1 Prologue

"Huff…huff…huff…"

In the darkest part of the universe where the Sun light was really scarce, a young adult, Leonardo Guryon, wearing a black suit and a helmet; was running like a madman. He was not alone instead, he was carrying an unconscious person, who was tied by a rope on his back. The whole body of that person was coated with unknown thick glob substance.

Passing through the unknown terrains which seemed like thick forests of Amazon or Tanzania. It was a hectic job for him who was encountering deathly challenges at every corner of that dark world.

The helmet on his head was created with the most advanced technology. It had some extraordinary functions which helped him to see a clearer picture of the landscape.

While running, Leonardo shifted his gaze from his wrist to the sky. At a distant part of the sky, he observed some flashes of lightning. Whereas, on his left wrist there was a mini radar which pinpointed a particular movement of his pursuers within the radius of hundred kilometers with a low 'beep' sound. The closer his pursuers got the faster the sound of radar becomes.

Leonardo saw a cliff nearby. He climbed up to get some rest because he was totally exhausted. The young man decided to put the unconscious person on the ground to catch his breath but suddenly, his radar louder. Leonardo stared at his radar and knitted his brows. There were a lot of small dots approaching him at a rapid pace. He grimaced, "Looks like I had underestimated them, they can move even faster in dark."

To regain his stamina, Leonardo sat down to control his ragged breathing. A few seconds later, he got up, carried the unconscious person on his back and clenched his jaws, "No matter what happens—I won't let them come near me again" and climbed down the cliff.

While running down the cliff Leonardo pondered for a brief moment and murmured, "Did I miss something? Why are they following me to this extent?". Then the guy leapt from that cliff and reached a rivulet, he followed it and arrived at the edge of a stream which flowed through a jumble of big rocks. The speed of the stream was really fast. Leonardo jumped from one rock to another to cross the stream. On the other side of the stream, the branches of the trees shivered due to the rumbling of the ground and the beasts in the forest began screaming.

Even though Leonardo was very far away from the trees but he could feel the ground beneath his feet was reverberating.

"I need to do something about this…otherwise—they'll catch up to me in no time", he muttered while staring behind him.

Leonardo tilted his head and stared at the big mountain in a particular direction. It was his extraction point. It was fifty or sixty miles away from his current location. He examined his surrounding and found a small hill nearby. Leonardo came to a standstill and got lost in his thoughts but he recovered and climbed the hill. He faced the stream and took out his gun which was strapped by his waist. "Activate weapon systems!", ordered Leonardo.

A female operator sound responded, "Weapon system activated—beep. Select mode."

He aimed to his north and said in a hoarse voice, "Weapon mode Incinerate".

The gun in his hand looked like an ordinary one. But when he selected the mode, it gave a sound like it was leveling up with each 'beep', and with every 'beep' the pitch of the sound was rose. After consecutive ten 'beeps', the operator confirmed, "Weapon is loaded."

Leonardo held the gun a little high and pulled the trigger. A shot fired in the sky. It was really bright and seemed like a meteor shower in the sky.

Bang! — Bang! — Bang! — Bang! — Bang!

Leonardo fired five shots in the sky. He put back his gun in the strap and cursed at his pursuers, "Die! You damn mongrels!", without even looking back Leonardo ran towards his destination.

...….

On the top of the mountain, there was a young lady named Lilly Robins. She was also wearing a black suit. She was tapping a tablet which operated a machine which seemed like a ring. The size of the ring was large enough for a subway train to pass through it. Lilly was staring at the ring which gave a nostalgic feeling.

Lilly was noticed some fluctuations of the machine in the tablet. After confirming that everything was fine, she turned around and stared at the sky. Although she couldn't see any stars because the sky was already covered with the stormy clouds but Lilly could hear thundering of the clouds. She closed her eyes and sighed, "Please—Please, be safe Sergeant!"

CRACK! CRACK!

The sudden noise made her vigilant because there was no one present there except for the girl and the machine. Lilly slowly strapped the tablet back to her slim waist and grabbed her gun.

In a split second she turned around and aimed behind her. The gun had a flash light which automatically turned on, so that the she could see within her vicinity. But there was nothing. She turned off the flash light and lowered her weapon.

CRACK! CRACK!

After few seconds she heard the same sound as earlier, and it was from behind. Lilly pointed her gun again with shar-eyes but there was nothing. Lilly couldn't see anything except for some wild bushes and some trees. She was about to deactivate her gun but then she heard the same sound again and this time, it was closer than before and it came from her left side.

Lilly was scared after hearing such sound for the third time. She gulped down a mouthful of saliva and decided to point her gun towards her left but the girl felt some restriction in her movements. She tried to move her legs but for some reason she couldn't. It appeared to her like someone had taken control of her body. Lilly tried to undo the restriction but she couldn't move an inch.

Her mind was in a predicament with current circumstances. Lilly shifted her gaze upward unintentionally. At that moment, her eyes opened wide and her breathing halted along with her struggling because there was a tall Monster above her head. It was five or six stories high and it had six long legs which surrounded her from every corner. She focused her gaze between the legs and felt a chill ran down to her spine. Her sixth sense alerted her that in-between those legs there was definitely something terrible. Due to darkness she couldn't figure it out what it was and on the top of that her movements were restricted.

Lilly was afraid but before she could think of anything, her feet left the ground and she began floating in the air. She was dumbstruck by the sudden development of situation; why in the world she was floating in the air and what that being was doing here in the first place? How it managed to fool the sensors or sensors were in-efficient to detect its movements? Lilly was busy in assessing the current occurrences when her body reversed in air.

The only thing came to her mind was; something horrible might happen if she didn't do anything sooner. Lilly struggled and discovered that she could move now. She aimed in the middle with her gun. The flash light turned on and what came next completely frightened her.

There were three eyes like black beads which were glaring at her just like a beast who was about to devour its prey. Lilly felt a chill ran down her spine. She aimed at one of those eyes and fired. The damage was so minimal that the monster didn't even flinch.

Soon, the monster opened its mouth which was right below its eyes. It had big and pointy teeth like a shark. Lilly's eyes opened wide with white showing; her body began to shiver. The only thought came into her mind was that she would die if she ends up in the mouth. Lilly shouted in fear, "WEAPON MODE GRENADE!"

"Beep—Weapon mode Grenade is activated—weapon is loading…"

When she heard that she was more afraid because the weapon loading system takes ten seconds every time when the mode is selected, and there was less distance remained between Lilly and the creature's mouth.

Beep!

"Come on!", she tightly gripped the gun and pointed at the monster.

Beep!

…

Beep!

…

Beep!

"COME ON!", Lilly yelled. Her forehead was covered with wrinkles.

Beep!

Lilly was closing-in to the creature's mouth every second and a very short distance remained. Her breathing became haggard due to fear. She gritted her teeth, "FUCK! COME ON! DAMN IT!"

Beep!

There was only six feet distance left. Lilly could imagine her own end. And this kind death was really miserable Because nothing will left remain of her if she died like this. She shouted in extreme fear and cursed at her gun, "COME ON! YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!"

Beep!

Only three feet distance remained. Her heart was beating like crazy and her forehead was covered with cold sweat. Lilly yelled, "NO! ––NO! —NO! —NOT LIKE THIS! NOT LIKE THIS!"

Beep!

Only half-a-feet distance remained between the monster and Lilly. Her face became pale due to fear. "NOOO! NOOO!", she cried.

Lilly began hitting the gun with her fist in helplessness. She sobbed, "COME ON! PLEASE!" tears of regret rolled down from her eyes.

Beep!

Her lower abdomen was already in the monster's mouth she shrieked, "AHHHH! NOOOO! NOOO! I DON'T WANT TO DIE LIKE THIS! SOMEONE HELP ME! LEON! HELP ME! LEON!"

The only thing that waited for Lilly in the monster's mouth, was her death. Because she had reached inside the creature's mouth which was closing in and Lilly was about to be devoured in it. But suddenly she heard explosive sounds nearby.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The moment when Lilly was about to be devoured by the monster, five big explosions resounded nearby, in the distance. Even the monster was distracted by those sudden explosions. It lost control over Lilly, who was already in its mouth and slipped though when it closed its mouth.

Beep—weapon is fully loaded.

Lilly recovered from the sudden shock and took the advantage of the present situation because the creature lost its focus on Lilly by the unexpected turn of events. She pulled the trigger.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Lilly fired three shots. Two aimed inside the creature's mouth and one aimed at its eyes. The creature howled in pain and swayed back and forth.

While Lilly was falling down, she saw something strange. The west part of the forest was covered in flames. It was an eye-catching scene but the girl didn't have any time for sight-seeing because she was about to hit the ground. Lilly pressed the button on her wrist which stated 'EMERGENCY'. In an instance, a bubble formed around Lilly and swallowed her inside.

Thud!

The bubble made contact with the ground.

Soon the bubble went back in her suit. Lilly was totally fine. As she panted because she was still afraid of the monster. Lilly had her gun in her hand she observed her surroundings very carefully this time but the creature was nowhere to be found. She lied down on the ground and heaved a sigh of relief. Shortly after, Lilly got up arrived at the edge of the cliff. She noticed a part of the forest was erupted in flames.

She slightly frowned, "What the hell is going on?"

Because the area which was covered in flames was north to south. So, it was difficult for her to come to a meaningful conclusion.

While pondering meticulously over present occurrences Lilly murmured, "Who could have done this?" Not much time had passed Lilly frowned in shocking realization, "No way! Its him!"

She tightly clenched her fists, a complicated emotion came inside her eyes, "He's coming."

She exhaled and said with a complicated voice, "…I need to get ready too!"

...….

Earlier, on a silent hill top Leonardo was standing with an unconscious person on his back. He was staring at the flames which continuously emitted screams and howls of agony of the beast. He turned around and began moving towards his destination in the east. Few minutes later, rain drops fell on his helmet. He stopped moving and caught a glimpse of the sky. It was light rainfall.

Leonardo said in a hoarse voice, "…This isn't good!"

He looked at the unconscious person on his back and whispered, "Let's get you home Captain!"

He started running again.

Whereas, Lilly was tapping the tablet screen and operating the large ring in front. Her forehead was covered in cold sweat. After few seconds later, a notification appeared on the tablet screen, "Do you wish to continue?"

Lilly was hesitating for a bit. She pursed her lips and thought for a moment, 'If I mess up this time, we'll never be able to return.'

Lilly was about to press the button on the screen when she heard a message, "Incoming call!"

She brought her right hand near her ear and received the call, "…S-sergeant!"

A humbled voice sounded in her ears, "Lilly!"

She hurriedly asked, "Where are you right now? Is captain with you?"

Leonardo replied with certainty, "I am near the base—and—captain is with me, safe—but still unconscious—I don't know for how long."

Lilly became flabbergasted when she heard about the captain. She was overwhelmed with emotion that her eyes became moist. The girl quickly recovered and asked with concern, "…A-are you okay Leonardo?"

He replied, "…Yes. I am perfectly fine. Just—"

"Yes! What is it? Are you hurt somewhere?" Lilly asked with worry.

"…I am a bit tired." Leonardo replied.

Lilly sighed in relief, "Sigh! I can understand. But you know—you just scared me to death with your suspenseful hint. I thought you—"

"Lilly!", Leonardo cut in.

"…Y-yes!", Lilly responded.

"Get the machine ready. I am being pursued by those monsters…we can't stay here anymore. I had stalled them for the time being, sooner or later, they'll come looking for us." Leonardo briefed the situation.

After hearing what Leonardo just said Lilly clenched her fists and pursed her lips, "…How long do we have?"

"I don't know! Maybe ten minutes… or less than ten minutes!" Leonardo replied with uncertainty.

Lilly said, "…Alright then I—"

"But we need to get out of…here before the rains hits..." Lilly could feel the fatigue in his voice.

"…Leonardo…How many are following you?" Lilly asked out of the blue.

A question Leonardo didn't want to answer, "…"

"…how many are they?", Lilly asked with concern while her heart was beating faster.

"…"

"Tell me! How many of them are following you?" asked Lilly while losing her patience every second.

"…"

"TELL ME!", Lilly yelled.

"Call has been disconnected!"

Her right hand slowly came down. She was pondering why Leonardo couldn't answer her question?

"…If I tell you how many of them are following me, what will you do?" a voice came behind the girl. She aimed her gun towards the source of the voice.

A man carried an unconscious person on his back. He put down the unconscious person on the ground.

Lilly lowered her gun when she saw Leonardo. She wanted to answer the question but her eyes were fixated at the unconscious person. Her body trembled and she couldn't contain her tears in her eyes. The gun in her hand dropped and she ran towards the captain. As she sat before the captain whose whole body was covered with unknown substance, Lilly hugged the captain and sobbed like a little child.

Leonardo walked towards the edge of the mountain. He glanced towards the flames he lit up earlier in the forest. Then he looked towards the sky and walked towards the large ring. He activated it from his wrist.

The large ring glowed. Leonardo stood there for some time. Before he could say anything, the heavy rainfall started. At the same time Lilly recovered from her sobbing.

Leonardo asked, "Feeling any better?"

Lilly only nodded in return.

He turned around, holding his gun in his hand, walked towards Lilly and stood before her.

"Tell me, If I say that one of us is going home with captain and one of us is staying here for the greater good. How does that make you feel?" Leonardo asked indifferently.

"You're joking right?" Lilly replied with uncertainty.

"…"

Silence!

Even though it was raining heavily but the silence of both these people created an awkward atmosphere. Lilly was stunned with unexpected turn of events. She slowly got up from the ground. Her heart was racing due to fear and anxiety. She could feel a piercing gaze of Leonardo at her even though she cannot see his face.

"Tell me, what will you do to survive, Lilly?" Leonardo asked in a low tone.

The unfamiliarity in his voice sounded like he had become an entirely another person. The vibes he was emitting, were totally different. It seemed like he had become a grim reaper who holds her fate in his hands. It seemed that he could kill her at any moment.

Lilly was so scared that the words she wanted to say, swallowed them back. Her mind went blank and she stood there in daze.

"So, this is how it ends?" Leonardo said.

"…"

He aimed his gun towards Lilly. Her legs went numb and she fell back on her buttocks. She gathered her courage and said with a great difficulty, "…W-why? …why…j-just…w-why?" and tears flowed down from her eyes. She looked at Leonardo with helplessness in her eyes. Her eyes were screaming, "Why it has come to this? Why someone like him is pointing his gun at me like this?"

"I-I…I am…I am sorry for everything!" Lilly pleaded.

On the other hand, Leonardo stood before the girl unfazed, he seemed to be unaffected even though poor Lilly was shedding tears.

"…It's pointless to apologize over something you never did. But don't worry…soon, it will be over." Leonardo said sternly.

"B-but…w-why…me…why do I deserve this…. what did I ever do to you?" asked Lilly.

"It's nothing personal, but this is how it is?" Leonardo replied coldly and pulled the trigger.

Bang!