When Jake finally agreed to take her with him she hugged him. She quickly put on her Jacket and shoes and they both exited the apartment. Jake looked down the balcony to check on the group he had sensed below them before. Right, then a group of soldiers exit the building followed by a few civilians. They are helping them evacuate.

"Let's go down and ask the soldiers first. They have been coordinating search and rescue in this area with the other hunters. They will know what happened to the other people in this building."

Ellen looks down from the balcony to see the people her dad was talking about. Ellen wanted to be a hunter herself and was desperately waiting to awaken. She had done enough research and knew that in cases of emergency like this Hunters fight monsters and soldiers help in evacuation and rescue. She gives her father a nod and turns towards the stairs to go down. Jake grabs her hand and stops her.

"We don't need to take the stairs, it will take too long and we might miss them. Just hold on and don't be scared all right?" Jake picks Ellen up in his arms and climbs on the balcony.

"Dad? What are you doing? You cannot possibly be thin..... Oh my God!" Before Ellen can understand what is happening Jake jumps down from the balcony with her in tow. Ellen starts screaming the moment he jumps down.

"Stop screaming Ellen! I am holding on to you. Nothing will happen just believe me." Jake tries to calm her down but the only thing Ellen can think about is them falling to the ground and dying. She shrieks so loudly that the group below hears her and they look up toward them.

"Wait a minute, are they falling down? Everyone get back right now. Do we have something to catch them?" The soldiers below clear the space underneath them and try to think of a way to catch them. They have just cleared the area when the screaming girl and the man fall down right in front of them. Instead of dying on impact or creating a crater on the ground, they stop inches away from the ground and they land perfectly.

"Stop screaming Ellen were down already. I told you, you will be fine but you kept screaming. Try and have a little confidence in me at least." Ellen stops shouting and looks down as they are both standing on the ground. She hurriedly jumps off of Jake's arms and kneels on the ground to catch her breath for a minute.

"Confidence? We just met each other after five years. I just accepted the reality that my father was alive and the next second you jumped with me from the sixth floor. Forgive me for getting scared for my life there Dad." Ellen kneels on the ground huffing as she fights back. She was in her right to scream as much as she wanted. She also wanted to let her father know that she was not a little girl anymore and that he could just pick her up and start jumping up and down.

"Touche!" Jake realized his mistake right then and there. His problem was that he was treating both Alice and Ellen like the little kids he remembered them to be not the adults they had grown into. That was why he was a little handy with them. All the while they were fighting, the group on the other side was silently watching.

"Wait you were a hunter? I thought you were falling to your death. You guys scared us for no reason. What rank are you? Which guild are you affiliated with? Identify yourself." One of the soldiers steps up and asks Jake.

"First of all tell me if these are all the survivors in this area. What happened to the other tenants of this building? Where are they?" Instead of answering them, Jake asks another question.

"Do you not know the Hunter and Military Law? You first need to Identify yourself. Identify yourself or we will consider you hostile." The soldier refuses Jake and instead threatens him. Seeing the conversation taking a turn for worse Ellen steps in. She stands up and speaks to her father.

"He is right Dad. In cases of emergency like this, it is a rule that you need to identify yourself to the soldiers. This is for both our and their protection. Some hunters have taken advantage of the chaos before to commit crimes. Just tell them who you are."

"My name is Jake Ingram and yes I am a hunter. I am not affiliated with any guild at the moment. As for my rank," Jake thought about it for a second before answering.

He had never really thought about his strength in terms of the rank that they used on Earth. He was strong enough to be one of the most powerful people in the other world. He had never seen an S-Rank hunter in action but he was pretty confident that he would not lose to one when it came to skill and fighting sense.

"I should be around S," Jake was going to say S-Rank but then he thought what the hell let's be a little humble about this so, "I should be around an A-Rank easily."

Ellen is a little surprised at her father's bold declaration. Was he even aware of how powerful an A-rank hunter truly is, let alone an S-rank? Does he truly believe that? Is he really that strong? Whatever the case Ellen felt a little proud of the fact that her father was so powerful. If Ellen awakens rather when Ellen awakens, in her mind she will absolutely awaken as a hunter, he should be able to help and guide her to become an excellent hunter.

The soldiers on the other hand a little dumbfounded at his remarks.

"You are an A-rank? You are telling me that an asset like an A-rank hunter is still not affiliated with any guild? What rock have you been living under? The guilds would have torn each other apart to try and recruit you." The soldiers did not really believe him but then what could they do? A-rank or not he was a hunter and they had to respect that.

"I am not sure about your rank but we need your help. If you say that you are A- rank then you must be pretty confident in your strength right?"

"I can get by in tough situations like these. I have already killed a good number of monsters the moment I stepped in here. I will help you but first, tell me what happened to the people of this apartment that were outside?" Jake agrees to help them but only after he has rescued Sylvia. He was not going to help strangers and let his wife die, he was not that heroic or righteous.

"That is exactly what we need your help with. All the hunters that we have been coordinating with are either busy or somewhere out of our range. There is a group of people still stuck in a cafe nearby which includes the group that you are looking for. Help us kill the monsters in the vicinity and we will rescue them."

Jake pats the head of Ellen and gives her a smile before he answers the soldier.

"Point the way and I will take care of it."

........

An alarm had blasted on the speakers of the town a few minutes ago. This alarm was installed in every major and minor city of the country and it had only one meaning, A gate had crashed. Sylvia made sure to lock all the doors of the house and then waited with Ellen. They sat on a sofa and waited patiently for this storm to pass without any destruction.

They both had horrible memories associated with this alarm and both were sitting silently. The silence was broken when someone knocked on their front door. Sylvia peeked through the peephole to check who it was. Their neighbor Grandma Choi had come. She lived alone and was scared when the alarm went off. Sylvia opened the door and let her in.

As they brought her in a thought struck Sylvia's mind, what about Grandma Kim? She lived alone as well, matter of fact she should be outside right now on her morning walk. Grandma Kim had supported Sylvia immensely when she first moved into this building. She had taken care of her and Ellen whenever they needed help. She got worried for her safety and wanted to check on her.

The alarm had just gone off and there shouldn't be any monsters in the area right now. She could quickly go one floor below and check on her. She would be back in a few minutes.

"Ellen I am going to go and check on Grandma Kim. You stay here with Ms. Choi and stay inside. I will be back quickly." Ellen quickly protests her decision to go out.

"What are you talking about Mom? A gate has crashed and monsters are roaming the area and you want to go outside?" Ellen was against her going out no matter what.

"I will run down and check up on Grandma. I will be back in a second." Sylvia puts her shoes on and gets ready to leave but Ellen stops her again.

"No! You cannot go outside, if you are going to go then I will come with you." Ellen understands her reason for checking up on Grandma Kim but still, she was not willing to let her go alone."

"Look honey I need to check where she is right now. She is usually outside right around this time. I will go and bring her back to her apartment and will come back quickly. Close the door behind me and do not open it for anyone." Ellen wants to stop her still but Sylvia leaves without listening to her.

Ellen is scared for her mother to go out in these conditions. These were the same circumstances she lost her father to and was not willing to lose her mother too. The door closed once more and she was left behind to wait again, not sure when the door will open if it will even open at all.

ShujaatAmin

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