by Michael Sisa
I almost frowned after that remark. The man before me was Professor Jack. Everyone knew that he was a former soldier before becoming a professor. Out of everyone, he was undoubtedly the strongest. Furthermore, he had a unique skill capable of fighting even a Minotaur one-on-one. I’ve seen it before, and it would still give me the shivers whenever I thought about it. I’ve never known that a human could be so strong, so invincible. Still, he refused to disobey the orders of his superiors, the Principal. It was probably something drilled to him during his stay in the military academy.
It was a waste, really. If he could just come with us, our travels would definitely become safer. He could easily take care of the goblins, and worse comes to worst, he could even fight against a single Minotaur.
“Same as before, Professor Jack,” I replied. “But Mark says the number of monsters has increased. Isn’t that right?”
Mark nodded. “Yeah. Monster Tracker can’t be wrong. There’s an increase in the number of goblins lately.”
“I see,” replied the professor. “I will inform the Principal regarding this.”
The door closed behind us, and chairs and tables were moved to blockade the entrance. I doubt that it would be enough to hinder those Minotaurs, but this was definitely safer than nothing at all.
“Welcome back!” a high-pitched voice resounded in the amphitheater. It came from the Principal, a bald skinny man in his early forties. His eyes were gawking at the bag on our backs. “Seems you’ve got a lot, eh?”
“Yes, sir,” we replied, our response a bit tired and heavy. Going outside was taxing to our mind and body.
The Principal and the rest of the group rejoiced upon hearing it.
Currently, there were almost a hundred students inside this room. Two professors, plus the principal. It was a small number actually, considering the population of this school. If I was not mistaken, our academy had around seven thousand students in total.
“I got some meat. It’s probably best to quickly cook it,” I said, putting the heavy bag onto the ground. I opened it then showed the group my loot. Gasping and gulping sounds were heard afterwards.
I could not blame them. Right now, food had become luxury.
The Principal ordered two students capable of basic fire magic to cook the meat, specifically reminding them to take the smoke into account. After all, we did not want to attract the attention of the monsters outside.
Fire magic, huh. Sometimes I wished that my skill was also as cool as that. Not something that would simply make all kinds of sound vanish for a couple of seconds. If I had offensive spells in my arsenal, then maybe I could better protect her—my sister.
My eyes scanned the room for her, and they landed on a thin girl sitting at the back. A young girl in her teens, braided golden hair and almond hazel eyes. She gave off a feeling of fragileness, the same feeling that would make a man want to protect her. Although the two of us were twins, our appearances were nothing alike. She was a goddess, while I was merely an overly-bloated pig, or so they said.
She met my gaze then gave me a reassuring smile. She seemed okay, thank God.
Mark and John started taking out their loots, which consisted mainly of canned goods and chips. It was an abundant harvest, really. Probably enough to last us another day or two if managed wisely.
At the corner of my eyes, I saw Professor Jack speak with the Principal. It was probably to inform him of what Mark had found out using his Monster Tracker skill. Professor Marianne listened to their conversation.
After unloading all the contents of my bag and giving them to the one in-charge of handling food, I approached my sister.
“Were you worried?” I said upon approaching. I sat next to her, and for a moment, the metallic chair creaked from my weight.
My sister, Anisette, shook her head. Everyone knew that she could not speak, but her strong eyes would always speak volumes of what was in her mind.
“You’re really confident with this useless brother, eh?” I chuckled, a bit amused of the sincerity of my beloved sister.
Anisette took out a notebook then began writing something down.
You’re not useless. Without you, we would have all died of hunger already. You’re awesome, brother!
I stared at the words she had written for a moment. Such a pure soul, really.
“It’s been only three days,” I said with a smile. “Humans don’t die of hunger in just three days.”
I knew that my sense of humor was bad, probably a bit nerdy, but my sister would always answer it with a voiceless chuckle. And she did just now.
“So, what happened here while I was gone?” I said, trying to find another topic for conversation.
Anisette frowned after that. She froze for a moment, gripped the pen in her hand, then bit her lips.
“What’s wrong?” I worriedly asked.
A full second passed. She shook her head, jotted down some words, then showed it to me.
Nothing’s wrong. I’m probably just hungry, sorry.
I felt that she was not telling me the truth, but I decided not to push any further.
“Alright, your big brother will go grab some food. I’m pretty sure Mark will give me some if I asked,” I said. Despite being twins, since I was the first that got out of our mother’s womb, I was the older of us two. “Stay here, okay. I’ll be back.”
Anisette smiled then nodded.
As I started approaching Mark, the Principal called out to me.
“Gerald, boy!” he shouted. For a moment, I was angry that he hollered. Not because it was degrading, but because of the fact that it could potentially give out our location.
“Sir?”
“Boy, tomorrow morning, I’ll need you and your sister to go out and scout outside,” said the Principal. “And by outside, I meant outside this school. The city.”
For a moment, I froze.
What was this bastard saying? It was dangerous enough to go out this amphitheater, and now he was asking us to go out the school itself? Furthermore, he was asking my sister to come with me?
I wanted to punch him right in the face, but I held back.
With a stiff and forced expression, I said, “What do you mean, sir?”
The Principal sighed. He looked annoyed for a moment but then assumed a smiling face afterwards. “Your sister has one of the most powerful skills among us, right? The Hunter’s Eyes, is it?”
How did the Principal come to know that? I made sure that only my sister and I come to know of the existence of that skill. I knew that if people found out, they may start taking advantage of her. It was an outcome I was trying to avoid at all cost.
“I’ve talked to her when you were out gathering food,” said the Principal. His skeletal frame reminded me of a walking twig. “No use hiding it.” He looked at the rest of the students, then at me. “Also, everyone already knows.”
I wanted to ask him how he came to the conclusion that Anisette had such skill. And I remembered the incident three days ago. That time when Anisette saved me and another student from the Goblins. This guy must have seen that time she used her skill.
I stormed my mind for a way out.
“Sir, I’ll go alone then,” I said, trying my best not to drag my sister into this mess. “With my ski—”
“—That won’t do, boy,” said the Principal. “Your skill is that useless crap that mutes everything, right? You think you’ll survive outside with just that?”
‘That so called useless skill is been giving this group their food, damn bastard,’ I thought. I still chose not to voice my thoughts out loud.
“I’ve spoken with your sister. If Hunter’s Eyes could indeed paralyze three monsters at once, then it’s the best skill for a reconnaissance mission,” said the Principal. “That’s why I’m asking you and your sister to scout outside the school for us. You’re with Mark so I know you’re aware. The monsters are increasing in numbers lately. We need to find another shelter in case this one gets discovered.”
What h
e said was probably correct. Indeed, we need to find another shelter soon. I was pretty sure that it would only be a matter of time before we were discovered here. Furthermore, we would soon run out of food.
“I’ll join the two of you tomorrow,” said Professor Jack. He seemed to have been listening to us from a distance. He approached me and the Principal. “How’s that?”
“B-But Professor Jack!” stuttered the Principal. A bead of sweat flowed down his sharply pointed nose. “I-If you leave with them, what’s going to happen to the defense of this place!”
“But it’s too dangerous to simply let the two go out on their own,” said Professor Jack. He smiled at me, and the large scar on his face wrinkled for a moment. “I’ll go with the two kids.”
The Principal was unable to refute any further. His head hanged low for a moment. He mumbled, “Fine then.”
I’d never expected that the professor had his unyielding side as well. I guess I had to re-evaluate him then.
***
Morning quickly came, and the time for our reconnaissance mission had finally arrived.
Honestly, even now, I was against this. I even went as far as force my sister to stay in the base, but she insisted on going. She, too, knew that her skill would make a big difference in my survival outside. After some argument, I finally conceded. The two of us, along with Professor Jack, went outside.
“Be safe, pig,” said Mark affectionately. I noticed that he was trying to suppress the tears at the corner of his eyes. He had used Monster Tracker just now and told us the safest route from the amphitheater.
“Hey, I’m not going to die,” I smiled. “Don’t worry too much.”
The rest of the group saw us off. The chairs and tables blocking the exit were removed, the door was opened, and we went outside. It would have been assuring had Mark went with us. His skill would enable us to accurately tell which path was safer to travel. Unfortunately, the Principal insisted that he stayed in the room.
On the bright side, Professor Jack was with us. I consoled myself with that fact.
We stealthily moved through the hallways, trying our best not to make any sound.
The Amphitheater was located at the second floor, and we had to move down one floor to reach the exit of the school.
Damn it. This was stupid. Why did we have to be the ones to scout outside?
I cursed the Principal in my mind.
At the corner of my eyes, I saw a shadow move. Professor Jack must have noticed it too, as he was already looking at that direction.
“Be ready. They’re coming,” he mumbled.
I shivered when I saw four Goblins come out of a classroom. They shrieked, then came charging at us. I gripped my metallic pipe and was ready to swing it when three of the monsters suddenly froze in their tracks. The remaining one was surprised of what happened to its companions. It stared at them for a moment, then at us, unsure of what had just happened.
I looked at Anisette. Her hazel eyes had turned white. The three frozen monsters were definitely under the effect of Hunter’s Eyes. Damn. Such a cool skill, really.
Professor Jack dashed forth, and without flinching, he pierced the head of the goblin using his large kitchen knife. He cut the neck of the remaining three. They were unable to fight back as they simply stood frozen in place.
I got shivers after watching this. This combination was strong. Really strong. As long as the monsters did not come to us in the dozens, we would most likely win.
Anisette’s white eyes returned to their hazel color.
I smiled wryly. “Let’s go.”
The two nodded, and we resumed our journey towards the outside.
I did not know if it was a stroke of luck, or maybe it was a miracle entirely, but we did not encounter any more monsters on our way out the campus. It was perplexing actually, since the three of us knew that innumerable monsters lurked within the school. To actually successfully go past those without them noticing was no ordinary feat.
Well, my skill, World of Silence, may have played a crucial role in that. Whenever we noticed a group of monsters, I would activate my skill, and we would then use the opportunity to run towards the other end of the path. It was a really convenient skill during times like these. We did not have to worry about making any sound.
We looked at the campus behind us. Due to some good fortune, this place and its surrounding areas were untouched by the fire. Its walls were filled with cracks, and blotches of dried blood were evident on the ground. But aside from that, the place itself was in pretty good condition.
“From here on is the real thing,” grimly said Professor Jack. His red hair reminded me of blood. “We don’t know what kind of monsters we’ll encounter along the way. Remember, our goal is to simply scout the situation of the city. Our goal is simply to assess if it is safer to go out our base or to stay there. Don’t do anything rash. Got that?”
Anisette and I nodded. Still wearing our uniforms, we began traversing the streets.
It was quiet. Eerily quiet. Although this part of the city was untouched by fire, it was evident that a portion of the city had been burned down the ground. The smoke in the sky was thick, obstructing the sun above. Every now and then, we would see rotting corpses. Their faces twisted into agony.
At first, I was worried that this would greatly traumatize Anisette. But thankfully, she looked stronger than she seemed. Her eyes held strength within it, the resolve to see through this task till the very end. As her elder brother, I was proud of her. She was no longer the fragile girl she used to be.
Professor Jack signaled our group to stop, and we immediately hid behind a large slab of stone.
From our current position, I heard loud thuds – footsteps. Numerous footsteps.
I was pretty sure of which kind of monsters those sound belonged to. And just to be sure, I carefully took a peek.
I was right. These monsters passing by were Minotaurs. Three of them.
Their large bodies towered four or five meters, definitely twice the size of an adult human. Their heads were those of a cow, or maybe a bull, I was not really sure. Their bodies were hairy, resembling those of a human. Every now then, steam would puff out their snouts.
I noticed some little creatures walking next to the Minotaurs.
“Goblins,” I unconsciously mumbled the name of the monsters. There were over a dozen of them, all wearing disgustingly green and ugly faces. They were the size of a toddler, probably a bit taller.
I had encountered them numerous times before and I could say for certain that they were weak. Weaker than us, humans. The only problem was they were persistent. And we also had to take into consideration their massive number.
We continued hiding, simply letting the monsters pass by us. Eventually, the group left, and we breathed sighs of relief. That was close. No matter how strong these two guys with me were, we could not possibly win against such number.
“Professor, what should we do?” I said, my voice soft, almost whispered. “Should we go back? I think it is dangerous here. Even back in the school, I’ve never seen so many monsters huddled together.”
Professor Jack pondered. He frowned. “You’re right, it’s dangerous. But we might not have another chance to do a reconnaissance after this. We need to at least confirm whether there’s a better place for us to stay and hide.” He worriedly added, “The food supply in the school will run out soon.”
I clearly knew his intentions. Despite knowing the risks, I decided to agree with this one. Risking our lives now would surely benefit all of us in the long run.
Anisette grabbed the hem of my clothes. She pointed at a structure a good distance from us. Professor Jack and I looked at the place she pointed at.
“A Mall,” I said. It was surprisingly sturdy, with just a few cracks here and there. The windows were shattered, but aside from that, it looked capable of withstanding another earthquake or two.
We quickly realized what Anisette had in mind. We were quite familiar wi
th that place. It was a popular destination before the apocalypse took place. If I was not mistaken, on the ground floor was a large supermarket. The food in there would surely last us far longer than the remaining scraps in the cafeteria. Furthermore, there was a clinic and pharmacy on the third floor. A hardware on the second floor. We could have access to food, medicines, and weapons if we made it our base.
“We don’t know what kind of monsters there’ll be inside that,” I said to them. Honestly, I was scared of what would appear.
“But we don’t have much a choice, do we?” sighed Professor Jack.
I also sighed back. “Yes.”
After confirming that the road was safe, we started going towards that place.
Chapter 9: The First Meeting
Gerald’s POV
We went inside the Mall. It was a bit dark here, even with the rays of the sun seeping through the shattered windows. I almost vomited on the ground when the disgusting stench in the air entered me. Upon looking around, I noticed the hundreds of dead bodies scattered about, squashed and disfigured. The putrid scent of death was particularly strong in this place, and every fiber of my being was screaming at me that we should go back and find another place.
At the corner of my eyes, I saw that the Professor and Anisette were also trying their best not to vomit from the sight. It seemed that these disfigured corpses would make even a former soldier’s stomach churn in disgust.
“Hey,” I mumbled. The two looked at me. “Haven’t you notice? Most of the corpses… they’re all males. No dead bodies of women around.”
Anisette and Professor Jack quickly scanned our surroundings. They confirmed my findings with their eyes. Indeed, there was not a single female corpse in this place.
Why? Had all the women escaped to a safe place? I shook my head. That was impossible. There should be casualties, at the very least. Then, the only conclusion I could come up with was that someone dragged the corpses out of this place.
Now that I have taken a careful look, there were blood marks on the ground, probably indicating that dead bodies were dragged off here.
“Professor, I think this place’s too dangerous,” I decided to follow the voice screaming inside me. “Let’s get out of this place while we still have the chance.”