10 HOWARD STANLEY
Shio checked the door to make sure that it was locked. she also places a chair on the door handle just in case the lock doesn't work properly.
"Relax kid, we are still human, it will still take a long for us to recover if we got hit like that. focus on finding your friend, I might be able to find some things we can use to defend ourselves" Howard said as he turns on the computers and let shio handle the rest
"so, how do I do this? do I have to press something?" Shio asked as she tries to look at 10 different monitors at the same time
"you don't have to touch anything, just look at the name of the location on the upper right of the screen then check if you can see them. The young girl might be staying in one place so it will be easy for you to find her using the CCTV but the boy must be constantly moving. for some reason, that boy knows his ways around here" Howard said as he searches the cabinets for weapons
"oh yeah I see my sister---she is in the garden, waiting..." Shio said as she saw her sister in the CCTV
"well that's close by, how about the boy?" Howard asked calmly
"I don't know---just second I need some time" Shio said as she searches for Sam in the other screens
"you are one strange group of friends... why are you even in here" Howard said while taking an axe out from a chest
"they got pulled by a shadow.. but I was pulled by a girl, I don't know her though---but she knows who I am..." Shio replied while searching for Sam on the CCTV monitors
"Uhuh... maybe an old friend from the past?" Howard said while he continue on searching the room, after searching the closet he found a shotgun and a Glock pistol "Now that's what I'm talking about" Howard said in a satisfied tone
"I don't remember knowing that voice. But it does sound a little bit familiar..." Shio replied in a curious tone "OH! there he is! his with my sister now...Thank God" Shio said with a sound of relief after seeing Sam meeting her sister
"Well, that's a piece of great news for us. That boy can take care of your sister, just like I said, he knows his ways around here" Howard said as he approaches shio with the weapons and clothing he found
Sam suddenly looked at the camera and he shows a cardboard with writing on it saying
"MEET US AT THE LIBRARY, THAT WILL BE OUR SAFEHOUSE FOR NOW"
"The library huh... what a really smart kid. Did he went in here before?" Howard said in a curious tone
"well--- maybe---- I'm not sure though, why is it safe?" Shio replied
"Well technically it wasn't safe for anyone because it is still inside this fucked up world, any place inside this world is not safe. But the library is special because it was one of the places this world can't transform or control, in your world the library contains books about history books and some academic books but in our world, it contains the memories of those who were inside here before. Trust me there's a lot of it, some of it is very entertaining. I find myself finishing one to two books a day sometimes." Howard explained thoroughly
"well that's convenient, if the world can't change it then how did it become unsafe?" Shio asked in a curious tone
"That's the reason why we are made, once Dal-gu is able to recover, he will be informed by the shadows to hunt us down in the library and not only that, if you are afraid of something that is breathing, this world will make one of those to accompany Dal-gu and join the hunt. That is the reason why we have to hurry up..." Howard said as he gave shio the jacket and the pistol
"Oh no---- I'm not---I don't know how to use that.." Shio said while taking the jacket but leaving the pistol
"Just tilt this anchor like button right here, point and pull, simple. If you are not planning on shooting anyone then don't tilt this button downwards and just keep it locked." Howard said while he demonstrates how to use the pistol "try it--- look I'll remove the clip just to be safe" Howard continued as he removes the clip and gives shio the pistol
Shio tried to do what Howard said but she failed. Howard immediately teaches shio how to do it properly.. "You hold it the firmly..." he said while he helps shio bring up her arm "you tilt this button, aim and pull" he as while he tries to guide her fingers on doing it properly. The gun cocks and shio was surprised because she didn't knew that it will work. Shio laughed because of what happened
"try to do it yourself.." Howard said as he steps back and watches shio do it
Shio tried to do it and this time she was able to shoot it. Both of them celebrated the fact the shio learns how to pull the trigger properly
"you know how to pull the trigger, but you still don't know how to shoot. Both of it is just the same but the difference is when you are going to shoot someone, the gun will not just rest like that, it will have a force that will push you away so you have to control okay? we don't have time for you to do a shooting practice so just do it when the time comes." Howard said in a cheerful tone
"I don't know if I can do that..." Shio said in a worried tone
"Trust me, you can do that. Remember kid, In this world, the only person you can trust are those who you know the most. There will always be a point in time that you have to make your hands dirty, and it is not because you want to save yourself, its because you want to save others. So if you want to keep your sister safe, be prepared to do it yourself" Howard explained thoroughly as he put the clip inside the gun and switch on the safety
"Noted..." Shio said in a normal tone "So--- What is our plan now that we know where they're going.." Shio asked calmly while putting the gun in the jacket
"The library is located on the fifth floor of the high school building, we are currently on the ground floor of the preschool building. so in order to reach the high school building quickly, we must go upstairs and use the bridge..." Howard said as he analyze their routes
"But if we are going to do that then it means we need to go back to where Dal-gu was laying down---- right?" Shio asked in a worried tone
"let's see... Are you afraid of any living creature?" Howard ask calmly
"Dogs..." Shio replied in a worried tone
Howard wasn't able to speak instead he stood there and he stares to Shio looking worried and disappointed.
"Dogs... seriously.." Howard said in a taunty tone
"yeah ---- big dogs " Shio replied in a calm tone
"Oh, so it is not just a normal dog but a big dog..." Howard said in a taunty tone
"yeah..big dogs with a big face, jaws, fangs or teeth" Shio replied in a worried tone
"oh yeah the details just made it worse... their not just dogs, it is called a wolf, maybe a bear size wolf? I hope that's not what your thinking of... but by considering that you are afraid of regular dogs crosses out our option of walking outside" Howard said in a frustrated tone
"I'm sorry..." Shio said in a disappointed tone
"it is not your fault kid, so don't be sorry" Howard said while walking to the door
"Wear your jacket and get that backpack. That backpack has the bullets and the magazines that we need to reload our guns. You can handle that cause its not that heavy, I'll take the lead, try to watch your back when while we walk ok?" Howard said in a serious tone
"Yeah----I got it" Shio said as she picks up the backup, Howard is right about how light it was
Howard slowly opened the door while aiming his shotgun. Before going out of the room, Howard took a quick peek in the hallway.
"The dogs must be out by now... this is weird.." Howard said as he slowly steps outside the room
While staying vigilant, Howard ordered Shio to follow him. Both of them slowly went to the staircase...
"I'm not surprise..." Howard said cause he no longer sees Dal-gu laying down in the staircase
"He went outside.." Shio said while observing the trail of blood Dal-gu left
"Well, I guess he's looking for a friend" Howard said while inspecting the area "let's move, we can't waste any more time in here..." He continued
Both of them went upstairs slowly while checking their corners to avoid any surprises. But even though how tough the two were, they can't deny that both of them are worried about what will they see in the next corner. But they keep themselves together, they try to keep their fears behind, they try to lock their emotion far away from their mind in order to reach their goal.
But the world doesn't play nice, The surrounding forest suddenly releases a dozen of crows as Howard and shio reaches the fourth floor.
"What is happening?" Shio asked in a worried tone
"I guess dal-gu is taking a long time, that's world shadows is doing it themselves..." Howard replied in a calm tone
"What, but I'm not afraid of crows.." Shio said in a curious tone
"The world is still absorbing your thoughts kid. How many fears do you have?" Howard said in a curious tone
"five.." Shio replied in a worried tone
Howard took a deep breathe while showing a disappointed reaction
"This is going to be a long night.." Howard said while they walk towards the fifth floor
As they reach the fifth floor, the weather immediately changed, from a calm cloudy weather it turns into stormy weather. Because of the dark clouds and the fog that is coming from the forest, Shio and Howard can no longer clearly see the outer part of the school.
"Here we go shio.." Howard said as they stop at the window of the fifth floor
"Why are we stopping...." Shio asked
"I want you to see this.." Howard said
"SHIO!" Sam shouted from a distance while carrying Karen
"BIG SIS!" Karen shouted
Sam ran to Shio to give her Karen.
"Are you alright?" Shio asked
"Yes I'm fine.. but I want to get out of here. There's a scary man around here." Karen said
"Don't worry, we will get out of here okay?" Shio replied with a sound of relief
The Lights started to blink furiously while the fog outside started to get darker and darker.
"I'm Scared!" Karen said in a soft tone
"Don't worry Karen, I got you" Shio said as he immediately hugs Karen "Sam what is happening" she asks
Sam stood up and he looks outside
"You know what's happening---- do you.." Howard said while staring at the window
"I do..." Sam replied calmly
The light stop blinking and the fog starts to fade
but as the fog fades a figure can be seen outside the school.
"Kid come here..." Howard calmly said
Shio stood up while hugging karen... She looks outside. While staring at the fading fog, Her heart started to beat faster, Her body starts to sweat and she started to catch her breath...
"Shio your sweating too much.. are you ok?" Karen asked calmly
"I can't see anything, Why am I feeling this.." Shio asked in a nervous tone
"You don't have to see in order to fear them, You just need a little glimpse" Howard said calmly
The Fog faded completely, Shio can't do anything but to stare at what was revealed outside, Sam looks terrified on what he is currently seeing while Howard is already planing away for them to hold them off.
"Big sis, what was it?" Karen said as he tries to look outside
As Karen look outside she immediately turns her head to shios body and hide.
They all saw a dozen of big wolves growling, preparing to attack, eager to kill. Their saliva is dripping off their mouth, the colour of their eyes is as red as the blood dripping from their body. They don't look like regular wolves, they are not as big as a bear, but their body is filled with wounds and open flesh, By looking at their appearance these wolves doesn't now the feeling of getting physically hurt. All of them are fierce and all of them looks very hungry.
suddenly a bloody man appeared in the middle
"HOOOOOOOOOWWWWAAAAAAARD.... IM COMING FOR YOU AND YOUR LITTLE PRINCESS! " Dal-gu shouted while an absurd amount of blood is dripping from his head
"We gotta go now..." Howard said as he moves toward the library
Sam and Karen followed Howard but Shio is stuck in her place, She can't feel her feet, she can't stop looking because she thinks that once she look away and she decided to look back they will be gone which means she no longer knows where they are.
"Kid..." Howard said while he holds shio face forcing her to look to him
"You said that you are going to protect your sister.. it is the time for you to prove it, show her that you are strong, make her feel safe while you're on her side, show her that you can protect her..." Howard said while trying to comfort shio
Shio didn't say anything but she answered Howard with a nod.
Howard, Shio, Sam and Karen rushed towards the library, the four of them tried their best to barricade the library and immediately think of a plan to escape Dal-gu and The Horde of Dogs.
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