BANG!
"Dad!"
His father's head knocked back. A red mist sprayed from the blow.
Soon, his body followed. His weight crashed onto the floor and life in the next moment vanished from his face. Blood spurted out of his right eye, seeping out beneath him into a puddle of red.
Adam gulped. He stood in shock with the torn hem of his dad's shirt in his hands.
Dead. He was dead.
His dad was-
Krooaaar!
All of them froze in an instant. The man with the pistol gritted his teeth and whipped toward his men.
"I thought there weren't any in this area!?" He hissed.
"They said they-"
Adam immediately shoved past them. He ran down the courtyard and started to head towards the farthest building.
"Hey! Get that kid!"
"Wait- Stop! Don't shoot, you fucking idiot, or else the-"
The distant monster's noise roared again in the night.
"Huff! Huff! Huff!"
They were right though. There shouldn't be any monsters this close by. Not this far into the zone.
Adam breathed heavily as he tripped his way over the broken concrete and vines sprawled on the street. He burst through the fog, his body humming a whirlwind of emotions. He wanted to scream and cry, but all his rational thought was put into the need for escape.
Away.
Away from these people.
Away from the monsters.
Adam felt tears emerging. The temptation to just curl and cry in his arms pulled on him. And yet, he was possessed to race on forward. Their steps echoed after him as he skidded to a stop to make a left at a corner.
But just as he was turning the corner—a column of some sort that stood in his way—time suddenly slowed.
Because what was before him gave a new wash of cold terror.
Something...something was outlined in the mist.
A figure appearing to be a man, tall in comparison to himself, reeked of hot rot and death.
But there betrayed a coldness in its eyes.
Those eyes...Maybe they could have served as beautiful stones he'd collect and perch next his bed. Stones he'd ask his father what kind they were and hear a whole history behind them.
But what sort of precious item belonged on a creature's face?
Unable to pull away, unable to do anything else but scream, Adam's mouth dropped and fear began to build in his throat. But before he could, the shadow lurched forward and grabbed him.
"Mmph!"
Cracked skin met his mouth.
He tried to reach behind for a pocketknife, but then found himself completely restrained, hugged, at the mercy of the creature.
Next moment, he was pulled away into one of the crumbled walls of a building. The floor was gone beneath him. It was as if darkness had lifted him off his feet and dragged him into its den of shadows.
Adam wiggled desperately against the creature's grasp. He didn't want to die. Not like this!
"Shhh."
Adam froze at the shushed tone. He slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder.
A set of blue eyes met his. Cold. Chilling. The contact made his whole body tremble.
"Quiet."
Human.
The voice sounded human.
Adam gulped. He fought off the revolting smell he was hugged by and remained silent.
"Over here!"
"What about the tunn-"
"Pfft! That kid wouldn't be brave enough for five minutes even if he tried."
He didn't know what tunnels they were talking about, but he knew he definitely would've soiled his pants if it meant being on his own for too long!
Both Adam and this unknown person holding onto him were hiding behind a knocked-down table in the dark. He squinted his eyes to view the room, wondering what sort of place they were in. He registered the other fallen tables, the number of chairs, a long counter with mechanical machinery built in the walls, a filter, and a sink...
'A cafe...?'
Adam had scavenged a couple of those with his dad before with another group. He remembered the tellings of people serving in aprons, guests laying orders, but most of all, bringing out a nice, delicious cup of drink with sugary bread. What did those taste like? Did a time like that ever truly exist? His dad-
"..."
His dad...was still outside.
Lifeless.
With a bullet in his head.
Gulp.
His dad died. His dad was really dead.
Adam didn't have to see the mysterious man's face, but he could feel his chilling blue eyes study him at that moment. Adam's body trembled even more as tears poured out, his face crumpling into a whimper. He choked back his sobs against the hand. At least he was 'held' by somebody so he wouldn't be left to grieve uncontrollably. Not when there was danger nearby. He didn't want to make another mistake at the cost of someone's life. Not again.
'Oh why...why...'
He squeezed his eyes shut. The taunting steps from the group beckoned closer.
"Hey."
Adam flinched.
The voice spoke close to his ear. Like a dark whisper.
"These men...Do you think they know where the next settlement is?"
"..."
'Huh...?'
Adam peeked his eyes open and forced himself to meet the man's gaze. His face...It was definitely human. Same shape nose. Same shape chin. Same shape cheeks. Although the blood around his mouth doubted otherwise...
Oh, but the smell-
"These men." The man pointed with his other hand. "Do they know?"
The man paused.
"Or do you know?"
His mouth went dry. The question sounded threatening. Almost as if daring him to lie.
He knew the way. Sort of. His dad definitely knew. But these other men?
Adam looked unsurely back at the group that was approaching the broken entrance.
They had to as well. They patrolled at least near the border to know of it.
He nodded.
A flicker of calculation and resolve crossed the man's eyes. Almost in comparison to someone planning a hunt. Adam didn't know if he should feel relieved in that or not.
The man casually stretched out his left hand again. Light glistened before them and wrapped into a circular shape. Round. A dome. Silver or iron it seemed.
A shield!
"..."
A...small shield?
Quite small...
But-
'Is he an Awakened...?'
Adam turned to ask, but an invisible force pressed upon his body, draining him from his limbs, his neck, then his tongue. It was already dark, but there was another set of darkness bleeding into his vision. His eyes felt heavy too for some reason.
"See you when you wake up, kid."
Then his mind went blank.
***
"Shit. You think that monster is going to pass through here?"
"Probably. That good-for-nothing father will buy us sometime though."
Hope laid the boy's head on the floor, careful not to make any noise. He felt through his pockets and pulled out a small pocketknife. Huh. So that was what the boy was reaching for.
Hope's fingers caressed the blade and recognized it as a spear point blade.
He decided he would return it later. Or not.
The entire time he was preparing himself, his eyes remained locked on the men's visible entry. Their bodies, as they emerged, silhouetted against the gray fog like shadowed predators. One by one, they entered with wafts of mist clinging to their clothes. Sounds of their carried guns clicked, and their scratchy steps against the rubble floor followed carelessly after them.
Five men; two rifles, one pistol, two crowbars.
'Mm. These odds are a bit-'
"..."
A bitterness filled his mouth again.
'Nevermind.'
For one thing, he wasn't sure which part of the city he was in. The main road through the city could be tens of blocks away, maybe even the next street over. But he'd have to wait till morning to scout the area.
Or.
He could also get some answers from one of these men.
'But...'
Hope eyed the guns.
This was not how he wanted to start his first day in the city.
"Forget about the damn kid. He probably won't make it through the night anyway."
"He stole my knife though!"
'Ah.'
Hope nonchalantly spun the knife in his right hand.
It was a decent knife.
"We still got the rest of our stuff back." The other lifted the bag that the father had thrown at their feet.
The man with the pistol let out an annoyed grunt as he picked up a fallen chair and sat.
"Well, too bad. You just wanted to get him for his pretty face."
They all laughed in unison.
Hope eyed the man who sat down. He must be the leader of the group.
A leader with knowledge.
'The main target.'
Hope's body itched at that moment; legs tensed as if coiling to spring.
Even the voices in his head rushed in waves. They rose and fell, but all related to the lessons his commanding officer had drilled into him. On how to approach a beast. It was for the response teams when confronted beast invasion in their home streets, spawning from failed Nightmares or whatever cruel gate fate bothered to rip.
'...If you want to live, walk toward the beast like a soldier built for death.'
'...before approaching a monster, secure your footing, your breathing, your mind. And if any of those slips, well then, the beast takes the rest.'
Before him, instead, were people.
But that was the same thing, wasn't it?
Ah. Man. His commanding officer had an opinion on that as well: Just an animal with a flimsy coat of civilization. It was proven in the early years of the Spell. No, even before that. Man behaving like beasts whenever they abandon reason, which in battle was most of the time.
They continued their chatter as Hope crouched to his feet. A natural calm filled his mind as he circled the edge of the room where shadows were thickest. His steps finding the gaps between the wreckage on the tiled floor.
Five men were a lot. He would have been more hesitant before, like in his First Nightmare.
But they seemed to be human. Just ordinary humans.
And Hope finally had some weapons to serve him.
He reached an angle that seemed best for attack. Fourteen paces away just like the small cave he rested at the night before. He could make it in half. But instead of raising the blade, he laid the knife aside.
He was going to approach a little differently.
One of the men picked their nose.
"You think it's just one beast or a pack this time?"
"It better be fucking one. Greg, go check on the-"
Swish!
"What the!?"
Suddenly, a light spun and split the darkness. They reacted too late. In fact, they couldn't figure out what happened as this thing flew at them.
Puok!
Before they knew it, a flashlight hit square onto their leader's face. His body hit the floor. The light bouncing and sliding across casted wild shadows, drawing eyes away from one area that truly mattered: himself.
"Who the hell-"
Hwiiik!
Hope let the blade fly.
It found itself right in one of the gunmen's head.
Without wasting a breath, Hope's body pulled itself towards the second man with the rifle. He took out the black shard from behind and slid it right into his throat. The man's eyes widened in a sheen of horror, followed by the sound of choked blood.
[You have slain a dormant human...]
[You have slain a dormant human...]
A part of Hope's mind was almost pulled away by the Spell's uncanny voice.
But instinct hurriedly spiked as he felt the other's presence.
Hope turned and met eyes with the two men who remained still in shock some distance away, standing with their rustic crowbars. He then saw a slight movement from a hand-
Hope wrenched the shard free. He heard the body drop as he faced a flying crowbar.
Shiiik!
His shield parried in time.
"Who the fuck are you!?"
He dismissed the man's words. Instead, his eyes responded to the sight of their leader reaching for his pistol. He must have dropped it from Hope's previous blow. Hope could see red run from his nose.
Two dead.
Three left.
Although, maybe there wasn't any harm in keeping three alive instead of one. More information.
But as if challenging that thought, a shine of metal gleamed from the corner of his eye.
Hope side-stepped, the crowbar slashing only space. He swung his arm back and threw the black shard between them.
"Aaaaaacckk!"
The leader hugged his hand. A spill of blood could be seen from where the shard had impaled.
"H-hit him dammit!"
Shiiik!
Metal parried metal. The man lifted his high over his shoulder, defiant. Hope's boot smeared dust as he cut forward, pummeling a fist square into the man's ribs. His voice cracked like a little boy's, knees collapsing till he curled into a bow.
"Y-you! Grraaaaaah!"
The last man standing yelled and swung with blind fury.
Shiiik! Shiiik! Shiiik!
The ring of metal clashed but had a dull pitch. An Awakened Memory against a rustic bar.
As Hope blocked the man's trajectories, their behemoth shadows from the flashlight mimicked along the walls like dancing black flames. Even the fog, entertained by such movements, dragged along each swing like a clingy ghost.
The visible wrath started to make the man lose control of those swings. After the fourth swing, Hope pivots. And just as the man's weight carried through the attack, Hope pounded his shield into the man's face.
Slam!
His head knocked back, eyes rolled up, probably seeing stars as well.
Kroooaaar!
A sudden roar from the monster from earlier cried out. It came close. Too close.
Hope dismissed his Memory. He dropped to one knee and picked up one of the rifles.
Barrel aimed at the crumbled wall's entrance just as a crawling figure started to emerge-
Bang! BANG! BANG!
A spew of flashes sparked through the fog.
In the next moment, a lizard-like creature fell limp on top of the rubble. Deep holes blotched its head where red leaked.
"..."
Hope froze and held position.
One. Two. Three. Four...
"..."
Five. Six. Seven...
Ears strained for further noise.
But nothing else followed.
It seemed only one monster was nearby rather than a pack of them, just as the men had hoped. But one was enough to be a threatening monster inside a slum city.
[You have slain a dormant beast-]
'Shut up.'
Hope stood up and stared down at the men lying around him.
He didn't exactly feel any sense of triumph. It wasn't peace, but it wasn't a sense of uneasiness either. It happened quite simply-
"Cough! Uggh..."
The collected groans of alarm and confusion echoed from the two wounded. The flashlight was still on, its light emanating at their feet creating large shadows. His being tallest of them.
Step. Step. Step.
Hope strode towards their leader. The man scrambled back, cradling his hand.
"W-who are you-"
Instead of approaching face-to-face with the leader, Hope bent down and picked up the backpack that had been dropped earlier.
"...?"
Hope nonchalantly looked inside, then began rummaging through, feeling around the items for something specific. Once his hands grabbed onto something cylindrical, he quickly pulled it out.
He opened the bottle and greedily drank from it.
His dry throat soothed at the long-awaited moist. A desire and thirst finally satisfied.
But after a few seconds, he forced himself to pull away. He had to save some for later. Not waste it all in one go. The lid was screwed back on silently, ignoring the confusion from the two who remained awake.
The third was alive but knocked out.
The other two dead.
And the last one was sleeping peacefully in a corner.
Hope slung the backpack over his shoulder then raised the rifle back on the leader. He felt his own eyes still glazed with a frigidness. No, these weren't monsters. But his commanding officer was right. Beast and man, they died the same way. And for the moment, they should be treated as such. It didn't seem to be a bad thing; the voices were surprisingly hushed to a murmur with his focus remaining undisturbed. He supposed he could blame it on his training days. Such things could not be erased so easily.
What the mind may forget-
'-the body remembers.'
Except, he couldn't forget what was already there.
The man shuddered from the pointed barrel and shrank away.
"H-hey let's not get too h-hasty now..."
"..."
"W-what do you need? Food? Water? M-more weapons? W-we can get it for you! Isn't that right?"
The leader looked expectantly at his partner, who was still recovering from the blow to his ribs. He jerked a nod.
"..."
The man squirmed under Hope's gaze.
"Hahaha...well speak...you know how to speak right...?"
Hope blinked. Then an inaudible sigh passed his lips.
"Questions." Hope tilted his head "I have some questions for you. And it would be sufficient if you could have some answers ready for me. It is a matter of life and death after all."