Nowhere to Run

The world doesn’t end with a bang. It starts with a whisper.

It is late at night and the document surfacing online. A blurry screenshot, a few paragraphs of text, and a headline that is sending a ripple of unease through the internet:

Leaked Government Report Claims Human Extinction Inevitable Within This One Year Span

At first, no one believes it. Another doomsday hoax, another conspiracy theory. People laughing about it in forums, dissecting it in news articles, and dismiss it as misinformation. But then more details surfaces.. classified documents, research files, internal memos from high-ranking officials. And as the hours passing, the world realizing it isn’t a joke.

The government trying to contain it. They are shutting down accounts, scrubbing websites, issuing official denials. But the damage is done. By morning, the leak has spread everywhere.

And by the end of the day, the first monster sighting had gone viral.

⸻

Jason sitting in the dimly lit apartment, staring at his phone screen. His little brother, Ryan, sleeping on the couch, wrapped in a blanket too thin for the cold creeping in from the cracked window.

The newsfeed scrolls endlessly, post after post filled with speculation, fear, and confusion. He doesn’t know what to believe.

And then he sees the title

One year left at best

His stomach twisted. It feels impossible, unreal. People were saying it is some kind of government experiment gone wrong.. genetic tampering, bioengineering, something unnatural. Some believed it, some didn’t.

But the video is real.

He presses play again. A grainy clip, shaky footage from a phone camera. A street somewhere, flashing lights, sirens. People running, screaming. And then, the thing.

It isn’t just a lizard. It isn’t just an animal. It is something else. Its body is thick with muscle, covered in dark, scale-like plating. Its limbs are twisted, elongated, its eyes black and reflective like polished stone. And when it moves.. fast, too fast.. it tears through people like they are nothing.

Jason’s fingers tightened around his phone. He feels sick.

He turns the volume down and let the video loop again, watching in silence. The last part always gets him.. the moment the camera falls to the ground, catching a final glimpse of the monster lunging at the screaming crowd before everything cut to black.

He exhales slowly, rubbing his hand over his face.

Ryan stirred on the couch, mumbling something in his sleep. Jason glances at him. Twelve years old. Too young to deal with this. Too young to hear the world might be ending.

He shuts his phone off.

For now, Ryan doesn’t need to know.

Not yet.

The next day..

The government confirms it.

Jason watching the press conference from the small, flickering TV in their apartment. The woman speaking.. some high-ranking official.. looking exhausted. Dark circles under her eyes, hands gripping the podium too tightly. Behind her, a massive banner displaying the insignia of the country’s emergency response team. The room is silent except for the clicking of cameras and the low murmur of reporters.

“This is not misinformation,” she says, voice steady but hollow. “The leaked reports were accurate. Due to an unforeseen genetic catastrophe, an evolving threat has emerged… and containment has failed.”

The screen cut to satellite footage.. a grainy black-and-white image of a ruined city. Not just ruined. Leveled. Smoke rose in thick plumes, entire buildings reduced to rubble. Dark figures moved between the wreckage.. hundreds of them. The monsters.

Ryan sits cross-legged on the floor, staring at the screen with wide eyes. Jason wants to keep him from seeing this, but there is no avoiding it. The truth is everywhere now.

The woman continues. “These creatures.. designated as X-Variants.. are highly aggressive, and their numbers are increasing. Military efforts have been unsuccessful in curbing their spread.”

A reporter’s voice breaks through the silence. “What about a solution? Is there any way to stop them?”

The official hesitated. That second of silence said more than her words ever could.

“There is no solution,” she finally says. “Our projections indicate that within one year, humanity will no longer be alive. We urge all citizens to.. ”

The screen flickered. Static. Then, an emergency broadcast tone.

Jason stands up. Something is wrong.

Then the sirens starts.

Loud. Piercing. Too close.

He rushes to the window. Outside, the streets in chaos. People running, shouting. Cars honking, alarms blaring. The flashing blue and red of police lights illuminate the night.

And he sees them.

The first wave of monsters.

They tear through the streets like living nightmares. Buildings crumbles under their weight. People screames, scattering in every direction. A massive one.. a hulking shape with jagged, armored scales.. tears the police car in half like it is made of paper. Blood splattered against the pavement.

Jason’s breath caught.

It isn’t happening in some distant city anymore. It is here.

He turns back to Ryan, who is frozen in place, staring at the TV. The broadcast is still running, but now it is just security camera footage of the city. Their city. The creatures are moving fast. Too fast.

Jason grabs his brother’s arm. “We have to go. Now.”

Ryan hesitates. “But.. ”

The power cuts out.

For a moment, everything is silent. Then, from somewhere outside the building.. a scream.

Jason didn’t wait. He grabs their backpacks, the emergency supplies he had thrown together last night, and shoves Ryan toward the door.

The world is ending.

The stairwell smells like dust. Jason’s heartbeat pounds in his ears as he pulls Ryan down the concrete steps, moving as fast as their feet could carry them.

Somewhere above them, glass shattering. More screams. Then a deep, guttural roar that doesn’t sound human.

Jason grit his teeth and moves faster.

“We have to get outside,” he says, keeping his voice steady for Ryan’s sake.

The emergency exit is ahead.. a rusted metal door with chipped paint. Jason shoves his shoulder into it, and it burst open.

The street is in madness.

People runs in every direction. Some is carrying bags, some is carrying weapons, others have nothing at all. A few unlucky ones lying motionless on the pavement, blood pooling beneath them.

And the monsters… they are everywhere.

A smaller one.. a creature no bigger than a dog but twice as fast.. rips into a man just a few meters away. The man’s scream cut off too quickly. The thing’s head snaps toward Jason and Ryan.

Jason moves.

He grabs Ryan and sprints. No direction, no plan. Just away.

The creature is chasing. He hears its claws scraping against the pavement, closing the distance too fast.

A gunshot rings out.

The creature’s head snap back, a spray of dark blood bursting from its skull. It collapsed in a twitching heap.

Jason whirls around. A man stands a few meters away, holding a pistol. A wild look in his eyes, sweat droping down his forehead.

“Run,” the man shouts before turning to fire at something else.

Jason doesn’t need to be told twice.

He pulls Ryan through the wreckage of the city.. past overturning cars, shattering storefronts, burning buildings. The air is thick with smoke and the stench of blood.

The monsters are winning.

The military is trying. He see a barricade up ahead.. soldiers in full gear, rifles aiming, shouting orders. Civilians rushing toward them, desperate for safety.

Jason and Ryan joins the crowd, pushing forward. Almost there.

Then the biggest creature they have ever seen drops from the sky.

It lands directly on the barricade, crushing a soldier beneath its bulk. The impact sends a shockwave through the street, throwing people off their feet.

Jason hits the ground hard. His ears rings. He tastes blood.

The monster rise.

It is massive.. at least three meters tall, heavily armored, a tail thick enough to level a building.

Its eyes locking on Jason.

A moment of silence.

Then it lunges.

Ryan screams.

Jason grabs his brother.

and does the only thing he can do

He runs.