What it feels like to be alive

Arlan's breathing was heavy, his heart was beating so hard it threatened to burst out of his chest, his whole body was hot, and his clothes were heavy with sweat.

Arlan felt bad, very bad, and not more than 20 seconds had passed since the monsters had appeared.

Because of his injuries, Arlan's physical condition had deteriorated over the past two weeks, but that was not the reason for his current exhaustion.

Arlan could give himself the excuse of being tired, but deep down he knew the reason for his poor condition.

He was afraid, Arlan had never felt such terror in his being before. He was unable to control himself, his body running on pure instinct to flee from his predators who were getting closer to the group by the second.

Arlan had no training with firearms, yet he carried a 9mm caliber pistol with medium firepower for the time, the equivalent of a high caliber pistol 50 years ago.

The pistol itself might not have been enough to kill a monster, but that was not the purpose of the weapon.

Beside him, Laurel also ran at the same speed without looking back, her eyes fixed on Tristan's back.

She hadn't wanted to go on the expedition at first, but in the end, she decided to go with them and risk her life rather than stay in the safety and comfort of the Beta bunker.

The reason? Only she knew, for she had not shared it with the others.

But like Arlan, Laurel wondered if it had been worth it. But it was impossible to regret now, what was left for them was to try to survive.

Tristan, on the other hand, had completely different thoughts.

He felt no fear, he was used to fighting in wars, he wasn't in the army for nothing, and even though what they were experiencing could not be called a war. It was undoubtedly the worst and most terrifying experience he had ever had in his entire life.

What Tristan felt was more primal, it was a feeling of regret and revenge. Regret for the fact that he now knew exactly how his soldiers, some of them comrades for many years, had felt in their last moments of life.

Many of the soldiers were people with families they would never see again. This was something Tristan did not understand, he had grown up in an orphanage and did not know what it was like to love a family.

But many of them had shared many years of their lives together, and they might not have been blood relatives, but that feeling of closeness with their peers was what Tristan associated with having family.

That's why he wanted revenge, he wanted to avenge his mates so that he could turn his face to their graves once he was off this damn island.

These feelings were what he used as a shield for his fear, it was obvious that Tristan felt fear, who wouldn't feel fear in front of a monster out of a horror story? no one, everyone would feel fear, the point was how well they were able to ignore it and face it.

At some point, the third monster appeared next to one of the soldiers, who was aware of his surroundings, so he tried to dodge the monster's bite, but because of the angle of the monster's attack and its speed, the monster's snout reached him, biting him in the abdomen and taking a piece of flesh with it.

The soldier screamed, the pain was incredible, but his will to live was even stronger, so he did not stop.

The wound was serious, but not fatal, at least if it was treated quickly. But that was impossible in this situation.

Although the others heard the soldier's screams, none of them had the chance to turn around and see what had happened to him. To be distracted for a single second would cost them their lives.

But the monsters did not stop.

One of the soldiers fired at one of the approaching monsters and managed to take it down, but the monster did not come alone.

Behind him, another monster rushed towards the soldier, who now had his weapon unloaded and no way to defend himself.

Whether the monster knew that the man had no bullets, or whether it was just his bad luck, no one knew.

The monster jumped and opened its mouth, the soldier had no time to react to such speed, so his last sight was a gaping maw and dozens of sharp teeth in front of him.

There was no sound, the man did not even manage to scream as his head was directly destroyed.

Since the soldier was one of those behind him, only another soldier and Arlan were able to see his fate. Which led to different reactions from the two.

The soldier bit his lips and, without having time to mourn his fallen comrade, kept on running.

Arlan's reaction was similar, but at the same time very different. His legs did not stop moving, but his mind was not focused on running.

It was the first time Arlan had seen someone die before his eyes, and the death was anything but peaceful.

It was utterly grotesque to see the man's head being swallowed by the monster, but it didn't fill him with a feeling of disgust.

Instead, Arlan felt as if time had stood still.

Still running, he could clearly see the monster's face beside him.

It was ugly as fuck, a creature straight from hell. It had the snout of a wolf, but its eyes were those of a crocodile with scales around its forehead. It had no ears and instead had two small holes on the sides of its eyes.

The beast had just eaten the soldier, so its jaw was covered in blood, and in its mouth, there were still pieces of what had once been the soldier's head.

In the heat of the moment, not knowing if the creature would be able to reach him, Arlan drew his pistol and aimed it directly at the monster's mouth.

All this happened in less than two seconds before the sound of a gunshot echoed through the forest.