Darkness

Draco dashed through the woods, finally spotting light at the end of the bleak tunnel. Suddenly, there were no more trees nearby, and an open space stretched out before him. Draco grinned, seeing a metallic building ahead. Finally, after traversing through this damned forest for so long, Draco had reached his destination—the center.

Blood smeared the snow wherever he looked, with weapons lying scattered. Signs of battle were visible everywhere, though there were no bodies. Draco made his way to the metallic building, picking up the smell of iron along the way.

As his hand touched the building's exterior, Draco admired how truly cold it was. Circling it, Draco saw numerous weapons, food packages, and other useful items, along with a bunch of explosives.

Eventually, Draco found a metallic door leading inside the building. Without hesitation, he walked in, the smell of blood growing stronger. The helicopters couldn't remove the bodies left inside, leaving them to rot.

It was extremely dark inside, but Draco saw more supplies stored there, along with a few bodies. Sighing, Draco understood that no one was hiding inside. There was no sound other than his calm breathing.

Storing some supplies into a bag he found on the ground, Draco was ready to depart south, hoping to perhaps meet her there. Yet, as soon as he turned and the sun illuminated his face, Draco saw a figure running towards him at full speed.

"Katniss?" Draco mumbled his thoughts. However, his face didn't hold the surprise for long as Draco realized she was limping, leaving a trail of blood. Exhaustion was evident on her face.

Draco didn't know what she was running from, but he didn't like that he saw no enemies following her. It left an ominous feeling. Springing into action, Draco ran to Katniss, whose face turned into relief upon seeing him. She grabbed him into a strong hug. "Draco! We have to run fast! I don't know whether I lost it!"

"Lost what?" Draco slid his gaze away from her and into the forest behind her, squinting as if trying to see something there.

"A bear, or whatever it is. Let's just go. Now." Katniss was already pushing Draco away, and he hesitated a little. A bear? So, not a Mysthral, probably. Still, Draco was relieved. This might not have been how he expected their reunion to go, but now the hard part of the task was gone.

What was left was simply protecting Katniss with everything he had.

"Hey, stop." Draco grabbed her hand, staring at her wound on the thigh. It was a pretty nasty scratch. "We need to get this patched up now, or else you might get an infection."

"There is no time, Draco!" Katniss almost shouted, tears welling up. "That creature is coming. This is not Cato or whoever you killed, but a bear!"

"Calm down and look back, Katniss." Draco pointed in the direction she came from, specifically at the trail of blood. "Unless that bear doesn't have a nose, we need to stop the bleeding. Otherwise, that creature is going to follow us all around the map."

With a hint of irritation in his voice, Draco lifted Katniss by the knees, placing her in his hands. She almost shrieked, not expecting this. "Let's stop wasting time, shall we?"

Katniss seemed like she wanted to protest or say something, but words halted in her throat. Only now did she realize that she was barely feeling any of her body. Draco sighed, opening the door into the metallic building and laying her down.

It was dark there, but the light coming through the door was enough to make things visible. Katniss frowned at the sight of bodies and the smell, but Draco was already at work. He grabbed a bottle of alcohol from his bag, opening and smelling it.

"It's going to hurt," Draco commented, not hesitating to pour it onto her thigh. She screamed, but Draco cared little, focusing on inspecting the wound. It was quite deep; alcohol cleaning wasn't the wisest option, but he had few choices.

Taking out a few bandages, Draco ripped Katniss's pants in that spot, revealing more of the blood-pumping wound. He took out the remaining cream, knowing how precious it was. His own wounds hurt only slightly now.

As he began applying it, Katniss gritted her teeth, holding onto the ice-cold metal railing. Draco heard her hiss, followed by her rasping voice. "How many did you kill?"

Draco lifted his eyes slightly. "Why does it matter? I did what I had to do."

"It matters to me." Katniss sighed, continuing through gritted teeth. "Honestly, Draco, I can't see the reason why you are helping me. You have this win in your hands. Did you forget that there could be only one winner in a game?"

"Katniss, what should matter to you is your own survival right now." Draco began to bandage her wound, circling it around her injury. "I kill who I must kill, and I have no reason to explain my actions to you."

"Here you go again with your mysteriousness. Honestly, Draco, I am tired of you. I tried to push away all my doubts and reason, but I simply can't anymore. I want answers now." Katniss hissed, slapping away Draco's hand. "Who the hell are you?"

Draco frowned, irritated. He was getting annoyed at this point. He was trying to do everything in his power to save her, risking his own flesh, yet even then, she didn't give him any rest. More questions, more explanations, more lies.

"Katniss, sometimes hearing the truth is worse than not." Draco's face turned indifferent, a bit of killing intent arising within his eyes. Katniss quieted down immediately. "However, if I did have some ulterior motives, I wouldn't be crouching in front of you and tending to your injuries. Is that clear?"

Katniss gulped, not expecting to see this expression on Draco's face. It seemed like a different person. Draco then smiled a bit, finishing up the bandaging. "Try to stand up. We have to move."

Katniss glanced at Draco one more time before taking his hand and rising with a grunt. It hurt, maybe even worse than before, but she knew it was for the best. Draco was about to say something when his eyes suddenly turned towards the door. There, in the distance, between the woods, Draco saw a huge white figure charging towards them.

"Damn it." Draco cursed, understanding it was the bear Katniss had mentioned. It had peculiar long ears. Katniss noticed Draco staring off somewhere and joined him, frowning.

'I should have just grabbed Katniss and run off. My mistake.' Draco cursed internally, seeing panic returning to Katniss's eyes.

"We should run." Katniss was already on her feet, moving, yet Draco remained standing, deep in thought. Draco looked around the room. It was too late to run. What should they do?

A foolish idea popped into Draco's head. Draco grabbed Katniss by the hand, pushing her back inside the room. On the other hand, Draco seized some explosives in the form of mines.

Seeing the creature almost upon them, Draco threw them down in front of the door, closing it immediately. Complete darkness enveloped the room, the tension growing in his system.

Holding Katniss by the hand, he pushed her into a corner, throwing himself on top. Her hot breath hit against his neck, yet Draco was too focused to think about that. Sweat dripped down from his brow as he listened to the sound of heavy footsteps outside.

Would it work?

Fortunately, the creature didn't seem extremely intelligent, as it never considered stopping. With a loud bang, the door suddenly exploded, followed by another eruption. Draco held Katniss with his hands, feeling himself forced against the wall.

And then, Draco realized he couldn't breathe anymore. Smoke, dust, and soil—all risen into the air—flooded the place. Grabbing Katniss, Draco ran to the entrance, almost falling into a medium-sized crater. The metallic walls stayed intact but became slightly bent.

However, the ground was ravaged into shreds and pieces. Everything was dark, smoke clouding the view. Draco slid inside the crater with Katniss in his hands, stumbling over the gory remains of the bear. Nothing but a meat paste remained from the creature.

Straining his legs, Draco walked up the little hill, emerging from the crater. The smoke was still there, blocking his vision and breathing. Draco strained his legs to go as fast as possible when, suddenly, he felt something flying at the back of his head.

It was perhaps by pure instinct or some luck that Draco evaded the aimed strike. Yet, despite dodging, Draco was forced to throw Katniss on the ground. Before he managed to pick her up, Draco felt a stinging pain in his legs.

Only when he looked down did Draco see a cut there, and then another, and another. Whatever was attacking him was smart and cunning, for they avoided his vital areas, knowing that Draco could somehow perceive that.

Draco tried to breathe calmly and stay vigilant, yet once he looked down and no longer saw Katniss, he lost his composure again.

She had disappeared. Gritting his teeth, Draco began running away, gasping for oxygen.

An instant later, Draco was panting hard, looking around with wild eyes. He found Katniss lying on the snow a few feet away, coughing. Without even thinking, Draco shouted. "Roll left, Katniss!"

Immediately, a dagger flew out from the cloud of smoke, aimed at Katniss. Fortunately, she was quick on the uptake, heeding Draco's desperate call. Rolling to the side, she narrowly dodged the dagger.

"Nice one." Draco was thankful yet alarmed, already standing in front of Katniss, who was slowly rising.

She grunted from the pain in her leg. "What the hell is happening?"

"Someone is hiding in the smoke," Draco stated, taking a spear into his hands and getting into a battle stance as they both stepped cautiously away from the smoke. Eventually, another figure emerged, being a few heads smaller than either of them.

It was Rue, and despite her stature, she looked deadly with those daggers in her hands. Other than that, she wore a look of determination and concentration.

"This is definitely not the most ideal situation I had predicted to face, but it's not that bad either," Rue mumbled to herself, adjusting her grip on her dagger. "All right, I have been wasting enough time on this mission. Let's finish this."

Then, Rue glanced upwards, pointing at the sky. "Nachar, do you remember our deal? I want it now." Then, her smile turned brilliant, yet eerie. "I want darkness to overwhelm this place."

Draco frowned, shifting his gaze upwards. On the other hand, Katniss was shifting her gaze between Draco and Rue, confused. The sun, which was shining ever so brightly, suddenly vanished from above. Draco felt a growing sense of dread.

It was extremely dark now. There was no sun, no moon, just stars that were like dots in the sky. Other than that, the only remaining source of light was the faint remnants of the explosion earlier.

Draco pressed his back against Katniss, feeling her panicking breathing. Looking around in every direction, Draco understood what was happening. Rue wasn't there. No, it was almost like she was never there.

She was an Umbralis. A dark Mysthral.

'And now, we are in complete darkness.' Draco cursed internally, suddenly feeling a gust of wind approaching from the front. Draco grabbed Katniss by her shoulders, ducking together with her. He didn't know whether they had evaded the attack or if there was one in the first place.

"You are good, Draco Ashvale." Rue's voice echoed from all directions, making him frown even deeper. "Are you truly a Mysthral Hunter? The possibility of that being true is on the rise."

"A Mysthral what?" Katniss's confused voice echoed from the back, but Draco stayed quiet, thinking as to how to turn this situation in their favor.

"Not answering? I see. Well, it doesn't matter, for both of you are going to die anyway." Rue's voice became venomous. "Draco, you may be good at evading, but is your partner the same?"

Before Draco could do something, he heard Katniss shout. Pushing her away, Katniss fell to the ground, a dagger protruding from her back. It was a life-threatening injury. Draco needed to act quickly, or Katniss would bleed out.

Suddenly, Draco grabbed Katniss by her hands, pushing her away as a dagger flew to the ground, narrowly missing her.

"Sharp, sharp indeed." Rue was playing with them. "But you still have zero chances of survival."

At that moment, Draco sensed danger from the front but was too late to dodge. A dagger appeared, and behind it was Rue's smiling face. He took a step back, but the dagger sliced diagonally across his chest, spurting blood.

Falling back, Draco struggled to breathe, feeling excruciating pain. The thought of closing his eyes lingered, but instead, Draco opened his stats, investing his last two stat points into Perception.

"Bye, Draco." Rue's voice echoed, followed by mind-convulsing pain. Draco resisted the urge to scream, feeling his senses sharpening, his mind clearing. A dagger appeared again, held by two little hands.

Draco stretched out his hands, forcing the dagger into his palm. Compared to the pain he was experiencing, a dagger in his palm was manageable. Gritting his teeth, Draco forced power into his leg, kicking Rue in the face.

She flew away, disappearing into the darkness. Slowly, Draco rose, coughing up hot blood. It trickled down his throat, but Draco went toward Katniss, standing above her in a battle stance.

"This is impossible." Rue's confused, slightly shaken voice resounded. "This is confirmation. You are a Mysthral Hunter. There is no other way."

Not listening to her, Draco closed his eyes. He couldn't see anything, but with increased perception, Draco felt his surroundings more intensely.

He could feel the slight wind pressing against his face, the blood dripping down from his body, and the sound of quiet breathing coming from Katniss. Then, Draco perceived something emerging from the perpetual darkness.

His head turned left, a dagger entering his vision. Draco ducked, grabbing another dagger straight from his palm and plunging it into Rue's stomach. Her bloodshot eyes portrayed her shock as she disappeared back into the shadows.

'Is it stealth or is she hiding within the shadows?' Draco thought, taking cautious steps around Katniss. He held a spear in his hands, prepared for anything. Suddenly, he turned around, plunging the spear into the darkness, making contact with something.

He heard raspy breathing coming from the other side of the weapon as he took measured steps, hovering above Rue's bleeding body. He had pierced her neck. Draco saw her weapon, which was aimed at Katniss's head, dropping to the ground.

Clicking his tongue, Draco decided to test his theory. Rue had said that a Mysthral's weak spot was the back of the head. Kicking her body and forcing it to turn around, Draco aimed the spear at the back of her head. A notification popped up immediately, confirming his theory.

-

[You have killed an Umbralis Mysthral (Level 2)]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have received 126 Coins!]

-

Draco barely glanced at the notifications as he kneeled in front of Katniss. She was still alive. In fact, her injury wasn't as severe as it seemed. No vital organs had been pierced. Perhaps it was the pent-up exhaustion and lack of food that had affected her.

Draco was about to start working on her injury when, suddenly, the darkness subsided. Instead, the sun returned in its full glory, but Draco had a bad premonition. Lifting his gaze, slightly blinded by the sharp light, Draco almost dropped the weapon.

This... was too much.

In the distance, hidden behind trees, Draco could see a horde of wild wolves rushing at them. Draco counted twenty, no, thirty of those creatures. Gritting his teeth, Draco glanced down at his bleeding body and an unconscious Katniss.

'I might have to reconsider my employment.' Draco smiled pitifully for an instant before putting Katniss over his shoulders and running back to the metallic building. The smoke was no longer there, and the fire had diminished.

While running, Draco opened the shop, hoping to find something that would help him fight off a horde of hungry beasts. All the while, Draco prayed that they would find someone else to prey on.

-

Sorry for the delayed chapter! I am currently shifting between two part-time jobs, whilst also having to study for the exams, but I still hope to be on schedule!