The Mad One

Hearing the crackling footsteps of the monstrous abomination known as creep, Samara furrowed her eyebrows and hastily crouched. An ambush was the only way to kill the bastard, as Samara knew it was too fast for her to fight head-on. With this in mind, She quickly hid under the counter and silently controlled her breathing.

Despite controlling her breathing, nervousness still irradiated from Samara's body. Her heart kept wildly thumping within her chest as her muscles tensed and cold sweat dripped from her forehead. She was still tired but didn't let her exhaustion drag her down.

After all, Samara anticipated a bloody battle between her and the pale abomination. It would be gruesome, and she knew it was a bad idea.

'There is no backing down, now... I need to see myself through these grave circumstances.'

Samara quietly thought to herself as she closed her eyelids, thinking about the entirety of her life. It was primarily peaceful other than the time when she got shot. She was thankful to her father for protecting and providing for the family. He stood alone while carrying to children on his own.

Samara wanted to be like her father.

Someone that could hold responsibility and still smile to those she protects. Even though she was far different from her father and was a bit aloof, she still wanted to act like him. But, of course, with Samara's current persona, that seems to be far from reality.

But everything had been unexpected, so maybe something intriguing would happen later.

In any case, Samara was terrified. Her pale fingers were shaking while holding a knife that would be used against the monster. But she understood this was the only way to adapt to the apocalyptic scenario she found herself in. Besides, she was practically cornered in the cafeteria.

Running away wasn't an option anymore.

Standing her ground was the only thing Samara could do. Then, of course, some would say she could hide. But hiding in the fridge would result in uncertain circumstances that Samara couldn't control, so she threw away this option.

Fight, battle, duel, and blood. Such violent thoughts plagued Samara's mind. It might be why she appeared to want a clash to the death against the abomination. And it might also be the conclusion of Samara eating her sanity away and letting her emotions guide the way.

With such thoughts, Samara felt the adrenaline that seemed eager to fight against the abomination. But unfortunately, this made Samara realize that her body was also becoming mad in the process of the precarious situation.

Samara shook her head and decided not to be blunt and get too excited about death and blood. With this simple action, Samara deeply calmed herself of the violent thoughts and made her think about how to deal with the pale abomination that was planning to kill and eat her.

'Dealing with the bastard would be hard but not impossible. It appears to have weak defenses, which resemble a glass cannon. Or a grunt, in its simplified form. The only thing that would be a problem is its speed and claws, but an ambush will work perfectly against it.'

Samara's thoughts gathered within her mind, and she began analyzing the things she had seen from the creep. Killing the pale abomination wasn't improbable, especially with the help of the plan forming within Samara's mind. And it was somewhat a simple one that relied on one thing.

As long as Samara could strike it with a severe blow, she might be able to get a chance to kill it.

Samara's current line of thought was practically going against the quest. After all, the quest's description regarded that of survival for a single hour after the chase, creating the title, Survival without Power.

Surviving was a good thing in itself, but with the cornered Samara, she wasn't sure if she could survive a couple minutes later. Her corpse might be lying on the ground while being eaten by the pale monstrous creep. A relatively bleak future to foresee.

Anyhow... Samara took a deep breath as she controlled her shaking pale fingers and tightly held her knife. She gulped herself as she wanted to quell the terror within her heart. She needed to prepare herself and must not feel fear to gain bravery.

It was at this moment that Samara remembered the words of her father.

Being brave doesn't mean forsaking fear.

Bravery was nothing more but an action that came even with fear clouding one's heart. Therefore, one must not falter in the face of terror and hold their fear tightly under their grasp. Do not throw it away. And instead, use it to fuel one's action. Use it as the power that drives you forward.

One must not let it control you but utilize it instead.

Remembering the words her father uttered to her when she first held a gone, the words that echoed when she was severely injured. And now, what came after such words were somewhat soothing.

Gritting one's teeth wasn't a crime, clenching one's fist wasn't humiliation, and crying doesn't give one a sin. Suffering was the trials of life, and there will be no conclusion. Until then, only one can rest after one dies. But the Grimes does not take an eternal slumber and will never take it.

So be alive, and continue treading in this world.

Such was the family motto that had been passed throughout the generations of the Grimes family.

Samara couldn't help but smile as water droplets escaped her jet-black eyes. Her heart calmed down, and her muscles loosened. Chills stopped resonating throughout her spine as she hardened her will. She must stand and move forward on this thorny and decimated road.

She prepared herself for the blood that would be splattered throughout the cafeteria. It would be either hers or the pale monstrous abomination. Samara couldn't help but chuckle, remembering her words from before. Fighting against a monster doesn't give her a single thing.

Or so she thought...

The reality she stood on wasn't a game, but at this very moment, it resembled that of an RPG one. Her choices would affect her life and her character. It would affect how she grows as a person in these grave circumstances and how she would overcome future challenges.

Samara then realized it was actually not that far different from a game anymore. With the revelation of the digital notification display and the quest, it might not be so bad to fight against monsters. Especially if those two were real and not simply her mad brain playing tricks on her.

It would mean that killing the monster might give Samara some experience or something else. Samara couldn't help but smile as the only way to find out was to succeed on the quest and survive for an hour. Though she might not be able to find out.

Even though Samara was nothing more but an introverted and aloof girl with a loud mind, her way of life wasn't that different from the others.

The only thing different was that she would gladly eat away her sanity. Morals and keeping one's humanity does not aid in the survival of oneself. One must let it take a step back and let nature do its thing. Samara must use her fear as fuel to help her survive in this damnable state of affairs.

Besides, Fighting against a monster wasn't as scary as being chased by one from behind. But, of course, this was nothing more than Samara's view on the subject.

The pale monstrous abomination was seemingly crawling through the ceiling of the cafeteria. It was horrifying to watch, something typically seen in monster or horror movies. Saliva then escaped from its rigid mouth and dripped onto the reflective floor. It looked around, wanting to find its prey.

It surveyed the surroundings with its fish-like eyes, searching for its newly found prey. The footsteps of the creep crackled on the ceiling as it got nearer to the counter that stood before the kitchen. On the other hand, Samara kept hiding behind the counter, preparing herself for the worst.

It was a somewhat peculiar situation as the pale monstrous creep and Samara were playing hide and seek. The pale abomination was the seeker, while the human girl Samara was the hider. Not only that, but it was also a game of life and death.

Samara will die when she gets found before ambushing the monstrous creep. But if she doesn't get found, the ambush might go through, and the pale monster would die instead of herself. It was nerve-wracking, though the two were entirely concentrated on the subject at hand.

The pale and monstrous creep dropped from the ceiling and onto the ground. It started clawing the tables as the monster walked towards the counter, thinking that Samara might be hiding deep within the kitchen. The fish-like eyes of the creep looked at the kitchen, wanting to see some evidence of the prey's existence.

Though it never found any.

As it arrived before the counter, it peeked through it and surveyed the kitchen again.

Its fish-like eyes were looking at a particular tool. It was the one that held the knives. And there seemed to be a single knife missing within that. The creep didn't think of it as much and deeply peeked through, wanting to see every inch of the kitchen.

It kept wondering where its newly-found prey was hiding, never noticing Samara looking at it coldly from below.

The monstrous creep planned to enter the kitchen but stopped before it could continue.

It felt a stinging pain resonating from its neck. Blood splattered as the monster released its distorted shriek. *GRAEEEHHH!!!* Samara managed to slash through its long neck, making a deep and painful cut while hiding on the counter.

It was a successful ambush, and it made Samara realize many things.

The monster had an unbalanced perception of senses. It was hard to see what was short and high, but Samara was quite sure about it.

The creep immediately backed off the counter and kept shrieking from pain. Blood splurted out from its neck and was splattered throughout the walls and floor. It was quite a disastrous sight to see. Soon after, Samara stood up and gazed at the monster, silently stating with a cold tone.

"Your skin is easier to pierce than expected. I had my suspicions... But I never thought you were really a glass cannon."

Most would have watched from afar and waited for it to die, but Samara knew it was better to kill it than let it continue its distorted shriek. She had a slight feeling that it might do something terrible, like calling for others of its kind.

Samara ran towards the monster without a hint of delay and pointed her knife towards its head, wanting to pierce through the brain. She thus stabbed right through its fish-like eyes, and blood splattered all over her face. Though Samara didn't think much about the blood and kept piercing the eyes of the creep.

Samara had a cold expression as if she had done this before. Despite its distorted shriek, she kept stabbing the creep's eyes, which resonated throughout the cafeteria. The monstrous abomination wanted to claw Samara, but before it could continue, Samara unhesitantly stabbed its remaining eye.

Self-preservation was thrown out of the window as Samara tried killing it in ways that could have instantly killed a person. She stabbed its brain several times before switching to the chest after it fell to the ground. It was somewhat ghastly to see as its chest was full of stabbed wounds.

After a long while, the pale and monstrous creep stopped its distorted shriek. Samara silently stood before its cold corpse, bloodied beyond relief. She turned her gaze towards the knife and mumbled to herself. "That was a lot easier than expected..."

A ringing sound then echoed in her mind as, unexpectedly or expectedly, a digital notification display emerged before her sight.

―<●>―

●[Congratulations, You have killed a (Creep).]

➤[You have gained 2 experience points.]

―<●>―