Three vs. One

- Th-That's... water? 

- Yes ... but it must be a trick, so don't go ...

Ignoring the warning, Renato slowly made his way to that suitcase.

- Hey, I told you not to go! 

- I ... you know ... I wouldn't mind losing an arm if I can get some water ... 

- I said stop!

Renato who seemed to have heard Liam, just looked at him sideways for a few seconds and immediately ran to where that suitcase was.

- Son of a...

- Shut up, you little brat! Can't you see I'm starving and thirsty?!

Liam ran after Renato.

The scene looked a bit childish, maybe because of the age of those youngsters.

- Now that I realize ... Do you ... always behave like that? - Ofelia asked.

An uncomfortable laugh was heard from Daniel in response.

- And that's two more to go... I wonder how they are doing, I hope better than us.

The sound of the minivan's alarm seemed not to have let us hear the instructions of the young man who had come to the rescue at the precise moment.

- Hey, are you deaf?! Get in at once!

This time, everyone listened; however, the vehicle that could get them out of here was immediately seized by the two limbs of the man who was still lying on the ground from the blow. It was as if they were acting independently from the rest of the body.

- What the fuck!

Without hesitation, Glen jumped out of the car, falling to the ground and watching as his minivan was totally destroyed.

- Hey... that's a rental!

Glen got up and ran to the other side, as smoke started coming out of the engine.

The minivan exploded; however, it was contained by the creature's limbs; whether for better or worse, that explosion affected the monster's arms.

"Well... at least it was good for something." thought Glen.

"...He seems to be still the same, even in this situation." thought Aren somewhat cheerful upon seeing Glen's aptitude.

- What are you waiting for, Aren! Take them away! ... I'll take care of this thing, we've got unfinished business.

Aren sighed.

Carrying Melissa on his back and Alison in his arms, with Lisbeth's help, they both went back the way they came.

- Who is he?!

- A ... friend.

- Can he stand alone against that thing?

- No ... but at least it will buy us some time ...

The young woman asked no more questions.

In front of him, the creature seemed to rise to its feet having soothed the burns on its limbs.

Preparing himself in the same manner, the young man extended his right hand; a light appeared in front of him which, when extinguished, revealed a sword in his hand. A katana of elegant design.

As he unsheathed his sword, a large edge that could cut a blade effortlessly was visible.

- You know ... I don't know how you got here, but I tell you I've had nightmares about you ... it's time we settled the score. - With a big smile and in combat stance, the young man affirmed.

While Aren and Lisbeth continued running, the princess asked what they would do now.

- Do you know how to drive?

- What?

- Let's go to where the cars we found are.

Lisbeth got the idea.

After a few minutes of running, they both arrived exhausted at the place where the two vehicles with the corpses were.

Aren, incredibly, could still stand with all the weight he was carrying, but Lisbeth fell to the ground.

Leaving the bodies of Melissa and Alison on the ground, Aren together with Lisbeth took out the corpses that were still inside one of the vehicles.

Upon checking, they saw that the windows and parts of the interior were shattered, but the engine and mechanisms still worked.

- Well ... we just have to put them inside the car.

While they were moving the two bodies of the collapsed women into the car, they heard footsteps approaching.

That couple was worried because they knew that the monster was approaching them.

The footsteps could not stop being heard and were already a few meters away from them. Lisbeth tried to start the car to leave while Aren finished placing Alison in the seats.

- Get in at once! - shouted the princess without decorum.

Aren got in, but at that moment, the sound of footsteps ceased.

- Lisbeth? - a familiar voice was heard.

Before leaving, the woman looked at the one who had called her; it was Bruno and Faust. The appearance of both was that they were tired and injured.

- B-Bruno... you are still alive.

- ¿?

- Hey, if you say it like that it seems that you want him dead. - commented Faust

Before he could say anything else, Lisbeth told them to get on immediately.

- Where are you going? - Aren asked before leaving.

- What are you asking? To the capital, of course. - replied Lisbeth.

- I see.

Getting out of the car, Aren left Melissa in his care.

- Wait, where are you going?

- To help my friend.

Both Fausto and Bruno did not understand what they were talking about.

As if she was thinking about it, the young woman's final response was to leave Aren by her side.

Again, however, nothing would go as one would wish.

An impact on the roof of the car alerted all the passengers.

- What now? - exclaimed Lisbeth.

Peering out the window, Bruno looked at Aren who had stepped back a little and was looking over the car.

- No... it can't be...

A shadow had obscured everyone inside the car.

That creature was on top and in one of its limbs it had Glen trapped.

The impacts of the shots towards the roof by Bruno's gun made the monster move away from the place.

"Why is it dodging them now?" wondered Faust.

Seeing the creature take its distance from that group, they could notice wound features as if they were medium deep cuts, but what stood out more was the deep wound it had in its abdomen as if something had pierced it. That wound, unlike the rest, did not heal.

"Who could have caused those wounds ... was it that guy over there?!" Faust was trying to deduce the origin of those cuts by putting his gaze on Glen who was trapped by the creature.

- Hey, Bruno ...

- What's up?

- Even though you missed last time, can you still fire that special bullet?

- ... Yes, but it will take me time to load it.

- How long?

- Five minutes.

- Well ... I'll give you that time ... I hope you recognize the signal to fire. - commented Faust with some sarcasm as he got out of the car.

Two knives suddenly came out of his hands which he wielded with some trembling.

"I hope I last those five minutes...if that guy who has the mostro trapped could give us a hand that would be best although I don't see any weapon of his...on the other hand, that long-haired one...he's no help at all...I guess it'll just be me."

- ¿?

Setting his gaze upon the creature again, Faust noticed the strange behavior. The monster looked at Glen who had him paralyzed and, if it saw him as a nuisance, threw him out of the area.

The movements he made with his head expressed as if he could understand what Faust was up to.

- You've got to be kidding... that thing has intelligence? - he muttered.

The battle began.

Trying to edge around him, the guard ran around the edges trying to get his attention. Having moved away from the car, he launched a blast caused by the cutting motion of one of his blades.

The monster had no need to dodge it. However, Faust did not stop either.

Superficially they seemed to be random blows, but there was a hidden intention: to hit the open wound in his abdomen.

After a few seconds, Faust changed his position; this seemed useful; however, that creature began to attack him.

The man already knew what the monster's attacks were like; therefore, it was not difficult for him to predict where he would aim his blows.

While the battle was going on, inside the car, Bruno was holding one of his pistols. That gun gave off a certain blue light that seemed to concentrate on the slide; in his other hand, he held a standard bullet that also glowed.

- What are you planning, Bruno?

- Lisbeth, do you see that wound in the abdomen of that thing?

- ... Yes ...

- For some reason, it's not healing ... that's where I'll aim.

- I-I see.

- Just four more minutes ... and it will be ready.

As he dodged one of the monster's attacks, a tree took the impact of the blow which broke it until the leaves fell to the ground.

"That was close ... is it me or are its attacks getting faster and stronger ... It's like it's adapting to fighting ... if this keeps up I won't last more than two minutes."

The man's tiredness didn't help him either, for all this Bruno more than anyone else knew he was getting stronger.

"Come on! Faster! ..."

Before he could continue concentrating on his weapon, the inevitable happened; a thud caught Faust throwing him through the air and impacting a tree.

"Damn!"

- Lisbeth... once you get out of the car, drive and go far away, got it?

- What, you want me to leave them?

The guard's cold stare made the princess understand the situation.

Bruno, concealing his gun that had loaded it with only one bullet, got out of the car.

- Hey, you... Aren was your name, wasn't it... Get in the car and leave. I'll take care of it.

Aren who seemed to be just a bystander didn't move.

- I won't repeat it twice...

Bruno continued walking.

Immediately, Lisbeth started the engine again, ready to leave with Melissa and Alison; however, the creature noticed this and prepared to immobilize them.

- Do you think I'll let you do it! - Bruno exclaimed, pointing his gun.

The faceless head of the monster turned to look at that glaring gun.

"Damn...I could only load it for three minutes...please, I hope that's enough."

Bruno fired.

The scene slowed down; the hope placed on that bullet seemed to be promising, but just as had been said, nothing went as expected.

An out-of-this-world speed, perhaps as if it were teleportation, was what was perceived in that creature that had disappeared thus avoiding the impact of the bullet.

- What ...?

The shot full of power and blue fire was going to hit the car where the young women were.

- N-NO ...

It was at that moment that Aren made a gesture with his hand, seconds before the impact, the direction of the shot was deflected. A stray bullet causing a kind of explosion in the distance.

At all this, the car from that impact was shaken and crashed into another tree.

- Lisbeth! - Bruno exclaimed.

"That iron? ... No, that was a ... cross? ... That boy ... was that who did it?" were the thoughts of the princess before she fell unconscious.

Before she could even run to where the car was, the creature appeared behind Bruno ready to cut him in two.

The guard noticed this, but knew well that there was no way to dodge it.

That limb that had become like a sword was just a few centimeters away from the young man's body; the result was obvious. However, that arm had missed its target, a sword had impacted with it causing it not to fall on Bruno.

- Hey, how about starting round 3! - Glen exclaimed. 

Suddenly, to his aid, another man appeared with two daggers in his hands pointing at the creature's wound.

- I hope you haven't forgotten about me, you bastard! - exclaimed Faust.

Having been saved, Bruno could see that scene, he could observe how Faust as well as Glen had delivered their blows.

A slight smile of relief appeared on Bruno's face.

What happened next stunned everyone present, that head opened its folds revealing a large hole, there was no brain or other organ; it was empty inside.

Only a loud roar was heard.

Pain? anger? They could not tell which, but what they were sure of was that Faust's blow had been accurate.

The creature began to move abruptly, trying to throw away the pair that had attacked it. Glen and Faust did not wait either, but retreated in time.

The monster's reaction made it clear that it was out of control, but it had lost interest in the others, since Faust's dagger had remained embedded in the wound.

There was no time to lose; they all went to the car where the women were and, maneuvering quickly, started the car and left the place.

Meanwhile, inside a dark cave, Renato, Liam, Daniel and Ofelia were hiding while they finished eating the last thing they found inside the suitcase. Finishing eating, Liam took a piece of paper that was inside the suitcase and read it out loud.

Dear participants, the time of the end is near; therefore, eat and drink to your heart's content. After all, today you will be visited by those who also desire your tokens. For those who have already been able to know the tokens of others, hiding would be a good suggestion. To the rest, it will only be mentioned that, should you lose your chip, you are disqualified, but you will not return empty-handed, but with a debt of 2.5 million dollars. So everyone is encouraged to participate in this last event that will start at 6 pm and last all night long. Tomorrow at 7 pm the event will end.

Sincerely, The Night Visitor.

- What's that? A silly story? - Renato spoke sarcastically.

- Whether it's true or not, we'd better just hide now. - said Liam.

- But, then how can we pass the test? We only know one code and that's Ophelia's ... we're missing at least five more. - commented Daniel.

- No... we don't need to go out and look for more. - said Liam.

- What do you mean?

The young man sighed.

- Hey, stop this nonsense and explain yourself. - said Renato, somewhat obfuscated.

Liam did not speak.

Faced with the increasing tension, Ofelia spoke.

- I ... I will explain what Liam is referring to.

Everyone was silent as they listened to the young girl speak.