"And that's it for now, kids!"
The old man slammed the book shut.
"Awwww!"
The children immediately complained.
One of them looked at the old man with wide eyes.
"Are those stories real?"
The old man smiled.
"No one knows."
He looked down at the ancient book.
"Legend says this book is over 5,000 years old."
He closed his eyes for a moment before standing up.
"We'll continue tomorrow. Now go to bed, kids. Tomorrow will be a long day."
The children quickly ran to their rooms, laughing and pushing each other around.
Eventually, they all settled down together.
The house became quiet.
The wind blew outside.
Everything seemed peaceful.
Until—
Sniff.
The old man's eyes opened.
Smoke.
He immediately stood up and looked outside.
His expression changed.
The village was on fire.
"Waaaaaah!"
People were running and shouting through the village.
Hollows were everywhere.
The old man grabbed his sword.
"Wake up! Everyone, get outside!"
The children woke up in confusion.
"What's happening?!"
"No time! RUN!"
They rushed outside.
The village had become chaos.
Houses were burning.
People were screaming.
Hollows chased anyone they could find.
"Into the forest!"
The children followed the old man as they ran.
Branches hit their faces.
Their breathing became heavier.
But they didn't stop.
Until—
GRRRR!
A hound-shaped Hollow jumped out.
"AAAH!"
It grabbed one of the children.
"NO!"
The old man swung his sword.
But it was already too late.
The child was infected.
His body began to change.
"Run!"
The old man shouted.
"DON'T LOOK BACK!"
The children ran.
One after another, they disappeared into the forest.
But the old man couldn't keep up.
The Hollows surrounded him.
He raised his sword.
"Come on, then!"
The battle didn't last long.
One child stopped.
He couldn't move.
He watched as the Hollows overwhelmed the old man.
"Darren..."
The man who had raised them.
Their old man.
Their protector.
Darren fell.
Jean stood there frozen.
One of the hounds turned toward him.
Its glowing eyes locked onto him.
It slowly approached.
Jean backed away.
"Go away..."
The Hollow growled.
"GO AWAY!"
Jean threw dirt at it.
The Hollow suddenly lunged.
But—
SLASH!
Jaro appeared.
His sword cut straight through the Hollow.
The creature fell.
But the other Hollows immediately attacked him.
"Jaro!"
"Jean!"
Jaro struggled to stay standing.
"RUN!"
"But—"
"FOLLOW YOUR SIBLINGS!"
He pushed himself forward.
"RUN! GO TO A SAFE PLACE!"
Jean froze.
Jaro looked at him one last time.
"RUN, JEAN!"
His body finally gave out.
Jean stared at him.
Then he ran.
He ran without looking back.
Branches scratched his clothes.
His legs hurt.
His chest hurt.
He didn't care.
Tears kept falling from his eyes.
"Jaro..."
He kept running.
Darren was gone.
Jaro was gone.
His village was gone.
But Jean kept running.
Because that was their final order.
Run.
To be continued...