Just as the four of us were finally about to feel secure again, something caught my eye in the air ahead of us. It was as black as the sky; I couldn't quite make out what it was from the distance we were from it. All I could see was its movement through the air, right below the clouds.

As my body tensed up, I voicelessly pointed to the motion and everyone stared at in in anticipation.

As it glided closer, I noticed that there were two red lights glowing from the thing, piercing through the rain and the shadows. Were those its eyes? Oh no, was this going to be a repeat of the other winged thing we had encountered?

All four of our bodies tensed up as we drove under it.

I don't think any of us could even breathe.

We all expected it to come diving down towards us at any moment. As it escaped our vision, we started to glance furtively around, trying to find out where it went. But we couldn't see it anymore.

Nobody said anything for a while, so heavy was the anticipation of it re-materializing somewhere in the black clouds.

We drove on expecting it to attack us at any moment.

Unable to stand the silence any longer, Sarah fidgeted then spoke up, "So... what... what were those things?"

Jared stared out the window, still searching for the flying-thing, "I don't know... that thing with the eyes was definitely fucking creepy but there was something about those metally things... what the hell..."

I cleared my throat, "Yeah, why did they just ignore us?"

The question hung in the air for a moment.

Sarah spoke up, "I... I'm certain that those things were what was making the construction noises I heard before... and from the other things we heard and saw, I think they were actually dismantling the houses and... feeding it to that big thing or something?"

"...But why?" the four of us all said at once.

We actually all laughed at that, maybe a tad bit hysterically. I think it was the first time I had really laughed since this storm began.

When the slight tinge of lightheartedness faded, I sighed and brought one of my hands to my head, "I don't know... I just can't make any sense of any this... everything we've encountered has behaved differently so far. Some are out to get us... some seem to have their own goals... some... who knows... I just don't know."

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"Maybe... they're trying to get rid of us," Aaron spoke up, "Humans, I mean."

The thought hung heavy in the air. I glanced out the side windows, seeing nothing but the rain spilling off of the empty apartments and pattering to the ground below.

But why? Where did all of these things come from, and why?

After another ten minutes, we passed out of the neighbourhood into a more rural area that was completely devoid of trees. It was nothing but a barren wasteland, I remember it was deforested years ago. Usually they'd replant the trees in these kinds of situations, but once things really started to go down the shitter, nobody really cared anymore. The bland repetitive surroundings brought back a terrible recollection of the endless chase we had with the dogs...

Jared started to fiddle with the radio, and I was completely expecting nothing to come up but he actually did pick up on a working station. It was Crestland's major news station, and a panicked female voice was practically shouting through the speakers:

Crestland is... I don't know if anyone will even hear this... but no matter what, don't come into Crestland. You... you can't come here. I don't care what kind of reason you think you have... it's not worth it.

She rambled on and stuttered constantly.

I wish... I wish I never would have come here. I, I... I can see them... watching... waiting for me.

There's too many of them. There's... way too many of them.

Just don't come here. No matter what.

...I think I'm safe in here... but I don't have much food and... I'll probably starve and... but that's fine by me. I'd rather starve... I'd rather starve than go out there again! I WILL STARVE! I don't care... I don't want to go out there and you can't make me...

Her stuttering transformed into a hysteric laugh that shook the speakers for a whole thirty seconds. Shivering, I turned the volume down until she started speaking more or less coherently again.

Crestland is lost. Stay as far away as you can.

Again, I don't know if anyone will even hear this... I don't know if there's anyone even left alive anywhere... But I can't sleep when my conscious is telling me to warn people. I'll probably get dragged down to hell with these things anyway... And it's not like I could get any sleep anyway. Not when... not when their faces are... pressed against the glass... watching me... so many of them...

They could break in at any second. They're definitely strong enough. I saw them grab someone, they were screaming for a whole day and they couldn't do anything as they...

But they won't break in for some reason. They just keep watching.

So I know... I just need to stay in here. I can't go out...

I don't even remember the last time I slept... or whether it's even night or day... or... those things were bad enough, but now that.... THAT'S happening, well...

She laughed again, this time for an entire minute.

Stay away.

The message stopped with a burst of static, then started to repeat again. Jared shut the radio off.

As chilling as that was, we didn't have to worry. We didn't plan on actually going through Crestland proper, after all. Yeah, my judgment had been correct. We had been travelling all along the communities on the outside of Crestland, and eventually we would reach a part where there was basically no houses. It was a lot longer than moving through Crestland, but definitely a lot safer. If things went smoothly, we'd be on an old remote highway in an hour or two. Then it would probably be smooth sailing all the way to Ertonburg. All the facts now pointed towards these things only staying near where there was actually people... well, most of them.