You break into a sprint as you hear the cacophony of growls, hisses, and shuffling claws. You can feel your hair standing on end, your entire body trembling, the adrenaline surging through your veins at levels you wouldn't ever thought to be reached at your current age, or even in your lifetime.
You aren't even sure how long you've been running, but all you know is that you have to keep going. You need to get somewhere safe.
You stumble along the sidewalk, your hands sweat-slicked and weak. Your flip-flops slap the ground with monotonous regularity whilst the pendant swings beneath your shirt, your breaths becoming more and more labored as you go, and only get further away.
Nightmarish creatures lurk in the shadows, leaving you with a feeling of helplessness as you slink between buildings. You can just barely make out their impossible forms through the faint glint of their reflective bodies from the streetlamp's lights, which vary vastly in terms of species, attributes, endowment, gender, and even color.
Shuddering, you keep going. Your heart pounds in your chest, and you push yourself to run as quickly as you can whilst retaining caution. Grim thoughts run through your head as you desperately search for some sign of familiarity, never stopping and only growing with each step.
Were your friends okay? Was your family okay? Has anyone else survived? You hadn't seen a single other person all this time, the streets free of any and all other humans save yourself.
You're not sure what's out there. What's lurking in the shadows. What's in the buildings. What's under the street. What's past the end of the next alley.
What's more, you're not even sure if you're safe.
Maybe you were just being delirious. Maybe this was all just some stupid dream, or nightmare. The bat wasn't real. The wolf wasn't real. That man getting attacked wasn't real. The pendant wasn't real.
...Yeah, that's right. You needed to get home. Get back to your apartment. Call someone. Call a friend. Some way to reassure you that you were just on something, that what was happening wasn't reality.
Your legs burn with each step, and you pray that you were fast enough to escape whatever was behind you. The exhaustion was beyond overwhelming, but your mind only cared for one thing: survival.
And much to your exasperated relief, your constant fleeing was eventually rewarded as you could make out the dark silhouette of the apartment complex you knew as your home; the keys in your hand the second you reach the doorway.
You slam the door shut and lock it right as soon as you make it within the safety of your living quarters, kicking your sandals off upon taking a small moment to fully catch your breath, the sweat clinging to your body further intensified through the previous dampening of your shirt. The apartment is dark save for the faint light of the streetlamp shining through your window, but you don't need to see to know the layout of your place.
Panting and setting your keys aside, you practically scramble to the confines of your room; and with the door firmly secured behind you with a lock, you take the time to step out of your clothes drenched with sweat, also removing the pendant and idly setting it atop your bed as to not further desecrate it with your currently less than hygienic scent.
Left alone and without light, you pause and think of your next course of action, returning your gaze to the faintly glimmering surface of the pendant.