The city blurred past in streaks of neon and concrete, the slap of their running shoes echoing unnervingly loud in the deserted streets. Sami’s heart hammered against his ribs, a frantic drumbeat matching the pace of their flight. He gripped Reem’s hand tighter, her fingers cold despite the exertion. Reem, in turn, held fast to their daughter, Maya, whose small legs churned to keep up. Fear was a tangible thing, a cold knot in Sami’s stomach, a tremor in Reem’s grip, a wide-eyed terror in Maya’s face glimpsed under the flickering streetlights.

They plunged into the echoing cavern of the metro station, the sudden descent down the escalators feeling like a fall into the earth’s depths. The air was stale, heavy with silence. No commuters, no buskers, no distant rumble of trains – just emptiness. A lone security guard, crisp in his uniform, materialized near the platform edge as a train slid silently into the station, doors sighing open. His face was impassive, unreadable. “This one. Quickly,” he urged, his voice flat, devoid of curiosity or alarm, ushering them aboard with an authority that allowed no argument.

As the doors hissed shut and the train pulled away, Sami looked back. The platform was empty. The guard was gone. The station dissolved into the tunnel’s darkness. Inside the carriage, the fluorescent lights hummed, casting a sterile glow on the vacant seats. Reem pulled Maya close, both instinctively reaching for the cold metal of a standing pole. Sami stood protectively beside them, one hand resting on Reem’s shoulder, his eyes constantly scanning the empty carriage, then flicking up to the station map, trying to orient himself in this dislocated reality. Where were they going? Where was safe?

The train glided through the city, an elevated ghost ship sailing over streets devoid of cars or people. A profound, unnatural silence pressed in on them. Maya began to shiver, not from cold, but from a deep, primal fear. “It’s okay, habibti,” Reem murmured, her voice trembling slightly despite the reassurance. “Baba is with us. We’re together.”

Sami found their stop – a name that meant little in this context but represented a destination, a plan, however fragile. As the train slowed, the tension ratcheted higher. The doors opened onto another deserted platform. “Run!” Sami commanded, pulling them forward. They burst out of the station and onto the street, scanning desperately for a taxi. The emptiness here felt different – charged, watchful. Sami felt it prickle on his skin – the distinct sensation of unseen eyes tracking their frantic movements. Dozens of them, it felt like, hidden in the shadowed doorways and blank windows.

A lone cab idled at the corner, engine humming softly. They scrambled in, Sami giving the address of Celine’s family – old friends, yet a knot of distrust tightened in his gut even as he spoke the words. They had no luggage, nothing but the clothes on their backs and the fear clinging to them like a shroud. As the cab pulled away, Sami kept hold of Reem, who kept hold of Maya, a small, desperate chain of connection against the encroaching dread.

Celine and her husband met them with smiles that seemed genuine, ushering them into the warmth of their home. Relief warred with Sami’s unease. They were offered a room, a temporary sanctuary. Exhaustion pulled at them, but sleep felt impossible.

Later, a young woman named Zahra entered the room, introduced as a relative staying with the family. She had long, dark hair that flowed down her back and a gentle, welcoming smile. She seemed kind, offering them water and quiet comfort. After a while, Celine called Sami out to the living room, wanting to talk, to understand what had happened. He hesitated, glancing back at Reem and Maya, but Celine’s insistence was hard to refuse. He told Reem he’d be right back.

He wasn’t gone long before the first scream ripped through the house’s quiet murmur. Sami sprinted back, heart seizing. He burst through the bedroom door to find Reem backed against the wall, pale and trembling, while Zahra stood near the center of the room, looking concerned. “What’s wrong?” Zahra asked, her voice soft. Reem just shook her head, unable to speak, her eyes wide with a terror Sami couldn’t comprehend. He looked from his wife to the seemingly innocent girl. “She… she just got startled,” Sami managed, trying to quell the sudden spike of alarm.

He stepped out again, attempting to reassure Celine, his mind racing. He needed to believe this place was safe. But then, another sound reached him – not quite a scream this time, but a guttural, frightening noise, followed by Reem’s desperate cries. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it!”

Sami didn’t hesitate. He threw the door open again. The scene froze him for a heartbeat. Zahra was no longer gentle. Her eyes were huge, the pupils dilated into black pools, her face contorted in rage. Her hands, tipped with long, sharp nails like claws, were reaching for Reem, who was huddled on the floor, sobbing. Zahra hissed, a sound filled with venom, “I will kill you.”

Instinct took over. Sami launched himself forward, not towards Zahra, but towards his wife. He wrapped his arms around Reem, pulling her tight against him, shielding her with his own body as he glared at the monstrous figure before them. The dream, the memory, ended there, but the terror was vividly, terrifyingly present.

---

The air crackled, thick with menace. Zahra’s distorted face hovered inches from Sami’s, her unnaturally large eyes burning with cold fury. The frightening noise she’d made earlier resonated in the room, a low growl vibrating in Sami’s chest. He held Reem tighter, feeling her uncontrollable shaking. Maya, awake now, whimpered from the bed, witnessing the horror.

“Get away from her,” Sami snarled, his voice low and shaking with a mixture of fear and protective rage.

Zahra tilted her head, a grotesque parody of curiosity. The long claws retracted slightly, but the malice in her eyes remained. Behind her, Sami heard footsteps. Celine and her husband appeared in the doorway, their expressions initially concerned, but shifting subtly as they took in the scene – Sami shielding Reem, Zahra poised like a predator.

“What is going on here?” Celine’s husband asked, his voice attempting authority, but Sami detected a flicker of something else beneath it – knowledge. Complicity.

“She attacked Reem! Look at her!” Sami yelled, keeping his eyes locked on Zahra.

Zahra blinked, and with shocking speed, her features softened. The eyes shrank back to normal, the claws vanished, the rage melted away, replaced by a look of bewildered innocence. She took a step back, her long black hair falling gently around her shoulders. “Attacked? Sami, what are you saying? Reem screamed, I came to see what was wrong…”

Reem sobbed against Sami’s chest. “No… she… her eyes…”

Celine stepped forward, placing a comforting hand on Zahra’s arm. “Sami, you’re all overwrought. This journey… the fear… you’re imagining things. Zahra wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

The gaslighting was blatant, terrifying. Sami knew then, with chilling certainty, that his initial distrust had been an understatement. These people weren’t just untrustworthy; they were part of the threat. This house wasn’t a sanctuary; it was a trap.

“We’re leaving,” Sami stated, his voice hard. He began to pull Reem towards the door, reaching for Maya on the bed.

Celine’s husband moved, blocking the doorway. His friendly facade dropped completely, replaced by a cold, hard stare. “I don’t think so. You can’t leave just yet.”

“Why?” Sami demanded, maneuvering Reem and Maya behind him. “What do you want?”

A thin smile touched the husband’s lips. “It’s not what we want, Sami. It’s what you brought with you. Something… precious.” His gaze flickered towards Maya.

Ice flooded Sami’s veins. They were after his daughter.

He didn’t wait for another word. With a sudden roar, he shoved the husband hard, catching him off balance. He grabbed Maya, scooped her into his arms, seized Reem’s hand, and bolted past Celine and the momentarily stunned Zahra. They pounded down the hallway, the sound of shouts erupting behind them.

The front door seemed miles away. Locks clicked, bolts scraped – sounds amplified in the desperate silence. Behind them, footsteps hammered closer. Sami risked a glance – Zahra was moving with unnatural speed, her form blurring, the monstrous features beginning to re-emerge.

Reem screamed as the husband grabbed Sami’s arm, trying to haul him back. Sami kicked out blindly, connecting with something solid. He heard a hiss of pain. Reem wrenched the final bolt free and threw the door open.

Night air, cold and sharp, hit them. Sami shoved Reem and Maya out, slammed the door shut, and ran. Down the steps, onto the pavement, into the same oppressive, empty streets they thought they had escaped. They ran without direction, fueled by sheer terror, the sound of the front door opening again behind them echoing in the stillness.

They ducked into a narrow, garbage-strewn alley, collapsing against the cold brick, chests heaving. The city was silent again, a vast, watchful void. Sami held his family close, straining his ears. Had they been followed?

A streetlight at the alley’s entrance flickered, casting long, dancing shadows. Then, abruptly, it went out, plunging them into near-total darkness. Maya, safe in his arms but trembling violently, lifted a small hand, pointing towards the blackness at the mouth of the alley.

Her whisper was almost lost in the sudden silence, yet it resonated louder than any scream.

“Eyes.”

Sami stared into the impenetrable dark, seeing nothing, yet feeling it – a cold, intense scrutiny. Multiple presences, unseen, unheard, but undeniably there. They had escaped the house, but not the hunt. The nightmare wasn’t confined to Zahra or the treacherous family. It was the city itself, and it was closing in.