1 The End Before a New Beginning.

"Malek wait, WAIT!" Oz yelled and slapped the weapon's safety switch.

"What!? Spit it out!" Malek, a military black man holding the slapped rifle barked back. Nervous sweat made his dark skin shine brightly under the midday sun.

"Look down a bit, a few meters ahead of the truck, on that police car's window."

Malek huffed before adjusting the rifle and looking through the lens. Seconds later, he frowned before sighed heavily and cursing under his breath.

A few meters from the target an oxygen delivery truck in the middle of the street, there was a police SUV with the windows down. Inside was a child with obvious signs of malnourishment curling down in front of the passenger seat. That in itself wasn't weird or shocking at this point. The problem was, the child was still breathing.

Malek gazed back at Oz with eyes boiling with anger. A part of him wished the man hadn't warned. He could've taken the shot, blown the claymore he managed to plant behind the truck, and since the enemy avoids high heat areas, they wouldn't come this way soon. Giving them enough time to run away with the explosion as cover. He wouldn't even know a child died at his hands.

But he swallowed the curse to ask a question instead. "They are almost on this street. Do you have a plan?"

Oz stared firmly at the man. His innards were shuddering underneath the firm facade. He had just then seen the child, and only changed his mind about the course of action at the last second. How the hell was he to have a plan? He took a deep breath and said.

"They are taking their time, I can go and carry the child back before I'm noticed."

"What do you mean!? Are you insane!??" A sudden male voice said. "It's just a damn child! The portal to safety is right behind us, we can get there by running! We just have to fill the street with fire and be gone! That kid is skin and bones, he probably stayed there the whole time and is dying of starvation. Just get on with it! Do you want us four to die because of your sudden bullshit morals!?" The bald fat man who holed up on the fast-food restaurant throughout the whole week snarled

Oz's face turned sour. He was no altruist human being for sure. He did more than his fair share of shady things for money. But the fat man still disgusted him. What made him sourer, was that human morals composed only fifty percent of his reason for stopping Malek. The other fifty were filled by the thing shining brightly beside the child.

It was something that could give them more assurance against whatever was beyond the safety portal. Contrary to most, he didn't believe the safety portal will be true to its name. But he didn't have time to tell or even convince them. It's the opposite, he needs to act fast and not leave them time to think.

Oz glanced out from the concrete ceiling of the two-story building they were on. The enemy, three humanoid lizards wearing bloodied gladiator-like armor and weapons were coming from a block down the street. Going from store to store, looting water and whatever they thought useful. With binoculars, Oz could see the two-meter tall purple-scaled leader had two human heads tied to its waist.

His gut shook at the sight and something came up his throat. It was about to spill when a girl wearing a stupid green wig suddenly pulled Oz's shoulder and looked at him desperately. "Oz stop it! This isn't the time for your thing. Just take the shot this time, you can have your way with me later, how about it?" His old gang boss's spoiled daughter couldn't stop trembling while she spoke.

He breathed in through the nose and held the air inside, forcing the acid back down.

"Lucia, I didn't get my cock from a trash bin. I can't just lay with anyone."

She froze "!?" Then released her grip "Y-You're just a small thug basta-"

Oz took the opportunity to shove her away and held the edge of the ceiling. "Malek, aim the lens at me, when I sign you, take the shot at the truck." He didn't wait for an answer as he used his beginner parkour skills to climb down.

"Wait! Hey!" Malek called as Oz went down and grabbed on the second-floor window sill, which didn't hold his weight and he fell towards a pile of trash.

Malek glared down, doing everything not to yell a curse at the stupid man.

"You bastard! Are you okay?" Lucia nearly yelled in fright.

A flare of pain came from his left ankle as Oz stood up, He took in a mouthful of air to stiffle a grunt. Without looking up he limped forwards, he soundlessly started sneaking towards the SUV. Malek frowned deeply while Lucia went hysterical behind him. Taking care not to be loud, Malek warned. "If you're caught or take too long, I'll choose to survive and feel guilty, instead of waiting and risk dying."

Oz stopped behind a common sedan car. 'Nothing fairer.' He thought and nodded before walking up away.

The fat man gritted his teeth and spoke to Malek "The man twisted his ankle, he's done for Malek! There's no chance he'll bring the child without those lizards noticing. You'll kill us all if you wait for him!"

Oz had already gone through half the block limping, the Lizards were still unaware.

Malek looked at the fatty with narrowed eyes, "So? He was the one that contributed the most toward us reaching this place and saving you. Are you telling me to kill him?"

A red gleam came over the fat man's eyes. "I still have a battery and music on my cell phone, I just have to turn it on and throw it in his direction, the lizard things will jump on him. If we explode the truck then, we would actually hit them with the explosion instead of just hoping they avoid the heat!"

Lucia's eyes opened wide, she was about to nod along, when the fact that Oz is the one who got her through the week forced her to bite lips in silence.

Malek's will faltered. His lips pursed. The coward isn't entirely wrong. Killing the Lizards would assure their safety more than if they blew it up as a distraction to run away. But what if one survived? Those things could dash through half a block in a single step.

He looked at Oz that was already beyond the oxygen truck. A bit more and he would be on the police SUV. Malek pondered a little before answering; "It wouldn't be too late for your plan if we wait, let's give him a chance."

The fat man glared. "I won't die because of your stupid decisions!!" The man ran and tackled Malek.

***

'Just a bit more.' Oz took a small shard of glass that was on the ground and peeked beyond the SUV. The Lizards had just entered a store, now was the time.

He opened the left back door and crawled towards the driver seat. The next second he faced two wide terrified eyes staring at him. Instantly he reached out and clamped down the boy's mouth.

"Those things are less than twenty meters down the block, do not, for the love of whatever you believe in, yell. Understood?"

The boy didn't react. Oz realized he was silencing a starving boy who couldn't even lift a hand if he tried. He grunted and ignored the boy to examine the thing beside him. A steel military knife shining unusually bright, also the other fifty percent of the reason he came here.

He saw it at the beginning of everything. A nerd thin as a stick, screaming something about glory burst out from a student dorm and attack a pair of Lizardmen. He was wearing a common imitation set of knight armor. But the sword, that bronze sword had the same glimmer as the knife in front of him. And while the nerd died almost immediately, the single slash he delivered before his demise tore the Lizardmen's chest open, something not even a point a blank shotgun could pierce.

He was no mafia boss. Just a small thug crazy about money without any delusion of turning the tide with a single tool. But still, it's the only thing that can hurt those damn things, So it was worth the risk. 'Plus I'm saving the child, it isn't just for greed.'' Oz nodded to no one and grabbed the knife handle.

A sudden movie of a myriad knife and short sword moves assaulted his head the moment he touched it. Pictures of frontal fights, dual wielding, sneak attacks, defense fighting, and throwing. All came and passed through his mind's eye.

Oz took it all in, pondered a bit, and sighed with exasperation when he felt no changes in his body.

"How the hell am I supposed to reproduce those moves!?" Brows furrowed, he hoped god could read his cursing thoughts. He now knew why the nerd jumped at those lizards. He probably had those visions with sword moves and thought he instantly turned into a novel-worthy hero.

'As I thought, the light at the end of the tunnel is just another train coming to run you over.'

Slipping the knife into his front pocket, Oz grabbed the child and started pulling him out of the car to sneak back. He would go far enough and give the signal. With everything on fire, the cold-blooded lizards will loot other streets first to avoid sudden changes in body temperature. He saw the idea working before. Of course, the rules change fast if they spot a human.

Oz held the thin boy under his arm, and slowly took a step towards the next car to hide. They had around forty-something meters to cover.

It was when Oz tried to take a second step, a thundering loud gunshot resounded. Oz stilled in place listening to the repeating echo. He turned wide eyes to the ceiling. Malek and the fat man were struggling in a tug of war with the rifle while Lucia chewed her nails not knowing what to do.

His chest sunk. Anger boiling inside, he stopped tip-toeing and rushed back to the SUV.

He nearly threw the child on the passenger seat and twisted the ignition key that he knew was still there.

The instant the motor's roar echoed, the Lizardmen had already exited the store. Their yellow eyes zeroed in on him.

Sweating cold, Oz accelerated in reverse, pushing an abandoned car away so he could turn the SUV to invade the less cluttered sidewalk. The lizardmen dashed. He shoved down the pedal and left them behind. At least he thought. The sound of something climbing the car told otherwise.

The rear mirror showed only two green-scaled ones pursuing on foot while playfully smirking. 'The one on the car is the purple-scaled bastard!' With the realization came sparks that rained down on him and the kid as a steel sword cut the ceiling

Red came over Oz's eyes. "I won't fucking die here!" He smashed the throttle. They were almost out of the Oxygen truck area when another gunshot resounded. Oz knew it was the rifle.

He felt something shoving them from behind and suddenly turned the wheel and embraced the child. The tires screamed. The truck exploded, some oxygen tanks flew away, others formed a chain of smaller explosions.

Oz wasn't sure but one flying Oxygen tank hit the Lizard on top of the car. Or the car itself since it flipped over at least two times before falling back with its four wheels on the ground. The chain explosions lasted about a few minutes.

At least three times he had lost consciousness, Oz guessed before opening a crack on his heavy eyelids. He tried to move but pain flared up from all sides. He breathed through the pain and concluded that at least five ribs and his right arm were broken. He gave up moving and examined the surroundings, the car was trashed, windows cracked. He doubted it would turn on again. He was still holding the kid in his arms and for some miracle, the boy was still breathing.

"OZ! ONLY TWO DIED!"

"Don't attract it to us you dumb whore!"

Oz heard Lucia's yell and immediately became lucid and forcefully snapped his body into action, he knew expecting help from those three is plain stupidity. He had to survive by himself! He tried to open the passenger door to leave when a shadow loomed over by the driver's window. Two scaly arms leaned down on the door. Its purple lips were grinning, and its yellow eyes promised unending malice for the human that just put him through the hot hell

Oz felt cold on the stomach, but a glimpse at the very corner of his eyes made him stop and bet.

The purple Lizardmen became visibly confused, as the human returned a bloody smile of his own. Oz reached for the now open glove compartment of the car, all the while thanking the kid inwardly for being in a police car and not any other.

He raised his hand and pulled the trigger before the earth invader could understand what the small tool in his hand was. The Lizard might've seen it before but it didn't understand it fully.

The gunshot ranged out. The purple lizard's head rocked back from the impact, but there was no hole. Oz let go of the child and went over to the driver's seat. The Lizard tried to steady himself and glare forward but all it got was two more bullets to the face. The Lizard stepped back and nearly fell. Oz got out of the car and smiled with a closed mouth. "You're fast, but not 'bullet-dodging fast''"

The lizard managed to hold itself standing and tried a clumsy step forward.

Oz placed the gun a mere finger length away from its scaly forehead and pressed the trigger. It fell backward, its brain rattled.

'It Doesn't pierce, but it doesn't tickle either.' Oz kneeled over the side of the thing 'Even if I worked on the bad side of things, I always managed to avoid this part.' He thought, trying to ignore his fearful heartbeat. Not giving it time, he swung down the shiny military knife. The scaly eyes snapped open when the steel tore its throat.

Oz expected something to happen then. Perhaps a form of spiritual punishment, or the sensation of something ethereal leaving him. But no change came over his body, no existential fear despite crossing the last line. He didn't feel... anything.

His heartbeat slowed to a calm, and for the first time in the week, his indifferent calm countenance is not a facade. He swung the knife down again where he guessed the thing's heart was. To be completely sure he sank it down and twisted the knife three more times.

The Lizard seemed to recover from the blows to the head but it couldn't even move anymore, only its eyes showed something akin to fear. Grunts and blood came out as it struggled. Oz observed with an indifferent expression from beginning to end.

He only noticed it when the lizard went completely still, Malek and Lucia were beside him. Lucia carrying the malnourished child with a worried face, Malek holding the riffle in silence.

"... I thought that if I crossed this line," Oz said, looking at the dead lizard. "I would lose "something" and truly become part of the rot I worked in midst of."

Lucia bit her lips.

Closed his eyes Oz focused on his abnormally calm heartbeat. "Turns out I feared losing something I didn't have in the first place." He laughed.