The Trap

The area surrounding the monstrous bull-headed creature was still filled with many residents hiding in their homes, hoping to avoid the chaos outside. But the creature was advancing quickly, its massive form wrecking everything in its path. Time was running out.

Sienna Vale was growing increasingly anxious. She jumped into a nearby building and shouted, "Everyone get out! The creature is going to destroy this entire area!"

Her voice echoed through the building, but only a few able-bodied young men responded. They opened their doors and ran for the exits, desperate to escape after seeing the terror unfolding in the streets.

But as Sienna moved to alert others, she found an apartment crowded with a dozen people—mostly children and the elderly—huddled together in fear, showing no signs of fleeing.

"Are you all waiting to die here?" Sienna shouted in frustration.

A middle-aged woman, trembling and barely able to speak, answered, "That thing is too big... We're safer inside."

The room was filled with terrified faces, too paralyzed to move. Sienna's urgency spiked. She glanced out the window, spotting the bull-headed monster demolishing the last few standing structures of the once-busy food district.

Then, without warning, a bone-chilling wolf's howl filled the air, reverberating across the entire neighborhood.

Sienna spun around, shocked. The terrified residents who had been frozen moments before suddenly stood up, their movements unnervingly uniform. Without saying a word, they shuffled toward the door, moving in perfect sync, as though in a trance.

Sienna followed them outside, watching in disbelief as the entire building emptied in an eerie, synchronized evacuation. The same was happening in neighboring buildings—residents, once too frightened to move, were now marching out in unison, following narrow alleyways and fleeing the area with mechanical precision, as though under some kind of mass hypnosis.

"The werewolf..." Sienna thought, realization dawning on her. She raced back to the rooftop, scanning the area for the creature.

But the werewolf was no longer on the rooftop across from her. Instead, it was moving rapidly through the maze of residential buildings, its massive form darting in and out of windows.

"What are you doing?" Sienna shouted after it from her vantage point.

"Gas tanks! We're going to blow it up!" the werewolf's guttural voice rasped back.

It hit Sienna—this werewolf was setting a trap for the monster.

Logan, with his local knowledge of the city, knew that this old residential district still used propane tanks, unlike the modern food district. He had been moving through the buildings, carefully opening the valves on the gas tanks, releasing the gas into the enclosed spaces.

Logan worked swiftly, using his powerful claws to turn the gas valves with ease, filling the buildings with the foul stench of gas.

The bull-headed creature had already begun moving toward the residential area, drawn by Logan's howls. The trap was almost set.

From a rooftop, Logan let out another piercing howl, directing the creature's attention toward him. Simultaneously, Sienna slashed at it with her blood-red sword, aiming to provoke the beast.

The strategy worked. The creature, enraged by the attacks, quickened its pace, its massive body lumbering toward the gas-filled buildings. Its writhing tentacles stretched out, latching onto the structures as it advanced.

Sienna and Logan exchanged a brief glance, a silent understanding passing between them, before both turned and bolted away from the area.

As the creature's many tentacles wrapped around the gas-filled buildings, Logan made his move. In one fluid motion, he tossed a bundle of burning cloth—wrapped tightly around a stone to give it weight—straight into one of the open windows.

"Boom!"

An explosion ripped through the air, the fire quickly spreading to other rooms. One by one, the gas-filled apartments ignited in a series of deafening blasts. The force of the explosions shattered windows and sent debris flying in every direction.

The creature, caught in the midst of the inferno, let out an ear-splitting howl of pain. Its tentacles, now engulfed in flames, writhed and thrashed wildly, falling apart in flaming chunks. The intense heat scorched its body, and shards of steel and concrete embedded themselves in its flesh.

The bull-headed abomination roared in agony, the ground trembling beneath it. Its massive frame buckled under the assault as it struggled to regain its footing.

Logan and Sienna watched from a safe distance, their breaths shallow as the scene unfolded. They had successfully wounded the monster, but the battle was far from over.

To their horror, the creature began devouring the charred remains of the buildings. Chunks of concrete and metal girders disappeared into its cavernous maw as it chewed through the debris with terrifying speed. The wounds it had sustained from the explosion started healing rapidly, the severed tentacles regenerating before their eyes.

Logan grimaced. "This thing can heal faster than I can," he muttered under his breath, watching as the creature continued to rebuild itself by consuming its surroundings.

"You... you're not like other creatures," Sienna said quietly. She stood beside Logan, her voice filled with both curiosity and suspicion.

"I am a creature," Logan replied, his tone matter-of-fact. "Just a smarter one. One willing to work with the Bureau."

Sienna narrowed her eyes, sensing the underlying message. "And what do you want in return?"

Logan pointed at the bull-headed abomination, now nearly fully healed and resuming its rampage. "I want that—and others like it."

"And what are you offering us in exchange?" Sienna asked, her eyes locked onto his glowing, wolfish gaze. "Remember, you can't even take me down."

Logan's piercing green eyes met hers, unflinching. "You'll see."