Chased by the Shadow

"I-I can't... I can't anymore"

"Hold on! Please just keep going, we're almost there!"

Inside a thick forest shrouded by the darkness that seem to suck the light from the moon, a pair of brothers and sisters were running desperately in an attempt to escape the moving shadow behind the two of them that are approaching very quickly.

Both of them are wearing haggard clothes that are unfit in this kind of damp place.

Each of them has bloodstains on their white shriveled shirt which should belong to others aside from them since they don't seem to have any substantial injury whatsoever, God knows what they have been through before this.

Moving their legs frantically, the two keeps on running with everything they got.

Despite having nothing going through their mouths for days which weakens their body greatly, their instincts to survive to take control of their bodies automatically. In the world they are living right now, survival instinct has been honed each day ever since the Resurgence of Death.

It was the day when the Supernatural awakened and ransack the entire world.

Countless kinds of races appeared during the Resurgence of Death, Demons, Ghouls, Goblins, Ogres, Vampires, Nymph, Werewolves, every single race that was thought was not supposed to be in this world suddenly came out of nowhere.

Alongside their thirst for blood fueling them, nothing can stop their onslaught.

Within a few years the entire world ruled over by Humanity has been forcefully taken away, and the prominent races created their own kingdom. Just like that, the Supernatural races have taken over the entire world and feed on the remaining humans.

Some are more barbaric than others, Vampires and Demons are one of them.

Instead of killing humans as many other races do, the Vampires and Demons captured them and turn them into livestock. Forcing them to breed like animals and eat the ones that they considered 'ripe' to be eaten.

Ever since that day, humans have been on a decline and close to extinction.

At the very least the one that tries to survive in the wild has been close to extinction, only the domesticated humans are the ones surviving and would probably be the ones that would last to see the grim-dark future.

Bealey was not going to surrender her and her brother's lives to such a fate.

On the day of their father's death she swore to him that no matter what happened in the future, she would protect her brother Mathias from the lethal grasps of the Supernatural races. If not her then her brother would definitely live a life worth having.

Since Mathias is only 14 years old, it was her responsibility as an adult to protect her own brother.

With that in mind, Bealey pulls Mathias harder as they both run through the forest.

"Keep up with me, you can do it!"

"Don't worry sister, I'm going to keep on trying as long as you do!"

Upon hearing this Bealey can't help but smile lightly knowing that her brother has become stronger. It was five years ago when the Resurgence of Death happened, Mathias is only 9 then and very scared of everything happening in this world.

But now he at least has the fire inside of him, wanting to survive no matter what.

From that Bealey smiled even though the situation is not on their side.

Despite the dire situation they were in right now the terrain helps them in maneuvering over the shadow that was chasing after them, it was the only lucky thing that they feel in a very long while. Both of them are running toward a couple of lights in their front.

It's now clearer than ever that a couple of lights in the distance belong to a group of humans.

Most of the Supernatural races are nocturnal creatures that are fond of the darkness, but humans despite living with the threat of extinction still can't adapt to the darkness properly. But if there's a group of humans using torches, then usually they have a solid number in them.

Glancing at the back while still running, Mathias's eyes widened seeing the shadowy figure.

Since the forest they are in right now is very dense, it's very hard to see past ten meters away. On top of that, the shadowy figure also seems to be merging with the darkness as its body is completely covered in blackness.

Although it was very hard to see the figure, Mathias know exactly the figure chasing them.

Without a doubt, the figure that is chasing them through this dense forest in the middle of the night is a Werewolf. A vicious creature that has a body filled with dense muscle and wants nothing but death and blood.

Its upright ears give it acute hearing senses, and its predatory eyes can see through the darkness.

Out of everything that can chase after them, the world has given them the worst one to escape from. Everybody knows that it's close to impossible to escape a Werewolf, their senses are too sharp for anyone to escape from.

Beating hearts, roughed breathing, cold sweats, anything can be sensed by a Werewolf.

More than that, some of the older and stronger ones can even smell fear of others. That alone can put a shiver on anyone's spine, and that also is one of the main reasons why escaping a Werewolf is close to impossible.

For a moment, Mathias made eye contact with the Werewolf's glaring red eyes.

Slowly Mathias' expression turns paler and paler as the red eyes speak to him, they only wanted to tear his flesh and eat him alive. But he snapped out of his daze when Bealey yank his hand from the front.

"Let's pick up our pace!", Bealey shouted before heading to the left.

Upon hearing this Mathias' unconsciously nodded his head but when he looked back once more, he finds that the shadowy figure has disappeared which runs chill to every corner of his body. The fear was so prominent that he forgot to breathe for a couple of seconds.

With that, the two of them ran into a hole in a big tree to their left.

Crouching inside the hole while panting heavily from running more than ten minutes straight, the both of them look out through the small cracks to see if the Werewolf chasing after them is still anywhere around.

But the outside forest is silent and covered with mist and darkness, with no sign of the Werewolf.

"Sister, why are we stopping here?", Mathias asked while panting.

Reaching out her hand to hold Mathias's shoulder, she then replied while her eyes are still looking outside through the cracks warily, "We're going to take our breaths before resuming to the group of people. There's an open space at our front, and we need to sprint through it quickly if we want to make it"

Mathias nodded his head before he tries to catch his breath and recover his strength.

It was going well but his eyes then caught a glimpse of the Werewolf's red eyes in the darkness through the small cracks, and this pummeled his confidence in surviving, "S-Sister... maybe we should just give up, there's no way we get away from this Werewolf"

"Hey!", Bealey snapped and slap Mathias on his cheek, she then points her index finger at him.

Under Bealey's warning gaze, Mathias can only look down helplessly, "Don't say that! Never give up on surviving, that's what father and mother said. If you can't find hope in yourself, then put your hope in me. I will definitely save us from this situation..."

"I-I'm sorry, I'll trust you sister", Mathias finally replied meekly before turning his head away.

About half a minute later Bealey takes a pouch hooked on her loose brown pants, she then takes a pinch from another pouch on her waist before sprinkling a black powder into the pouch in her hand.

In curiosity, Mathias then asked, "Are you trying to make a fire?"

"Yes, if I mixed this two I can create a small fire bomb. Ava gave it to me...", Bealey replied shortly.

But upon saying the name Ava, a cloud of gloominess waves over the two of them remembering what had just happened yesterday. It was a tragedy but they can't reminisce about the past in the current situation they are in right now.

Pulling on the knot and closing the pouch, Bealey then nodded to herself.

"Anyway, it's clear that the one chasing us is a Werewolf. Fire and Silver are the banes for Werewolves, if the Werewolf got too close I want you to throw this pouch to the ground to buy us some time. Can you do that?", Bealey continues while looking at Mathias with tender eyes.

Not wanting to burden his sister, Mathias nodded his head firmly, "I can do it"

"I know, I know you can do it. We need to go, the group would leave if we stayed any longer", Bealey said, giving the pouch to Mathias before she poked her head out of the hole. With extreme caution, she looks around to make sure that the Werewolf is not around before she completely walks out.

With a nod from her, Mathias also walks out as their bodies turn stiff again.

Just as they both got out of the hole intending to run to the group of humans that they saw earlier, a heavy thump landed behind their backs before their entire bodies suddenly got shadowed by something.

Upon hearing the heavy growl from the back, Bealey then shouted, "Mathias! Throw it!"

Mathias heard his sister's shout before he instantly grips the pouch in his hand tightly and threw it straight at the Werewolf behind him, it landed right on the Werewolf's head forcing its content into friction with each other.

Boom!

A small explosion was the result as the Werewolf stumbled back, trying to get rid of the fire.

Not wanting to waste this chance Mathias created for them, both of them started sprinting once again toward the distant lights that are not far away from them anymore. Without even looking back, the two of them run across the open field while exerting every ounce of strength inside their bodies.

Growl!

Both of their bodies stiffen when they heard an angered growl from their backs.

Following the angry growl was the sound of thumping that is getting closer extremely fast, and this made Bealey raise her hand and wave trying to alert the group of humans before she shouted at the top of her lungs.

"HEY! HELP US!!"

Mathias also joins in to help catch the group of humans' attention, "Please! Help us!!"

Soon their eyes can see a man wearing armor leaning against a tree while eating something, their eyes brighten up as they started shouting louder. While they are doing this, the Werewolf's claws are getting closer and closer from behind.

Even Mathias can feel the ominous feeling coming from the back.

Feeling the sensation that makes his nape turns cold, Mathias' back got drenched in a cold sweat.

At the extreme moment, the claws are already an inch away from grabbing Mathias' shirt, but with one loud shout, the man leaning on the tree jolted and instantly grabbed a sword by his side. The man then glanced to the side and saw Bealey and Mathias waving at him.

Just as his mind processes what he was seeing, the man ran at them with a sword in hand.

Both of their eyes lit up upon seeing the man heading towards them, Mathias glanced back while still running and saw that the Werewolf has vanished. It was nowhere to be seen, blending again with the darkness like a ghost.

Realizing this both of them stopped before they crouch down panting heavily.

Giving Mathias a wide-toothed smile and a peace sign with her hand, Bealey then said while still panting and covered in sweat from all the running she did, "W-We're safe! See, everything will work out just fine as long as we keep on trying!"

"You can just trust in me and we're going to be just fine surviving in this world!"