Chapter 5 Journey

As they traversed through the patchy snowy plains, Miya continued to be wary of the golden-eyed man driving the car.

But as she did so, she stared at his clothing.

Black shoes, black pants, and a black long-sleeved jacket with yellow accents while two cloth tails are sewn at the top.

Then, the golden-eyed man suddenly spoke. "Don't worry, I'll get you out of those clothes."

After hearing him speak to her, Miya couldn't help but jump. But then, she gazed upon herself.

A pair of bloody leather boots, a torn set of pants, and a shirt with dried blood droplets. And while she was at it, she also finger-combed her long, dirty black hair.

And as she did so, she asked sheepishly. "Can I... Ask you a question?"

To which the man said. "Go on, as long as you answer mine."

"...okay. Can... How are we going to save everyone?"

"We can't."

Hearing his short, yet devastating reply, Miya was physically taken aback. Then, with a booming voice, she yelled. "WHAT?!!!"

To which the golden-eyed man replied calmly. "Quiet, girl."

But despite his calm words, Miya continued to shout without hesitation. "What do you mean, quiet?! How can I be quiet after what you just said?!"

"Quiet down." The golden-eyed man repeated in the same calm manner.

"Answer me! We're you lying to me?! About helping me save my family?!"

"I said, quiet down, Miya." Said the man with more authority.

"AND I SAID, ANSWER ME?! You told me that you will help me, but now you're saying you can't?!"

"Quiet down."

"Why did I even believe you?! How can I be so stupid?! I don't even know your name?! Now, I'm separated from them, unable to do anything!"

"I said, quiet down. Last chance."

With pure emotion flooding her eyes, Miya looked forwards before glaring at the man while saying. "And what?! You're going to kill me like those guys?! I already have nothing!"

But then, the vehicle came to a screeching halt, forcing Miya to dive forwards, with her torso and head landing beside the golden-eyed man.

And with still blazing grey eyes, Miya tried to glare at the man, but when she met the young man's gaze, her anger was lost.

Staring directly back at her, are a set of cold golden eyes attached to an emotionless young man. His lifeless gaze pierced Miya's very resolve, finally quieting her down.

Then, with a sheepish retreat, Miya moved to the seat farthest away from the young man as she said. "...I'm sorry."

Then, without a word, the golden-eyed young man once again put more pressure on the pedal, moving the vehicle through the pure white landscape.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

After a long silence ensued, the young man suddenly spoke. "Let me explain..."

And without waiting for Miya's reply, he continued. "You cannot save everyone, Miya. People will die no matter what you do. No matter how hard you try. No matter how much you want it. People will die, and there's nothing you can do about it."

"..."

"Everyone you know and love won't be saved, but the best thing you can do is to cherish those who live."

"..."

Then, with a cold tone, the young man continued. "Life will never go back to the way it was, who knows, maybe they are all dead already."

Then, Miya slammed her fist against the door after hearing his words.

But this didn't stop the young man, who continued. "Don't hold out your hand for something you're not sure will take it. It will only drive mad, insane, and desperate."

"..."

"I will help you, Miya. To save those I can, but I can't promise to save everyone."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...okay." Miya half-heartedly replied.

Then, the young man spoke. "Chrys. My name is Chrys. Nice to meet you, Miya."

"..."

"..."

Then, after a bit of a pause, Miya answered. "...Nice to meet you too, Chrys, and...Thank you."

"You're welcome."

And so, the two of them traveled for a couple of hours in complete silence, with only the roaring of the engine and the whining of the tires can be heard throughout the white plains as far as the eye can see.

But then, as the white slowly transitioned back to green, the vehicle suddenly stopped beside a dense, sparsely leafed forest.

As Miya continued to space out, Chrys suddenly threw something at her, causing her to flinch upon hitting her lap.

"Put it on and get out," Chrys ordered as he got out.

After a few seconds of blankly staring into space, Miya looked down on her lap, where she saw a metal claw resting.

After picking it up, Miya went out of the vehicle to meet up with Chrys, who is standing right outside.

"Put it around your wrist and be careful of the button on one of the fingers, it will shoot out the claws, potentially taking one of your fingers."

After hearing his words, Miya blankly put on the metal claw around her right wrist and pointed it to the side.

Then, after pressing the button, the claws shot forward with a powerful thrust, catching Miya off guard and knocking her out of her dull state.

As Miya rubbed her eyes with her left hand, Chrys said. "Press it again to retract it."

He then pointed toward the forest before continuing. "There are three beasts inside this forest, a pack of wolves with large jaw fangs, I want you to hunt them."

Then, after retracting her claws, Miya rubbed her eyes once more before asking. "Hunt them?"

"Find and kill them."

"Ah... Huh."

Seeing Miya's unsure resolve, Chrys said as he gave her a little push from the back. "Better snap yourself out of it or you will die. This is a way to prove yourself. I cannot save everyone, and that includes you. Fight for yourself."

To which Miya nodded as she said. "I got it..."

Then, after a bit of hesitation, Miya went into the white and dead forest, all alone.

Then, as her boots continued to leave marks behind on the snow, Miya suddenly stopped, muttering to herself. "What am I doing?"

"Ah, the wolves, yes..."

After reminding herself of what she was after, Miya continued to walk through the white woods. But then, she heard a noise.

"*sniff* *sniff*"

Then, without a second thought, Miya ran away from the sniffs and up a tree, with a bit of difficulty.

As shards of timber remained buried in her hands, Miya sat upon a sturdy branch while she stared down at the ground.

A moment after that, a mighty grey wolf with large jaw fangs emerged from the flimsy bushes, snapping its branches with its muscular body.

"*sniff* *sniff*"

As it continued to walk through the rather dense snow, it continued to sniff its surroundings, leading it to sniff one of Miya's footprints.

And as it did so, Miya, who was watching it, hugged the tree as she tried to move to another branch, one that is better hidden from the beast.

"Grrrr!"

But as Miya moved, she heard a growl down below, and when she looked down, she saw the wolf sniffing around her tree.

Then, as her breathing increased, Miya looked at her surroundings, leading her to look at another tree, which is connected to hers with a branch.

As she stared at the path in front of her, Miya gripped the trunk of the tree she laid against, ripping off bits of its body.

But, this action caused some of the bark to land on the wolf sniffing at the bottom, causing it to look up.

Then, after it looked up, it growled at the tree before sinking its claws onto the trunk.

As the wolf sized up the tree, Miya could only watch as her breath quickened even more.

Then, with a mighty leap, the wolf made its way halfway up to Miya, who managed to cling onto the tree.

Then, as the wolf inched closer, Miya froze, with nothing to do with the chilly forest.

As Miya remained still and motionless, the wolf moved upwards as it emitted a low growl.

"Grrrr!"

"..."

"Grrrr!"

"..."

"Grrrr!"

"..."

But then, just as the wolf was about to see her, a sudden, yet powerful gust of wind attacked the wolf, knocking it off of the tree immediately.

After it emerged from the snow, it emitted a whimper as it ran away. "Himm! Himm!

Then, after it left, the forest remained as it is, frozen in time. With Miya unmoving like a rock.

But then, the wind came back, attacking Miya this time with its harsh breeze.

Snapping out of her frozen state, Miya clung to the trunk of the tree with wide-awake eyes as the breeze Bore down on her.

And a moment later, it knocked her off of the branch, causing her to rush toward the snow-filled forest floor.

"Aaah!"

But, as she fell, she somehow hit the button on her claws, shooting them forward and scratching the side of the tree, slowing her descent.

Then, with ragged breathing, Miya rose her snow-riddled face and stared at the scratch-filled tree.

One was from her, but the other four were from her would-be opponent.

Then, with a terrified expression, Miya arose from the forest floor and tried to come back the way she came.

But then, as she rushed through the forest, a calm, gentle wind passed by, but as it did so, it showed a vague golden hue.

After taking notice of this, Miya came to a complete stop before looking ahead.

But there was nothing ahead of her, just a bunch of trees and dead foliage. But her horrified expression tells otherwise.

Then, Miya closed her eyes, and everything went silent along with her.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Soon..." She muttered.

"..."

"Home."

After saying that with a smile, Miya's eyes shot open, with a newly determined glint.

Then, without another word, Miya turned around and went back the way she came, not away from the wolves, but towards them.

After walking past the scratch-filled tree she once took refuge on, Miya decided to climb yet another tree, despite there not being a single sign of danger.

After climbing onto a branch, raised her arms to the side as she moved from branch to branch, from tree to tree.

And as she did so, she chanted in a low tone. "One. Two. One. Two. One. Two."

But then, due to some snow resting on the branches, she slipped, but thankfully, she managed to cling on.

"One. Ugh! Two."

And after pulling herself up, Miya continued to chant. "One. Two. One. Two."

Then, after a couple of minutes, Miya managed to find herself on the canopy of the forest, overlooking a clearing, holding two wolves eating out of a carcass with their large jaw fangs.

As Miya observed them, she chanted. "One. Two. One. Two."

Then, as she continued, she stood up on the branch without breaking her eyesight on the wolves.

"One. Two. One. Two."

Then, as she hovered a finger on the button responsible for triggering her claws, she continued to chant. "One. Two. One. Two."

Then, her breathing quickened as her body bounced up and down on the branch.

"One. Two. One. Two."

As she rapidly inhaled and exhaled, she suddenly shouted. "One. Two. One. Two. One. Two. Three!"

Then, on her count, she leaped off of the branch while shouting with all of her heart. And as she did so, the two wolves were alerted of her presence.

But, it was too late, for Miya had already tackled one of them to the ground, breaking her fall on it.

And with a quick motion, Miya pointed her claws at the wolf's head before hastily pressing the button, shooting her claws directly into its head.

"Grrrr!"

But before she could get off of the carcass, the other wolf was already on the move, on the move to leap onto her.

And so it did, knocking her off of its former mate and onto the ground, pinning her with its muscular body.

But then, as it was about to bite down on her, it whimpered in pain as blood dripped from its side, due to Miya jamming her claws onto its torso.

"Grrrr!"

But despite having a severe injury, the wolf had the strength to thrash around, attempting to take the claws out of its body.

But as it did so, Miya clung to its body and closed her eyes as she continued to jam her claws deeper, making sure to keep her body away from its fangs and claws.

After it slammed its body against a tree, pinning one of Miya's arms against it, Miya pressed the button on her claws once more, retracting it.

Feeling the source of its pain disappear, the wolf moved away from the tree, freeing Miya's arm.

But then, as its movements calmed down, it felt a cold metal's touch at the back of its head before everything went blank.

And a moment after that, the forest was buried in silence, with only the ragged breathing and the chanting breaking the silence.

"One. Two. One. Two."

As her chanting matched her inhale and exhale, Miya slowly closed her eyes as her breathing began to calm down.

"..."

Then, after a few moments of silence, Miya opened her eyes and counted the carcass that she made herself. "One... Two..."

"..."

"..."

As the forest got swallowed in silence once more, Miya's eyes turned to look at something distant, with a hint of confusion on the side.

"..."

"..."

Then, as she broke the silence, Miya muttered to herself. "Three."

Just then, a third wolf emerged from the bushes behind her, the one she was previously acquainted with.

As it pinned her from behind, Miya could do nothing as it pressed its heavy body onto her back.

But as it aimed a bite at Miya's nape, the sudden wind with a golden hue came back and forcefully pushed the wolf off of Miya's back.

Seeing the opportunity, Miya immediately went on the offensive, pointing her claws at the staggered wolf's chin before pressing the button without hesitation.

And as it drew blood, the third wolf drew its last breath.

Then, with a defeated look on her face, Miya fell on her back beside the bleeding carcass.

And as she breathed heavily, she chanted. "One. Two. One. Two."

As she continued to chant, she slowly picked herself off of the snowy ground before looking at the carcass next to her.

"One. Two. One. Two."

But the moment she saw the wolf's body, her chanting stopped as her tired eyes suddenly got filled with rage.

"Why?!" She screamed at the carcass as she stood up before it.

"Why couldn't you do it?!"

"All you had to do was help them!"

"You are weak! You are useless!"

"Why did you have to be the one left to save them?!"

Then, Miya crumbled to her knees as tears began to pour out. And as her voice wavered, she continued.

"Why couldn't you be there when they needed you?"

"Why couldn't you be better...?"

"If only you were there... If only you were stronger... If only..."

As her sobs and tears began to overpower her words, Miya remained on her knees, covering her face with her hands as the claws attached to it dripped with fresh blood.

"Why...? If only..."

As she continued to sob uncontrollably, a hand suddenly fell onto her head before the young man that owned it said with a calm and gentle tone. "It's alright. Let it out."

Then after that, Miya's perception was a blur.

One time, she was inside the truck and was sitting behind Chrys as he drove them away.

Then after a blink, she was in a ruined town made of stone and pieces of scrapped together wood.

Then after another, she was in a room, being told by Chrys. "Go inside the bathroom and change before eating the food."

And after another, she was on a bed, dozing off. But as she did so, she muttered silently. "Mom... Dad..."