"Get out the damn house, ya buncha sour turds!" The grey-haired man cloaked in grey, Hill's father, yelled, his gravelly voice echoing through the tenement stairwell. "The plague beasts are on their way, and you lousy cretins are still packin' bags!"
His mother's shrill voice shot out from the door of their flat. "I'm packing food for the kids! I'm not risking us starving to death once we leave!"
"Yeah, father!" His older sister, Haida, voiced her support for her mother. "We live in a damn metropolis! How will we eat when we reach the mountains?"
Hill's father spat angrily on the stairwell wall before rushing back up the crooked steps. He kicked the door of their rickety flat open and marched inside, his voice rising as another bout of yelling between him and Hill's mother began.
Hill sighed, his crimson eyes turning away from the door as he began descending the stairs. He held a sack full of clothes, most of which belonged to Haida and some of which belonged to him but originally belonged to Haida.
Through the windows at every level of the stairwell, Hill could hear the roar of air force jets as they made their way toward the growing cloud of smoke in the distance. Within seconds, brilliant yellow flashes emerged from the cloud. Bombs had been dropped.
Their effect, however, seemed minimal. The cloud grew in size, enveloping the towering skyscrapers in their light-snatching embrace. The thousands of beasts within that cloud didn't waver in the face of such destruction.
The destruction that they brought was much more significant, after all.
Seeing this, Hill began to hasten down the steps, his heartbeat quickening. The cloud was less than five miles away. They didn't have much time.
After a frightful fifteen minutes, the family of four finally made it out of the crumbling tenement and were now engulfed in the crowd of people heading through a narrow walkway to the northern exits.
The rich folk passed by above them, albeit very slowly, slamming their palms against the horns of their vehicles in vain.
All twenty-two million residents of Agshaka were fleeing at the same time. It was practically guaranteed that the bottleneck leading to the mountains on the other side of the river would be clogged.
"Stay close to me!" His father yelled, his breath reeking of gin and cigarette smoke. He was also yelling for no reason, for the rest of the family were squeezed tight against his body as they shuffled through the crowd. There was no room to move.
More loud booms echoed behind them, but Hill didn't dare look back. Instead, his eyes were glued up ahead, hoping that the people in front of them would begin to move faster. This walking path, bordered by walls on either side, was the only way that led to the lower bridge level that they could use to bypass the Gudan River that separated the city from the mountains.
They couldn't go through the upper roads, unfortunately. They would be shot.
Even in an apocalyptic crisis, Hill gritted his teeth. These rich bastards still cling to their status.
"Hill," Haida said, her voice raised so he couldn't tell if she was yelling at him. "You alright? Do you need me to carry you on my shoulders?" Her crimson eyes still carried mischief despite the horrible situation.
Hill scowled, but he didn't need to respond. His father coiled around and slapped Haida across the face. "Watch your blabbering tongue, stupid girl. We have a way to go before we worry about your antics!"
That shut Haida up. She clutched her cheek, tears beginning to form in her eyes. Hill's mother immediately started yelling at his father until the people behind them cursed at them to move forward.
Several more fighter jets passed above them, firing missiles toward the creeping cloud. Hill turned around, his eyes tracking one of the planes as it fired at the cloud.
And that was when he saw a winged monstrosity emerge from the cloud and slam into the jet, destroying it instantly in a loud explosion. The sound, being near the crowd, was deafening and caused the heads of all the people to turn towards it.
The flaming monster hurtled to the ground along with the remnants of the jet. Then, it unfurled its closed wings and flapped them once, sending air in all directions. From up close, Hill could see the crimson-stained feathers, the sharp-toothed beak, and the elongated talons of the monster.
It let out a terrifying roar that seemed to cause the air to vibrate and tremble.
When the people saw this, they began pushing forward frantically, screaming and crying in fear. Hill and his family immediately felt like they were being crushed as the mass of human bodies surged forward.
Hill stumbled as his body was pushed forward, but Haida's surprisingly strong arm hooked under his armpit and yanked him upright. The narrow walkway now felt like a suffocating vice, filled with the screams of the people as the cloud began to descend upon them.
The upper road, where the cars were jammed, was being torn apart by the beasts that were arriving from the cloud. Hill could hear the awful sound of metal being crushed and torn apart, he could also hear gunshots and the occasional deathly scream.
"Move! Move!" His father bellowed as he shoved people aside. He dragged Hill's mother along as Haida and Hill followed close behind.
Thankfully, they had reached the end of the walled path, which opened onto the rusted grated expanse at the bridge's lower level. The Gudan River flowed beneath them, grey and churning and populated by the unfortunate souls trying to swim across the river.
Behind them, the screams intensified as wet tearing sounds and shrieks of many beasts filled the air. He didn't dare look back, his body rejecting the idea wholeheartedly.
However, the grated floor was overwhelmed by the weight of the people. With a loud groan and bursting bolts, a section of the walkway to its left buckled and gave away. Hundreds of shrieking figures fell into the waters below, swallowed by the churning expanse.
The cloud was upon them now, engulfing the entrance to the bridge and bringing the horde towards the fleeing populace. Winged shadows flew overhead as they circled over the bridge, descending to pick off easy targets. The bridge's upper level sounded like it was being pounded by lightning.
"This way!" his father screamed, turning to the right and towards a narrow maintenance ladder that seemed to lead further down to one of the walkways the bridge workers used.
People were being plucked from the bridge by the winged horrors. Hill could see multi-limbed beasts clambering up the side rungs of the bridge. The mere sight of those creatures sent chills through his body.
Haida pulled Hill along with her, her grip feeling like iron. They scrambled towards the ladder. His father was already halfway down, carrying his mother along with him.
Suddenly, a monstrous limb as thick as a tree trunk swept across the bridge. It caught a dozen people and sent them flying like dolls. Hill felt it clip his leg, searing pain bursting from the impact. He was sent sprawling to the side and out of Haida's grip.
"Hill!" Haida shrieked. She tried to reach back for her brother, but the surge of the remaining crowd pushed her away from Hill and towards the ladder.
He was on his stomach, feeling the grated metal digging into his cheek. His right leg felt numb and hot; he felt like he was bleeding out. Pushing himself up, he looked ahead to see where his family had gone. They were on the ladder and were climbing down. His father was near the bottom with his mother while Haida was still trying to see where Hill was.
"Father!" Hill screamed. He crawled towards the ladder, being occasionally trampled by the crowd behind him. "Father, help me!"
His father looked up at the sound of his voice, and for a fleeting moment, he made eye contact with Hill. However, the old man wrenched his gaze away almost immediately and instead grabbed Haida and pulled her down the ladder. He didn't bother to even try and save his son.
A shadow fell over Hill. When he looked up, his breath caught in his throat. His outstretched hand was still reaching for salvation, for the one who had abandoned him.
A winged beast larger than the crashed jet had landed silently before him. Its feathers were stained with dried blood. Its beak was a nightmare fusion of razor-sharp teeth that were dripping with bloody saliva. However, it was the eyes that held Hill captive within its gaze.
Intelligent crimson, burning into his own crimson eyes.
The beast lowered its head and opened its jaws, its jagged teeth descending towards his skull.
Hill felt his very being slip away, almost as if it was being dragged towards his soul.