“You dare hit my brother!” Lilia snapped and swung her dagger at the monster.

But in spite of her immense strength, the creature managed to block her strike by just using its thick arm. Her dagger only got through halfway, and there was no sign of blood coming out from it.

“Aah!” While the monster was being occupied by my little sister, I swung my ax at its head, splitting it vertically into two that barely connected from its long neck.

Contrary to expectation, the split head slowly merged together and formed back. We could only watch dumbstruck over such an absurd thing. Was this the inhabitants outside?

“Shit! What is this thing? Lilia, let’s strike together!” We have to protect Mom; she’s our weakest link!

“Mm!”

But even with our combined effort and perfect tag team, our attacks never managed to kill it for good. Every injury it received would just simply heal up, like an immortal monster that could never die. As a matter of fact, my ax got stuck in the wound before being quickly swallowed into its body because of its insane regeneration speed.

As despair colored our faces over the creeping white monster that kept closing in, a gunshot echoed from behind, blasting its neck. The monster’s head was torn from its body and sent flying through the air — the decapitated piece bounced to the ground like a ball.

Right then, someone wearing a gas mask came in from behind the now-limped monster, ignoring the fact that he was stepping on the monster’s dead corpse.

That sound. It was like the sound of my dad’s trusted gun. While it could only shoot one at a time, it was a powerful gun, nonetheless.

So, this person was… “Dad?”

“You have to sever its head to kill it.” The voice that was slightly muffled by the mask he was wearing confirmed my suspicion.

He removed the mask he was wearing, revealing the sharp face of a somewhat handsome middle-aged man. He had black hair just like my mother but with thicker brows and brown eyes.

“Are you okay, everyone? We need to leave the village!” he said with urgency in his tone.

“Daddy!”

“Dear!”

Lilia and my mother both came to embrace my dad. I didn’t join in because that would be a bit embarrassing, and it wasn’t like there was any spot left.

“Ray, take the thing I put in the bottom drawer of the cabinet in my room.”

“Uh-huh.” I quickly sprinted into my parents’ room and rummaged through the said drawer.

Inside was a neat set of gear that seemed to be newly made. It was a black thick army jacket with a furred hood, long leather pants, and a pair of boots. Of course, at the very back was a large backpack that would be perfect for a long journey.

“This is supposed to be my present for your birthday… I’m sorry for being late, but happy birthday to you, my son.”

“No. That’s okay. Thank you…”

He nodded his head, ruffling my hair. “Quick, wear it. We don’t have much time.”

After that, I did what he said and changed my clothes to the one he gave me. I didn’t forget to prepare all the important things that my dad had instructed me to bring if an emergency like this were to happen.

“Did you gather all the important things?”

“Yup, I got them all,” I replied.

Lilia and my mother went ahead and prepared thoroughly for this day, too. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say they were among the most prepared in the village.

“Let us all go, then.”

Outside, the red fog had entered this place and even penetrated the northern part of the village. Since we were a bit far away, the fog wasn’t here yet, but it was only a matter of time.

“Dear… what about everyone else from the village?” My mother brought up the topic.

I also raised two questions of my own: “Uh-huh. What’s happening to the village? How come the red fog got inside?”

We were all expecting answers to all these questions.

My father went silent, then slowly answered, “Almost everyone from the village’s dead. The Life Support System of this place has broken. So, the red fog has begun entering. It’ll soon be here as well.”

“Where should we go now?”

“We’re going to the southern forest, away from those monsters. The rest of the scavengers and their families should be there by now.”

While on the way, Lilia pointed at the two creeping dark figures far away. “Dad, over there… I see two people moving about…”

“That’s no longer people…” As he said that, I could see tears falling from his eyes.

“What… are they…?”

My dad didn’t reply, hastening his speed. Although he didn’t give me an answer, I didn’t need to guess to know.

Shortly after, we reached the rendezvous location. There was a door leading to the outside, and the villagers were gathering there… the remaining few at least.

“Is this what remains of us?” my dad asked his colleague, Dan.

No more than twenty people were remaining. And most of them were families related to the scavengers — the most prepared of all in this situation.

“Yes, leader. This is all we can save…”

“How’s the injured?” My father looked around the place.

“Thanks to the miracle power that Luke has, injured people are all healed,” reported Dan.

Some people in the village had this strange power we called “miracle power.” We didn’t know what it was, but it manifested as early as four to five years old for those “blessed people.” I believed that Lillia was one such individual with how good she was at combat without even practicing.

“Good to hear. Lead everyone according to the path, I’ll become the—”

“People… Presence… A lot…”

“Transform… Infect…”

Tens of the white monsters were approaching the place where we were at. Each of them made incoherent sentences but was loud enough to be heard from here. The people here were scared shitless at the sight of the horrid monsters. They clearly knew what those things were capable of.

“Quick, everyone!” My father shouted, then said to his comrade, “Dan, you lead them!”

His colleague, Dan, showed some hesitation but quickly abided. “Yes! I’ll be sure to get everyone to safety!”

Hearing that this would lead to something unpleasant, I asked, “But what will happen to you, Dad?”

“Dear, don’t leave us.”

“I’m sorry; I won’t be going. If I don’t stop the red fog from infiltrating, it’ll all be over for us. I’ll stay here and seal off the path.” He turned, looked me in the eye, and requested, “Raymond. Please protect your mother and sister. The outside world may be a living hell, but I want you all to live. For my sake,” while giving me a hug.

I made a downcast expression, clenching both of my hands. “I will.”

“Good. Now go!” He pushed my back and cocked his gun.

Although my mother and Lilia were both reluctant to leave my dad behind, they were convinced to go after seeing the determination in his eyes.

“You motherfucker! Come here! I’m here! Don’t you dare go after my family!” My dad was frantically trying to gain the attention of the white monsters by shouting and shooting at them.

And so, with heavy hearts, we ran into the door, into the dark tunnel that might lead outside. We were led by one of the scavengers that stayed at the back toward the rest of the group. As we moved on, the path behind us got sealed off, leaving the one brave guy behind.

Rather than being filled with anticipation and wonder about the outside world, a tumultuous whirlwind of worry, uncertainty, and sadness engulfed my thoughts, creating a dissonant mixture within me. My mother shed a tear but remained tight-lipped about the events that had transpired. In contrast, my sister was strangely detached, as if she were untouched by the recent turmoil.

Was she keeping all the sadness inside her heart?

How disconcerting…

Following the tunnel for about a while, we reached the outside world, though it wasn’t the boundless sky that I’d previously envisioned, but more like a dark underground path with two long metal trails leading somewhere.

Luckily, the people here were prepared just like us and brought portable lamps, so the path was lightened up pretty well. What was intriguing, there was writing written on the wall in a language that was strangely familiar but different, but it had the number “57” next to it.

“Raymond and the Ortons, right? We have met a few times before…” Dan, the now de-facto leader of the scavengers, along with the rest of the scavengers approached us.

They then bowed their heads at us, causing the three of us to be struck silent.

“Leader’s sacrifice won’t be in vain. Now that the protection of you three is now entrusted upon me, I’ll be sure to follow through till the end. So please be sure to follow my lead! Don’t go anywhere far from us.”

We nodded our heads and followed his lead. Whatever the case, he was someone experienced in the field, so he knew much more than me.

Just like my dad, some of them were holding similar guns, but most were using melee weapons like spears and blades. Guns were something we couldn’t make back in the village, after all, and were relics left behind from the outside world.

All were smooth until Dan gave a sign to stop with his hand. He then walked ahead and peeked into a large opening on the left before returning with a pale face.

“Shh. There’s one ‘armored lizard’ here… And I think it’s ‘Deathface.’”

“Damn. That thing has killed several of our comrades.”

“The eastern door is safer compared to the southern, but we’re too late.”

As we turned tail and made our way in the opposite direction with racing hearts, someone accidentally stumbled on the rail and fell down.

That little accident made my heart jump. I saw that the others were pale like a sheet of paper.

“ROARRR!!”

The roar of the beast reverberated in this narrow space, and then a monster that looked like an oversized gray six-legged reptile with a thick exoskeleton and glowing short tentacles around its neck emerged from the darkness.

“Shit! Shoot! Everyone, shoot!”

Dan and the scavenger team shot the lizard monster with their guns, but the bullet simply ricocheted without achieving any damage. Such was the thickness of this monster’s exoskeleton.

“Run! Scatter and run! We can’t kill this thing with guns! Aargh!!”

The lizard monster was slaughtering the scavengers; its tentacles helped to grab the scattered people toward its deathly mouth.

“Mom, Lilia, we must get away! After me!” I led my family away during the chaos.

Since we were located at the rearmost, we managed to run ahead. In as much as a moment that felt like an eternity, the rest of the villagers were killed one by one from behind amidst their screams. It would only be a matter of time until that monster caught up and killed us!

It was at that moment that I was reminded of the real reason I wanted to become a scavenger: to protect the village — my family. I might be fed up with the stagnant way of life inside the village, seeking a freedom that was the outside world, but this was the real reason. So, I steeled my heart, snatched the portable lamp that one of the scavengers carried, and turned around.

“Hey! Where are you going?!” The same scavenger shouted at me.

“Raymond?”

“Brother?”

My family looked back and stopped in their tracks, too.

Dan, who was at the rearmost, trying to stall the monster, found me stopping and shouted, “What are you doing?! Run!”

I simply smiled faintly. “Please, protect my family.”

“You…” He only hesitated for a moment and agreed, “Okay. I promise.”

To begin with, there was no time to hesitate. He picked up my mother and Lilia who was thrashing around, trying to get close to me. However, even she couldn’t fight back against Dan’s strength.

“Big Brother!!” Lilia kept screaming my name, gradually diminishing as time passed.

Now alone, I grabbed a rusty, sharp pipe I found on the side of the tunnel…

“Finally here, huh.”

Even without its roar, I could tell that the lizard monster was coming from the thumping sound on the ground. I gulped down a mouthful of saliva and tried to calm down my rising anxiety as I aimed the portable lamp toward it. Now closer, I had a clearer view of the monster itself, and the word “scary” wouldn’t cut it to describe how this creature looked.

Still, I had a reason to stop at this place. That was, there was a gap just large enough for me to fit right on the side. Who said that I would throw my life away without even trying? The gap definitely led somewhere. It wasn’t that I wasn’t sincere to help, but I didn’t want to die just yet.

The monster didn’t dilly-dally as it let out a roar and rushed at me. In contrast, I readied my stance and threw the sharp pipe at it with full power. I didn’t know whether it was underestimating me or not, but it was truly a lucky throw as the pipe pierced the creature’s left eye.

“RAAAGH!!” It groaned in pain.

“If you dare, come at me!” I lured the monster toward the hole, thrust myself into it, and ran deeper into the gap until it expanded into a large cave.

The monster must have been very angry at me as it managed to slip into the cave through the narrow gap while ignoring its wounded eye that was oozing green blood. It then pounced at me like I was its most hated prey.

Abruptly, a violent earthquake shook the cave, causing the approaching monster that was about to gouge me to lose its balance and fall. Seriously, why is there an earthquake? Though, it saves me…

I used my all to keep my balance instead of thinking about anything else. And not even a second later, cracks were fissuring beneath both the lizard monster and myself. The place where we were standing must have been made out of fragile rocks, and the forceful intrusion of the lizard monster added to the pressure that this place had to hold.

Amidst the earthquake, the monster regained its footing and was about to attack me again when the crack below it split open, revealing a sinkhole. Unfortunately, it wasn’t centered enough to swallow the monster; therefore, I kicked at its face, propelling it into the gaping chasm.

But before I was able to rejoice, the crack expanded with a thunderous roar, devouring the ground beneath my other foot. Caught off guard, I found myself unable to escape in time as the ground crumbled beneath me, plunging me into darkness.

“Interesting.”

There was a voice as I fell deep into the abyssal depth, reaching out for the dimming light…

***

I stood in the midst of an endless reflective body of water. Darkness encroached from all corners, and yet there was my reflection below.

Sharp face… Black hair… No, it wasn’t me… Similar features but different.

It was Raymond.

On that sudden realization, the reflective body of water tilted, and I was standing before it as though it was a giant mirror. Unlike me, he was holding a ball of light in his hands.

“To you who carry my will. I only have one regret in this life and that is I couldn’t fulfill my promise to the end. Will you promise me to look after my family?”

I shook my head. “I can’t promise you anything, but if there is a chance, then I will do the best I can.”

“That’s good enough.” With a smile of regret, he tossed me the ball of light, and it passed through the reflection and fell into my hands.

At that, the whole world collapsed.