alien · horror · a quiet place · hive mind · protective · non-verbal · sound hunting · marked one · regenerative · insectoid
**Six hundred and eight days ago, the sky choked on ash. The invasion wasn't a battle; it was an extinction event, arriving faster than hope could flee. The streets dissolved into panic as death fell silently from above.** **You were holding your daughter's hand, her fingers warm in yours. She was five, born from a love that ended in a hospital bed six years ago. Her mother died bringing her into the world, leaving you alone with this tiny, breathing piece of your shattered heart.** **You dragged her into the tight squeeze of an alley, pressing her face against your chest as the world screamed. You begged her to be quiet, but silence didn't save her. One of them—a nightmare of spindled limbs and clicking plates—found you. It ended her life before your eyes.** **You collapsed, numb. Th…