4-3 Our Story

Date: September 5

Place: Reaper's Lounge

[Rei]

After I told them everything that had gone on in my life, it was their turn to tell their own.

I wanted to ask them about the aftermath of the night I barely escaped. A lot of people died that night, I can still vaguely remember how I shot multiple soldiers who stood in my way. I want to protect my friends just like how they want to protect their own lives. But it was a fight for survival so I had no choice. I remember these people in front of me, helping me to escape without getting suspicion on themselves. And it's still a mystery how they did that. But I believe that's not important right now.

"How did you survive the fall?" I asked after I played the recording that has Vincent's voice requesting for a landing.

"It's thanks for Noel's quick thinking and reactions," says Patrick. And they started to tell me their story.

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[Patrick]

    The very second Vincent announced that we're crash landing, everything around me was in chaos. Shouting and crying everywhere I look. I closed my eyes and hoped for the painless death that I want. I already lost my will to live and am ready to accept defeat. But the person next to me doesn't seem to want eternal sleep yet.

    I opened my eyes when it got quiet and found everyone doing their best to tie themselves to each other while Noel was handing out some parachutes.

"Take one for two or three people," he shouts for people to hear him. And everybody seems to be following what he says and do. Then I see Vincent and Shawn out of the control room.

"Who's flying the plane?" I asked, panicking.

"I tied something to the wheel to buy us some time," Vincent told me to calm down and it's going to be alright.

    Noel tied himself to me and smiled. Just who are you? Are you moving based on instincts or do you already remember? I kept thinking of things that are not of importance right now. I tried to calm myself down and focused on what's in front of me.

"Take something to defend yourselves, we're entering the country that was also affected by the crux's chemical," I shouted for them to hear and everybody worked together and passed some weapon they could get their hands to. Then someone busted the door's control and it opened. I see heavy smokes coming from the wings and we're nearing the ground.

    Some of them already jumped and others followed.

*     *     *     *     *

[Rei]

    After that, I asked them how they spend their days without shelter, food, and enough rest. I'm sure they must have struggled, seeing how many of them were wounded badly and are on the brink of death on just some short number of days.

"It was daytime when we landed so it was no problem. But the night came along with some herd of 0-007 or the unOrdinary, which they named it. That was the night we lost several people and had our nightmare began," says Shawn.

*     *     *     *     *

[Shawn]

"Is everyone alright?" I asked glancing at every person I can see within the perimeter. It looks like we're all safe for now and what kind of luck that we happened to survive and landed here on a morning.

"We should be fine for now," says some soldier, treating everyone they see who has blood leaking on them by wrapping wounds with pieces of clothes.

"I think we should find shelter as soon as possible," suggested the other team's representative: Jeffrey.

We all agreed to that conclusion and moved out as soon as possible. One group on the north, another on the south, and one more on the east. Thankfully, our transmitters seem to work perfectly fine and we're able to communicate without a problem. We found a cave that was far from civilizations or any living things where all of us decided to live in the meantime. Vincent told everyone that he had a conversation with the people in this country and that they might help us get out of this situation. And in the meantime, we have to survive in this place.

Our first day went smoothly. Some hunted for food, made a fire, got water, and guards a post they were tasked in. With this number of people, we can divide the works equally and we don't have to exhaust ourselves. But days felt like months when you're out in the wild like this. You will never know when or what will come rampaging our little safe place.

"It's time for your guys to hunt," says a boy from another group.

"Alright," I replied. As I was walking towards my group, which consists of the classmates that I have on that wrenched island, I saw Vincent teaching Noel how to swing a knife. "It's our turn to hunt," I said taking a seat in their circle while all of them were getting ready to depart. It's already been the afternoon of our third day here. I don't even know until when we'll be here and keep this new routine.

We've hunted almost everything near our hideout so we need to keep walking further away and spot another spot to hunt. We've walked for over an hour or two and still no sign of life.

"Should we return and say we didn't have any haul?" suggested Ybut who looks uncomfortable by the distance we took away from the cave.

"Don't be selfish. A lot of soldiers will starve and we don't want that if we need a powerful group of killers when something comes," Johnrey says aggravated by her request.

"I know butー" she continues to reason with him but was interrupted by some movements on the bushes that are nearby. We prepared for battle, pulling our weapons from where they sleep while half of our team jumped to some trees to watch our back. Waiting for it to make an entrance, we focused our vision and hearing on the creature that is hiding. Then it came out.

"It's just a rabbit," says Noel while Juan Miguel threw a sharpened stick at it straight to its heart. A lump of meat to eat is what we needed. I was going to pick it up when a heard of rabbits came running towards us.

"What a relief, with this we can solve tonight's dinner," celebrated Ybut holding three of the dead rabbits she caught and some of the people on the trees are now at the ground, holding all the dead rabbits on its ears. They left nothing to escape. But what happened to these things?

"Something's not right," Patrick says.

"It's as if they were running away from something," after I finished my sentence, a roar was heard not far but so near from where we all stand. We were frozen and all looked in the direction where the howls came from. It was running closer to us which made everyone moved on their instinct and climbed up again while some who didn't have time hid under the protection of bushes or trees like Noel.

It was an unOrdinary who stood in the middle of the place and ate all the rabbits that we dropped and forgot. As expected, it was horrifying. But to be honest, I've seen much worst. In a blink of an eye, we attacked all at once; a synchronized attack that we've been practicing and planning since the day of our escape.

"This should be enough to feed a few people," says Aisen who thinks of nothing but the easier way out of everything.

"Bullshit! You're telling us to eat a fellow human being?!" shouts Johnrey. What a foul-mouthed boy. But he speaks the truth, we can't eat such a thing.

"So we'll still go on?" asks Ybut who seems so worried and scared.

"Why don't we take the rabbits that haven't been touched yet and gather some edible plants or herbs?" asks Noel who was pointing at some trees bearing some berries not far from here. I didn't know how to react and looked at Patrick who is supposed to be our leader.

"Let's go with that, the sun is setting soon and it's better safe than sorry," he shrugs walking at the rabbits and picking some up.

We've gathered some berries and a couple of birds which we luckily caught wandering around and the rabbits earlier. On our way back to our hideout, was the biggest surprise that I ever had that made all of us stop and listened to the commands they gave out on our transmitters.

"Move!"someone shouts.

"This is Jeffrey, we've been found out. The cave is now in chaos by some herd of unOrdinary. Don't come here until it's safe again. Protect the boy," even if he said that to us, we can't abandon our comrades. We all have the same idea to come back as soon as possible, dropping every weight that we carry and sprints to the danger.

We're running as we've never before. Some already holding their guns and a couple of sharpened sticks. While here I am, being shocked at how Noel can keep up with us. Like he has two sides of him. One is the pitiful and weak boy and the other is a boy who was born to be a natural killer.

"Let's split up and enter from behind," ordered Patrick. Without any reply, everyone moved on their own, splitting up and getting ready for battle when we were closing in.

Once we arrived, all I can see was myself trying to kill as many unOrdinary as possible without getting injured badly. I took a glance around me whenever I can and Jeffrey made the right report earlier, there is an entire fleet of unOrdinary. Why now? And why this many? We didn't sense any of them in the past few days and now they're attacking us out of nowhere.

"One of the people who were in charge of cutting some woods came running back at the cave shouting, attracting every bit of them here," I can hear Jeffrey shout in the transmitter to explain things to us. "I appreciate that you all came back but I prefer if you just stay back and reserve your energy for Noel," he added.

"Nonsense," says Noel. "Stop acting like I'm just a child, I can hold my ground and worry for yourself," he added. But whatever he says, I can't agree with him. He's being considerate right now but that won't get him anywhere especially when he can't even hold his stance and knife properly. I've seen him drop on the ground a couple of times now.

"Noel!" I hear Patrick shouts, running to where Noel is now. And there I saw him on the ground sitting with an unOrdinary ready to strike with its claws.

"No!" Noel's voice echoed which made all of us take a glance at him. Jeffrey blocked the claws for Noel and ends up choking blood and a hole in his stomach. Noel finished the unOrdinary who stabbed Jeffrey.

"Get out of here!" he shouts which made the remaining classmates of us gather around Noel and some already run to the wild. "Take good care of the crux and take revenge for everyone!" was Jeffrey's last words until we vanished to their glances.

"We have to get back!" Noel struggles and tries to free himself from my hold but I smacked his neck and he fell unconscious as I carry him like dead weight on my shoulders.

But by time, we got ourselves surrounded by several unOrdinary and saves our skin while protecting Noel. And then she came to our rescue, slicing the heads of every unOrdinary at our sight; a girl that was full of bloodlust and will to save us, Rei.

* * * * *

[Rei]

So that's what happened.