The Forbidden district 1

Amidst a desolate land that was only populated by the remains of the few tree trunks that were struggling to still be standing, the rubble that collapsed from the crumbling building scattered around, covering the ground in its entirety, leaving only a few spots of the frail ground visible to the eye.

The footsteps of two figures echoed, breaking the silence that dominated the air as they walked along the old road of a highway.

"This place has changed quite a lot since the last time I've been here" Zen claimed, his eyes widening while his mouth was open in awe.

"The scent of burning chemicals has increased a lot, that's for sure…" Harold replied as he tried to cover his nose while his face showed a bothered look.

"It seems that those weird geezers in the «City Of Hope» have been blasting this place with their biohazard weapons a lot more this past years" Zen uttered as his eyes landed on the numerous indents on the ground, and the destruction put into the buildings by the missiles sent from that city, turning it into skeletal remnants.

They continued chattering as they walked until they reached a dead end. A rustic, Victorian-style, metallic gate that blocked the way into a land full of uncertainty. Nothing was visible from behind the gate as the mist that extended to the clouds coated the land along heavy clouds of biohazard chemicals caused by the weapons they had just passed by.

On the large gate, an old plate of the same material was barely hanging to the chains that were trying to hold it into the gate.

[Warning: Fr-m thi- point onw-rds, yo-r life wou-d be at gre-t risk. Please ST-P and return]

"This plate is so old, some of the letters have been removed" Zen snored as he read the words painted on the plate, "they didn't even bother to change it"

"It's too much of a hassle and risk to do it, so they just left it untouched," Harold said as he bent his back, reaching for a bag he threw on the ground before taking a black mask out of it and handing it over to Zen "Here, take this"

"A mask?" Zen exclaimed, wondering about the item that Harold had just given to him.

"The situation out there has gotten a lot worse than last time, so even our lungs would be damaged if we inhaled the air without it being filtered" Harold responded "Make sure to wear it before we go in there"

Zen didn't hesitate and trusted the judgment of Harold as he wore the mask immediately.

While Harold pulled the folded body of a long bow, Zen took the chance to push the gate, opening the way for both of them. "Should we get going ?" He questioned.

Harold mounted the bow on his back and quickly answered "Yeah, let's go"

Once they took a step forward, a strong gust of wind launched at them, carrying the heavy particles of chemicals with it.

*God, this is awful…* Zen thought as his head flinched back، thrown back by the wave of horrible scent.

"Stay alerted to anything that might come at us" Harold reminded Zen as he continued moving forward.

Zen nodded and swiftly followed after him.

No matter how much they advanced forward, their eyes were not able to see any clearer as the buíldings emerged from the mist like a ghostly mirage while they walked, their structures obscured by the heavy vapor of biohazardous clouds.

Suddenly, the unsettling silence suddenly broke, as their ears caught an unwelcomed screeching noise coming from far within the foggy scenery ahead of them.

Both of them quickly switched to attention, assuming a defensive stance as their hands tightly gripped the handles of their weapons.

Zen didn't want to assume anything, so he kept his two daggers sheathed while he held them, but Harold equipped the bow he was carrying as he assumed his stance, ready to react to anything that might threaten their safety.

They proceeded with caution, walking slowly as they scanned the place around them thoroughly even though their view distance was limited and kept listening to any other sound that might echo.

Once they moved forward, Zen began catching an unusual, strong stench.

He couldn't recognize it at first even though it was bothering him a lot, and Harold didn't seem to smell it at all.

However, that changed once they moved forward more, as his face changed immediately. His eyes widened and his eyebrows pinched together while he grinded his teeth.

"Harold, stay alerted" Zen unsheathed his blades so fast that he damaged the pouches they were stored in.

"What's the matter?" Harold questioned, his eyes still focused on his surroundings.

"I'm smelling blood… human blood…"

"What?" Harold's eyes widened in surprise, as what Zen said shouldn't be possible.

This place is one of the most dangerous places in the whole country that even the elite troops ruled by the government except for a few aren't allowed to even approach this area, and the toxicity level will easily kill a human, so for one to be strolling in here isn't something logical.

"Are you sure about that?" He asked, trying to stay calm and collected.

"Yes, there is no doubt in it…" Zen answered.

"…"

"I know what you are thinking about" Zen added "There is someone who beat us into here"

"We need to move faster" Harold uttered and started increasing his speed. With a single nod, Zen agreed and started following after him.

Not so long after they started running around, they suddenly heard a thud. While they weren't completely sure of it, it sounded like a body slamming against the ground.

They gave each other a nod before hurrying to where the noise came from.

Once they reached the place, they were surprised to see the small body of a kid lying on the ground.

"H-help…" the little girl raised her head once she saw both of them standing before her, but the words struggled to leave her throat. "P-please… H-help m-me"

Her eyes closed uncontrollably as she fell unconscious on the cold street.

Zen quickly approached her body, only to find that it was covered with wounds and scratches everywhere. He opened him, about to say something but Harold shouted first "Zen! Retreat!"

He had already positioned his bow in front of him and pulled its string, however, he wasn't holding any arrows along with it. A glowing, white dot suddenly appeared at the tip of his finger before it started to extend, developing into a gleaming white arrow, chaotically rotating in place.

Once he released it, it caused a strong gust of wind as it split into three arrows, clearing a bit of the chemical cloud surrounding them.

They launched forward with great speed before they abruptly stopped as they hit something.

"Kraghhhh…"