Story 852: The Whispering Hunger

The world hadn’t stopped burning.

The Mind Eater was gone, but the imprint of its thoughts remained. Evelyn could still hear it in the back of her mind—a whisper slithering through her subconscious, hungry, waiting.

She shook it off, gripping her makeshift bandage tighter around her arm. The cut from earlier was shallow, but her nerves were on edge. If the creature was still in her head, then she wasn’t safe. None of them were.

Mia stirred, groaning as she sat up. “Did we kill it?”

Reaper exhaled sharply. “More like set it on fire and pissed it off.” He wiped the sweat from his forehead. “It’ll be back.”

Evelyn swallowed hard. “And next time, it’ll be stronger.”

A sudden clatter made them all tense.

The alley was silent, except for the wind howling through broken windows. But they weren’t alone. Something was moving.

Evelyn signaled to Reaper. They moved cautiously, weapons ready.

And then they saw it.

A man.

But something was wrong.