《Unbridled Designs》


 Abnormality I

    October 23, 2023


    Fortuna


    _______


    A blunder, Daryll North thought as he looked on in panic at the sight of the fast approaching shadows on the ground. He was just gathering food from the abandoned buildings at the edge of the city, but when a giant rat had surprised him when it suddenly ran across the room, he leapt back as a reaction and bumped onto a table, causing a jar full of coins to break when it fell to the ground.


    He clicks his tongue and runs towards the back entrance. He hurriedly left the mini-mart before those things could arrive and a few moments later, the place rumbles in activity. They''re now actively searching for the source of the noise, him. Better to leave everything behind and move on than to be tracked down like prey, he thought.


    From what he gathered before leaving, those things were Shadow People. Adherents of the thing that''s been said to be lurking in the castle to the north-east. They spread wide and scout the nearby area during the day for any survivors like him, and although they can¡¯t show their true forms while the sun is up, but when it sets and the veil of darkness assumes its place, they come out of their own shadows to start the hunt. Cruel, efficient, and the reason why the city¡¯s so silent.


    Daryll darted from alley to alley, ever so vigilant as to not cause another near brush with death for the day. One key element to surviving that he learned throughout the years is that if no one knew he existed, then nothing will come after him. No monster from god knows where will be his demise. Neither will it be from his own kind.


    With his scavenging run a failure, he decided that he¡¯ll just cool off in the meantime at one of his hideouts inside the city. A broom closet located at the third floor of a corporate building. Small as it might be, but it does its job of being inconspicuous to other people. He keeps some food and necessities inside his scattered hideouts and if some people were to drop by and see it, then by the next time that he comes back and needs sustenance or a gadget that he stored, he¡¯ll have nothing left to use. Better to keep it all to himself than to starve in the middle of the night. Also, a rumbling stomach will kill you if you''re unlucky enough in these shadow infested parts.


    Taking a Mars chocolate bar out of one of his dozens of cargo pants pockets, he munches on it while he turns the hand crank flashlight for a minute. After doing so, he pulls out a small pink notebook and pencil. He then starts writing his daily entry on his journal. From the time that he woke up, the luck he had when finding an unopened Mars pack, albeit a few months past its expiration date, and his last scavenge run in the mini-mart until he had to flee and hide inside a broom closet. But before he finished writing, he doesn¡¯t forget to put his initials, DN, at the bottom before ending it. This daily journal writing of his was something that he picked up from a person he met a year prior, telling him to do the same whenever the opportunity came. He didn¡¯t know the importance of it, but he trusted the man and his advice.


    He spent his time idling for a few hours after he finished preparing for the next day, but as he was about to fall asleep, a loud commotion from outside startled him awake. Something''s about to happen, he thought. Something big. Something bad.


    He stealthily went to the rooftop, cautious of any Shadows smart enough not to get drawn in by the noise.


    As he makes it up there, a clearly visible orange light to the east side of the city a few dozen blocks away immediately catches his attention.


    ¡°COME ON AND TAKE A BITE! I¡¯M ALL YOURS FOR TONIGHT, BABY! YAHAHA!¡±


    A deafening shout, so loud and clear even from where he stood, causing him to stumble and fall on his back. And it was English. A language that he could understand.


    After regaining his composure, his mind immediately thought that he should vacate the area immediately. What ever it is that person¡¯s doing, it''s pure suicide. And he might just be unfortunate enough to get dragged into the abyss along with the man.


    He jumps down onto the fire escape on the side of the building and quickly makes his way down.


    ¡°Shit!¡± Daryll yelled.


    Halfway down, another huge explosion occurred. It caused a small tremor, shaking the building for a whole second. That second of shaking caused him to miss his step and slip, resulting to him falling and hitting the side of his head hard on the side of the escape ladder.


    ¡°Ugh¡­ not now¡­¡±


    Dizzy and disoriented, he knew that he had a concussion judging from the increasingly painful headache and how his head pulsated. And every time that it did, he felt a wave of pain that was enough to knock him out each time. But he steeled on. Lying unconscious here would be like serving a prime-cut steak in front of a hungry wolf who hasn¡¯t eaten for days.


    ¡°I just¡­ somewhere¡­ hide¡±Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    He succesfully makes it below without falling, but his vision¡¯s starting to become blurry. He¡¯s a few moments there before passing out and the nearest hideout is still so far away. Too far to get there before he bumps into something in the middle of the night or losing consciousness.


    ¡°Need help, kiddo?¡±


    A voice from behind sends chills down his spine. Even with labored breaths and shaking arms, he readies his kitchen knife strapped onto his waist and goes into a stance as he turns to look back. Daryll couldn¡¯t make out the person¡¯s face as all he could see were blurs with orange light, but judging from the high pitched voice, it sounded like a woman. That didn¡¯t deter him, though. This was not the first time he had to fight another person, much less someone of the opposite sex.


    ¡°Feisty one, aren¡¯tcha¡±


    The figure slowly comes closer and Daryll is losing time and options. His instincts are telling him to flee, but any attempts would be futile. In a fight or flight scenario, usually, standing your ground and fighting in a corner is a last ditch effort before death. And as of the moment, he most certainly did not have the capacity to flee from his opponent. So, last ditch effort it is.


    He lets his muscle memory do the work while enduring the pain, making a swift swing towards the neck of the opponent, albeit somewhat inaccurate because of his head trauma and disorientation, but the intent is clear that he¡¯s going in for the kill.


    ¡°Hoh! I found a real biter tonight!¡±


    The knife sliced through something. Although, from what he could hear from her complacent speech and the feel of the knife when it made contact, it seems it was just a slight tear on her attire.


    Daryll follows up with more swings aiming for her vital areas, but most often than not, it only grazed the air and some sort of hard fabric. Leather, maybe?


    He staggeringly took a few steps back while taking deep breaths. His momentary adrenaline rush is wearing out and he''s in the cusp of succumbing to a sweet surrender. A slumber that he might not wake up from ever again.


    His opponent didn¡¯t rush to his weakened state, instead, she just stood there and waited. Waiting for what, exactly? He didn¡¯t know.


    Minutes pass by and he slowly lost his grip on the knife. Too injured and exhausted, he fell flat on the ground.


    ¡°What to do? What to do?¡±


    Was the last he heard before everything went black.


    _______


    ¡­


    ¡­ down.


    The King¡­ priority.


    ¡­but¡­


    ¡­


    ¡°...!¡± Daryll awoke with a startle and immediately got up, but he bumped his head onto something, causing him to recoil back down again.


    ¡°Argh! Wha¡­ what happened?¡± he muttered while rubbing his forehead.


    He is currently lying inside a stock room underneath a table with a few rays of sunlight seeping through the boarded window. His headache is gone now and he felt refreshed and energized after waking up. No signs of any injuries on himself, either.


    Last he remembered, he was fending off someone and fainting after waiting for the person¡¯s next move. Now that his mind is somewhat clear, he immediately noticed the mistakes that he made. Given the situation, what he should have done is to relentlessly attack instead of waiting. Even if it was a haphazard attempt for victory. If he did, he might have had a small chance of incapacitating his opponent, or if a miracle of a one in a million chance just so happened, killing them by hitting an artery and causing profuse blood loss is a miracle he''d take anyday. Also, putting his fate on the opponents mercy by fainting doesn¡¯t sit well with him.


    As he got up, he noticed a small bag to the side with a piece of paper stuck on top of it. It was a note.It read, ¡®Sorry, kiddo. My pals wouldn¡¯t let me adopt a stray. So, here¡¯s some of the stuff that I stole from some of them to get by. If we ever meet again, don''t tell them that I did it, okay? ?Kisses?¡¯


    Inside, there were canned goods, a water purifier, a camera for god knows what for, a matching pair of rings, coins that seemed to be made out of pure gold, and a pair of blue boxers that had the logo of Superman printed on it. It must have been the person that he met last night, he thought.


    Normally, he wouldn¡¯t take any donations from strangers, but as it''s already here and it would be a waste not to take it, he flings it over his shoulder and readied himself to go out again.


    He cautiously opens a small opening on the door and checks if there''s anything outside. Nothing. With light footsteps, he goes into the corridor and makes his way down. Along the way, he noticed that he was inside of a hospital somewhere inside the city. As to which hospital, he couldn¡¯t tell, but once he arrived on the first floor, a huge sign behind the reception desk read, ¡®St. Peter¡¯s M...¡¯ with most of the letters gone.


    He immediately held his breath and tiptoes his way outside. This is a deathtrap, he thought. One of the spots were Shadows roamed in the hundreds from what he¡¯d seen in the past. This is basically a nest for them, but now¡­ it feels so empty and quiet. Too quiet. But the surprises didn¡¯t stop there.


    Daryll¡¯s mouth hangs open in disbelief. The city that he was so used to seeing, the abandoned city that was in ruins just last night is gone. There lay rubbles of the huge towering buildings, reduced to mere pieces of blocks and crumbled foundations. The only standing structure left is this place, St. Peter¡¯s. Also, there doesn¡¯t seem to be any hostile foe left in the area. No lurking Shadow People, no Terror Birds in the sky, no Green Gobblers that rolled around in the streets. Nothing.


    Whoever did this had done a thorough job of demolishing the landscape and exterminating any creature in sight. You could now see the mountains off in the distance. But here lay a question, or should I say a conundrum.


    ¡°What do I do?¡± he muttered.


    All these years, Daryll North¡¯s only purpose was to survive. And surviving he did. Now that there¡¯s nothing threatening his life at the moment, what should he do next? He could secure tons of resources again, but that would be wasting time if he can only stash it in a place that¡¯s too conspicuous as the only building left standing in the vicinity. Other passersby would definitely seek shelter here to rest for a night or two and he definitely could not carry a lot with him if he goes off to who knows where. Now that he thinks about it, losing the city¡¯s vast and complex pathways and structures might have been a misfortune to him.


    Should he gather what¡¯s left and leave? Or should he wait here until someone else arrives before he does so? A tough choice. On one side, he doesn¡¯t know where else to go, but on the other, what if those new arrivals wouldn¡¯t be so friendly or considerate as the ones before¡­ and putting his life to chances is not the option that he''s willing to take.


    ¡°A canteen, additional food¡­ and my knife¡± with his mind set on the next course of action, he goes off to find what he needs before leaving the remnants of the city that was once his home.

 Abnormality II

    October 26, 2023


    Fortuna ¨C St. Patrick¡¯s Medical Center


    _______


    ¡°fifty¡­ fifty-five¡± Daryll counts the number of people who are steadily approaching towards the hospital through his binoculars. They wore oddly designed exotic clothes that made them look like secluded tribesmen that lived deep within the snowy mountain region.


    At the forefront, a young man riding atop a majestic ram with golden fleece leads the way. His attire differed from the others in that it was also the same color as the golden fleece, unlike the rest of the people there who were wearing brown fur.


    Daryll is torn between fleeing the premise now, or to hide and wait if they were just passing through. He still needs to find a regional map underneath all the rubble before he could leave. Starting his journey without knowing where the path leads is a very risky choice. But staying and weathering the storm until it passes is as risky or even more so than the alternative.


    Judging from what the other people are carrying on their bodies, they seem to have come prepared to fight. Blades, assault rifles, and what appears to be a heavy machine gun strapped on the back of a big hulking man. To deter small game and humans, from the looks of it. He had already sensed trouble brewing when he first saw the golden ram that most probably came from a place that¡¯s not from Earth. They usually all are. Maybe even the people there are also from a different world, but if they are, then they wouldn¡¯t have a need for those firearms. But the nonchalant attitude they have towards the land set off alarms in his head. It¡¯s either they didn¡¯t know where they are or what those things that took the place of the Terror Birds in the sky are, or they didn¡¯t fear them.


    Three hundred meters away from the hospital, the young man raises his hand to stop the march. Now that they are at a much closer distance, Daryll could now see the odd man out. All the others are people from Earth, that he could tell by the fact that they didn¡¯t have any markings on their limbs or head that he could see. But that brown skinned young man, he definitely isn''t a native to this planet. Those bright blue irises that glowed like a piercing light of hope in the night when the sun is clearly up in the horizon is a telltale sign that he isn''t human. Or not anymore, that is.


    That young man directly looked at Daryll even though he was hiding behind a curtain with only a small gap for the binoculars to peer through. Not good, he thought.


    He subconsciously reaches for the revolver at his waist with his sweaty left hand. He found it a day ago while searching for a coat to wear because the temperature at night is getting lower by the day as winter approaches, and creating a bon fire is suicide at night. Better to find a small crevice to hide in, but even then, he¡¯s still in danger when nocturnal beasts start roaming and hunting for prey.


    Even with the new addition of the revolver to his arsenal, he doubts whether it could prove to be useful against anything else besides other human beings. Small game, sure, and it might also slow down the slightly bigger ones, but anything else, it would be like throwing a pebble at a tank. And, it only had three shots left in the barrel. Three shots that he needs to make count.


    The young man jumps off of the ram and walks towards the hospital. Two others come along to escort him. One of them wore a white face mask and black shades while the other was a black haired female that had several piercing on her nose and lips. One glance at that scowl on her face and you could already tell that she¡¯s pissed off. At what or who, he couldn¡¯t tell.


    Daryll¡¯s growing more frantic by the second. Hostile or not, they are still strangers that are armed to the bone, and it¡¯s quite literal because a couple of them are carrying sharpened bones on themselves.


    ¡°We mean you no harm¡± the young man¡¯s voice is so clear. Even from below, he could hear him as if he¡¯s right there next to him. But saying ¡®we mean you no harm'' is literally the cheapest way to get someone¡¯s guard down. And he¡¯d seen it been used several times before. On him, precisely. And he won¡¯t be baited by the same trick again.


    Daryll jumps into one of the air ducts and moves towards the elevator entrance by crawling in it. It¡¯s a very dusty place full of huge cobwebs and critters. He just hopes that nothing dangerous is crawling in there, too. Chances are, there might be.


    _______


    ¡°We¡¯re wasting time. Precious time¡± Kira said.


    After traveling for five days straight, they¡¯ve almost caught up with the vanguard unit. But another detour is going to put their comrades lives at more risk if they¡¯re delayed by trifling things like this one. And if they didn¡¯t put an end to things soon, the Monarch''s territory would just spread its influence by the night. It already reached far enough that their safe haven''s been breached a month prior to this operation.


    ¡°A wary soul, this one¡±


    She looks over at the person who caused them to be on standby at a desolated city¡¯s ruins, the Akshfala.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°¡­ can you fetch him for me?¡±


    He just looks up and stares at whatever those blue eyes of his could see that nobody else could. Prying into other people¡¯s business like a goddamn pervert again, she thought.


    She clicks her tongue in annoyance and runs up towards the stairs.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bully him, okay?¡± he said.


    It¡¯s not like she''s going to do anything but to end this quick. And if the brat he¡¯s talking about resists, then she¡¯d just have to use force to bring him in. A small cut here and a small stab there makes no difference if he still breaths in air.


    With her highly sensitive sense of smell, she sniffs him out at the fourth floor of the building. He reeked of an odd odor that she didn¡¯t quite like. It has a resemblance to fear that she smelled and got accustomed to from before, but something else is mixed along with it. Disgustingly horrible, she thought.


    ¡°Hey! Come on out! Someone would like to have a word with you!¡± she yelled.


    She''s currently right below where he is hiding, yelling for him to come out of there and have a talk with the Akshfala. She even threw pebbles that she picked up on the ground at the ceiling to try and get his attention, but there was no answer or reply that came. She was snubbed.


    ¡°Figures¡±


    She unclasps the spear on her back and readies a stance. The spear¡¯s leaf shaped blade is black with intricate carvings running down its wooden shaft. It has an otherworldly vibe to it.


    She twirled it alongside her body before making a slash that opened up a big gap on the ceiling, making it look as if she sliced through butter.


    There, she could see him with an apathetic look on his face while he wielded a gun aimed towards her. He fired without warning.


    ¡°You did it! You just had to do it, you cheeky little runt!¡± she rolled to the side. The bullet only missing her face by a few centimiters.


    He jumps down from the duct and makes a run for it towards the elevator shaft where he grips the cable and slides down, immediately escaping from her. Not for long, though, she thought.


    With her temper rising, the spear¡¯s blade changes color to a fiery red steel that radiates heat and flames. She stabs the tip of the spear into the floor and with it, the fire spreads throughout the building like wildfire. Basically covering everything except for the two at the reception desk in a blaze.


    Not long after, she hears a window breaking and that¡¯s when she knew she had caught the dangerous little rat.


    She withdraws her spear and casually walks towards the nearest window where she sees someone rolling on the ground like a madman. The frown that she had before entering the building turned into a giant smirk of satisfaction.


    _______


    Daryll rolls on the ground, hoping that the flames would be put out, but it didn¡¯t seem to have any effect. The flames aren''t dying down and it only seemed to grow bigger. He is going to die well-done if this doesn''t stop any time soon. For all he knew, maybe he already died and went to hell.


    ¡°Kira, stop it¡±


    ¡°Just a little more¡± she said. ¡°A minute. Give me just a few more minutes¡­ or ten¡±


    ¡°Kira¡­¡±


    ...


    ¡°Kira!¡±


    ¡°Okay! Fine! You win! Geez¡­¡± Daryll could hear her very audible snarl before the flames disappeared.


    He hurriedly looks up and assesses the situation before leaping back to where no one''s there, and then gripping the gun and pointing it towards the woman who he assumes to be the reason for him catching on fire.


    ¡°I¡¯d be putting that down, if I were you¡± she said with a nasty look.


    Without warning, he fires the gun a second time today.


    The world slows down, but his mind and sense of time stayed the same. Something odd is happening and he knew exactly who he can attribute this strange phenomenon to.


    Daryll couldn¡¯t move his body like normal, but his peripheral vision catches the young man moving. He slowly walks in-between the woman and the bullet like a goddamn hero taking the shot for her, and uses a stick that he took out from inside his fur sleeves and quickly swats the bullet away to the ground.


    ¡°Cease this senseless conflict¡± he said, before disappearing like dust blown away by the wind.


    The world comes back to normal and with the young man standing to where he originally was before swatting the bullet away.


    ¡°Shall we head inside and talk?¡± the young man said.


    With everything that he saw and experienced, Daryll had no choice left but to comply.


    ¡°If you want to talk¡­ then come alone¡± he said, taking a quick glance at the woman behind him before looking back.


    ¡°You think that even if we didn-¡° the woman didn¡¯t finish what she was saying before she got cut short by the young man raising his hand to stop her from talking anymore.


    ¡°Give me some time, Kira. This won¡¯t take long¡±


    ¡°Fine. Go ahead. Do your thing. I don¡¯t care. Just make it quick¡± she clicks her tongue and angrily heads back to their group along with the other person with them wearing a facemask and shades.


    ¡°Shall we?¡± he said.


    Daryll went inside with the young man following right behind him. This clearly isn''t the best result that he had expected, but at least he hasn¡¯t died YET. And with only the two of them, he now has a better chance of running away, not that it would matter with this physics defying young man. And also, there might be a chance that he could get out of this mess unscathed so that he could finally leave this place to find a remote and secluded area free of danger and trouble. He only has one bullet left in the barrel, it would be a terrible waste to use his final trump card here now that he fired it twice this day and failed to take out the same target twice.


    They make their way towards an operating room on the second floor. Daryll sits on the operating table while the young man stands beside the door and leaning on it.


    ¡°To start things off, I must apologize for my subordinate¡¯s actions. She has a short temper and can be quite¡­ crude when she loses herself to it¡± he said.


    ¡°¡­understandable¡± Daryll replied. He did try to put a bullet in her body twice, so the other party retaliating is only a natural of his reaction to her actions.


    ¡°Now that the apologies are over and done with, I¡¯ll make no detours and head straight to the point. You¡± he pointed towards Daryll, ¡°I want you to accompany us¡±


    The young man explains their current circumstance. They were on some kind of mission towards a castle situated beyond the mountains to the north-east. There, they would have a clash with what¡¯s spawning those Shadow People and its minions to stop its unstoppable expansion. Basically, be the hero and kill off the Demon Lord in its Shadow infested mansion before they could take over the land scenario.


    ¡°Ah! I forgot to introduce myself. It is Gesta-¡° Daryll fires the third and last bullet, aiming at the young man¡¯s head. This time, his aim is true.