Roaring and attacking the feeble groups of desperate defenders, Haruto and the others could hear the soldiers getting slashed one by one as they tried to fend off the beast. Sending everyone inside into a state of panic.

 

"We need to get out of here! Let's get to the back exit!" Kenriki said.

 

"We can't, it's been barricaded!" Keiko retorted.

 

The group continued to look for ways to exit the building as the screams and gunshots outside started to fade away while they scrambled all over the arena, stopping in their tracks as dead silence covered the area after the last shot. The fighting outside had abruptly stopped and the monster became quiet. Everyone spoke under their breaths in fear that they might attract the beast.

 

Keiko had signaled for everyone to group up quietly near the entrance. Everyone had gathered except for Sayozane who was still looking out the window. Kenriki could see her widened eyes and opened mouth as if she something terrifying unfolding outside. He ran, startling the group and jumping up towards her. Sayozane's hands began to shake uncontrollably as she stared at something outside the quiet building.

 

When he finally reached her, he grabbed her hand. "Sayozane! What are you doing?!" Kenriki questioned her. With no response coming from the girl who was still looking outside, he pulled her towards him and caught a glimpse of what was happening outside. The sound of something wet being chewed made him turn his to see what was happening. Something that instilled fear within him. The monster was just outside the walls, devouring the soldiers one by one. The slip from Sayozane's shoes created a sound that attracted the monster's eyes to the open window, finding nothing but space from the outside. Inside the building, Kenriki held Sayozane's mouth as they lay down on metal chairs in an uncomfortable way, hiding from the beast's sights just in the nick of time.

 

Underneath the seats, the pair could see the group downstairs urging them to regroup at near the entrance. The whole arena was still covered in unnerving silence even as they went down. Kenriki and Haruto tried to comfort Sayozane as she trembled with what she saw.

 

"I can't believe you thought this fucker was useful," Gokuro complained quietly, "sooner or later, this whining bitch that he brought is gonna have us killed!"

 

"Shut up Gokuro, we just need to stay here for a while until it goes away," Keiko replied under her breath.

 

The group had agreed to stay inside the temple for a while before they would exit. Kenriki sat down with Sayozane as he gave her a bottle of water. "Feeling better now?" Kenriki asked as he opened his bottle of water. "We're gonna get out of here, I promise you." 

 

"Yeah... I'm okay now." Sayozane replied as she laid down on Kenriki's lap. She was tired, afraid, and hungry. But she knew she could trust her friends, even the twins.

 

Keiko had been monitoring the outsides of the building from different views, searching for the beast as they waited for the opportunity to escape the temple. Haruto walked around the arena for a while, looking at the different drawings on the walls and ceiling that looked creepy under the moonlight, the backstage was covered by enormous red curtains, and any other sights inside weren't amusing to him anymore considering what happened back then in this place. But his time of wandering cluelessly near the stage was abruptly put to a halt, the curtain's sudden wiggle had startled him. The others couldn't notice it and he didn't know what it was. His heartbeat became faster. Picking up a piece of wood nearby, he slowly walked up towards the elevated stage. His were steps slow and steady. Hands ready to strike the wood at whatever that might come out. 

 

Near the curtains, Haruto pushed the wood into them and slowly slid it to the side so he could enter. The backstage was hiding the device that was used to select fighters in the tournament with something lighting up at the side. He continued to look around, the area was covered with rags of cloth and military equipment, boxes of guns, bullets, and even grenades were being piled up. Haruto was startled once again by the sound of a small metal object falling on the floor. He walked towards the side of the device, hands ready to strike. Slowly but surely, his footsteps created creaking sounds that were covered by the sound of his own heartbeat getting faster with each second, finally after reaching the side, he lashed out on an empty space. After seeing no one, he felt a sudden push from his back and dropped the stick. He panicked, desperately trying to get up and face what pushed him. He turned. The stick now facing him.

 

"What are you doing here?" Gokuro asked. Lifting the stick from his face.

 

"God, you startled me. What are you doing here?!" Haruto replied as he stood up.

 

Gokuro placed down the stick near one of the boxes and walked away to the side. Taking out a small piece of paper from his pocket.

 

Haruto looked from behind and talked. Stopping the boy in his tracks. "Why did you "do" it?" Haruto questioned.

 

"Do what?" Gokuro replied as he continued to look on the paper.

 

"Why did you hurt your sister?" He asked.

 

Taken aback by the words, Gokuro approached Haruto and held him face close. 

 

"Ack.—" Haruto couldn't believe the strength of this guy. He felt as if he only weighed like a sack of apples. "Why are you so ruthless Gokuro? What did we ever do to you?!" He questioned the boy even more.

 

"Listen here you little shit, you don't know me, so just stay out of my way!" Gokuro said with his fist clenched on his side.

 

"But why? Why would you do that to your sister?! Don't you know that she loves you?"

 

Gokuro held his fist up, ready to punch the living shit out of Haruto. In turn, Haruto closed his eyes, ready to receive the cruel blow that awaited him. But what greeted him instead was the cold wooden floor as he dropped down from Gokuro's grip.

 

"You wouldn't understand, Haruto," Gokuro said. 

 

"Understand what?" Haruto replied.

 

"I wasn't trying to kill her." 

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"I was only trying to injure her badly enough so that she'd need an expensive doctor outside of this country."

 

"That doesn't make any sense! Why the hell would you do that?!"

 

Gokuro clenched his fist, his eyes stared directly on the floor as he tried to explain.

 

"Tell me!" Haruto demanded.

 

"I... I don't wanna lose her."

 

"What?!" Haruto couldn't believe what he heard. "Does he love her too?" He thought.

 

"But... you tried to kill her."

 

"You dumb faggot, I would never kill her! After she'd suffer from those injuries, that was going to be an alibi, I was gonna use the prize money to fly us out of this damned country so we could live together on another fucking state." Gokuro looked at him, menacingly walking towards the boy as Haruto took a step back. "But you wouldn't understand it. So just shut up!"

 

Turning away from the boy, Gokuro furiously exited the backstage and went back to the group. Haruto stood up and tydied himself, walking towards the exit until a sound of paper crunching under his feet caught his attention. His shoe had a piece of paper stuck to it, leaning down to remove it, Haruto saw what it was; a picture. And not just any picture, but a picture of Keiko and Gokuro smiling together for a selfie. "What happened?" He thought.

 

Appearing outside of the curtains, Haruto saw the others circling at the entrance. Looks like it was finally time to leave the place. 

 

"You're back!" Sayozane said as Haruto walked towards her.

 

"Yeah, I just..." Haruto replied as he looked at Gokuro before he changed his mind to saying something else. "I was just busy looking for an exit back there."

 

"Well, you don't need to anymore because we just got a call that the military are arriving soon," Keiko said. 

 

"So we wait for them?"

 

"Yes. They said they'll be here shortly." Keiko looked at him and clasped her hands together. "Listen Haruto, when we get out of here... if ever you get into trouble. Just call us." Keiko looked at her brother, nudging her elbow on his waist. 

 

"Yeah sure little shrimp, just leave it to us. But if you tell anyone about us you're gonna be—"

 

The left wall of the stage exploded, wood and rubble came falling on them as the monster erupted from the walls, roaring at the startled group. Gokuro tried his best to fend off the monster with his powers as it rammed itself towards the group. Their clash shook the foundations of the building, causing debris to barricade the exit as the monster tried to slash the powerful fighter.

 

"Keiko, get them out of here!" Gokuro commanded as he pushed the beast back with his fists. "Argh, get them out of there quick! Before this whole building collapses under us all! 

 

"But you'll be—" 

 

"JUST DO IT!"

 

Keiko hesitated at first but managed to destroy the debris to create a small opening for them to exit the building. The group ran for their lives as military personnel in vehicles began showing up and entered the building. The same wall that the monster came from erupted again as it flung Gokuro to a nearby tree, Keiko ran towards his injured brother as the military began shooting at the beast. The group ran as far as they could until they couldn't see the temple anymore, but none of it could prepare them for what they were about to witness in the city. Cars, streets, buildings, people, and many more were destroyed. The city was in ruins and the five of them realized, there was nothing the military could do. An enormous explosion back at the temple caught their attention, the monster had let out a roar that scared them. "How are we going to stop this?" They all thought.

 

"We need to get out of here, it's dangerous to stay on the streets." Keiko stood for a while, right hand under her chin as she thought of different ways and ideas. "At this rate, perhaps even the small camp we slept in has been ravaged as well. We need to find another place to stay, far away from this city, the military will likely barricade this area to prevent this thing from going out."

 

Sayozane and Kenriki sat down on one of the cars, the amount of running they did put a strain on their legs. Haruto looked over the destructive display of fire and rubble all over his once-beloved hometown. He couldn't believe it. First, he almost died during the tournament, and now this? Haruto thought, what the hell were they going to do now? 

 

"W-what?!" Keiko said in surprise. Tapping angrily on her mobile device

 

"What is it, Keiko?" Sayozane asked.

 

"There's no signal in this area, I just got a call a while ago! But look, the towers haven't been destroyed. Their perfectly fine!" She said. Unable to discern the reason.

 

Everyone else tried to look at their phones to find that there was no signal as well. They couldn't call or text any of their friends or relatives in the city. Haruto looked over the distance, noticing something past the buildings near the mountain. Soldiers were setting up electrical fences accompanied by various military equipment and vehicles. Suddenly, a call from a handheld radio on a dead soldier's chest near a ravaged car caught their attention. Keiko grabbed the device from the soldier and called for help.

 

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Keiko asked. "Please we need help!" 

 

"This is General Jose from the Armed Forces of Maharlika. State your location and we will extract you from the site."

 

"We're currently in Kananga, Arid City, and it seems to be a street called—what is—24 Street. We have someone injured as well, please send medical help!"

 

"Understood, standby for extraction."

 

The group became relieved at the response from the call. But they realized that they still needed to find a way to defeat the beast that was terrorizing their hometown. If that monster survived the explosion just now, the military would have to deliver something even bigger than a bomb. 

 

"We still don't understand what makes it invulnerable. None of the military's efforts have proven to be effective in dealing with it." Keiko said as she sat down on the small barrier of the bridge.

 

"If the thing is indestructible and it continues to ravage this town, this area may be in danger of becoming a full blown war-zone," Kenriki said as he placed his hands on the metal rails near the edge of the street. "Furthermore, if they can't capture it or subdue it, they'll resort to even more desperate measures." 

 

"What do you mean?" Sayozane asked. 

 

"I'm talking about the possibility of full firepower being used in this situation. By now, the military should realize that bullets, explosions, tank shells, and other lesser firepower are ineffective against this thing. The worst they can do is to drop a nuke on this city in the hopes of destroying it." 

 

"N-no way..." Sayozane said as she felt the despair of the situation flood her mind. "O-our hometown... destroyed for good?!"

 

"And it's not just the city that'll suffer from the damage, several islands that are near Rajahnate will likely have to evacuate depending on the amount of power they'll use for the bomb."

 

"So..." Keiko chimed in. "Everything near Rajahnate is going to be destroyed huh..." Her fists had started to clench angrily with the thought. 

 

"Oy Keiko, what are you doing?" Gokuro asked.

 

"We can't let this happen, we need to deal with this thing ourselves!" 

 

"Are you insane? You saw what happened back there, we can't do anything."

 

"Well, then what? We just leave it—"

 

The sound of whirling blades interrupted Keiko. Slowly from under the bridge, a bright light emerged on the group as wind came rushing in. 

 

"This is the dispatched unit from the Armed Forces of Maharlika. Stay put for extraction." The pilot said as it hovered at the center of the bridge.

 

Like a bunch of strangers trapped on an island, the kids started waving their hands in the air for the pilot to see. But Kenriki noticed something else, the helicopter merely hovered in the air and the sound of something powering up came from underneath the helicopter. This was no rescue mission.

 

"Duck!" Kenriki screamed as he jumped on Sayozane to pin her to the ground. A flurry of bullets started firing at the group who hid just in time behind the car.

 

"What the hell are they doing?!" Gokuro said. "Why are they shooting us?!"

 

"Just hold on!" 

 

The pilot continued to unload on the kids, cornering them into one space to finish them off with one last attack.

 

"Sir, requesting permission to use heavy payload." The radio speaker inside the dimly lit cockpit, vibrated as it replied with the go signal to finish off the kids. With the flick of a thumb, the pilot readied himself to press the red button to unleash an explosive attack on the group. "Missile ready for launching in 3...2..—"

 

But the pilot couldn't shoot it in time as the monster jumped on the cockpit. The choppers spinning blades were enough to slash off one of its arms that caused it to go berserk. Ripping off various parts of the helicopter as the pilot inside did it's best to try and maneuver it to the ground. Ultimately crashing into the ground and exploding in a fiery manner. Keiko and Gokuro used the opportunity to lead the group to a much safer place, somewhere far away from the military.

 

The group ran into a secluded area near the forest, a dark shadowy area filled with the sounds of lightning bugs from above the trees. Everyone sat down on the cold rocks to rest, Keiko had helped Gokuro by hand who suffered from a bullet wound to the shoulder. 

 

"Are you guys okay?" Haruto asked his best friends.

 

"We're fine, Haruto. Sayozane's just tired," Kenriki replied as he held Sayozane close to him for comfort.

 

"Haruto," Keiko called. "Are you okay?" 

 

"Yeah, Keiko. I'm fine..." Walking towards the injured Muay Thai fighter, Haruto sat down and held Gokuro's arm. "But this guy isn't." 

 

"What do you think you're doing?!" Gokuro said as he was surprised by Haruto's sudden action.

 

"I'm just trying to help you Gokuro. Please..." Haruto could feel the irritation Gokuro was experiencing for letting someone like him take care of his wounds, but by now they knew they all needed to work together and he reluctantly agreed.

 

"Where did you learn this stuff Haruto?" Keiko asked as Haruto cleaned the wound with water and covered it with his arm bandages. 

 

"Kenriki taught me this. His father was once in the military." Haruto explained as he wrapped the bandage around the wound.

 

"Well, I'm sure he'd be proud that your friend taught you that. Where is his father anyway?" Keiko asked.

 

The sudden question from Keiko sparked an awkward atmosphere around them, causing both Haruto and Kenriki to stop what they were doing.

 

"Is something wrong..?" Keiko asked nicely, confused by the sudden change of the atmosphere.

 

"Keiko..." Kenriki replied in a somewhat timid voice. "My dad... he died a long time ago. He died trying to stay alive while being tortured in order to protect his family." 

 

Keiko looked down upon herself, feeling somewhat ashamed for asking. "O-Oh. I'm... so sorry to hear that."

 

"It's okay. I know you meant well." Said Kenriki.

 

With one last roll on his shoulder, Haruto tightened the cloth to seal the wound and prevent more blood from dripping. "There we go. All finished." Haruto said as he stood up and sat near his best friends.

 

Gokuro could feel a small elbow budge him for a moment. 

 

"Well?" Keiko whispered. "Aren't you gonna thank him?"

 

"I—ugh..." Scratching his head, Gokuro turned to Haruto. "Hey, Haruto. Thanks for everything you've done." The boy said as he threw a piece of stick into the fire.

 

"Y-yeah, you're welcome," Haruto replied, it seemed that after their conversation, the mood started to lighten up.

 

The forest continued to be dark and quiet as time went on. Everyone except Haruto decided to sleep for a bit while he kept watch. He looked around and tried to listen for the hoots of owls but realised that there are none of them in Arid City. The wind started to blow harder and he got colder as the fire started die down. He stood up, walking around the area to find some wood to use as a bundle for the fire which lit up the moment he threw them in. It was getting warmer again but his rumbling stomach distracted him from keeping watch. 

 

"Where are you dad?" Haruto thought. Picking up the phone from his pocket, he scrolled on the gallery to find pictures of him and his father having fun in different places. He smiled, teary eyes made the corners of his eye cold. He had to survive for now. 

 

The forest was quiet for a while until the sound of creaking wood caught his attention. He was quick to wake everyone up, prompting them to be on guard.

 

"What's happening?" Sayozane yawned. But was startled when she too heard the broken twigs from afar.

 

"Ugh, way to ruin a good night sleep man..." Gokuro said as he stretched his limbs. "What gives?" He asked.

 

Haruto pointed towards the darkness in the forest. The sound of footsteps were now audible as a mysterious figure came closer towards them. Gokuro and Keiko powered up and readied themselves. But before they could rush towards the figure, the sound of a gun clicking at the side of their heads caught their attention.

 

"Hands up!" A demanding female voice said as flashlights started to light upon the group. "Is this them?" The woman asked.

 

"Down on your knees, now!" Another voice said, this time sounding more like an old man. "Don't make me repeat myself lads." The man then told his men to gather around them and put the fire out after turning on one or two flashlights.

 

"Shit, we're screwed," Gokuro said under his breath. As he and the others dropped to their knees. "So much for surviving." 

 

"Kenriki, no!" Sayozane cried as she covered herself on Kenriki's chest. "I don't wanna die yet!" Like a frightened child, she sobbed on him and held him close.

 

"It's okay Sayozane, I'm here," Kenriki replied as he held her tightly. "It's gonna be okay, it won't take long." 

 

The old man approached forward and stared down at the two. "Sayozane?" The same elderly voice said. "Madame Sayozane?" 

 

The light came closer as footsteps started approaching the two who were holding each other close. He took off his mask and put his gun down. The stranger took off his goggles and removed the cloth that was covering his mouth, the light merely should a silhouette of the figure before turning off to reveal an old man with a handsome mustache and white sleek hair.

 

"We finally found you Madame Sayozane." Said the man. Reaching his hand near her's. "We have come to save you."

 

Sayozane slowly turned to look at the stranger. And in the process of wiping her tears, she leapt for joy at the sight of the man. Eventually, running up to him to hug him. 

 

"Sir Andres! I can't believe it! It's you." Sayozane said as she cried harder on him. "I was so scared!"

 

"Apologies for not coming anytime sooner madame, I had to make preparations for your extraction." Sir Andres then commanded his comrades to reveal their faces to the rest of the group.

 

One by one, the gunned strangers took off their masks to reveal faces that were familiar to Sayozane, they were the maids and butlers of her household. And they had come to rescue them. A small group of them went deeper into the forest to scout further while another group was sent to survey the outsides for any military.

 

"We must make haste madame, the military has put this entire city on lockdown. The boat is ready at the beach, we shall be heading back to the household now." 

 

"Wait! There's still more people out here." Sayozane begged. "We can't just leave them here or else they'll die."

 

"As much as your compassion is outstanding madame, we cannot stay any longer, the military are about to lock everyone in this city to make sure no one escapes the vicinity." Sir Andres explained.

 

Kenriki took a step forward and begged. "Please sir, my sick mother can't be left alone." 

 

Sir Andres let out a deep sigh before giving the order for the other's to start searching. "Well, I have already predicted this situation madame, we will go en route to your families and extract them for the household. For now, let us retreat as they do the job." He explained.

 

"Thank you, thank you!" Kenriki said.

 

"Who the fuck is this dude?" Gokuro asked. 

 

"Pardon me master, my name is Andres Alejandro but you may refer to me as Sir Andres. Forgive me for placing firearms near your heads." Sir Andres explained. "Come madame, let us move right away."

 

The group journeyed back to Kananga amidst the surveying military who were shooting down anyone in their sights. Haruto and Sayozane trembled at the sounds of their former friends being shot but they had to keep going. When they arrived at Haruto's house, they searched the area for any of their neighbors to bring with, Kenriki's mother was already taken care of on the boat but no one else was found. Not even Ms. Goodman. Haruto felt Sir Andres walk beside him as they continued to search for people.

 

"I'm sure they're safe somewhere master. They were far away from the city and must have evacuated when the destruction began." Said Sir Andres.

 

"You really think so?" Haruto asked. "It's just that... nothing, let's keep moving now."

 

Sir Andres smiled at him and gave the order for everyone to retreat to the boat. Haruto and the rest of the group strapped on their seatbelts as the last of the butlers took one last look before jumping on the vehicle. Kenriki took his sickly mother in and placed her on one of the seats and strapped her seat belt.

 

"Buckle up everyone, we will be hurrying so it will be bumpy." Sir Andres explained. 

 

"You okay?" Kenriki asked. Moving closer towards Sayozane who was still shivering in her seat.

 

"Y-yeah, I'm okay." Sayozane replied as she lied down on Kenriki with his arm all over her.

 

The boat had finally moved forward and everyone jolted before it started to move smoothly. Haruto looked beyond the sea and saw the the entire beach as they moved farther away from it. Their journey wasn't going to take long.