A comfort in the morning.

Brandon ran through the alleys, jumping over metal tubes and throwing himself past corners. He could barely think, but picked up his pace and pushed with his feet as hard as he could. It struck him as ironic that his thin body, small and nimble, could barely keep ahead of a roaring monster three times his size, in a narrow maze of dark alleys. He came upon a thick metal gate and unlatched the handle. He swung it open, stepped through, and slammed it closed just in time to hear a sickening crash as the monster flew into it.
Sunlight spread over the green hills that surrounded Brandon and he could hardly believe that a second ago, he had nearly met his fate. The sound of the monster’s snarl came close from behind the gate and the monster grated his claws across it. Brandon bent over, his arms on his legs, breathing hard. Then he looked up at the wall. “I would still be running if that wall were only ten feet shorter.” Or worse. His body ached.
A piercing cry rang through the air and dozens of others joined in from miles around.
“What is this?” He shook and stepped back from the wall.
A fury of wails and angry howls broke through the still, dusty city. His playground, one of the king’s many factories, was now overrun with a host of unnatural creatures unlike anything Brandon had ever heard of.