Stay to see what it was and potentially fight it, or leave? What was the right choice? Even if they stayed, the real question was could they fight whatever was coming? The decision they made had to be fast, or else their only option would be to stay.

Chang looked at Billy, and Billy looked off into the darkness.

He could not see what the trees were hiding, but one thing was for certain. As it got closer, the trees themselves started to collapse.

"Can you sense it?"

Billy asked Young-Dae.

"No. I didn't even know it was coming."

Even now, Young-Dae could not perceive it. Usually, his perception would pick up on these sorts of things, but for some reason, it was not working?

The strange part was that he could feel Billy and Chang's presence if he closed his eyes for a second. Something was off, and he could not help but wonder what it was.

"Me either."

Billy could not feel anything coming from the tremors. However, his instincts told him that he should not stay here.

As he gazed at the others, they had the same thought as him. The three of them rushed off, running away from what was coming. It was dangerous, but how dangerous?

The tree that Young-Dae hit and barely caused a dent in was being knocked down with ease. Just thinking of that alone was enough to warrant them to flee.

Twenty seconds went by, and the location the three of them were at had a new guest. Bronze skin that shined under the sun, large veins that looked as if they would burst at any moment, and enormous muscles that would put any bodybuilder to shame. The creature's sharp claw-like nail reached into its yellow needle-like teeth, scrapping out a piece of flesh. With a flick of its finger, the piece of flesh that was stuck in its mouth was flung off into the distance. What sounded like a bomb explosion was only the flesh crashing into a tree. The tree fell, and with it, the creature's pig-like nose sniffed the air.

A grin appeared on the creature's face as it smelt something. Its red narrow eyes stared into the distance where Billy and his companions fled.

Then, its head snapped to the right. Its nose twitched twice. A sinister grin even wider than before crept up on its hideous face.

Billy, Chang, and Young-Dae did not know it at the time, but their scent attracted the creature. However, something else caught its interest. Their main focus was getting as far away from that part of the forest as they could.

Before they even realized it, back where it all began. The open plain that was filled with human corpses was now clean. No corpses could be seen; the only thing that told them this was the same place they were at once before was the red-stained grass.

"Where are the bodies?"

Chang asked as he started to catch his breath.

"Don't think about it. The moment we think of it, we'll succumb to fear. Is that really what you want?"

Young-Dae asked Chang.

"N-no."

"Then we need to keep moving."

Billy nodded his head.

Unlike the two of them, he was not as tired. In fact, he slowed his pace down a bit so the two of them would not lose track of him.

"Well, now we know. There is more out there than what we've encountered so far. And honestly, I'm not sure if we could even face head-on."

Young-Dae sighed, and Chang froze for a moment.

It already started. Thoughts racing through their minds, imagining what it could have been, what could have happened to them. How they would have looked death right in its eye. The more they let their imagination run, the worse it got.

Billy did not mean to say those words, but he was caught up in the moment.

In every story, he has written, in all the books he has read. There is always one. Something or someone that makes you go, oh shit, this is real. It always happens, especially when the characters in said story begin to think that this will go smoothly for them.

To Billy, this wasn't that moment. He's already experienced it, in the moments right before his first death. Although this did get his heart racing and blood pumping, it just did not have the same effect.

Scared? Yeah, he was. But, he already knew that this was all real. That this was not some grand fantasy adventure that people dreamed of having. This was life, their new lives, and in this world, in this scenario, Billy could already tell that he was not the main protagonist. He was just lucky. But he'd be damned if he dies foolishly trying to save others he hardly cared about, or face death head on.

Survive. That was his goal. To do that, he had to get stronger, but he cared little about reaching the apex. Someone else could achieve that, as long as he made it out of here.

Why would he try to go through tragic experiences just to reassure himself of his goals?

Billy had a feeling of certain outcomes as each situation arose. Frankly, it was a curse, one that he put upon himself. Writing so much, reading anything he could get his hands on. And right now, he figured that this place was safe.

There was a reasoning behind it, but there was always something about the place where it first began being a safe haven for a while after an explosive opening. Take a look at it now, no monsters in sight and no one to see.

As his eyes went from Chang to Young-Dae, he could see it. The look in their eye. A newfound purpose, a goal. This was their moment, not his.

That's when it dawned on him.

Every story needs a hero, so who is to say that this one doesn't have one? He might not be it, but Chang could be.

Billy could see it now as he observed Chang.

Chang was driven, righteous, and was already beginning to change at an alarming rate. He was too, but it took him time. Billy literally had to die in order to fix his mistakes, but from the two times he has met Chang, the kid never died.

'Stop.'

Billy said to himself. The moment he got like that, he needed to be stopped. If he let his mind drift, he would find himself with questions that lead to more questions. It would be an endless cycle of, who, what, when, where, and why.

"We need to keep moving."

Billy was the first one to speak up after a period of silence.

His voice woke Chang and Young-Dae up from whatever they were thinking, causing the two of them to nod in agreement.

"Let's just go south."

Young-Dae suggested, to which Billy shook his head.

He pointed behind them, back towards the forest. The exact place that they ran out of.

"No. Are you out of your mind!?"

Chang shouted, believing that Billy was beginning to lose himself after what they just experienced.

"I wish."

"Care to explain why?"

Young-Dae was also not eager to head back into that place, but if Billy wished to return, he needed a reason why. Was there something that he missed? Doubtful, he had a keen eye. This only made him question Billy's intentions.

"If I tell you, you would not want to go. Just know that death awaits us at all corners of this place, no matter where we go, we will always run into something or someone stronger than us. Sure we can flee, but fleeing is time, and we have no clue how much of that we have. Everyone is spread out, and we have avoided contact with others. But what about the monsters? The longer time goes on, the less weak ones we will encounter, which means our stats will increase at a slower pace. Just like you said, that we'll succumb to fear if we think about it. That does not mean we don't have to face it. What's scary now, might not be later."

"Nope. Anywhere but there, anywhere!"

Young-Dae was silent for a second. Billy's words made him recall what his commander told him.

'Why do we always run towards danger when others run away from it? Why did we even choose to put our lives on the line for others we do not know? The thrill? Satisfaction? Recognition? No. It's simply in our nature. Who do you see when you find someone in a dangerous situation? That thought right there... that's the answer. And for them, you would do anything to save them.'

"Ok."

Young-Dae went along with Billy's idea, which stunned Chang.

"What's scary now, might not be later."

Repeating the last sentence, Billy said, Young-Dae smiled.

Chang gave up trying to convince them, but he would not travel by himself.

"Alright, I'm in. Worst that happens, we die."

Billy furrowed his eyebrows.

"We are not going to face that thing. We will enter the forest but in another part. Away from that place, and no more breaks. From now on, we hunt like crazy. Because, what's scary now, might not be later."