THEY RAN. EVERY DODGE, EVERY TURN, FELT LIKE THEIR LEGS WOULD SNAP IN HALF— BUT THEY DIDN'T STOP. THEY COULDN'T.
The creature's thundering steps shook through the soil, each impact heavier and more violent than the last. William didn't even dare look back. Leo was dragging him by the wrist, half-running, half-flying through roots and low branches.
Then—
BAM!!
THE BEAR-LIKE CREATURE MISSTEPPED. IT LOST ITS FOOTING, SLIDING SIDEWAYS LIKE A SMALL QUAKE, AND IN THAT SPLIT SECOND— WILLIAM AND LEO STUMBLED, ROLLING IN THE DIRT, GASPING, SCRAMBLING,
BUT IT DIDN'T MATTER. THEY WERE ALREADY ON THE GROUND ANYWAY. Meanwhile, far ahead—
Brie and Alliah STILL hadn't found water. They were stressed, tired, scanning every direction for even a tiny stream.
The sudden crash behind them BOOMED through the forest.
Both of them froze.
The air filled with smoke and dust, thick and rising. Everything was visibility-zero.
Brie's eyes widened. "Alliah… what was that…?"
She gripped Alliah's arm so tight her fingers trembled. Alliah stayed focused—breathing slow, stance solid, eyes narrowing. She was terrified too, but she forced herself into her calm, realistic mode.
She squinted harder.
Shapes moved in the smoke.
At first only shadows— Four arm-shapes? Two human silhouettes? And something massive… towering behind them…
Alliah's first thought was, Debris? A falling tree? Something collapsing?
But the more the smoke shifted—
The clearer it became.
"Wait—" Alliah whispered.
It wasn't debris.
It was LEO AND WILLIAM, running like their souls were on fire.
And behind them— THE CREATURE.
THE NIGHTMARE.
Brie's face drained of color.
Alliah could hear them—barely. Leo's voice was weak under the noise.
"Run—! Ru—!"
"What!?" Alliah yelled. "WHAT!?"
Then both boys screamed it, full power:
"RUN!!! RUN!!! RUN!!!"
That was the moment the girls understood.
The creature stepped into view— Its lion head snapping, its bear body shaking the earth,
FOUR LONG HUMAN ARMS TWITCHING FROM ITS BACK LIKE SPIDERS TRYING TO ESCAPE ITS FLESH.
Brie and Alliah's bodies locked in place— A FULL-BODY FREEZE.
GOOSEBUMPS.
THE KIND THAT HURTS.
They could still see Leo and William, arms pumping helplessly, running toward them in almost slow motion—
And then the creature extended one of its human arms—
LONGER—
LONGER—
REACHING—
CLOSING IN ON WILLIAM'S BACK—
Brie gasped, hands out like she could grab him even from meters away—
Alliah felt her stomach twist—
The arm TOUCHED William—
And then—
SLASH!!!
A SHOCKWAVE OF MOTION.
THE ARM BURST IN A FOUNTAIN OF YELLOW BLOOD— CLEANLY CUT. SLICED LIKE PAPER.
By SOMETHING. Or SOMEONE. But they didn't see who. Not yet.
The severed arm SPUN THROUGH THE AIR like a loose tree trunk— and it SLAMMED straight into Leo and William, knocking them down again, rolling them hard across the dirt.
But this time, they were close— close enough that Alliah and Brie sprinted forward, grabbing their wrists, trying to pull them up, desperate, panicked— But the boys were too heavy.
WAY too heavy.
Especially with fear dragging their bodies down like anchors.
At least the creature was SCREAMING— a horrible, rattling roar of agony.
In its rage, ANOTHER ARM whipped past the group— so close it scraped the soil beside Alliah's shoe. It shot upward, retracted violently, twitching like a spasm.
The girls froze again— Hearts in their throats— But Alliah forced her muscles to move.
"STAND UP—COME ON—!" she yelled, voice cracking.
And finally— FINALLY— The boys staggered to their feet. But their legs were jelly.
They weren't running anywhere.
So, the girls did the only thing they could:
They supported them. Both girls. One boy each. Not letting go. Not even for a second.
Leo coughed and shouted, out of breath—
"WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING!? JUST—JUST RUN! LEAVE US! MAYBE YOU CAN FIND HELP—!"
Alliah snapped.
"NO WAY, MACHO! WE ARE NOT LEAVING YOU TWO TO DIE!" Her scream echoed like a battle cry.
She lifted Leo— Who, as an athlete with a body basically carved from stone,
was WAY too heavy for even two girls.
But adrenaline didn't care. Adrenaline TURNED HER INTO A MACHINE.
Alliah RAN.
Leo was stunned— William was stunned— Even Brie was stunned— But none of it mattered.
Behind them, the monster still writhed in pain—
And then—
Brie's footing slipped.
William tripped with her.
They both fell HARD.
Brie CHOKED on a scream— Her whole body freezing, terror locking up every bone.
Her eyes filled with tears instantly.
The creature snapped its head in their direction. Blood dripping. Breathing heavy.
It extended another arm— LONG— TWITCHING— READY TO STRIKE.
Brie had no strength left. She couldn't run. Couldn't think.
She just hugged William, squeezing him so hard her fingers shook, and she SCREAMED.
Leo and Alliah whipped around in horror.
Their hearts dropped— Their stomachs twisted— They saw the arm descending fast—
Leo didn't even think. Didn't shout. Didn't breathe.
He LET GO of Alliah— and sprinted back toward the two like his soul was erupting.
He wasn't even humanly fast. He was PURE adrenaline.
Just—
Then—
SLASH!!!
ANOTHER. CLEAN. CUT.
The arm flying at William and Brie split open mid-air— Yellow blood spraying like a cracked water balloon.
The creature shrieked— LOUDER— TWICE as loud— SO loud they all dropped, covering their ears in agony.
And then—
BAM!!!!
AN EXPLOSION.
THE CREATURE WAS ON FIRE.
Its fur melted, its skin sizzled— Yellow blood steaming off the flames.
Everyone stared—
Frozen—
Terrified—
Trying to understand what they were seeing.
Alliah's knees almost gave out. She wobbled— But she forced herself to stand tall, eyes locked forward. Because something descended from above.
A figure.
A GIRL.
A yellow-haired girl landed in front of them, knees bent, one hand on the ground, the other gripping something glowing.
She wasn't facing them.
She was facing the burning nightmare.
The yellow-haired girl didn't move at first. Smoke curled around her boots. The burning monster screeched behind her, flailing, melting, staggering—
William, Leo, Brie, and Alliah stared like statues.
Not breathing.
Not blinking.
Barely alive from fear.
But unable to look away.
Because the girl… She stood like she'd done this a thousand times before.
Her voice came out calm.
"You guys might want to stay back."
She didn't even turn to see if they listened.
The creature lunged at her— Still burning— All four human arms swinging wildly.
She stepped to the side.
Just one step.
The monster missed her by an entire meter.
Leo whispered, voice shaking, "D-Did she just— dodge that… by breathing?"
William's eyes widened, heart pounding.
The creature came at her again— Faster— Stronger— Screaming in fury—
And she simply twisted her wrist, revealing a weapon the group couldn't see clearly. A long blade? A staff? Some strange glowing bar of light?
Alliah leaned forward despite her fear. "What is she holding…?"
Brie shook her head, trembling. "I don't—I don't know…"
The creature slammed its weight toward her—
"RAAAAAA—!!"
And she leapt.
To them it looked like she vanished. Like she blinked out of existence for half a second—
Then REAPPEARED ABOVE THE CREATURE'S HEAD.
Her weapon ignited fully now— A blazing, golden-white sword— And she swung down.
SLAAAAASHHHH!!
The creature's entire upper shoulder tore open— Yellow blood spraying upward in a geyser.
Leo covered his mouth. Brie grabbed William's sleeve. Alliah flinched back but forced herself to watch.
The monster staggered— Screaming— Swinging wildly again— But the girl dropped from the air onto its back, ran across its spine like stepping stones, and jumped again—
SLASH—SLASH—SLASH—SLASH!
Four clean cuts. Precise, sharp and lethal.
Every strike sprayed yellow blood in perfect arcs.
The monster roared and tried to reach her with its remaining arms— But she slid beneath them, Sparks flying as her weapon scraped the ground.
She rose behind it, raised her blade high— Light gathering around her—
The forest wind seemed to swirl around her like she was pulling the world in.
Brie whispered, "She's glowing…"
William nodded slowly. "That's..."
The girl exhaled sharply.
Then—
"Fall."
Her weapon swept horizontally in a golden flash.
FWOOOOM!!!
A shockwave blasted outward— Leaves exploding into the air— Everyone shielding their faces—
And the monster—
Split.
Clean down the middle.
Yellow fire erupted through the crack, its roar dissolving into a choking gurgle. The two halves collapsed to the ground, smoking, twitching.
Silence.
The girl stood over the corpse, Blade still glowing… Shoulders rising and falling calmly.
The four watched her like she wasn't even human. Like she was something out of myth. Leo whispered first, voice tiny:
"…Who is she?"
William swallowed, staring at her silhouette.
Brie trembled.
Alliah held onto her arm, whispering:
"I… I don't think she's from Earth."
The creature's corpse twitched on the ground—still hissing, still alive enough to suffer.
The yellow-haired girl didn't look back at the group. Didn't even move. She just whispered something.
A soft, breathy murmur—so quiet it didn't even feel like sound. William, Leo, Alliah, and Brie leaned forward instinctively…
But even if she whispered directly into a microphone, they still wouldn't understand that language.
Suddenly—
A circle of light burst beneath her feet.
Lines of gold snaked outward like living vines. Symbols surfaced—curling, shifting—forming the shape of a flame. Then the symbols dissolved into sparks.
She whispered one final word.
A single, gentle syllable.
Then—
FWOOSH!!
The monster erupted in flames. A towering column of yellow fire swallowed it whole. Its scream—once terrifying—now softened, fading, until all that remained was smoke.
The four teens didn't move.
Not out of fear… But pure amazement.
She stood still for a heartbeat.
Then, finally—
She sighed. Long and relieved.
"Phew… that took a while." She tilted her head thoughtfully. "Wait—was that actually a new record?"
She wasn't talking to them. Just cheerfully mumbling to herself. The long sword in her hand glowed— then shattered into golden dust. Seconds later, as the dust reformed, a small wand appeared in her hand instead.
She walked left, then right, tapping her chin with the wand, examining something only she could see.
She even hummed— happy. Lighthearted. Completely unbothered by the battle she just won.
The group stared, jaws dropped.
This girl had just obliterated a nightmare monster, and now she was strolling around like she finished grocery shopping.
Finally, William found his voice.
"…Hello?"
The yellow-haired girl stopped.
Turned.
Placed her hands on her hips.
And walked confidently toward them through the thinning smoke. When she stepped out of the fog—
All four gasped.
She was tiny. Shorter than ALL of them. Half the size of the creature she just murdered.
Leo's eyes widened so much they almost fell out.
He leaned toward Alliah and whispered, voice trembling:
"I think... she's the same age as us…"
Alliah blinked. "Huh?"
Then the girl opened her eyes fully.
Her irises were bright sky blue— but her pupils…
Her pupils were stars. Miniature, golden stars twinkling with light.
Everyone froze.
She smiled.
Bright. Cheerful. Like a child asking if they wanted snacks.
In the cutest, highest-pitched voice imaginable, she asked:
"You guys, okay?"