Absolute Certainty

"Who's 'they'?" I question as an ominous feeling creeps on me. Slowly, I begin to see silhouettes emerge from the dark parking lot, and I pale instantly. The profile in no shape or form resembled a human. Also, no human or monster would take their time strolling across this hellscape! They would instantly become prey! That could only mean those creatures were strong.

Sophie dashes towards those figures without hesitation. "Wait!" I try to stop her, but she ignores my call and rushes towards the group. "FINALLY!! FINALLY, YOU CAN-"

My breath hitches as I watch blood spurt out from Sophie's falling body. It takes a moment for me to realise that they are still moving towards the building at their own pace. Without waiting for them to reach the soft glow of my lantern, I sprint into the store.

"HELP!! There's something out there!!" I quickly take cover behind the tall shelves. Brad scoffs loudly, "Watch me deal with these weaklings." He boasted in confidence. My eyes widen as I watch Brad stupidly swagger his way to death.

Is he stupid?!

At least approach them with caution!!

I desperately wanted to call out to him and warn him; as long as he was alive, I would be safe. But another part of me didn't want to tell him. I knew how much he disdained me and disregarded my words. He wouldn't waste the time of day on me; why should I help him?

As my thoughts conflicted, the figures entered the range of the soft glow of the lit lanterns in the store. They were wolves....but they seemed fiercer and more dangerous. They seemed like they had some form of sentience. Their fanged mouths seemed to smirk at the pompous figure that stood in front of them.

Brad visibly frowned. He seemed to finally notice that the six wolves were more than what he could take on alone. "Do you lazy asses want to leave this all to me?!" He yells into the store, fishing out the other cowering group. Well.....mostly cowering. The middle-aged lady seemed way too calm, even a bit annoyed.

Reyna and Ava glare at each other but ultimately make their way behind Brad with a bat and knife, respectively. I make my way towards the group hesitantly. Brad looks at me and sneers instantly before continuing to ignore my existence. I roll my eyes at his back; brains were definitely not his strong point.

Brad cracks his neck and sneers, "It's not the first time I've been with you dogs." He jumps at the biggest wolf that stands at the forefront, and fortunately, he is intercepted by a smaller wolf.

I say 'fortunately' because the more I observe the monsters in front of me, the more I realise something is wrong. These monsters didn't resemble the traditional monsters at all. When Brad called the wolves dogs, the wolves seemed to narrow their eyes and snort as if offended. The more I observed them, the more I realised that these wolves appeared to be intelligent. Intelligent enough to understand our language.

I pale instantly and take a small step backwards. Before, we already had a low chance of survival, but now, with absolute certainty, we were all sure to die. As my thought were in disarray, "FUCK!! What are you waiting for?! KILL IT!!"

Brad retreats backwards, and my eyes catch a large gash on his shoulder. Ava pales at the gruesome picture of exposed bone, flesh and vessels while still healing his wounds. It was the first time I had seen her use her skill. It was miraculous how the simple white light from her palm slowly linked together the flesh and bones of Brad. It piqued my interest.

Too bad we're all going to die here.

Just on cue, Reyna's desperate scream tore through the tense air as the wolf swiped its claw across her throat. It took just two wolves to reach this desperate situation; Brad had only managed to slightly injure one before getting injured himself.

I flinch as I feel someone grab my arm out of nowhere. I turn to see, "We need to leave." Her eyebrows were furrowed in worry as she whispered to me. I eye her suspiciously, pulling my arm from her grasp, "Why should I listen to you? Do you really think I trust you enough to leave alone with you? You could be a monster for all I know."

Auntie's eyes widen as she murmurs, "Smart." She frowns, "But we need to leave immediately or else-"

"FUCK!! GET AWAY!!" Brad runs towards us, throwing off Ava's limp body. A wolf nonchalantly walks up to her lifeless body and chews at it while keeping its eyes on us.

A wolf chases after him, and in less than a few seconds, he falls over, dead. His corpse falls to the ground, spurting out blood on my face. Blood spurts everywhere from his dropping corpse, and soon, I'm soaked in his blood. Feeling the warm blood on my skin, my eyes widened in fear, and my body shook. My throat burned as my stomach churned, and everything came out through my mouth from my empty stomach.

I panted as I tried to digest the scene in front of me. It seemed impossible to deny; I could still hear his screams. The picture of death was terrifying…but this wasn't the first time.

I had seen corpses on my way here; I had killed some goblins brutally just a few days ago. I had ignored it; it was inevitable; I needed to survive; we weren't the same species, so I felt no sense of loss. I had seen Sophie, Reyna, and Ava die earlier, but they were quite far, so it seemed unreal.

These thoughts that once ran through my head unconsciously terrified me now. Unconsciously, I had decided to kill to save my life on the premise that we weren't the same. I had ignored their deaths just because surviving was my first priority. But, if I went back, would I have chosen differently…

Definitely not...

I wanted to live.

I wanted to survive.

I wanted to get my memories back.

I wanted to find my family.

I didn't want to die.

I don't want to die!

I want to live!

I want to survive!

Through my shivering, Auntie shook me and made me look into her eyes, "You have to get out of here!"