The Apex; People Outside

The storm raged. Vincent's breath caught in his throat, eyes wide in disbelief. The figures bore a humanoid resemblance, yet their forms seemed to be made from a shiny material that gleamed under the onslaught of rain. Their bodies didn't soak the rain, instead they simply slid off. Vincent's mind crazed in thought. Their faces were covered with some sort of green-ish material, where the eyes would be. They carried a long object, about the length of their forearm. It had an opening at the front of some sort. And these strange objects were being held by a handle.

"Answer us. Hello?" one of the figures said, snapping their fingers, which in turn, activated some sort of light. Vincent could notice their oddness better. He looked as if he were in a trance, blinking his eyes rapidly, he managed to murmur something. "What… are you? Why can you… speak?"

"New ones always get me real bad." the same figure said. Chuckling, it removed its helmet, revealing a human face.

Vincent shuddered. "What the—!"

"Relax. I'm Jake." he assured. 

"J— what are you!?"

"Human, idiot. We all are." he replied. Jake gestured to his companions. "That's Peter and that's Lance. We're from a group called 'The Apex'."

"Wh—what…?"

"Okay so, what we're wearing from head to toe, it's some sort of clothing, armour as we like to call it. It protects us from danger. What Jake just took off was a helmet." said Peter, taking off his own helmet. Lance did the same.

"The storm's pretty bad." Jake said, glancing up at the darkening sky. "How'd you survive this? The village is dead as hell." he asked.

"I—I don't trust you." Vincent muttered.

"Oh come on, we didn't even mean to scare you. You did that yourself." Jake replied.

"What are you holding?"

"This? Oh. This is what we call a gun. It's a weapon, a tool made to ki— I mean, protect yourself from enemies."

Vincent, still wary, eyed the gun. "Protect yourself from what?" he pressed.

"Anything that threatens us. Reckon you saw anything?" Lance answered.

"Well… I saw a weird, black, shape in the trees. And it had—" Vincent began, but was cut off by Peter. 

"White eyes?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, how'd you…?"

"That's just a panther. We've hunted several." Jake explained.

"H-hunted!?"

"Woah calm down. They threatened us. They eat humans alright? Relax. I assume it attacked you?" Peter said.

"Yeah…"

"How'd you survive?" Peter asked.

"Uh… I ran…" Vincent murmured.

"Impressive." Jake acknowledged, nodding at Vincent. "This village your home?"

"Th-thanks. And yes…" Vincent sighed.

Jake nodded. "Well, you're lucky to be alive. The storm's no joke, and those panthers can be vicious." he admitted.

Vincent's mind raced as he tried to process everything. These people, members of The Apex, seemed to know their way around this unforgiving wilderness. Perhaps joining them was his best chance at survival. 

"I appreciate the help." Vincent said tentatively. "But I still don't understand... Why are you out here? What is The Apex?"

Jake exchanged a glance with Peter and Lance before answering. "The Apex is a group of survivors, like us. We've banded together to increase our chances of making it through this mess. As for why we're out here... well, we're always on the lookout for new recruits, people who can contribute to our community."

Vincent's eyes widened. "There's… more of you?"

"Well yeah. Obviously?" Lance chuckled.

"Oh…"

"What's your name, buddy?" Peter smiled.

"Vincent. Good to meet you." 

"Likewise." the trio said.

Jake knelt down, eye to eye with Vincent's soaked face. "Need a hand? We're always up for more members."

Vincent felt a flicker of hope ignite within him. Perhaps joining The Apex wasn't such a bad idea after all. "And what do you expect in return from me?" he asked.

"Up to you." Jake shrugged. "You can come with us, join our community, and lend a hand wherever you're able. Or, if you'd rather go your own way, we won't stop you. Just know that it's safer to stick together out here."

Vincent weighed his options carefully. Despite his lingering distrust, he couldn't deny that these people seemed genuine in their offer of assistance. And with the storm raging outside, he knew he didn't have many other choices. Finally, he nodded. "Okay." he said. "I'm up."

"Welcome to The Apex, Vincent." Jake nodded, standing up and reaching his hand towards him. Vincent clutched his journal out of his sodden shirt and stood up, groaning.

"What's that?" Peter asked.

"Just… my father's journal. I lost it here so I returned to take it back. Thankfully I found it." Vincent confessed.

"So you weren't here when the storm struck?" Peter pressed further.

"I was. My family, me… we all were washed away by the water. And… I fainted. When I woke up, I swam to the shore and took shelter in a cave. But I couldn't find my wife nor my daughter…"

"Damn. That sucks. My condolences. You're pretty strong though, I'd say." Jake smiled, patting Vincent's shoulder.

"Thanks."

"No problem, friend. Anytime." he replied. "So you saw that panther on your way back here, yeah?"

"Yeah… it was lurking on the trees at first."

Peter chuckled. "They're getting bolder."

"Agreed." Lance nodded. "Gotta keep an eye out for the zilch— panthers, panthers." he stammered.

"Zilch?" Vincent's brow furrowed. "What is… that?"

Jake patted his shoulder again. "Nothing, Lance is just dumb. He likes to insult everything." he said, nudging an elbow into Lance.

"Yeah my bad. I'm like that sometimes." Lance chuckled. He seemed nervous. Vincent was a bit suspicious. There was something about the way Lance had reacted to his question that didn't sit right with him.

Jake cleared his throat, putting his helmet back on, as did Peter and Lance. "Our headquarters, yes? Follow me." he clapped Vincent's shoulder.

"Headquarters?" Vincent asked.

"Where we stay. Just a way to say home fancily." Jake replied, gesturing with a snap of his fingers and running into the depths of the forest. Vincent hastened to follow, rushing behind the other two figures as they disappeared into the shroud of trees.