Chapter 36: Two Paths and One Choice
**Kait**
I stand out on the fire escape just outside my bedroom window. The night is cold, and the moon is but a void in the sky. Even the stars seem unwilling to shine on a night like this.
As a strong wind blows across me, I shiver and rub my arms with my hands. I’m wearing a T-shirt and jeans, unwilling to change into my night clothes, as if that would be accepting a new day, a new day closer to the end.
As I look out into the glittering city, I imagine all the people tucked safely in their homes, unaware of the dangers around them. Most of them are human, oblivious to the true threats of the world, of the world hidden beneath theirs.
Cumberland was built to be a safe haven for those who belonged nowhere else. It had seemed like that refuge when I first came here. Now, it’s beginning to feel like a prison, and I’m suffocating inside it.