you, Alex. I thought James was holding on to the worst secrets, but I had no idea who you truly were. You two would be at each other’s throats if you knew the truth.”

  Grey searched the ground next to them for anything they could use, and found a crowbar lying in the dirt. They were usually the reasonable one, and that reason had led them to figuring out a way to kill this thing instead of just hiding. The monster walked over to the makeshift stairs Patrick was hiding near, breathing down his neck as he was frozen behind the metal pillar. He closed his eyes and prayed he didn’t die here.

  It was at that moment that Grey took their chance, sneaking up behind Draconautis and preparing to smash them in the leg. Before he could strike, the tail wrapped around Grey’s leg and yanked them aloft, hanging them in front of Draconautis’ face.

  “I thought you were the smart one,” Draconautis said, “and yet here we are.”

  “We need to help him,” Amelia said to James.

  “Wait, something’s different about him,” James said. “The tail’s not as long anymore. This isn’t like he was in Sable.”

  “Grey’s going to die, why does his tail length matter?”

  “Because if his body is different, then other things might have changed.”

  Amelia took a moment to realise what James was saying. She was horrified when she realised what he was saying.

  “You think we can kill it?!” She almost shouted.

  James didn't even look back at her. “That’s a first from you.”

  “Why are you so calm about this?”

  “You must feel so pathetic without your strength,” Draconautis continued. “Did the power of the game go to your head? That is a problem with your family, isn’t it?”

  Grey snarled, “I’ve seen worse monsters than you.”

  They swung the crowbar upwards and smashed into Draconautis’ jaw. The jawbone cracked and Draconautis staggered back as a chunk of jawbone fell out of its rotting flesh.

  “Pain,” It muttered. “It has been a while since I felt pain. Well done.”

  The tail snaked around Grey’s leg and tied itself around their throat, beginning to choke them out. They tried to use the crowbar to pry themselves free, but Draconautis grabbed it with its claws and threw it away, skidding across the ground.

  “Well then, children,” Draconautis shouted, “who wants to save their friend? Who still has the courage they had in the game? Are you willing just to let this poor fool die?”

  Patrick glanced around the girder, Grey’s body dangling just in front of his face. He was trembling, frozen to the spot as he tried to figure out what he should do.

  “We need to sneak up on him,” James said. He looked around, trying to find anything he could use, but outside of that one crowbar and a few vehicles that likely didn’t have their keys in the ignition, there was nothing he could use to fight Draconautis without the monster noticing. As they considered their options, Patrick stepped forward, grabbing onto the tail around Grey’s neck and pulling. Grey inhaled deeply as they finally got some air, but Draconautis just snarled.

  “Perfect.”

  It chucked Grey away, sending them rolling along the dirt, and leapt towards Patrick, jaws wide. Patrick hid behind the metal girder again and the bite missed. Draconautis swung its claw, putting a dent in the girder, but Patrick ran around it. As Patrick tried to get away, the tail tied him to the girder, holding him firmly in place. The end of the tail turned into a spike, raising up inches away from his face.

  As this was happening, Grey clambered to their feet, coughing up blood. It certainly felt like they broke something in the fall, but they were too focused on the monster killing their friend to care. They staggered towards the crowbar, struggling to breath. James looked around for anything they could do, but with his friend about to die in front of him, he couldn’t think.

  “We need to help him,” Amelia said. She ran out from behind cover, running towards Draconautis. She had no plan, nothing to fight with, just a desire to save her friends.

  James wanted to shout but stopped himself before Draconautis could hear. The monster walked over to Patrick and laughed.

  “Goodbye, Patrick Sydney. Maybe someone will remember you.”

  However, as she ran forward, Amelia felt something forming in her hand: something that felt like cold metal, something satisfyingly heavy, perfectly fitting her grip and strength. Draconautis’ tail reeled back, ready to stab Patrick through the head, but before he could, Amelia ran forward and slashed the tail clean off. Draconautis screamed, staggering back as the tail gushed thick, black blood. The tail fell limp and Patrick collapsed to his knees as it unwound itself. Amelia looked at the thing in her hand: she was holding a sword. It was jagged, with holes and spikes in random places along the blade, yet it was still sturdy enough to cut through Draconautis’ flesh. She pointed the sword at the monster, snarling.

  “Stay the hell away from my friends.”