Boy and Girl
When I looked at the boy trying to protect the little girl against the blood covered hound, I felt that I was already too late.
The boy did not look older than 13. And the little girl behind him appeared to be even younger than him.
But despite his young age, the boy was able to hold his own against the mutant beast. And that too with just a wooden bat
'No. I take it back. He was not just able to hold his own. He was practically beating the crap out of it.'
The boy's technique was sloppy and he was wildly swinging his bat in order to keep the beast away from himself. But all that seemed to work so far which lead me to the conclusion that 'He must have consumed a few crystals. How interesting.'
The boy and girl had been cornered in between a cluster of rocks which was not a bad position since that gave the boy the chance to protect the girl.
The sight was part amusing and part shocking and I would have smiled at the scene if I had not looked at the desperate expression in the boy's face. Or the fear in the girl's eyes. Or the dozen of beasts that were congregating in the area.
'Shit!' I cursed at the situation and ran toward the two kids.
It would be a cold day in hell before I allow two kids to die under my watch like this.
I quickly closed the gap between us and thankfully, none of the beasts were high tiered beasts so I was able to reach them earlier.
The girl saw me first, and her expression went from that of fear to puzzlement.
'Wonder how a man covered entirely in a black suit looks like to her.' I wondered for a short moment before I gave my attention to the other two.
The boy was too engrossed in the fight and was not very good at keeping an eye at his surroundings. Which led me to wonder how the two kids survived so far in the first place.
The beast was clearly much more perceptive than him and was able to notice my presence. But alas, the beast was too slow and noticed my presence a bit too late.
A swift kick on the side of the beast proved to be a bit too much as I felt it's bones break at the impact. I heard a desperate and painful yelp escape it's mouth before I flung my leg and kicked it off like a soccer.
The beast arced in the air before it smacked against a tree which was again followed with the sound of breaking bones. The beast did not got up after that.
I looked at the beast lying on the ground and the at the other beasts and sighed for a short moment.
'Under different circumstances I could have profited much from this encounter. Alas…' I quickly turned around and met face to face with the perplexed boy who was still holding on to the bat not knowing what to do with it.
I mused at his expression for a short moment and before he could do anything, I scooped down and caught both kids with one hand each and took a short moment to gain a better understanding of the surroundings before I ran in the direction with the least mutant beasts.
The beasts tried to stop me but they were mostly low tiered so it was rather easy for me to work my way through them.
After I came out of their circlement I looked back and realized that they some had started to chase after me but most of the other were attacking one another.
'I still have half a mind to go back and take those cores.'
'Don't look back. Just keep going.' Lily said.
I gritted my teeth and raised my speed in order to lose the beasts chasing after me.
—————
I looked through the window to make sure that there was no one inside before I opened it up and went inside.
I checked around once more to make sure that there were no abnormals around before I took a deep breath and kept the boy and girl down on the ground.
'Stay here. And don't make any noise.' I said in a whisper. I didn't fail to notice how the boy came in front of the little girl in a protective way.
If he had done such a thing before the apocalypse then it would have looked cute. Now it just looked desperate and sad.
I gave them a bitter smile before I went outside to check the other rooms in the house.
'They can't see you smile under the helmet.' Lily reminded me as I checked the room one by one.
'Oh well. I remove the helmet then.' I thought and found two abnormals inside one of the rooms.
They were two adult abnormals who were standing around a small bed which was covered in blood and grime.
A small bed which ones belonged to their kid before all hell break loose.
The mere thought of what had occurred here damped my emotions and before the abnormals could react to my presence, I put both of them to rest.
'This day could have gone better.' I said before taking their crystals and keeping them inside the black watch.
'It's not that bad.' Lily replied but her words were spoken in a whisper and lacked and weight.
I removed the curtains and looked outside the window.
There were two or three abnormals roaming around in the near vicinity and I wondered if I should take additional precaution of kill them as well.
I looked around and realized that the rest of the place was empty.
This house was a small hotel which was built alongside the highway.
Looking at the few abnormals in the vicinity, this must not have been a very successful one. Or maybe they just closed the shop near midnight.
I took a few moments to wonder if I should talk with the kids before dealing with the abnormals or doing it vice versa. After a few moments, I sighed and went to the room where I left them.
'Kids come first.' I thought and opened the door.
The girl was standing on the other side of the room and was looking back at me with a bit of fear and apprehension. It looked like she didn't knew what to think of me.
"Hey. Where's the boy?" I tried to keep my voice as gentle as possible which was apparently still not gentle enough as the girl flinched at my words.
The fact that I was trying to talk with a unknown kid in such a gentle manner alone made me feel like a pedophile.
Next thing you know, I will start asking if they want a candy.
I stepped inside the room and heard some kind of noise coming from the right side.
BAM!!
And met face to face with the bat swung at my direction.