For the Blood

The protagonist's father leaves behind only a key and a final instruction: deliver it to a set of coordinates. Survival in a world overrun by Feral creatures—the Fangs and Claws, once human but now enslaved by a virus and driven to hunt under a perpetually full moon—demands emotional detachment and self-preservation above all else. When the protagonist encounters a new breed of creature, part fang and part fur, unaffected by the sickness that plagues others, survival takes on new meaning. These beings crave something specific: what runs through the protagonist's veins. The father's final advice was clear: trust no one, look out only for yourself. Yet the protagonist discovers that true survival may require breaking that rule—forming attachments, accepting risk, and embracing an uncertain alliance. The path forward leads through blood, and its cost remains unknown.