“Can you hear Reed?” I ask urgently.
He’s silent.
“Leviathan! Can you hear the siren?” I thunder.
“Yes.”
“Run towards him. Don’t stop. Run, run now.”
He bolts, and I follow behind, but much slower, struggling as I drag their heavy weights over the uneven ground.
“Keep going!” I pant.
The roar of the earth gets louder and louder. I struggle, sweating and panting, fighting for every single step. I get them past the body and know the entrance to the basement is just ahead, but I can’t be sure. I let out a whoosh of air and push harder, faster.
“REED!” I scream.
His song gets louder, aggressive, stronger, powerful. He’s a promise of heaven, of something beautiful. A world I don’t belong to, but I want so badly to be there.
Leaf lets out a relieved grunt and runs again.
I keep going, slipping hard, slamming my knee on rock. I grab them and keep pulling. Just a little more. I reach the basement hole and pass through, but the house is shaking. I turn my head in the direction of the stairs, trying to picture it and how far I still have, and I’m not sure we can make it.
The house trembles, and Reed’s song stops.
I throw myself on top of them, dragging us together. I’m not going to let my Sirens die.
“No, this is not happening. Not in the dark. No ticking, no clacking. I am the hunter here!” I shout in defiance.
The smell disappears, and I lift my head, feeling the harsh sun beating down on me. The smell is instantly one I recognise.
How the fuck did we get to Nightmare?
I stand up, listening as scared denizens start looking for an easy meal.
I flex my fingers and roll my head.
When they attack, I do what I’ve always done. I fight back. My legs ache, my arms feel like lead, but I keep moving, I keep dancing. I’m dripping with blood, but little of it is mine.
There is a ring of corpses around us when Lirin and Canto sit up. I ignore them and rip the guts out of the idiot who thought he could bite me.
“Strega. What’s going on?” Canto says, trying to stand up but failing.
I let out an exhausted huff. “Trying to keep us all alive, right now.”
“Where are we?” Lirin says, alarmed as a sharp-toothed, ground digger claws towards him. I stab it in the head, and it vomits blood onto Lirin.
“Nightmare.”
I leap past them and stab another one through the throat, whirling to shove another back.
“How did we get here?” Canto asks in what on anyone else I would call panic.
I let out a sob. “Do you really need to discuss this? Now?”
“How do we get home?” Canto demands.
“I don’t know!” I grit out and slam into another creature. My arms and legs tremble, but I keep moving. I rip his genitals off and toss them to something that eats them out of the air.
