Seeing nothing—

Don's gaze returned forward.

Hands steady on the wheel.

Foot firm on the gas.

The road stretched ahead—

Broken in places—

Abandoned vehicles scattered at odd angles—

Some still idling—

Others burning—

FSSSHH—~

A body lay half across a lane—

Unmoving—

A hand still raised as if reaching for something that wasn't there anymore.

Don didn't slow.

Then—

BOOOOM—!

A heavy crash sounded from behind.

Both his and Charles's attention snapped to the rearview.

The building—

The one he had thrown the man into—

Burst outward.

Concrete and glass exploded from the front—

KRRRSH—!

And through it—

The man.

He landed hard—

CRACK—!

Barely breaking stride—

Then ran.

Straight back onto the road.

After them.

His size should have slowed him.

It didn't.

Each step cracked the ground beneath his feet—

THUD—! THUD—! THUD—!

His body leaned forward—

Arms pumping—

Head low—

Eyes locked ahead.

Closing the distance.

Fast.

Don's brow furrowed.

But before he spoke—

Charles moved.

The door opened mid-motion—

WHUMP—!

Wind rushed in.

He leaned out—

Then climbed.

The Land Cruiser swerved—

Left—

Right—

SKRRRT—!

Dodging a stalled sedan—

Clipping a broken sign—

CLANG—!

Hitting a dip in the road—

THUD—!

But Charles didn't lose balance.

He pulled himself up—

Shoes planting on the roof—

Body low.

Stable.

Then—

His wings emerged.

Metal feathers spreading outward—

SHFFFT—~

Catching the fading light as they extended fully.

No hesitation.

They shifted.

Angling inward.

Targeting.

The man was closer now—

Too close.

Charles moved.

A hard motion—

His wings snapped forward—

FOOSH—!

Feathers launched.

Fast.

Precise.

Don swerved again—

A sharp turn—

SKRRRT—!

One feather struck a nearby car instead—

CRASH—!

Metal denting inward.

Another embedded into the road—

CRRK—!

But two—

Hit.

The man raised his arms—

Too late.

The feathers pierced through—

Straight through muscle—

Through bone—

Wet impact—

THKK—!

One drove through his forearm—

Exited the other side—

The second—

Drove into his face—

Piercing his eye—

Stopping just short of the back of his head.

His body jerked—

Momentum breaking—

Boots scraping hard against the road—

SCRRRRRT—!

He came to a halt.

Head lowered—

Then slowly—

He lifted it.

No reaction.

No pain.

Just—

Empty.

Then—

He turned.

Abrupt.

And ran.

Not after them.

Away.

Charles followed his line of movement—

Eyes narrowing.

Another vehicle.

A large SUV.

Family.

Inside—

He saw movement.

A child in the back seat—

Pressed against the window—

Crying—

Mouth open—

Sound lost under everything else.

Further down—

A building groaned—

A section of its upper floors giving way—

CRRRRKK—!

Then—

Collapsed—

BOOOOM—!

Dust burst outward across the street.

A fighter jet roared overhead—

SHRREEEEE—!

Low.

Too low.

One of the distant sprouts lashed out—

A vine whipping through the air—

WHOOOM—!

It missed.

Barely.

The jet pulled up—

Smoke trailing behind it.

Screams carried through the air—

Close—

Far—

Everywhere.

"Help—!"

"Over here—!"

"Please—!"

Charles's jaw tightened.

He shifted—

Wings adjusting—

Ready to move—

But—

"Charles!"

Don's voice cut through.

Loud.

Clear.

"We're not done."

Charles turned his head.

Forward.

Ahead of the Land Cruiser—

More figures stood on the road.

Still.

Too still.

Faces blank.

Watching.

Waiting.

One—

An older woman—

Her body—

Changed.

Her skin stretched outward—

Swelling—

Expanding—

Like something beneath was pushing outward—

Her clothes strained—

Fabric pulling tight—

CRRK—!

Her arms lifted slightly—

Fingers twitching.

Charles frowned.

His wings shifted again—

Repositioning.

Inside the vehicle—

Don's eyes changed.

The outline of his pupils glowed blue once more—

Vmmmm—~

His grip on the wheel tightened.

---

Several more minutes later—

The Land Cruiser pushed deeper into the city—

Toward the Ebon Crest Tower.

It stood in the distance now—

Tall.

Unmissable.

A point to reach.

If they could.

The roads—

Worse.

Far worse.

Congestion had turned into wreckage.

Cars sat abandoned at angles, doors left open, engines still running—

Some had crashed into each other—

Others into buildings—

Glass shattered across the ground—

CRUNCH—! under the tires as Don drove through it.

People—

Fewer now.

Those that remained—

Ran.

Or crawled.

Or didn't move at all.

Bodies lined parts of the street—

Some whole—

Many not.

Limbs scattered.

Blood pooled and dragged across asphalt in long streaks.

A man lay against a car, clutching what remained of his side, breathing uneven—

A woman nearby screamed for help—

Voice breaking—

No one stopped.

The infected didn't rush them.

Didn't grant them anything quick.

They lingered.

They tore.

They fed.

Inside the vehicle—

Neither Don nor Charles reacted anymore.

Not outwardly.

They had seen enough already.

The Land Cruiser itself told the story.

Dents along the sides.

Burn marks across the hood.

Blood smeared across doors and windows.

Charles's side—

Gone.

The door ripped clean off at some point.

Now—

He stood instead.

One foot planted near the edge—

Body leaning outward.

One wing angled forward toward the road—

The other pressed flat along the roof for balance.

Eyes scanning.

Ahead—

More.

Several infected stood across the road.

Blocking it.

Among them—

A large man.

Bald.

Heavyset.

But his arms—

Too big.

Swollen with muscle.

Veins raised beneath the skin.

Near him—

An older woman.

Standing still.

Wind moved around her—

Not natural.

Centered on her—

Pulling inward—

Then out.

Not far—

A boy.

Young.

Too young.

His teeth—

Long.

Jagged.

His hands—

Claws.

He crouched over a woman—

Digging into her—

Tearing flesh as she screamed—

Voice breaking into sobs between cries.

The worst part—

He looked like her.

Charles saw all of it.

Didn't hesitate.

His forward wing shifted—

Then snapped—

FOOSH—!

Feathers launched.

Straight for the large man.

Fast.

Precise.

But the man reacted.

Not how expected.

He raised both arms— 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Then slammed them down into the ground—

BOOOOM—!

The street shook.

Cracked.

Chunks of asphalt and debris shot upward—

Blocking.

Deflecting.

Some feathers struck the debris—

CRACK—!

Others veered off—

But not all.

Two made it through.

THKK—!

One pierced his shoulder.

Another—

His chest—

And a third—

His thigh.

The man staggered—

But didn't fall.

His face—

Still empty.

He raised his arm again—

Preparing to strike the ground once more—

But—

Before it came down—

His body jerked.

A faint blue force wrapped around his limbs—

His arms bent—

Wrong.

At the joints—

A dry scream tore out of him—

"AAAH—!"

Inside the vehicle—

Don's eyes glowed.

Focused.

He didn't slow.

Didn't look away.

The man's body twisted—

Held—

Disabled.

But not done.

The older woman—

Still hadn't moved.

But the wind around her—

Changed.

It picked up.

Faster.

Stronger.

Pulling debris inward—

Cars shifted—

Scraping across the ground—

SCREEEECH—!

Bodies lifted—

Spun—

Thrown into the forming current.

Dust rose.

Thick.

Vision dropped fast.

The street blurred—

Shapes lost behind swirling debris.

The sound—

Loud—

WHOOOOOO—!

Charles narrowed his eyes.

His view—

Limited now.

He turned his head toward Don.

"I'm going above her—"

He adjusted his stance.

Wings shifting.

"Try to slow down if you can't see."

Don gave a small nod.

But his foot didn't ease off the gas.

His gaze stayed forward—

Even as visibility dropped.

Because he didn't need it.

Beastshift.

Active.

The world around him—

Clear in a different way.

Positions.

Movement.

Every hostile.

Every obstacle.

He knew where they were.

He knew where to go.

So the Land Cruiser surged forward—

VRRROOOOM—!

Straight into the storm.