KEILAH

The sun blazed high above us, light piercing through the canopy as Ralph sprinted through the forest. Branches whipped past my arms and face, but I didn’t dare loosen my grip. My fingers clung tightly to the thick fur on his back, my body pressed close to his broad shoulders as he moved with terrifying speed.

Behind us—thunder.

No, not thunder. Footsteps.

Many. Fast.

And snarls.

I looked back for just a second, and my heart nearly stopped. They were still coming. Dozens of them. Townspeople—but wrong. Their eyes glowed unnaturally under the daylight, and they moved like predators, like they didn’t care if the sun burned above them....