Chapter 1

"I will take them all. All that is mine!" he said, looking straight into their eyes and seeing the cold hatred in their eyes. 

He didn't know who they were at first as he stood up and walked through the door. The room had a huge bed, a desk and some chairs which he walked over to. Sitting on the chair, he put on his mask again. His name wasn't important, what was important is that he is here for the people of this town. It was their duty to surrender everything. They should have thought before running like rats when those monsters started attacking and killing everyone. There was a part of him that hoped they would die so that these people can escape from their pain, but he could see how cruel it sounds, even if they deserved it. After all, this is what he does. These were the people he loved; his people; not even the monsters can get in between. He would kill every single one of them to protect this place, his home. He knows nothing is safe anymore. His father tried to give him something else, but he was too young to understand. Too old to be scared. So, now he is here and he won't let anyone hurt his family and their lives.

It's been three weeks since he took action and people haven't talked. Some are afraid of him and his mask while others are trying to get away. He didn't want to leave, but he couldn't stand watching another human being being harmed in front of him either. Not only they were hurting people, but their own. Their lives weren't worth anything as long as their parents or siblings suffer. If his own child got hurt because of them, he would never forgive himself.

Today he made one last check around. The area is quiet, no noise at all and the sky has changed colour. From the beginning the sun was shining brightly and he was able to see some flowers in bloom. But now the wind is getting stronger and soon he needs to hide again because it's raining heavily.

The rain was always heavy during that time of year. It rains just like everything else and you feel that every minute that goes by it gets heavier. Even though he doesn't mind the rain, it still makes him nervous. When the weather changes, there aren't many things that calm him down. 

It seems to be the last day today as the rain has stopped. With heavy footsteps walking down the streets, he looks towards the direction of the city centre. He takes out the mask, puts it on his face then walks inside without thinking twice. It's already dark outside so he doesn't bother to find a light switch to illuminate the place. What good will it do? As long as he doesn' t have to deal with the darkness, it's fine. His steps echo in the quiet building making him feel more anxious than before. 

He stops at the very end of the corridor and looks around to make sure there's no one nearby. Once he's sure it's clear, he starts to walk faster and quickly reaches the elevator. He presses the button with confidence, not wanting to waste precious seconds, when suddenly a sound catches his attention.

It sounds like someone breathing. 

At first he's confused, but when he realizes what happened, his legs almost give out under him. It's impossible to move fast enough because someone is blocking the way. Someone has blocked the doors. And if he remembers correctly, he doesn't have anything that can help him. All he owns right now are a pair of boots, a white coat and some clothes, but it isn't enough against something that strong.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" He shouts at the intruder and runs back. There is no other option, but fight back, he can't let him continue to live. No matter how much he hates him.

The moment he reaches him, he throws his arm forward and tries to punch him in the stomach, but the attacker is quicker. He grabs his forearm tightly with his hand and twists it hard so that he hears a cracking sound. He lets go immediately and tries to grab a hold of him, but he sees that the guy is already moving, heading to the stairs. He tries to follow but can't keep going fast. His feet drag behind his back as he stumbles on the floor, trying not to fall flat on his face. He curses under his breath and keeps running, jumping onto the stairs after hearing a gunshot. He doesn't stop until his back hits a wall. Panting heavily, he leans his head on the wall, listening carefully for the enemy' s footsteps. The only thing he can hear is his own breathing echoing around in his ears. Finally, after what feels like forever, the footsteps disappear along with the gunshots.

He waits a few minutes until he's sure no one is coming. Slowly, he moves his body to try to look around the corner to find out where the intruder went. The hall is wide and it leads directly into the main lobby, with the entrance opposite him. On his side he saw one of the staircases leading upstairs. That means the enemy must have gone upstairs from here. Maybe he managed to lose him in that way.

Slowly but surely, he turns his head and finds no sign of his enemy anymore. Just like that, he finally gets rid of the fear he felt moments ago and starts to climb the stairs, searching for the exit. He's careful not to slip and fall down the stairs. He has done enough damage already.

As he reaches the top of the stairs he takes off his black jacket to cover the blood that drips down from his forehead. He needs fresh air badly. Taking deep breaths of the night air calms him down. He closes his eyes for a second and breathes deeply. This is why he loves to stay here in the mountains; it is peaceful. Quiet, but peaceful and beautiful all at the sam⁷e time.

When he opens his eyes again, he stares into the distance and he is surprised to notice something different. A red light is coming from an abandoned house. A man could probably sleep in there, but he knows better. There are dangerous monsters living in there and they' ll eat any human who comes near.

Sighing softly, he decides to head to the house. Maybe there, he can get some answers.

He climbs the stairs slowly, trying not to startle whatever might be hiding inside the house. He knows how much danger lurking in that empty house, especially if it's alone. The monster is waiting for him inside the abandoned house and he won't be able to run away if he wants to save those people. They're counting on him and there's no one else in town. He'll have to risk his life to protect them. If his plan works, maybe he'll be alive by next week. That's the best news he has heard in months, but the rest… he doesn't even dare to think about it. 

He arrives at the house's door and he stands right in front of it, ready to kick it down if necessary.

"Open it" he says softly and takes a couple of steps backward to let himself know that he's ready to attack at any given chance.

Nothing happens.

He sighs heavily, feeling a bit disappointed. 'No wonder nobody leaves the house, it's haunted'.

After a short while he hears the loud sound of wood hitting each other. He doesn't know what is happening inside the house and his patience has reached its end. He kicks down the door and enters the room, ready to use his weapon if need be.

There's an awful smell in the room. He quickly notices it; blood. Blood everywhere, covering every inch of the floor, the wall, the furniture. He covers his nose with his sleeve, hoping he could block it, even though he knew that nothing can block it, but he still did it anyway.

Looking to the right, he finds a young woman lying on the floor. Her skin is pale and covered in bruises. He knows exactly what happened. She was attacked. He recognizes her; he's seen her before. Her name is Grace. She always come over to visit the people of the village. At first she came to take care of everyone who was injured by the monsters. Then one day she stopped visiting. One day, she stopped showing up. Now she's laying right before him, a pool of blood surrounding her. He kneels beside her and gently touches her cheek.

She doesn't respond. She barely moves at all.

He doesn't know how long he stays there, kneeling beside her lifeless form. Time flies by and he doesn't know how long he spent here. Every single minute feels like it takes years just to pass by. Every part of the body hurts from pain and exhaustion. Tears flow from his eyes silently, mixing with his sweat. He doesn't know how long he was sitting like that when he noticed that the bleeding has stopped, which meant that she was dead.

That didn' t mean she wasn't hurting. He could tell by the state of her arms. He carefully lifts her up and puts her on the sofa. After making sure that she's safely covered by the blanket, he goes to the kitchen to look for a bucket filled with water. He fills it with cold water before putting some towels on it. After taking the towel he returns to the sofa to make sure she can't hurt herself. He watches her for a little bit longer before deciding to put a bandage on her wounds and make her comfortable. After a while, the cuts in her arms start to heal and stop bleeding.

He continues working until the clock shows 6 am. It' s now 7 o'clock and he hasn't gotten any rest all night. He checks on Grace one final time before leaving the house. After closing the door, he falls down to the floor, resting for a while before standing up and checking the map he took from one of the villagers before leaving his home.

The town isn't that far from the mountain he came from, so it shouldn' be too hard to travel from there, but it's definitely risky. He might meet a monster along the way and that'll be the death of him. But if it's for his friends then there's no choice he has to take. Even though he doesn't feel great about doing this, he hopes he'll be able to save them. The thought brings comfort to him, knowing they'll be safe soon. With that thought, he walks through the woods and starts to walk toward his destination. He takes off his jacket once he finally reached the village. He didn' t want anyone to see that he had been injured. Hopefully, they will think that he fell from a cliff or something like that so nobody questions him, even though he suspects that they don' t believe him when he tells them he slipped while he was climbing the stairs.

He finds it harder than he thought to climb up from the village. The path is slippery and the trees hide him easily. It makes it hard to find his way in between the branches and leaves. He has to take small, quick steps, or risk tripping and falling over.

Eventually, after several hours, he reaches the forest. It looks much safer without the road in front of him. There are trees everywhere, making it impossible to see anything. The ground is covered in fallen leaves and twigs. He doesn' t mind. He's used to walking through the forest during storms and it's never really bothered him. He walks through the thick bushes, stepping on branches and rocks. When he reaches the edge of the forest, he stops. The dark sky greets him. The clouds above him look angry, moving fast across the sky. It' s gonna storm tonight. Perfect weather for hunting monsters.

A loud rumble sounds behind him, startling him a bit.

It's ok buddy. He whispers to himself. Nobody heard you. Nobody even knew you were here in the first place. 

He walks further through the dense forest and follows the path he took earlier. It seems to become more and more difficult as he keeps going in the direction he came from. The wind is starting to pick up.

Once he finally reaches his destination and gets closer to the cabin he thinks it is, the wind becomes even stronger. He holds on to his hat tightly, holding it against his head in an attempt to keep everything inside. The cabin is only visible in the distance. He can't go forward any further, he has to wait.

He sits down on the ground a few meters away from the building, letting himself sit on one of the broken chairs scattered around the place. He rests his head against the wall of the building.

His body aches, from all the running and fighting. He just wants to sleep. To shut out the world and to forget about everything for a few hours. It will help ease the ache he feels deep within his bones. Just as he starts to close his eyes, he sees movement in his peripheral vision. His body stiffens instantly. Someone is approaching. Someone...

Hello , the voice startles him even more and he tries to keep as calm as possible, hiding his fear. What do you want? He asks with a firm voice. I already told you that I'm not staying for long.

Who would even try to hurt him? He's a monster! Besides he has no reason to harm humans. They have nothing to do with his family. It just has to be someone stupid. Someone who doesn't know how good it actually is to leave their life behind. Someone who has been forced out because of society's rules. Someone who...

Well, we can talk about my motives later, I just wanted to see if you've arrived yet. 

Yes, yes, I'm here. Why are you looking for me? 

To check if I'm being followed. You can understand how dangerous it is for me if somebody else discovers my presence, right? So you'd better hurry up and get inside. We won't be alone in here if the other monsters show up. 

Ok, alright. I'm coming! he shouts in response. Just hold on and stay inside.

You got it. 

With that, the person disappears into thin air, leaving behind a very confused, frightened, and anxious man who can't stop shaking.