Chapter 3: Run! 

Chapter 3: Run!

"Why is China wearing a mask?" The sky had turned an orangey hue, a sure sign that nightfall was approaching. Thank goodness, I was no longer alone.

Walking for a few hours and leaving letters to his brother fatigued was catching in on us.

Sachi, meanwhile, was talking a lot, particularly about his brother, which helped distract me from the exhaustion, bewilderment, and terror I was experiencing. Tired since all I've done was walk. I was confused because I had hundreds of unanswered questions. And fear for something, as my gut told me the moon rising itself was dangerous in this land.

"China is very loud, and those…" Disrupted by his other unfinished sentence, I decided to focus on Sachi, waiting to see if he would finally spill something important.

But instead, continuing his early statement, Sachi's eyes gleamed.

"Harlow! Look at the sea!" Sachi exclaimed while pointing his forefinger somewhere. I immediately turned to where he was pointing.

Over one of the crumbling buildings was a window with an overview of what seemed like water.

Not wasting time, I carried China in my right hand and held Sachi's hand in the other, running in the hope that we found something vital that could give me a clue to where we were currently. Or at least a place to stay.

As we passed through the building, I saw something that piqued my interest.

"Bridge!" I exclaimed, nudging my head towards the large bridge. The bridge was like the Golden Gate Bridge, except it wasn't filled with any moving cars, just a couple of broken-down vehicles, and as I remembered correctly, it wasn't as eco-friendly as this one, with plants snaking everywhere and all.

We all decided to go to the bridge. Walking, my body automatically turned to loud noise, a familiar one. Someone screamed.

"AAAAAA!" Another scream erupted, and my feet automatically walked toward it.

It came from somewhere farther away than where we came from, but I could tell it wasn't too far. There are others! That was the first thing I thought. My heart was excited about the realization that we weren't alone. Someone was out there.

I was about to run towards the voice when Sachi stopped me by pulling on my long-sleeved sweater, recalling that I had his hand on mine.

"NO! Let's not go there, Harlow! There…" Again, he failed to finish what he was saying and started to cry. My mind was now torn. Ugh, why am I so weak at crying?

"Sachi, I have to go; someone might need help; besides, they might know your brother or be with him!" I tried to convince him.

"If you don't want to go, I'll return for you. Okay?" I said, reassuring him.

"Nii-ch..chan also said he'd be back, but he's not here!" He said it in between his sobs.

For a moment, I stopped and thought of a way to assure him.

"Okay, how about I leave all my stuff with you and China? You know, I like all the treats in there, so rest assured, I'll come back to eat some!" I said, accompanied by my goofy smile. I wanted to show him that everything was going to be okay.

What I said appeared to calm him down a little. So, I threw China and him into a deserted vehicle and had them wait there. I left my belongings there to reassure him, as I had promised.

As I was about to leave, Sachi called me.

"Harlow!" he called.

I turned back and looked at him, smiling.

"What's up?" Then he came closer and pulled something from his back, then handed it over to my hand.

It was a heavy and cold piece of metal—a gun. I almost dropped it when I realized what it was.

"Why do you have this?!" I said, panicking and almost throwing the gun into the river. The only time I've ever handled a weapon was in the arcade when I played that zombie game. But it's never been this serious or genuine before!

"You left me delicious snacks, so…so here's protection! Remember! Head or heart!" He said, gesturing his tiny hand to the gun before he ran towards the car without saying anything. Head and what?

Still unable to process anything, I looked at the gun dumbfounded. What the heck is that kid saying? How the heck did I not notice?

"AAAAAA!" Another cry snapped me out of my trance. I decided to put the firearm in my back pocket and start running in the direction of the sounds.

The closer I got to the source of the sounds, the more my heart began to race. Since the point where I first saw Sachi and China, I have diligently retraced my steps.

My frantic heartbeat increased in intensity when I saw the shadows gathering in the far corner. Screaming welcomed me on my first night in this country. Freaking. Wonderful!

I felt a part of me wanting to turn around and go back to where Sachi was, but I had to know what was going on in this place, and if we were not alone, I would want to be able to know more information about where this place really is.

When I entered the row of buildings, I knew the screams were not far; they were close, and I knew I could follow where they were coming from.

The night breeze blew fiercely, making the gun on my back feel colder. I need clarification about why a kid has this kind of thing and what he was talking about, though I kept it because it might come in handy.

Sharply turning to a street to the right, I heard a voice boom.

"NOOOOO!" The rush had made me quick.

More voices sounded off, and my heart rose as I kept getting closer.

Finally, when I reached the place where the voices came from, I saw them, but they weren't alone. And I wasn't confused anymore about what Sachi was talking about.

Halting, I stood completely frozen to place; my eyes were threatening to bulge out from its socket, and my stomach turned into knots. Not the kind you get when you see Romeo over the patio singing to you and professing his undying love. It's the kind you get when a serial killer in a movie is about to find its hiding victim; it's the kind you get when the sound of the paranormal movie you're watching paces quickly. It's the type of gut feeling you get when you know you should be afraid. When you know death isn't too far behind,.

At my spot, I watched five creatures that looked something out of a horror and sci-fi movie.

The three had green thick looking scales covering their body and big orange mouths shaped into beaks, making it look like a crossover between a velociraptor's body and a giant hawk's head; Its back fashioned a long tail.

The other two were no fluff[y unicorns, covered with jet black fur and resembling wolves, only being much larger, walking having no problems walking on two feet and having huge horns on their forehead. Both kinds were standing what I'm assuming was at least 6 to 7 feet tall.

Oh, have I mentioned the best part? They also had long and sharp claws arming their hands and feet, and their teeth were sharp as heck! And they were currently focused on a car, clawing at it with clear bloodlust for the people inside it, and if I'm not careful, I'm sure they'll share some attention with me... But I'm not sure if I want that in particular.

Any sudden movement could catch their attention, so my movements were beyond limited; I barely breathed, fearing I'll be caught.

I'm not betting my life that they're just friendly, misunderstood creatures who really just need some sugar and love because I've seen a lot of movies with creatures like those, but none of them had the killing intent these monsters carried in their eyes. And claws! Heck, King Kong had friendlier eyes!

Calm down, Harlow! Whatever happens, you have to save those people. You have to think hard!

Wait! Why do you need to save them again? I questioned myself.

"Idiot, don't you remember the golden rule!?" "Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you.". You wouldn't want anyone leaving you for dead, right?!. I reasoned.

Well, just so you know, those beasts will claw you and eat you alive, and I doubt you can do that to them. I shrugged at the conflicted thoughts and just continued to plan.

Curse my stupid, meddling conscience!

Nervous and unsure of what I had come up with, I recited my plan. Alright, time to get eaten, ali-- I mean, do work!

First, I got the people inside the car's attention. It wasn't easy, but I got their attention after a couple of hand waves. I signaled them to quiet down, and they complied almost immediately. It was quick, but I knew they were desperate when I looked into their eyes.

Great! Now, I can't just turn around, or it would look like I just waved to say, "Ow, Hi there, Strangers! Nice to see you being attacked by giant monsters. Well, have a good day. Ciao!" that would be perfect in a horror comedy, but this was real life, and they are real people.

The next part of my not-so-well-planned plan is the gun. Taking the heavy weapon from my back and looking at it, I realized I'm not very good with artillery except my arcade zombie-killing guns though I'm positive this gun is like those of what police officers used in movies. I remembered a movie where a guy clicked something on this kind of gun, so I did what I watched.

To put my strategy to the test, I aimed the gun at one of the reptile-looking creature's legs and pulled the trigger. The weapon went off with a resounding boom, and the impact shook my arms so much that I yelped. I hurriedly hid in an adjacent alley.

A few seconds later, I peeked to check whether anything had occurred, fully anticipating that the creature would now be writhing in agony. The creature's leg was dripping a black liquid, but it seemed unfazed and continued to aim for the car.

GEEEZ! Are these creatures on anesthetics, or what?

Shooting them won't work, so plan B it is!

Did I mention it? I hate my plans!

"HEY! Over here! You mutant chicken and fur-filled uncute cayotes..umm" pausing for a bit and thinking of what I can call them, " Whatever you are!!!!" I'm not good at name-calling. Bite me!

I shouted repeatedly, making it as loud as I could. See? This is why I hate my plans. It's so "well-thought" that a baby would have better ideas. Well, in my defense, I think a baby wouldn't survive a day here.

A lump had formed in my airway when I found all five of them looking at me. They stopped and snarled at me like I was a pest and insignificant, then ignored me, returning to their clawing.

For a minute, I felt annoyed. How am I insignificant? Am I too skinny to be dinner? Don't you want a piece of me? Wait... What am I saying? Do I actually want to be eaten?

As it was decided that I was just a puny little thing that was not worthy of bothering about, I had to make an impression that would surely get their attention. You'll see, after this, you'd want to eat me, you filthy, unappreciated creatures!

BANG!

A loud sound erupted once again, causing a creature to fall. I shot one.

I myself was baffled to have killed one of those big beasts, but I wasn't the only one who was shocked. In fact, his buddies were so amazed, they all eyed me with wide anger.

Waving my hand awkwardly at them, I started running for my life, and as I planned, the remaining four ran after me, shrieking in anger. Okay. So, I didn't want their attention after all.

Your stupid plan worked, but now you're going to die! Run, Stupid! Run! Oops, was that a Forrest Gump movie reference? Yes, it is! So run, Harlow! Run!