by Anuar
The city calls them a miracle. He knows they are a massacre. A year ago, a rogue freighter brought more than illegal timber into the harbor. It brought a nightmare that gestated in a human host before tearing its way out into the cold rain. They called it Pouakai—a dying breath’s whisper. Today, the metropolis is mesmerized by a magnificent new species: massive, iridescent birds that have gracefully dominated the skyline, driving out all native life. The public flocks to parks to feed them, marveling at their majestic silhouettes against the sunset. But only Officer Ermund, now an ostracized ‘burnout,’ knows the grotesque reality hidden beneath their breathtaking plumage. He knows they don't hatch from eggs. He knows the coppery scent of the nests they weave in the shadows. And as a heavy, rhythmic tapping grows louder on his own thin window pane, he knows time has run out. He must make the world believe him—before the creature outside, and his own daughter inside, force him to make the ultimate choice.
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