“What the fuck is that!! Hey, big guy! Do something!”

Screaming in a panic at Aaron, Michael fell out of his chair. No one was listening to him; the entire room had descended into chaos.

‘Calm down! Think! Think of something!’

Behind the counter, Liam was desperately trying to settle his racing heart. As adrenaline rushed through his veins, his hands began shaking. His instincts were screaming at him to flee; it wasn’t possible to defeat that thing.

‘Think, think!’

The creature was blocking the entrance, and running past wasn’t an option; something told him if he tried that he would die.

‘The back door! Shit, why didn’t I think of it sooner!’

The creature had only broken down the door moments ago, but every second counted right now. There was a chance it could be a dead-end, but it was the best option available given the circumstances. The only problem was it was locked, and Liam wasn’t strong enough to open it himself. Luckily, he didn’t have to. Standing up, he shouted to Aaron.

“Aaron, break down the door behind us!”

Hearing Liam’s voice that carried a sense of urgency, Aaron spun around and looked at Liam. He had picked up a chair and was preparing to face off against the creature, so he was rattled by Liam’s instructions.

“Wha-!?”

Liam pointed to the door and repeated himself.

“The door! Break it down! NOW!!”

Shaking his head, Aaron tossed aside his hesitation and put his trust in Liam. Throwing away the chair, he changed his target from the creature to the back door and charged at it with all his strength.

The creature let out an ear-piercing shriek when it noticed Aaron’s intention.

“Kaaaaaaarrrkk!!”

The look of joy on the creature’s face was replaced with rage that its prey was trying to escape. Taking a big step forward, it kicked Michael, sending him flying towards Aaron.

BANG!

Michael's body smashed into the front of the bar, narrowly missing Aaron. He fell into a heap on the floor, moaning in agony.

Aaron hadn’t stopped his charge. Crack! His body rammed into the door at full force, instantly breaking it down. Scrambling back onto his feet, Aaron quickly looked around the room. It was a kitchen, many rusted tools and utensils were lying around, but that didn’t matter. Spotting another door across the room, a look of hope emerged on his face as he shouted.

“OVER HERE!!”

Liam was already sprinting through the door by the time Aaron yelled. A piece of broken glass stabbed into his foot. He clenched his teeth, ignoring the sharp pain; it was far better than being chopped apart by that creature’s cold metal blade.

Behind him, the room was still chaotic. Everyone was frantically running towards the door as fast as they could, only Dan lagged slightly behind due to his leg. They knocked over tables and chairs, doing anything they could to slow the creature's progress.

“Move!”

Isabelle shoved Aaron aside as passed through the door; she was the first to arrive after Liam. Following closely behind her were Claire, Alexandra, and Erika. As they passed through, Alexandra yanked on Aaron’s arm.

“Aaron, you have to run! Let’s go!”

Aaron hesitated and looked at Dan, who was hobbling towards them.

“But Dan-!”

Immediately, Alexandra cut him off.

“Look, the monster isn’t that fast! Dan will make it!”

The creature didn’t run after them, or rather it couldn’t. None of them knew that the shackles on its arms and legs were extremely heavy. However, it wasn’t slow either, it took giant strides using its long legs to close the distance.

“GO!!”

Hearing Dan’s shout Aaron clenched his fists in frustration and sprinted after the others

Dan stumbled forward but caught himself before falling. He winced as he put pressure on his bad leg. Ignoring the pain, he pushed himself as he passed the bar.

“Wait… Don't leave me!”

Michael sobbed as he grasped onto Dan’s leg.

“Hey, stop! Let go!”

Dan shouted while trying to free his leg from Michael’s hands.

“Save me!”

Michael cried, his face covered in snot and tears.

“I’m sorry, I can’t! Let go!”

Dan started desperately kicking at Michael, connecting with his face. Dan couldn’t save Michael; he was already having enough trouble saving himself.

“LET GO!!”

Dan kicked again at Michael's face, but he refused to let go. Dan grabbed onto the bar and pulled himself forward with all his strength, dragging Michael along behind.

“Pweash shayve mEe! I'm sowwy!!”

Michael cried again, but only unintelligible sounds came out. His face so was broken and bloody from Dan’s persistent kicking that he couldn’t speak properly.

“Fuck off! I already told you-!”

Dan suddenly stopped talking when he felt a cold and boney hand grip the back of his neck. His face went pale, and his entire body stiffened. He felt the hands that hand been desperately gripping his leg release as his body was lifted into the air.

“Ah!”

A sound of shock escaped Michael’s mouth. As he stared up at the creature, effortlessly lifting Dan into the air. He fell into despair, knowing that he would be next. When he was about to give up and wait for his execution, a thought struck him – this was his opportunity. His lips twitched as his broken face tried to smile.

“HahAha!”

Michael quickly began crawling towards the exit. He figured that while the creature was killing Dan, he could escape through the door. Once he was there, the others would see him and help.

Splat!

The creature stomped on Michael’s head, instantly crushing it. Michael hadn’t even crawled three feet before being executed.

Dan shuddered in horror at Michael’s corpse. There was a foot-shaped indentation in Michael's head. The top half of his skull had blown out, splattering blood, chunks of brain, and bone fragments across the floor.

“Kekeke…”

Hearing the creature's cruel snicker, Dan began frantically flailing his arms and legs. He kicked and swung helplessly, unable to land a hit.

“Fuck! Let go! Let go!”

Dan screamed while twisting his body in the air like a fish out of water. Grabbing the hand around his neck, he tried to pry open the creature’s long fingers.

“HELP! Someone he-!”

Suddenly, the creature tightened its grip, instantly breaking every bone in Dan’s neck. His head fell limp, dangling over his chest.

As if bored, the creature thoughtlessly tossed Dan’s corpse to the side. Scanning the room once, it turned and exited through the front door, and returned to wandering the city in search of more prey.

---

“Haaa…haaa…haaa…”

In an alleyway, Liam leaned against a building, trying to catch his breath. Every muscle in his body was burning; he couldn’t remember the last time he had run so much. Fortunately, he had escaped the creature, or at least he hoped so. If it showed up now, he could offer little in the form of resistance.

“Cough…cough…!”

With no water, Liam could only use what little saliva he had to wet his dry throat.

‘I really am out of shape…’

Despite seeing how low his physical stats were listed, the truth was only beginning to hit him now. He didn’t want to believe the strange digital screen, but given his condition, reality was sinking in.

Liam stared at his feet. Both his socks were ripped and torn, and one was dyed red in blood. The piece of glass he stepped on was already lodged deep inside his foot; it wouldn’t be easy to take out, so all he could do was endure the pain.

‘What the fuck was that!’

Liam shuddered, recalling the creature. It was a terrifying experience. Not once in his life could he remember a time when he felt so powerless. To it, they were nothing more than livestock waiting to be slaughtered. Even the horror he experienced when he found his mother standing over his father’s corpse with a bloody kitchen knife couldn’t compare to this.

Liam was positive; this wasn’t Earth. That creature didn’t exist on Earth, and it was impossible to call it human; humans don’t have glowing red eyes and shark-like teeth.

‘What the hell did I get myself into?’

Not only did he have to worry about freezing to death, he had to avoid a monster on a psychotic murdering spree.

‘Why couldn’t it be dogs?!’

Liam never thought he’d miss the two-headed dogs. At least with them, he felt like he had a fighting chance to survive. Contrary to the saying, "Two heads are better than one," they weren't that smart.

“Hey! How long are you going to stare at your feet like an idiot for!?”

Hearing the impatient voice that hissed at him, Liam looked to his side and saw Isabelle. She was standing with her arms crossed while leaning on one leg.

“Hey… Where are the others?”

Isabelle’s twisted as if she was offended by the question.

“If I knew that, do you think I’d be talking to a disgusting, hairy old man like you!?”

‘Hairy?’

Was he hairy? Liam subconsciously touched his beard, wondering if it was too long.

“It’s not just the beard… If I had to say, then I guess it’s…”

She tilted her head, putting her index finger to her lips, seriously thinking about it.

“Everything… Ugh, just looking at you makes me want to vomit...”

Isabelle turned her head away, covering her mouth as if she was going to be sick.

‘This is stupid…’

Liam gave up. Talking with her was a waste of time.

‘What should I do?’

Traveling with Isabelle was out of the question. Not only was she obnoxious and needy, but she was also dead-weight. From the start, she hadn’t done anything but create problems with her narcissistic actions; she was a liability.

‘Should I find the others, or go off on my own?’

Now that the dangers of being on the streets had increased, Liam was feeling uneasy about traveling by himself. Ideally, it would’ve been best if they had never been separated. Having someone like Aaron, who had a self-sacrificing mindset, was always a plus. If Liam hadn’t told Aaron to break down the door, Aaron would’ve have faced the creature head-on. At least that’s how it had appeared to Liam.

Traveling as a group was the best choice, but Liam wasn’t sure if he could find the others. After escaping the tavern, he ran through streets and alleys, taking turns at random. He had no idea where he was, let alone where the others were.

“How long are you going to stare at that wall, huh? Hurry up and do something! I’m cold and hungry!”

Isabelle whined at Liam, acting like a spoiled child. Liam didn’t pay her any attention; he was already filtering out her voice. Her persistent whining reminded him of his neighbor’s dog that was always barking, so it was easy for him to ignore it.

‘Fuck it…’

Liam pushed himself off the wall after reaching a decision.

“Ugh… Ugly and useless could it get any worse. Why did it have to be you, and not the hot football guy? Even that hotheaded bitch would be better than a useless sack of – Hey! Where are you going!?”

Isabelle started chasing after Liam as he walked down the alley. Hearing her footsteps behind him, Liam groaned internally.

‘Damnit, why is she following me? I thought she hated me.’

Liam’s planned to find shelter by himself. It was too risky to search aimlessly for the others. However, his plan didn’t include Isabelle. He was hoping that she wouldn’t follow him, but unfortunately, that didn’t happen. She couldn’t survive on her own and obviously needed to leech off others.

If possible, Liam wanted to ditch her. The problem was, how? Something told him that telling her to leave wouldn’t work. Running away wouldn’t work either. Based on the fact she wasn’t winded after escaping, she was in better shape. It was a sad admission, but he didn’t think he could win in speed or endurance. Physically assaulting her might work, but he wasn’t going to do that; he was stuck with her.

For about two hours, nothing happened. Liam and Isabelle didn’t run into the others, nor did they find shelter. The streets were the same as before, and every building was uninhabitable. As they got closer to the castle, Liam was beginning to think it would be their only option. While he had a bad premonition about it, at this point, finding warmth was the only thing on his mind.

Suddenly, Liam stopped as he turned a corner to enter the cross street. He covered his mouth.

‘Disgusting.’

In front of him were three human corpses, mutilated beyond recognition. If not for the human limbs scattered around, Liam would’ve had a hard time figuring out they were human from their torsos alone. From the ripped and torn flesh, it looked like something was feasting on them.

‘Dogs.’

From the canine claw and bite marks, Liam concluded it was the two-headed dogs. However, he didn’t rule out that it could be something else. After running into the creature, anything seemed possible.

“Hey, why did you – Ueeeeeck!”

Isabelle puked when she saw the corpses.

While she was emptying the contents of her stomach, Liam carefully inspected the corpses. There was one male and two females, but that was all he could figure out about the victims; it was impossible to tell anything else from what little remains were left.

Liam turned around and spoke to Isabelle, who was still dry heaving; his voice was unusually serious.

“Come on… We’re leaving. And make sure you’re quiet from now on. The dogs still might be nearby.”

“Uuuuuughh…”

Isabelle groaned and followed Liam; she wasn’t stupid enough to ignore him, but most of all, she would do anything if it meant getting away from the corpses.

Liam wanted to get out of here as fast as possible. The most important thing he learned from the corpses was the attack had happened recently. It couldn’t have been more than an hour ago; the bodies too fresh. Since there was a chance the dogs were still around, he didn’t want to hang around, but before they reached the end of the street…

– Aaaaaaaaaack!

There was an ear-piercing female scream; she sounded young.

‘Wait… it couldn’t be them, could it?’

The image of the others flashed through his mind. It would make sense for them to be close. If they had escaped the creature, they were likely heading the in same direction as Liam. That aside, there were also the corpses earlier which could be related to the scream in some way. Staring in the direction the scream originated, Liam thought hard about his next move.