No Man's Town

Earth, Year 3000 "The f**k is this! We barely rested and this s**t of an asshole pop out of nowhere!" "Save the curses for later! Strike!" A howl that echoed froze them all. They're stunned by the volume of this. Even the small fry enemies started to back off. "Can't this get any worse?!" before his companion can even answer, they all fell on the ground as a big impact shakes the land. They all lose their balance. Every one of them unintentionally drops their weapon. As all of them still haven't regained their senses, they became easy prey for the monster who suddenly appears in front of them. The terrible shriek of humans one by one started the crawling fear on those in hiding. They can't even breathe, as they may be found any second. "We're done. All those twenty years of trying to be alive will go down the drain." He stated as if it's a fact that can't be changed anymore. He stares at his companion, who still curses while being crushed. He bitterly laughed. "Foul-mouthed 'til the end." He looked up at the monster that's staring right at him. It's about to devour him this time. He closes his eyes. He doesn't care anymore. He just hopes he'll be swallowed and won't be crash by its teeth. At least a less painful death, that's his wish. As he was quietly waiting while his eyes are shut, a splat of something thick landed on his face. It almost threw him unbalanced from his sitting position. "Open your eyes." The familiar brusque voice makes him do so. His eyes widen as he recognizes the man standing in front of him. "It's too early for you to die." It said without even giving him a look. "Flee. Bring my mother-child with you." "H-how about you?" he felt like a big lump on his throat was stopping him from asking. "I'll protect you until you escape, even at the cost of my life." The man looks at him, right into his eyes, like the monster who was in front of him earlier. "So, do the same. Protect them until the bitter end of your life." "The world needs to know. That our clan exists." Before he can even answer, the monster from earlier suddenly pop-out again. The top of its body is bleeding heavily. It's enraged and is about to attack them more aggressively. "They're beneath the old man's tree. Flee!" The loud voice of the man in front of him is enough to wake up his senses. He swallowed hard and tried his best to ignore the howl of the monster coming right in their direction. He balanced his self well on the shaking ground—due to the monsters' heavy footstep—to escape the scene. He ran towards the old man's tree. There, he saw the mother and child the man was talking about. In her arms, a child who's tightly wrapped around with thick clothes was sleeping. 'Sleeping? In this situation? She's sure a lax one.' "My husband?" he snapped out of his thought when she spoke. "Where is he?" "He'll hold down the monster for us. We need to escape now." He thought that she'll argue, not wanting to leave behind her beloved one. But to his surprise, she agreed immediately. "Then, let's take this path. I was watching the whole scenario. This is the safest one." She hurriedly ran towards the direction she's talking about. Her arms were tightly wrapped around her child's body. "You'll just leave him?" he asked while following right behind her. "He asked for it, am I right?" "Yes." "Then, there's nothing to argue anymore. We already agreed to this before." 'Before?' he wanted to ask more but the howling sound from the direction they were was terrifying enough to catch their attention. "We should hurry." He agreed to her. He wants to look back one last time, but he can't. He felt that it's best not to, given the situation. The sun slowly rises, countless huffing can be heard. From the moment they take on this path, the two of them never stop moving. They'll either run fast—when they hear a sound—or walk quietly—when they spotted something that might harm them. "How long should we keep going?" "Until we see the end of this path." "Are you serious? Have you taken this path before?" "No, but he did." He went silent. He means the man, her husband. "Do you think he's alive?" he asked mindlessly. "No, he's probably dead." That made him stop from his track. He stared at her back who's continually walking 'til the end of the path. "How can you casually say that?" he asked in disbelief. "It's because he's my husband that I can say it. Move, you don't have time to stop." Their distance grows more as she continues to walk, while he stays still. He doesn't want to move anymore. Her answer makes all the energy on his body disappear. But then, he remembered the parting word the man gave him. He took a deep breath, composing himself, gathering the remaining energy he has. 'Until the bitter end, yes, I'll see the two of them until the bitter end of my life.' With this thought, he brisk-walk, closing the gap between them.