ã€ŠKing and Mythã€‹


 Friendship is Magical.

    Myth and King

    If a new a race of creature appears would they win against human or lose and become a new resource to be exploited.

    Friendship is Magical

    Charles'' eyes were wide open when he wakes up, he was in his room and it was dark, his toe was freezing and he pulls it inside the banket. His breath was normal but his spine was shivering, he tries to sharpen his ear and eye trying to found why he suddenly wakes up but there was no noise or figure hiding to get him yet something had wakened him. Finally, he looks at the ceiling, a spider, big as his chest, it¡¯s eye was lifeless staring at him, while its legs moving and slowly descend to his chest.

    Charles freeze, his mouth open and close, a word was desperate to come out.

    ¡°Mommy.¡± He whispered but he was screaming inside his mind, the spider was big as his chest, it¡¯s a smooth body build like an assassin with subtle fur around its eight legs. Where are you he mom, aren¡¯t you supposed to protect me, his mother room only separated by the wall if he screams loud enough she would hear him.

    While he was trying to call for help the spider had arrived at his chest, his body was shaking. He flexes his hand and toe but he never dared to move any more than that. Its many eyes were staring at him, his breath was short and he could hear the bed creak when the spider slowly walk to his face. He was sure he already crying at this point, he just woke up and he already welcomed by this monstrosity, it reminds him of the night terror when he was smaller except he didn¡¯t want to check it by being bitten.The spider had moved so close he can use its eyes as a mirror and he can saw the reflection of- oh wait, he can¡¯t because of its fucking dark, there almost no light in the room because he didn¡¯t close the shitty window.

    ¡°Mommy.¡± Charles called his mom again, praying that some miracle would wake her with his tiny little whisper but alas it¡¯s was too late, the spider with leg sharp as stilettos had moved, touching his neck and he¡¯s dead.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Charles can¡¯t handle the suspension and opened his eye the spider still there.

    ¡°Ca- Can you go away.¡± Said Charles politely, even though the spider had barged into his room he was still being polite after all his mother raise him as gentleman and Charles had close up look at its fang but the spider didn¡¯t have the intention to go.

    The unfortunate boy had bathed with cold sweat while the spider stays at his chest like a nightmare machine. He finally calm his heart, maybe the spider just wants to share a bed with him, he had incredible comfy bed and blanket, it¡¯s not like he had a phobia with a bug but when giant spider slowly descends into your face you would traumatize. The spider still stays in place and he finally checks this encounter as a night terror. What kind of spider barged into a human house just so it can sleep in a bed. When he was ready to close his eye, the spider moves again, turning around until it''s butt facing a small table beside his bed.

    Woosh.

    White thread shot from its butt, catching Mr. Paddy in its blue trunk.

    Charles body was trembling while he bit his blanket and staring at the spider. Not Mr. Paddy, he just innocent Plushy, the valiant elephant had to protect him until he learns to walk but he still remembers Mr. Paddy deed. The spider holds Mr. Paddy and he couldn¡¯t do anything but watch as the spider weave the thread with elegance and professionalism, it¡¯s start with one leg than two until six of them work in harmony to seal Mr. Inside perfectly oval cocoon.

    Why don¡¯t you just eat me, do you have to use intimidation, you psycho. Was this necessary. Thought Charles, the spider then stares at him again, like it tries to convey a message to him but unfortunately, he didn¡¯t know what the spider want.

    It moves its leg and touch his temple, Charles almost closed his eye but if the spider going to pierce his head he was going to stare it, he flinched when he feel pricked in his head but the spider suddenly jump back looking at his temple where he feels blood slowly trickle, it jump and move before it pulls a thread and making an emergency bandage and place it on his head. Charles frowned, he touched the bandage and becoming braver as he pulls his leg so he can sit comfortably and watch the spider.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that big.¡± He takes a closer look at its leg, it was smaller than his pinky so he didn¡¯t need bandage but it made him more sure the spider didn¡¯t come here to hurt him, the fact he was injured probably because the spider didn¡¯t know human skin way weaker than a monster.

    ¡°What do you want.¡± He asked. The spider didn¡¯t answer him because it can''t speak but it tried to communicate. First, it gives him poor Mr. Paddy then it points at itself, Mr. Paddy and Charles.

    Charles sit there for several seconds trying to understand what the spider want but he didn¡¯t understand it wants, unless the spider want him to be inside a cocoon, like Mr. Paddy he didn¡¯t understand why the need to ask permission and god, why it came in such time, he didn¡¯t have fresh mind at this time.

    Yet the more he observes the spider, the more he felt he knew the answer, the fog in his mind becomes clearer, the memories were rising and it reminds him one time he locks his cousin inside the toilet, the desperate screaming and cry for help just like the memory of the spider trying to rise and finally remembered who the spider is.

    He remembered the sun that warm his skin, he wears a green shirt and yawned while rubbing his eye, the ground was slippery thanks to the rain on the previous night, he could smell the dust and the cut grass. There were still few people who woke up and Charles walk toward a wild garden beside his house, there wasn¡¯t any specific thing to do in here besides the fact that he saw a small animal on the ground, desperately trying to move and hide.He kneels down and saw a small moth, he knew the difference between moth and butterfly but most importantly the time they wake up, he knew moth was nocturnal, which mean there was a very high chance it would being eaten if he didn¡¯t take the moth to the safe place. The small moth fluttered its wing on his palm, it was so tiny and Charles realized dew was stuck in its body making it hard to fly.

    He then. Think- what would label him as villain if his friend know, he walked toward the garden where a cassava plant has grown, between the brown branch there was spider web, it was one of the spider webs he could see closely and there was big shock in his heart when he found the web wasn¡¯t symmetric like the book draw and told him, instead it was crooked in the top and stretched liked cloth.A small spider was hiding in the branch hiding in the shade, Charles kneels down and observes the moth in his hand and with his finger, he places the moth in the web of death.

    The fate of the moth wasn¡¯t important what more important wasfinally found the spider identity.

    ¡°I feed you once.¡± Like understanding his word the mutated spider nod. Charles finally relaxed his body, all his tenseness gone he was practically drowning in his bed. He sits again and tries to move his hand toward the spider but naturally the spider back up but he moved a bit forward and the spider did the same, his hand hovers above the spider and finally, he touches the spider.Both surprised with each other touch, touching the spider head like touching aprecious gem, it¡¯s smooth and cold skin feel like he just unearthed a beautiful treasure while the spider surprised how much warm a human palm can make.

    The spider seems to comfortable with his touch and moves closer while the human smile and rub the spider head with care. Charles feels something special, he always heard the classic tale about human friendship with an animal that stays true and grows stronger during the Calamity, normally it was house pet like dog and cat but he doesn¡¯t see a problem with this beautiful creature.

    ¡°You look so plain,¡± He said, the spider who he realized pretty smart for a mutant for being able to understand human speech really well, raise it two legs and move like a horny peacock, he smirks seeing it¡¯s antic and said.

    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing. You¡¯re a killer, the more people ignore you the easier it is to stab their heart.¡± He pats he spider again and calm the silly animal.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep and made sure you fix Mr. Paddy.¡± Charles turned around and closed his eye and felt the spider move besides his face and pat his head before it jumps from the bed making the click-clack noise with its leg and moves under his bed.

    #

    Waking up, the sun was shining through his face so was eight eye monstrosity. Charles trying to calm his beating heart and patting the spider while pushing it at the same time.

    ¡°Good morning,¡± He said to his new pet or roommate or friend- Charles didn¡¯t really know how to define this relationship, Mutated monster sometimes just an upgraded to super pet, a puppy could be sized of truck but they still like to play and chasing its own tail, a cat could shoot lighting but it would still scared with water. It becomes complicated when it was a wild animal, you can¡¯t just go into the wild, spot the coolest animal or plant then yeah, that¡¯s going to be my monster. Unless you had something to keep it docile then you would become a warning tale to a child and butt of the joke in campfire stories. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    In partnership with a monster, respect is the bare minimum.

    I will just need some time to get used to the spider, he thought.

    Now he can see better he starts to observed it body more closely, he remembers the small spider, its previous size was the size of his thumb if it¡¯s leg had been cut, its skin was brown and it had turned into a very dark shade of brown. Looking at the spider body Charles found the biggest change was its size and there are a lot of things he could guess from that, one its prey had gone bigger and it had no difficulty in hunting since he didn¡¯t see an extreme mutation besides its size.

    There was also new information, there was... Charles rubbed his head and sigh whether he accepts it or not there was something deeper between them after last night. It made him dive too deep inside his mind, working his brain until he feels his head hurt.

    They had developed a bond that was the conclusion but what is the bond, can¡¯t you qualitative a feeling. They said Monster could develop a strong bond with a human especially if they met before the big change. Charles always skeptical about this, isn¡¯t this just symbiotic, isn¡¯t monster who work with human had a higher chance to survive, didn¡¯t they say two head always better than one but now he was in that position he can¡¯t deny it, there was bond, no matter how abstract it is and he could confirm by the fact he knew the spider is a female.

    Even though he didn¡¯t know how to differentiate male and female spider, he absolutely sure the spider was a female and if he checks the information it would be true. Charles sigh, if only he knew about the monster he wouldn¡¯t have this headache but there was so much information the higher up didn¡¯t publish not because he thinks they had malicious intent maybe they did but Charles know it was because most information, about King, Myth, and Monster was just hearsay, an information who may or may not come from real person and there still many things they didn''t know about them, forget about research they just barely made a safe settlement and solve basic problems like food and water.

    Chitter.

    ¡°Oh sorry.¡± He said, watching the spider click her fang and give the clean Mr. Paddy to him. He rubs the spider head and jumps from his bed, the time was past six, so he still had time to prepare for his first day.

    The spider bounce from the bed toward his back and climb to stay around is his shoulder and oh boy does it feel like a giant spider climbing your back and breath in your neck. He only shivered for three seconds and made a mental note to get himself used because he was sure the spider would be his constant companion.

    ¡°We should name you and I already think a good name.¡± Said Charles, standing in front of the sink, his grey hair had a bad case of cowlick and his skin become more toned making him more standout from the rest of the family, well older family.He was Peace Era Children, born after humanity settled with the Calamity. The earth his parent born and the earth he was born was incredibly different, no one in their older family had hair other than black but if you look at Peace Era children you will find much variety, a human may not have drastic change like the monster but there was change.

    ¡°Do you like Beatrice, it was Old Britain name and I think it fits you.¡±

    ¡°Chitter.¡± Beatrice clicks her fang, he could feel she don¡¯t care whatever he name her. She bigger but she¡¯s still animal, thought Charles.

    He took the toothbrush and start cleaning his teeth, Beatrice was in his back, her eyes were staring at the mirror and he start teaching Beatrice about the bathroom, this is sink, this is water, this is human hygiene, while he was teaching the spider who purposely try to creep him by refusing to blink, question start to pop in his head. Why did she come back, it had been three or four years since that day, did she need him, surely it wasn¡¯t food if she could survive three years without his help.

    Of course, he could consider Anima theory, that united between human wit and animal strength is a step toward perfect being, meaning you get stronger by creating a bond with mutant but why him. He was just an ordinary boy, he was a bit smart and his family was middle class, he was sure where they weren¡¯t big shot that fallen into grace. The point is there so much better candidate than him, either in power and connection.

    Whatever it is, the answer probably in Calamity.

    He spits and looks at Beatrice.

    ¡°You want to be with me right,¡± he asked, Beatrice, move its mouth and start spitting out thread again and tied to his wrist while the other end she tied to one of her legs now they are connected but why he felt he was the pet in this situation.

    Charles shrug and decide to stop trying to think too hard, he couldn¡¯t answer why she choose him but they had stuck with each other. Talking about theory were much theory why it happens and he always leans on the scientist side. They lay the blame on Myth for why the Calamity happens, even if the existence of Myth ridiculous it iswhat they found as the primary reason for the change in earth geography and the birth of the Mutant.

    He walks out of the bathroom and holds Beatrice in his hand, she was heavy but still bearable. Then he put him outside the bathroom.

    Click.

    He looks down at the spider who stop the bathroom door.

    ¡°Beatrice, you understand human speech, I hope you understand human bath too,¡± He said tried to push doors but the spider insists in getting in and start to push the door.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t need to watch you pervert.¡± He said, pushing with all his might but he knew he was losing to some goddamn spider.

    ¡°A moth.¡± He pointed at the window ad the spider fall to the oldest trick. He slams and locks the door then starts undressing and showers with scratching and chittering noise on the door of his bathroom.

    Getting on his school uniform, Beatrice hissed and spitting at him then she starts to hug his leg and refused to let go making the activity wearing cloth become challenging again since he was three.He tries to dislodge the spider but he the only thing he could shake is the water in his hair. Walking down to the kitchen, he hears the radio being played in the kitchen with a loud volume.

    ¡°...Ehh, you can cook frog that way.¡±

    ¡°Of course you can, that why we make the show Eating Whatever You Find - Post Apocalypse. Even with just sharp wood, you can cook an animal that just outside your window.¡±

    Charles walk to the dining table and pour himself a glass of milk and toast with orange jam.

    ¡°Are you nervous." Said her mother from the kitchen. "You shouldn''t be, you know, it just high school nothing so different from middle school.¡± Charles didn''t try to pay attention insteadholding the knife he slowly and perfectly with utmost balance using the secret grand technique to evenly spread the jam.

    ¡°We could always call the psychiatrists.¡± Charles who was ready to bit the toast stop.

    ¡°What.¡± He stops the toast from entering his mouth and look in the kitchen.

    ¡°Oh honey, I mean you talk to her again, I thought you already stop that.¡± Charles trying to think what her mother mean, he never gives her strong reason to send him to a psychiatrist and he was sure her mother still didn¡¯t know the existence of Beatrice, yet. ¡°They said it was just a phase,¡± Her mother said peeking her head from the kitchen.

    ¡°Talking to an imaginary friend-¡± She said seeing her son face while holding her cheek.

    ¡°I don¡¯t talk to her again.¡± He sad finally realizing where the conversation is. He bit into his toast avoiding her gaze. ¡°I was talking to Beatrice and She was real.¡± As he said that, Beatrice who previously hiding under the table jump up and greet her mother.

    In hindsight, he should expect this.

    ¡°Kyaaah, a spider, a spider, kill it.¡± His mother starts screaming as soon poor Beatrice- never mind the spider started baring her fang toward her mother. Where did she get the bug spray, that was quick. Is that necessary, piercing hole in the table didn¡¯t help anyone.

    Charles was biting his toast while the house became complete chaos, he could smell of citrus from the bug spray and Beatrice started to shot thread everywhere, did she have to intimidate her mother.Herubbed his head and intent to ignore this drama until her mother pulls out a match and place it in front of the bug spray, he drops down and still holding the toast and his glass of milk, roll away from the citrus smelling flamethrower, the house could burn but he wouldn¡¯t pause his breakfast. Hestops once he reaches to the safety and decides to stay on the floor, is the dining table really necessary, you only need mouth to eat, chair and table only luxury when you are eating.

    Finally, the neighbor can¡¯t ignore the ruckus inside the house. Though whoever choose to intervene was an idiot since instead of knocking, the person breaks the door and rush to the kitchen. It was the Uncle next door, Mr. Door since he knew how to fix thing though mostly it was a door.With a blue shirt and half tied tie, the uncle comes barging with a gun and a brown-haired monkey wearing a bandana, his orange toast was almost finished meaning he was ready to act.

    ¡°What wrong, what-¡± The Uncle stop asking once he saw a big spider in the dining table without asking he take the gun and aim it at the spider, Charles finish his milk and toast then smash the glass drawing attention to himself and take Beatrice to his back without sudden movement.

    ¡°She mine.¡± Said a boy with ashen hair, moustache milk and orange jelly in his cheek with a spider hanging n his back, he was standing in the dining room who half burned and half covered with spider thread, a middle-aged man standing wearing one shoe with a gun aimed at the boy and his monkey doing a finger gun to the boy too and the last a woman who seems to escape an asylum holding a bug spray and match and one of the suspects for the destruction.

    In summary, it was an exciting morning for everyone.

    ¡°Squeeee.¡± The spider raises it''s leg finally catching up what the boy had said.

    ¡°Don''t squeal you creep.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s your-¡±

    ¡°My... partner.¡± Before calamity saying your partner with a spider would get you a weird look and people understanding that you love animal but in this age saying that your partnered with a mutated animal is adopting them into your household or it could mean you want to be the frontier, exploring and fixing the earth with human newest weapon, the monster.

    He didn¡¯t give them any time to respond, he kneels on the floor and kisses her mother.

    ¡°Goodbye.¡± Hearing his son word, Camellia feels a hammer just slammed into her heart, she feel if she didn¡¯t stop him now, she wouldn¡¯t see son again in a long time.

 Unity toward common enemy

    Charles walk a bit far and check his equipment, he had both his dagger on the back of his pant, his gun given by the government, it was sleek, powerful enough to kill but not enough to pierce steel, he also ask for muffler and small modification to disable it because sound was a dangerous weapon in the right hand.

    His satchel black bag also on his hip, created by newest fiber, it was resistant to all kind of weather and wouldn¡¯t tear so easily, he wonders if the reason they give him the bag because of they now all his shenanigans so they can see how durable it is.

    Even though he had this equipment he still feels it was too little especially when he couldn''t buy this thing with money but favor and gift. It was good he had a nice reputation in guard duty, his friend also helps but still.

    His shoe also a bit special, it made from super durable and comfortable leather, they said, it was made from new material but he skipped what they say, wear it and starts running test the shoe by jumping, on parkouring, climbing the roof and kicking several innocent, including rock and passerby.

    It was a good shoe. His review said.

    He kneels down on the ground getting into position but a spider standing in front of him wondering what he is doing.

    ¡°I¡¯m prepared to run. My grandfather said it was manly to arrived somewhere with your own feet.¡±

    Beatrice nod but she had a vague feeling that made him questions was she agreeing or not. She made a thread and tied to his hand again and bought him to the left of the house were a mango tree grows, she walks behind the tree and drags a cocoon sized of a small kid. He watches Beatrice lunge her fang and start sucking the cocoon.

    Once the girl had her own breakfast she climbed his back and he got into position and start sprinting toward the center of the town.

    ¡°He was loud.¡± He said, continuing to introduce his grandfather and running toward a road that had been paved with a smooth rock people could find.

    ¡°He likes to be called grandpapa though I only call him that when I face him most of the time I just referred him as grandpa, some cousin thought it was funny to call him the head house and him official heir.¡±

    There was a stream in front of him, it was connected to the main river and barely width as a sewer with a small homely bridge. He didn¡¯t run toward the bridge instead he runs to the left and jump toward the stream where bunch frog was sitting lily pad or a big rock, he landed on one of the lily pad, water splashed around and water bubble start popping under the lily pad when it seemed he was going to fall, the air bubble popped that propelled him into the air and reveal some kind creature that had been hiding under the lily.

    He was flying and catch a branch of a tree, climb it and jump toward a roof before he safely arrived on the ground again.

    ¡°Grandpa was my biological grandpa while some uncle and aunt didn''t even relate to each other.¡±

    He was quiet, after saying it was weird from other perspective but when his family arrived with the main group and joining the people who build a new town in this old and unknown city, they ake grandpa last name and become a big family.

    ¡°Mom said it was very hard not to call each other brother and sister when they share so much during the chaos, food, joy, loss.¡± He continues to run, some people were bringing a hot bread that probably just get out of the factory, several big animals, like horse and buffalo were carrying goods and people toward their destination.

    There were also car, bus, and other vehicles, they are mostly for transportation and belongs the public since a new source of fuel wasn¡¯t distributed, his friend said it was buffed up hamster but he holds his theory until he sees it with his own eye.

    A few police were walking with dog police wearing their own vest. They were there to make sure there wasn¡¯t any fighting but they mostly there to stop and punishing mutant owner who let their mutant shit in the street.

    It was peaceful, it wasn¡¯t like their previous life but they get by. Before settlement like this build, people keep moving around, sometimes staying at the protected building before it was getting destroyed and then they become nomad again, fighting the monster, bandit, and slaver.

    ¡°Granpa was the leader, even though the only good thing he knows was he was ninety and still kicking. Oh, he also likes to scream manly to everyone but I¡¯m sure during that chaos, the word respectable probably get switched with manly especially when he screams at naughty niece for not being manly or him putting his leg on the table is not manly. Basically, everything he doesn''t like is not manly.¡±

    There was rumbling behind him like a strong creature was running toward him at high speed, he looks back and saw a young black buffalo, running with a determined eye, carrying more weight and faster than any other. Charles starts adjusting his speed and positioned himself and jumped toward her back.

    ¡°To the shortcut, Bu-Bu.¡± He said, riding the buffalo while looking at the basket of fruit and thinking if it¡¯s okay to take few without being kicked by Ms. Yin. He takes the white strawberry, chewing three of them and to the mandarin orange.

    It was a road tax, he justified. His shortcut where small forest where some mutant already lived and wasn¡¯t really that good place to build a house or other building, but it was a more straightforward route to the market. Thir first trip there wasn''t peaceful like this, it was bloody, something he and Bu-Bu work alone, forging their own path by leaving countless corpse until he made himself a threat toward the mutant there.

    Though he was the one who does all the job, he still admires Bu-Bu for sticking with him and brave enough to stand inside a zone when she hadn''t even grown a horn.

    He hops down just before Bu-Bu arrived at the market, he didn''t want getting kicked especially since he still eating the orange and start to walk to the school but before he gets in, he toward a public bathroom and sat Beatrice for a talk.

    ¡°Do you have to scare my mother.¡±

    ¡°Hisssh.¡± Beatrice raised her leg and moved it like a centipede so she could to climbed his back again.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care If you think she¡¯s rude, it¡¯s her house, she can do whatever she wants.¡± He said trying to block the spider from hugging his face. ¡°Listen, I need you to stay out of school, it may look I don¡¯t care but I don¡¯t want to be known as that boy with the creepy spider so, If you don¡¯t mind-¡±

    ¡°Sheesh.¡±

    ¡°Stop hissing how do you that, spider can¡¯t hiss.¡± He put Beatrice down again and speak more sternly. ¡°You can¡¯t follow me to school and I will never believe you to play dead, just stay here. And wait for me.¡±

    Did he succeed persuading her. No, he was the kind of guy who use physical force to win n argument, unfortunately, he had to put Beatrice into the list people he can¡¯t bully for laugh.

    ¡°Beatrice.¡± Charles pushed her for the last time but she wouldn¡¯t, so he sigh and bring Beatrice inside the school since he doesn¡¯t want to be late.

    He walks to the school and they were herded toward giant aula where they forced to heard welcoming speech by the headmaster but this is a school like isn¡¯t this just a waste of time. So instead of hearing the speech, he looks around searching for a fellow monster lover like him and he founds a surprising amount of fellow monster lover.

    Having a monster is a new trend, a trend for younger people since older people were, well they watched their old world destroyed by this creature so by the exception the mutant is pet or member o their family they saw mutant as food or enemy.

    Having monster as a pet certainly cool and some pragmatic parent had seen them as an additional guard for their children but as he said, mutant wouldn''t obey you just because you catch them, even if you made them docile, how do you know they wouldn¡¯t harm your children or run away from the asshole who take them from their house.

    So it wasn¡¯t surprised when it was, cat, dog, bird, and other domesticated animals who already close with the human before the calamity. It made him feel high and mighty, his partner wasn''t a wuss that only know to eat unlike them Beatrice is a certified predator, she also more beautiful than this trash tier animal, are they even smart enough to understand human speech.

    He scoffs and starts drowning in an achievement that wasn¡¯t his own. Charles was in that state for several more minute, looking on the passing mortal, scoffing at their ignorance then bought back to

    reality when he heard his class placement.

    He found the class after a bit of walk and stands at the door, peeking some student who already been there. There was a boy who was taller than him, a girl who pretty than he is and a guy who is more beautiful than him. He feels self-conscious, it wasn¡¯t that he was shy but he was bad at socializing. Every time he opens his mouth it would just become a disaster that everyone regrets but after he had analyzed the situation, he would give himself one hour limit before he got out the class.

    He picks a chair then starts wandering around the class, seeing the board and spinning the globe until someone calls him. He looks back and saw a runt kid with clothes that look bigger than him waving at him and pointing at his shoulder.

    ¡°Is that spider.¡± He asked.

    Charles nod and take a chair to join the boy. ¡°Her name is Beatrice and I¡¯m Charles.¡±

    ¡°Me name Mikail.¡± The boy rapidly nods and made his bang look ready to fly thanks to his overenthusiasm. Charles didn''t blame the boy, after all, Beatrice is the coolest mutant you can get.

    ¡°And this is my bro, Atlas.¡± He said slapping the sleeping boy who sits beside him until he sees a similar face but instead of the black eye, it was sharp yellow that stares to him. It made him freeze and made his hand move toward his dagger until Atlas glare at his brother, punching his shoulder and sleep again.

    ¡°He¡¯s sleepy.¡± Mikail rubs his shoulder and drags his chair to observe Beatrice more closely, he was astounded with this boy lack of fear by staring Beatrice so close, after all, Beatrice is that kind beauty who can be appreciated once you are very far away,

    They sat there staring at each other and had glaring contest until at the end Beatrice win by default.

    He gets back from Beatrice, rubbing his back and look away from her. ¡°She¡¯s creepy.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s my beauty.¡± He said rubbing the spider. ¡°And she just eats so she was bit quiet.¡±

    ¡°What kind of food she eats.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, she hunts herself but it was big as you.¡± He smiled and looking at the small boy.

    ¡°Sh- did she eat children.¡± Mikail gasp and finally realized that he had trapped himself between eight-legged, furry monster and his grumpy brother. There are no safe place or escape route or him.

    ¡°She didn¡¯t eat children.¡± Said a voice behind Mikail, Atlas had finally woken again and glaring at Mikail and Charles.

    ¡°How did you know.¡± He crosses his arm and stares at his brother.

    ¡°Because of the mayor.¡± Said both Charles and Atlas at the same time, they both look at each other and Charles bow his head and give the stage to Atlas.

    ¡°Ehm.¡± Atlas clear his throat and step above the table, he looks up, watching this sickly young man who now filled with vigor.

    ¡°All hail Lord Silver,¡± Atlas screamed and raise his hand in the air, worshipping invisible figure they couldn''t see.

    ¡°All hail Lord Silver.¡± Several young man and woman follow Atlas, raising their had and calling their deities.

    ¡°Just explain it.¡± Charles rubs his ear but it was too late, he already wake the cult, no one can stop them until they finished glorifying and tell everyone their Lord is a god who descends to this lowly land. Someone had pushed a table in front of the class and this random children suddenly become a cohesive unit who slowly turn the class into the mini theater and start kidnaping people who, unfortunately, walk near their class.

    The projector had been placed, the curtain had been closed, the door had been guarded with a girl with an orange cat and everyone fears for their life. There was tense silence when the cult turns the projector and he heard people start whispering, while the cult member sitting at the floor while their eye already plastered toward the whiteboard.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    ¡°Are we just going to stay here.¡±

    ¡°Be quiet, I heard this cult, they would get personal if you tried to run away.¡±

    ¡°Like, what.¡±

    ¡°They hug you and force you into their non-violence group.¡±

    The projector had finally turned distracting everyone from their unknown fate.

    ¡°Look at his manly muscle.¡± In the screen a blond man, who he one hundred percent sure was an actor, kneeling on a grave while the camera keeps shooting at his perfect, manly muscle while his face was down, like remembering something tragic.

    ¡°That guy looks like he needs a toilet.¡±

    ¡°Shh.¡±

    ¡°Look at his exotic hair lock and his chiseled jaw.¡± From a lonely grave on the hill, it changes into a beautiful harbor, a lone man stood there with a bear wearing silver armor, his hair fluttered in the nonexistent wind and he smiled despite the coming mutilated monster that seems to carries all the waste in the ocean.

    It irks him and made him chuckle at the people rection, here he was, Silver a man with an absolute mystery about his past, a hero who probably come from ancient time, a real savior to humanity turned and sell as a cheesy, dumb muscled protagonist.

    ¡°Lord Silver is great.¡± Said the boy beside him, Charles bit his banana chip and Beatrice chew some cricket she caught. Does someone was falling into these? he didn¡¯t know what to call it, propaganda just sound negative. Sure, they add some fabricated stories here and there, the fact it was an actor, didn¡¯t help their case but he didn¡¯t want to call it propaganda, he like Silver.

    ¡°Well, he is. He was the one who offers a solution to the Calamity, fight fire with fire, a wall is useless since we don¡¯t have technology or material to build strong one that could protect us from monster and heck even if we can, they still can fly or jump above the wall. Partnership with Monster especially King level is the surest way to protect the settlement and fight the Myth. Silver also responsible for many life, he fights monster as big skyscraper and strong as nukes.¡±

    It was also the answer to the previous question. The mayor is basically why they can live in peace, he was their own local Silver. Whose job was to make everyone follow the rule, including the mutant who live inside his town. Yes, the city didn¡¯t just house human, there was this thing called zone, a place where the mutant had taken place like home, it can be a part of a river, swamp or small worst that either too dangerous to live or too bothersome to make it safe.

    ¡°Is that why.¡± He said looking Beatrice, the mayor was strong but not only that, he had killed all mutant who was a threat to him and presumable Beatrice if she keeps growing.

    He didn¡¯t know where he would put Beatrice power level but she wasn¡¯t an ordinary Mutant. Growing from the size of a child''s thumb to the size of a small dog speak for her power and her dark skin trait also clued where she hangs out all these years.

    He wonders why some mutant wants to partner with a human. The earth had grown bigger, the land had been scattered like some cosmic toddler had come to earth and hate the geography of earth and start making his own.

    It destroyed many nations and created a new continent and island. Something that baffles many people how the effect wasn''t devastating as land big as America broke and thrown to the next ocean without causing many causalities and why the building still intact.

    Beside something obvious like the day getting longer there are still many mysteries about this new earth including the mutant.

    Civilization also wasn¡¯t that different but at the beginning it was unrecognizable.

    There were many raids from the monster, sometimes a myth who passing by able to completely destroy a city, raid, and massacre had become an everyday occurrence. There was so much death that it was very optimistic to say the human population was twenty percent what it used to.

    It was human killing human, mutant killing human, mutant killing mutant. Everyone seems ready to plunge into mutual destruction until people like Silver show up and time had clear the fog of chaos, showing everyone they had space for each other and more if they wish.

    Beatrice probably search him so the mayor didn¡¯t kill her, she wasn¡¯t in that level yet but she feels Beatrice desire to grow and if she made partner with a human then it would be okay to let her live. Even its sounds ruthless but that just human nature despite the birth of creature called monster they still unbeatable in that regard.

    He stood up, stealing his heart, he had a goal now and it made him lost interest toward the cult and certainly not the girl who block the door.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry you have to protect me but I promise I become your protector, too.¡± He said and he heard the spider squeal again. He was going to help Beatrice goes beyond and he would protect the city and the human settlement. As soon he declares his goal the room become completely dark.

    Is this the sign from God, was this his way to tell him, he was on the right path.

    Click.

    A student had turned the light when the projector died and a girl, wearing a thick jacket, with cream-colored hair, was holding the projector plug.

    ¡°Don¡¯t misuse the school properly.¡± Said the girl, her voice was wispy, like a sheltered girl who used to see the world behind glass but her gaze was steady even if her body shaking by being stared by so many eyes.

    ¡°We are showing Lord Siver to the world, educating the crowd what glorious being He is, the projector should feel lucky to be chosen as Our Lord tool.¡± Said one of a cult member who had talent in words.

    The girl still had the plug look at the class again. ¡°Silver is not a hero he-¡±

    ¡°Booo.¡±

    ¡°Heathen, get away from here.¡±

    ¡°*******.¡± Now that was too far, yet still, many insults were hurled toward the girl and it turned into a threat, like pulling her hair and taking her ugly jacket. Charles didn¡¯t mind about the threat, after all, it was a threat and even if someone did it, other people would stop them but he doesn¡¯t want to leave the class without adding his own piece even though he was the sole reason why this situation came to be.

    ¡°Silver is many things.¡± He said, standing in front of the class and staring at the girl. ¡°But whoever denies he wasn¡¯t a hero had a grudge against him or a deranged person.¡±

    ¡°What.¡± The girl was surprised by his arrival boy and more when there wasn¡¯t Lord attached when he addresses Silver.

    ¡°I said you¡¯re retarded.¡± Said Charles straightforwardly.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know who you are but I just stopping the misuse of school item and telling people the truth.¡± He gazes at the member of the cult at her last sentence. ¡°And I¡¯m not retarded.¡±

    Charles mouth twitched and bow his head.

    ¡°Then forgive me, maybe you¡¯re right, after all, the mayor couldn¡¯t produce a stupid child.¡± He said glancing at the crowd, the girl was still steady, probably too naive to realize what would happen if he releases that information.

    ¡°No wonder...¡±

    ¡°Guess that how you become if you had a golden spoon...¡±

    ¡°Just because she was his daughter she thinks she can do anything...¡± There are many more whisper spread into the class, the girl still clueless but she slowly realized that no one was in her side and the whisper had become louder.

    ¡°If you weren¡¯t stupid then there should be a reason why you said such horrible thing to Silver.¡± He speaks again, slowly controlling the mob, he knew the girl didn''t deserve this but he was curious mightly curios. Are you a strong tree that could withstand the biggest storm or a parrot who echo the word of the adult around you.

    His heartbeat getting faster it starts becoming painful, he wants to know what happens, he wants to know if she survived. In fact, it reminds him of The Moth, he wants to know how spider eats but more he wants to know if the moth could break free from the web he put her or would she fail and become the food.

    ¡°Maybe I can¡¯t answer that,¡± Atlas said, Charles, break free from his thought shrugs and wonder how Atlas going to play this, he realized he shouldn¡¯t interrupt too much, after all, he wasn¡¯t a member of their cult, if he does all the work then they wouldn¡¯t have a face anymore.

    ¡°I believe why Ms. Mithra had said that horrible thing because it was hard for her to understand Us, The lower class. As a high class, how could she know our suffering and the salvation Lord Silver gave to us. He saves us from Evil Mutant and Myth but Ms. Mithra shouldn''t know that since his father always protects her, up there in her giant mansion.¡± Despite portraying as the good guy, Atlas mannerism and glare didn¡¯t mirror his word, he looks like he wants to choke Mithra instead of educating her.

    ¡°Stop it.¡± Said Mithra glaring at Atlas. ¡°Don¡¯t paint me like I¡¯m a spoiled princess, I eat the bread from the factory and the vegetable and fruit we grow at the edge of the town. My father may be rich but what we''re going to do with the money, there are no more vacation spot or luxury car and our mansion didn¡¯t belong solely to us, he had many employees, the scientist and the researcher need a lot of space and protection. Stop twisting the truth in your liking.¡±

    The crowd silent, she said many good points but alas he still had a habit to open his mouth.

    ¡°But didn¡¯t we receive a shipment from the capital every month. Who knows what kind thing in there, who knows...¡± he let the word hang in the air, people whispered and glancing at the girl again.

    ¡°That right, how did we know she said the truth for all we know she had her own chef and butler.¡±

    ¡°Yeah and she said Silver is terrorist, there must be something wrong with her.¡± Along with the remark, there were also deeper emotion, snide and jealousy.

    Well, he shouldn¡¯t be surprised someone feeling jealous and was that a thumb up from Atlas, couldn''t you be more blatant that we basically bullying a girl to the point lynching her.

    The girl clenched her fist, her chest up and down and her eye feels hot glaring at the two boys who made this situation worse.

    ¡°Silver is criminal.¡± She said seeing everyone looking at her. ¡°He is a madman who doesn¡¯t know any method besides killing, a dangerous vigilante who thinks himself judge and the jury. Calling him a hero is poison to the community, we are not a caveman who only know killing as a method to solve the problem and he is the malefactor of the Hurrican Massacre.¡±

    ¡°Fuck you.¡± Atlas pointing at the girl and walking in front of her while he was choking on the banana chip, Atlas looks ready to beat up the girl and he doesn¡¯t want that, he wants to test the girl mental not her body. He was trying to tack his brain and find some ways to cool the room and applaud the girl on making her own stand.

    ¡°You tell us not to twist the truth but you speak like the Hurricane some kind saint, they fuck-

    ¡°They are circus group.¡± Cut Charles, he needs to control the situation and he didn¡¯t want to be connected to this kind level of fuck up. Hurricane Group is something need to be told wisely especially in the room full of teenagers.

    ¡°According to the news and the evidence they found, Hurricane group are former circus member, we didn¡¯t know if they come from the same group or not since Silver didn¡¯t give us proper corpse but their modus is moved from settlement to settlement, collecting any human and mutant they found along the way and once they arrived on a settlement they will build a huge bright tent and invite

    people to watch their show.¡±

    ¡°So long you had money or something precious you can come and watch the most authentic show in the history, sit tight and prepare to have the time on your life and if you critic our perfect performance, relax we have a special show for you, said the Ringmaster every time they open the tent. I hope everyone had a clue who is Hurricane group and if you want to know what kind show they did, please find it yourself.¡± He finished but they still glare at each other do come back into a spatting contest.

    ¡°Silver is a hero, he saves people live and basically our hope to make the world safe again, you''re probably should check your head or stop being an arrogant princess.¡±

    ¡°I never deny in him saving people, do you think it¡¯s okay for him to act like whatever he wants, we barely grasping with our population and this retard were running around reducing our number more.¡±

    ¡°He always kills the bad guys you dumbass. You¡¯re saying it¡¯s okay for the outsider to continue living.¡±

    ¡°Of course it is, not all outsider is a bandit and how do we know Silver just kill the bad guy do you have proof-¡±

    Charles didn¡¯t really want to take a side in the argument but inside he sides with Silver. Yet he didn¡¯t voice his opinion, it just... wrong. There are so many things unknown about Silver, they didn¡¯t even know his real name hence people call him by his most popular moniker, Silver, The Silver Hero or

    The King who rode a Bear.

    Did he want to be a hero.

    Silver is a hero to him but did he want to. He tries to imagine himself as a person who already partnered with a strong mutant, chaos, and death everywhere and he tries to help as best as he can and maybe sometimes he didn¡¯t have a lot of choices, he didn¡¯t want to become a hero so he continues to avoid the public and government but he never went too far, never hide from them because he was the few people who can fight horde of beast without dying.

    Is Silver a hero, did he want this, this attention, hate, expectation that the people throw onto his shoulder. What does he feel when he becomes one of Humanity pillar of hope. Can you refuse that kind position, the more he thought about it, the more hurt his head, Charles had put himself in Silver position, no matter how selfish and unfeeling he sometimes is, he can¡¯t reject it, knowing life will be gone because his inaction is maddening.

    He sighs and looks at the still ongoing argument, he had lost interest in their debate, until he can hear the answer himself from Silver he¡¯s not going to join in but since he made the show, he wants to add the last explosion.

    ¡°Does it matter.¡± He said and he found much glare directed at him, he suddenly becomes a ¡®Mithra¡¯ but he got all their attention something he just realized probably a talent he had. ¡°I mean, Is her opinion matter.¡± He raised his hand and pointing at the punchbag.

    ¡°Are you trying to-¡±

    ¡°Shhh.¡± He steps down from the table putting Beatrice to her shoulder, the spider seems very chill among this show, but maybe it''s not her taste.

    ¡°I mean since when a liar opinion is valued,¡± he said walking to the front and looking at the crowd.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± He pointed at the girl before he could defend herself. ¡°You said you weren¡¯t spoiled but clearly you just lying.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯M NOT SPOILED.¡± The girl screamed, like a spoiled child.

    ¡°You, Ms. Mithra is a liar. The truth is in front of us and if you want to see the truth then it was there, inside your jacket is the Truest Truth.¡±

    He had bought all the attention toward People start noticing the bulgy jacket Mithra wear and they notice something was moving inside it. He was smiling as she holds her jacket but it didn¡¯t work because everyone can see the bulge moving around, she tries to deny the truth but truth cannot be hidden.

    Many were gasping while he was giddy and try not to jump from joy. How perfect the creature was, how perfect his reveal to the crowd. It was a beautiful white ferret, a fur that seems to be brushed and sprinkled with pearl, its red eye was glaring at her master''s enemy while wind blowing around the powerful mutant.

    Charles almost smirked, he wants to smile so wide he can show his teeth but he restraint himself, in all it¡¯s glory the mutant had show itself, comparing to their pitiful pet the ferret had won, from look to power, no matter how prideful he was to Beatrice the ferret had beat her, the subtle blue motif in its fur, the pure white wing the sprouted from its shoulder with grossly but manly scar on the base like the wing had been grown forcefully just add the charm to the mutant.

    A powerful one who control the wind, a ferret who had gone toward powerful mutation and lived to tell the story, it deserved to be called a monster.

    ¡°Not even my Beatrice can beat her in look and gene.¡± He said, patting his beautiful lady. ¡°You still can kill it, though.¡± He said to Beatrice, she was silent in fact she doesn''t even try to compare herself. Charles grumbles he was trying to defend her but she doesn¡¯t even care.

    ¡°Icarus isn¡¯t a gift, I found him myself.¡± Sid Mithra still glaring at him.

    He shrugs and opens his mouth again.

    ¡°Well, what a lucky citizen we are, a powerful protector and a daughter who touched by the heaven, to be able to found a mutant who can control an element, I only heard King level do that.¡± He said finishing his piece and his last chip. The card had been laid, whether she lies or telling the truth she was trapped in loss/loss situation, if it¡¯s a gift the mob can call her spoiled, if he had told the truth the mob would envy and jealousy on the girl.

    He let Beatrice crawl in his body, fixing his bag and walks out the room, this time with a lighter heart because her pet was still absolute apex in this class and like a good boy he is, Charles leaves the mess he made without cleaning it.

 The New World

    What is a Myth. Ask a boy who rearing a dog-sized spider, walking under a chestnut tree with a hair like a tuft of grey cloud. There were many school children wandering around the class time, making a high contrast on the supposed ¡®School¡¯ building they wander.

    ¡°What is a Myth or what is A King, what the difference between them, they are talked like the same bing but so different at the same time.¡± He spread his finger running the thread that Beatrice spun in order encase it, he takes the none sticky silk and playing tower rubber with her.

    ¡°You are like this thanks to them.¡± He speaks to Beatrice. ¡°I guess we should start with the most popular story, a birth of Myth way before the old world destroyed. It was winter, the sun was shyly peeking behind the highest mountain, the wind was howling and white is all around on the Himalayan Mountain. It had snowed last night and the first snowflake slowly falling to the earth, gently and stead watching a young maiden get out from one of the houses, humming and jogging through the snow while holding a letter near her heart.¡±

    ¡°She was sprinting while her heart beat so fast, the cold redden her cheek and she passes through the snow that always presents until she found a secluded place in her town. She sits down, hand trembling, a smile blooming on her delicate face. The sound of ripped paper echo on the sleeping town and the more she read the letter, the less she smile until she reached the end where her heartbroken but her smile still plastered. A tear fall from her cheek, touching the cold snow, he starts digging and bury her first love.¡±

    ¡°It was a smile of the first crush, a tear of a broken heart, an end of childhood and the birth of the White Terror, the Himalayan Fairy.¡±

    Clap, clap.

    Charles blinked and found a boy sitting near him, he choose this tree because many people avoid it but then he saw the nodding head and overgrown bang, he realized who he it was.

    ¡°Mikail.¡± He said the boy didn¡¯t confirm instead run closer like an excited puppy.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know that¡¯s the story, you made it so interesting, so how is the fairy, is she pretty and I don¡¯t get it what do you mean she born, is the girl is the fairy, why she called white terror, what is-¡± Charles shut the boy''s mouth and rub his chin. Did the boy follow him but how could he miss it, did he so stuck up with Beatrice and his own greatness that he didn¡¯t realize a runt had followed him or... the boy was a ninja.

    Charles look at the boy again, the uniform was big enough to drown him so it probably belongs to his older brother or more rational answer, they didn¡¯t have uniform in his size because the boy probably should be in the elementary or middle school but why should it matter, this was the school so long you graduated from the basic class you are free to do whatever you like, you don¡¯t even need a job because there are plenty of walking meat inside and outside the city.

    Besides he still needs to find out what this ninja want, is his uniform a smoke to distract him, he has to keep an eye on the boy.

    ¡°Anyway Myth and King had been used to describe many things but in the context, Myth was a creature who born out of nothing, they just popped like how god just come into existence where they become adult and skip all growing stage. While King is your third stage, an animal change into a mutant, a mutant evolves into a King. So the difference is how they are born, Myth is a freak of nature while King is a product of nature.¡±

    ¡°Everyone now that.¡± Said Mikail.

    ¡°What are you doing here.¡± Charles finally asked the boy and Mikail tiptoed with a wide eye asking for the stories.

    ¡°I ask what are you doing here.¡± He pulls the runt''s ear and clicked his tongue, why are they so distracted, can they focus on something for more than one minute what was it with these children.

    ¡°I was following you, stop pulling it, please. I don¡¯t want to stay in class because all of you were mean to the girl and when you go out, I just followed you.¡± Mikail rubs his reddened ear and stares at Charles. ¡°You still didn¡¯t answer my question about the mayor.¡±

    ¡°That because you didn¡¯t listen.¡± Charles sigh and sit down on the ground and start telling the by what the mayor primary job. ¡°He was a natural barrier from the big bad monster outside our city, he was also so strong that if a monster being naughty he¡¯s going to ¡®Bam-Bam¡¯ the naughty mutant.¡± Charles picked up grass and smashed it in his palm and making bam-bam noise.

    ¡°I¡¯m not five.¡± The boy blushed and raised his fist to punch him but his glare made the boy become docile again.

    ¡°If your brother didn¡¯t pull that Cult business we could have a nicer conversation.¡±

    ¡°Silver saved his life.¡± Mikail looks down and fiddle with the hem of his shirt. ¡°That why I go out the class.¡± He said again at his time in a more quieter voice, he looks up again and found two no, ten eyeballs looking down at him yet Charles¡¯s stare was scarier, Beatrice feels like a statue but Charles look at him like he was a piece of meat to be eaten.

    ¡°So the mayor job is to make everyone safe.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The mayor job of course more than that, in fact, he shouldn¡¯t spend to much time protecting the citizen inside since making the city safe was their first task to complete and the mayor had been here since Wheatel City was built and the city age should be more than a decade.

    It was because the unique dynamic between the human and the mutant who lived inside since it could be said that the mutant was also citizen of Wheatel City since most of them were weaker than mutant who live outside and they have to obey a rule which was they cannot approach any human unless it was inside their zone, so most of the time when a mutant kill someone it was because he/she was lured or didn¡¯t know they were an inch from a mutant.

    So even though they had habit killing each other it¡¯s not weird if a wild mutant were helping a human to stop or kill an outsider who wants to get inside the city.

    Though if Charles could say something, the city wasn¡¯t safe enough and he feels all the adult didn¡¯t make to much effort on that aspect and when he ask his grandpa he only gives him some vague answer.

    ¡°The world is dangerous.¡± He said to Mikail and grab a vine that had hover above Mikail head, the vine was thick as his finger and feel slimy, as soon he grabs it, the vine contracted and wrap around his hand and Charles feel a force as one of his finger broke. He snorts and take his dagger and cut the vine, goosing out a sweet smelling sap that turns the boy under it to green.

    The runt was surprised and still didn¡¯t register he just avoid death. He was looking at him, trembling as he realized the grass had tied his leg and several brown vines had popped out the earth surrounding them and trap them from the outside world.

    ¡°Is Atlas, your Guard,¡± Charles asked, pointing his Dagger at the boy.

    ¡°We- We should run,¡± Said the boy, gulping his saliva, his skin becomes awfully pale while his trembling and fail to push his body up.

    ¡°Run?¡± He snorts seeing the boy. ¡±Where to, can you stand, do you even know where safety is? You know the Guard system created because a stupid kid like you who always walk into a mutant lap.¡± The plant around them had to stop pretending to be harmless little thing and start grasping their leg, the vine had come from the chestnut tree surrounding them from all direction and he heard the sound of the bark breaking like the tree had grown a mouth to swallow them but he feels more pissed with this boy than the mutant who pretend to be a normal tree.

    ¡°Do you even know why this place empty, they called this tree hanging tree because a corpse had been hanging in its branch. Do you hate your family you want to go home as a corpse? A Guard duty is to watch and drag you from danger but you know what made our job harder, an idiot who always wanders alone and ends being eaten, just ask for damn permission and this shit wouldn''t happen.¡±

    The boy glared at him, he was already crying as death had seemed to be everywhere and his arm still fails to push him, in fact, the grass had caught one of his arms.

    ¡°Are you still had time rant we¡¯re-¡±

    Chares smack the boy head to shut him, he didn''t want to hear the snarky answer when the only reason the tree act because it thought it can kill the boy before he notices and probably killing him too.

    ¡°You still had time to be angry. I came here to relax instead I had to take care of some bratty kid who thinks-¡±

    ¡°I hope you happy because we¡¯re going to die thanks to your mouth.¡± Charles snort, the boy was right, all escape route had been closed because he wants to rant. In the normal scenario he would always run and come back with gasoline because the tree ruins his thinking time but since Beatrice was here why doesn¡¯t he use her. He takes another dagger and place it under her fang and soon both daggers had been coated with poison and he turns around, throw the dagger toward the gaping mouth of the tree, it was big as him with sharp-edged mouth, the inside was dirty black of flesh, pulsing and bulging waiting for their sweet flesh, the dagger shot to the middle and stuck inside the mouth, the tree groan and only retract the monstrous mouth.

    He held the other dagger in his right hand and start running around the tree, several vines had attacked him and tied themselves around his body but he always fast enough to cut them before they catch another piece of his body. He became slower as the fight goes on, the vine becomes more fierce as it¡¯s tried to hold him down, he was sweating with dirt and grass stuck around his body when he was rolling and dodge the never-ending vine. He also keeps protecting his eye from the oozings sap every time he cut them, he had slow his breath because the smell had made him dizzier.

    He keeps running around the tree trying to find it¡¯s a weak spot and finally, he saw a protruding root and in split second he sighs in relief, two vines had caught his hand and waist while a grass had wrap itself around his foot.

    He let go the knife catching it with his left hand and using his mouth to bite the vine in his hand and cut the vine in his waist at the same time he jumps out of his shoe, running barefoot and stab the dagger on the root.

    Whoosh.

    The tree had become quiet again as every part of its body instantly withdraw themselves since he just figurative stab the tree ball. He pulls the dagger and stabs the root again for ruining his uniform.

    ¡°Act again and I do something worse.¡± He said and walk back to Mikail, whether the chestnut tree understands him, he already sends a message that he wasn¡¯t prey. Taking his shoe back he saw the crowd around them and Mikail who still in his place staring at the spot where the tree had open its mouth.

    Charles rubbed his hand and wish there wasn¡¯t a human part on those mouths. The boy didn¡¯t deserve it, he sometimes annoyed by the children who need Guard but none of them asking for death they just a bit stupid and ¡®childish¡¯. He always remembers his mother stories about the old world every time event as this happen. A story where the earth was a very safe place and accidents like this rarely happen where kids and can be kids running and playing without care on the world.

    Beatrice was in the boy''s shoulder, being an ultimate repellant just by being there. She didn¡¯t just sit around but making a handkerchief and wiping the sap around the boy''s head.

    He sits down in front of him blocking his view from the tree and before he could say anything Mikail had jump to him and pressing his face into his chest and giving him crushing hug. Charles wraps his hand around the boy and rubs the boy back with his hand.

    ¡°I-, I didn¡¯t-¡± The boy was sobbing, trying to explain himself

    ¡°You didn¡¯t think you would in danger by going out for few minutes or nothing would happen because there are many people outside.¡± Charles tried to calm the boy even though it wasn¡¯t his job but he encounters too many situations like this where the kid just curious or didn¡¯t realize they were in danger, his body just move automatically.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    The boy continues to cry and he does his duty as a Guard calming and soothing them.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Mikail said and he uses the handkerchief Beatrice knit and wipe the boy tear and snot.

    ¡°Next time just ask for permission and stay with your guard.¡± The boy nod and he grasp his shirt and looking with admiration a brilliant light seem come out his eye.

    ¡°You¡¯re so cool, Charles, I thought you were a bad guy but you actually cooler than Silver, can you teach me how to be cool like you.¡± Chares roll his eye and hold the boy head, not even a minute and he already bounced back.

    Beatrice climbs his back, patting his head complimenting him for being a good boy, knit another handkerchief wiping all the sap around his body.

    At least, the brother finally came, he pushes the boy toward his brother, watching Atlas smack the boy hed and checking if he had any wound or injury and held the boy in his arm to stop him from running away.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Said Atlas, his face red either the boy just awkward or the fact he fails at his duty and almost come back without a brother. ¡°I mean, thank you, we owe you-.¡±

    ¡°A dagger.¡± He said, pointing at the tree. ¡°The mutant eat my dagger so I expect a replacement.¡±

    ¡°Oh yes, I will tell my father.¡± He said and walk back.

    ¡°Good luck with the nightmare,¡± he said to the older brother, Atlas look bewildered but he wouldn¡¯t surprise when the night comes, he had a lot of cousin even nephew and niece who had a nightmare at almost being eaten.

    ¡°Why the hell should I care.¡± He said, wearing his shoe back and walk away from the crowd there was seem to be few people who want to ask him but his glare was enough to back them.

    It¡¯s not like he was going to be paid. He stretches his hand and tries to think about whether he stay at school or go outside to something more interesting.

    Beatrice was in his shoulder trying to send a message at him.

    I¡¯m bored.

    He almost stumbles once realized what the spider had just said, she¡¯s bored when he just fighting tree that can open its body and would give him terrible death if he wasn¡¯t calm or competent.

    He wants to give the spider a piece of his mind except a familiar girl was blocking his way.

    ¡°I thought you¡¯re bad but you seem really nice.¡± The girl smiling brightly and offering him a new clean uniform.

    ¡°Thank you and bye-bye,¡± Charles said, taking the uniform and leave the scene.

    ¡°Rude,¡± Mithra said before leaving in the opposite direction.

    Charles frowned and wondering what was the girl problem, did she forgot he was the reason why she was lynched or maybe she realized thanks to him, the lynching stop because he had lured the student out from class. He was disappointed in that he still want to know how the girl going to react she was outnumbered and he was sure all of them would tire with word and start doing something more extreme.

    What would happen if they didn¡¯t get out, would she crack or do something he couldn¡¯t predict but he wouldn¡¯t know that, thanks to his own action. Guess its just karma.

    ¡°Charlie, oh my god, you look so cool while fighting a literal tree.¡± The girl somehow made his act sound dull but he checks it as her quirkiness. The girl beside him, tall as his shoulder, having a light peach hair, wildly braided and had taken his left arm.

    ¡°Check out what I draw.¡± The girl pushes sketchbook toward his face and he blinks at the hyperrealistic drawing a mouth from the tree. He takes it and looks the mouth with detail until it was taken from his hand.

    ¡°Are you searching something scary in its mouth, don¡¯t worry, besides its scary teeth and fleshy mouth nothing was there.¡± The girl said lightly poke his cheek. ¡°You''re so easy to guess, I told the guys you just big softy but Chandra said.¡±

    ¡°Charlie is socially inept like us that why we accept him into our rank Him caring another human being must be a fetish or a basic mistake in your observation.¡± He was going to throw that guy into the river next time they meet.

    ¡°You¡¯re getting fast.¡± He said, it always amazes him how much detail the girl could take with so little time. The drawing showed after he threw the dagger, his dagger already embedded deep inside the mouth, while Mikail facing the mouth and he guess Beatrice in front of him since he doesn¡¯t see her, he also can¡¯t find himself and notice it wasn¡¯t the vine that closes the whole is to trap him but an immobile root that grows in dome shape.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to punish him.¡±

    ¡°Who, we all friend, there no need to held grudge over such petty statement,¡± he said and give Hestia his best smile. ¡°What are you doing outside the class.¡± He glared at the girl, she wasn¡¯t getting so confident that she thinks she can cut class, was she.

    ¡°We hd a new class but nooo, old Dick had to barf on the class and stinking the room.¡± Hestia holding his nose and waving the air in front of her. ¡°Hmm, you smell nice.¡± Hestia sad sniffing around his shirt.

    ¡°Don¡¯t smell that, most plants used smell to lure the prey, If you smell too much of it, you¡¯re going to walk closer to them.¡±

    ¡°Ha, that¡¯s new stuff to learn.¡± She reaches her handbag and takes a perfume and a white pristine handkerchief, she sprayed the perfume on him first before spray it on the cloth and use it to cover her nose.

    ¡°By the way why, are you going to join the class, even if you did you should check the new classroom, it was new class with all cool gadget sent from the capital that why we were kicked out, they need to clean the room and made sure the barf didn¡¯t touch any of the equipment.¡±

    ¡°That would just send the wrong message.¡± Hestia stared at him before shrugging it off, Charles keep walking thinking that it would be cool to play with several machines that come from Ms. Grown Belly, the warship whose size was large as an island, even though Hestia said it come from the capital most invention come from there while the capital was function as hub, central government an example of what every city in the future should look like.

    There were even people who sometimes think Capital and Ms. Gown Bell was the same thing but Capital was their biggest and most advanced city while Ms. Gown Bell was a warship and the meeting point of all the best of humanity, researcher, warrior, explorer and all kind of profession except civilian since it was used as a warship where it patrol and attack dangerous King level mutant and even Myth itself. It also brings humanity hope that maybe, someday they board on the ship, sailing toward the horizon and found another group of people, another collection of humanity who survived and built a new civilization because knowing their archipelago was the last remaining human would be heartbreaking.

    ¡°We still don¡¯t know why you refuse, though if there is a fighting class I¡¯m sure they will drag you in whether you like it or not.¡±

    ¡°As a teacher of course.¡± He nods.

    ¡°Ahaha. As a teacher, your ego always the biggest part of you.¡± Charles squinted his eye and push the girl who continues to laugh.

    ¡°Charlie, please you¡¯re good at fighting but our favorite time is watching the crazies who beat King level everyday compare to you-¡± Hestia had put her hand and try to calm him except she stops and laugh at his face again.

    He continued to walk scoffing at every second, his ego was bruised and he was insulted, he was a Guard too many children, there was the even older kid he guards but compared to other. Heck compare himself to Beatrice he was nothing, when he has to struggle and still relay n Beatrice she was capable to intimidate the tree by her presence alone.

    ¡°Okay, okay. Don¡¯t cry, if we talk about Mutant no one from class even the teacher would beat you.¡±

    ¡°They probably beat me in knowledge and theory but in handling them I was out of their league.¡±

    Hestia smirk and poke his cheek again ¡°You can admit you have to lack knowledge but can¡¯t admit you¡¯re lousy at fighting.¡±

    Charles crosses his hand not denying it. Asking him to admit the best trait he had isn¡¯t that great was asking too much.

    You could say he was indeed very good at fighting in his age range but he didn¡¯t want to put himself in that kind of standard. He didn¡¯t want to be ordinary but go beyond the normal sense. Beatrice squeal and pat his head, his emotion must be pretty strong that Beatrice feels it and approved his decision, it still didn¡¯t erase his weakness though. He grumbled and kick a rock on the ground.

    ¡°What is that.¡± Hestia pointing at Beatrice like it was the first she saw it.

    ¡°She was Beatrice, my partner.¡±

    ¡°Ehhhhh.¡± Hestia back up pointing at Beatrice and him. ¡°Ehhhhhh.¡± She made that stupid noise again and look at Beatrice, him, Beatrice and him while waving her hand like a chicken.

    ¡°Ah, how, ehhhh.¡± With the last scream, she sprints of going in an unknown direction.

    ¡°She¡¯s in a special class and the special means many things.¡± He said to Beatrice hoping she doesn¡¯t make a bad impression about his friend.

    #

    Charles had changed into new uniform, sitting in a cafe front the school, surprisingly he was the only student with most costumer being, a worker at the factory and the farmer in several plantations with black eye enjoying coconut water before going home to sleep.

    He orders two coconut one for him and one for Beatrice. The fact no one comment on him being out of school should tell everyone to stop calling the building school. They should just call it daycare since education had to take a stop since the amount of surviving teacher is lacking, they could only make two class of full genius they can focus to breed best of the best.

    At last the school work, in making sure the children didn¡¯t go out the building, it was a huge building complex that combines elementary, middle and high school into one. Besides the special class, everyone had to go through the basic class, where they teach reading, counting and other basic knowledge including teaching about a mutant and first medical aid.

    To attract the kid attention there were many place and building to burn out their energy. Library, swimming pool, music hall, and almost all kind of sports hall and other building he couldn¡¯t mention. This place was always available and so long you didn¡¯t destroy the facility, you are free to go there and they''re always the staff that would teach you if they weren¡¯t busy.

    There also food and snack, with plenty of meat and bread and sometimes sweet on a special day. The place also so big, you can make your own activity and it also relatively safe. It was big enough to play five faction war, that was always exciting since the amount of kid who didn¡¯t know why they are fighting was equal to the bloodthirsty kid who wants to bash the opposite faction.

    Of course, there was also mutant like the chestnut tree but it wasn¡¯t hard to know if a place was dangerous or not, you just have to see if there was a staff or at least five students on the area.

    ¡°Hello.¡±

    Charles greets back at the man who suddenly sits beside him. He frowned at Beatrice who steals his coconut water but since she doesn¡¯t eat the fruit that means he got double.

    He checks the man and saw he look forty but thanks to Calamity his grandpa look like an ex-athlete in his seventy but actually ninety-year-old this year. The man offered his hand for a handshake and Charles shakes the man hand, founding the grip was weak, with slightly grey hair and pale complexion the man probably work indoor, add the smell of oil and the factory blue uniform he was probably a technician and important one since he had a nametag.

    Then why he was approaching him, did he want to hire him to guard his kid or don¡¯t tell him they want him to work at the factory because surely they were joking, he would just be labor in there. The farm or plantation is better for him at least there is naughty mutant he could fight and he would be more useful, he didn¡¯t know anything about the machine or god forbid it was management.

    ¡°Thank you for saving my son.¡± The man suddenly said.

    ¡°Well, he was in danger because he follows me.¡± He said smoothly like he wasn¡¯t taken by surprise, that was fast did they live around here or something.

    The man shakes his head and places a bundle of cloth on the table.¡± The student said you could run to the safety instead subduing the tree, if not for you I...¡±

    Charles let the man, sit in silence while he opens the cloth package and saw a machete and the same kind of dagger. He unseated the machete and feel it in his hand, it was cast with black steel, it¡¯s weight at least two kg. It was long as his arm counted with the hilt, he checks the dagger and found it was a small model, he had suspected this thing probably a gift to Atlas but the father probably didn¡¯t want to wait so it belongs to him now.

    ¡°I hope this help.¡±

    ¡°Oh yes, it was.¡± He smiled and watch the man go. The man also glares at him and it feels the same as Atlas, it made him realize the glare probably because their eye shape or some condition, it doesn¡¯t make sense why he glares at him after thanking him and giving him a gift.

    They finish their coconut and start planning his future, he wants to make Beatrice dream come true, explore the world and... he¡¯s going to defend the city and his family.

    He thought about going to the gym but he doesn¡¯t think that would be really helpful it would just build his muscle and that not what he wants. What he need was a strength, to kill more efficiently. Going to the gym seem to say, staying alive as long as possible but he was a fighter, it should be ¡®I should kill the enemy before the enemy kills me¡¯.

    He should go fighting mutant, instead of reacting like he usually does, he has to take the role of a hunter who stalks and choose a strong prey, in order to catch up with Beatrice he has to throw himself into more danger.

    Ever since he talks with Hestia a thought was haunting him.

    Why don''t you join the class? Why are you so afraid of, you are a coward, a little boy who can only run. His body seems to go weak and he has to lean on a tree and sit down. Beatrice was climbing to his lap, touching his cheek and asking what¡¯s wrong, did the coconut taste bad.

    The thought still attacking his mind, nothing he could do to dismiss them because it was true, he was scared of failure so scared that he was pathetic compared to Thomas. He was just like him an ordinary boy who wasn¡¯t invited into the special class but when he heard the class, he had come to the teacher begging to be accepted because he knows everyone in there would help a lot of people and they would be the children who lead humanity to greatness again. He had a big heart and thought if he joins the class, he would going to be extremely helpful toward the family.

    They tried to push him, telling it would be impossible for him to follow the program but the boy keep begging, he asked for a chance to prove them he can follow the program that was designed to push a genius. Instead, he proves it by the inch of his teeth, his grade was never the best but survived through the class.

    ¡°I can follow is footstep but the tough of failure keep stopping me, I keep thinking maybe next year, or the next one until I give up the thought with flimsy reason that it was too late to catch up. Then I thought about going to the frontier becoming a defender like the mayor but I never do that, I just thought about it without trying to make it because if I go ou I¡¯m going to come back home with empty hand, I would be just a loud mouth who can¡¯t prove himself.¡±

    He stroke Beatirces smooth head. ¡°You forced me, I can''t have a reason to not got the frontier thanks to you but...¡± he stands up and stares at the zone, it was a neighborhood that been swallowed by tree and plant, he only knows the zone as kapok Forest but beyond that, he knows nothing.

    It was impulsive and idiotic to go inside without learning some information or more preparation but he was going to prove anyone that- he didn¡¯t know what this going to prove but he¡¯s going to do that.

    ¡°I will do it.¡± Said the boy, whose thought jumble as thousands of thread, who was his facing, which one should he kill, who was the enemy, the mutant, his fear or both of it.

 Kapok Street

    The Kapok street was once a neighborhood filled with house and other building but by the time, they built a new city it had become a place filled with the mutant. The asphalt was cracked and the electric pole had become part with nature, Charles steps on a fallen tree, above it grew a mushroom and other plants with several bugs flying around it, the walls were already unrecognizable and the black cable had spread around like a nest of a black snake.

    Kapok tree had filled the zone, growing minimal one meter toward each other with one growing tall as ten stories building. They were in the different process of flowering, bare, blooming and full of fruit, the forest floor was littered with dead leave, the track of an animal, and Kapok silk. The silk was are white, thinner than spider silk, gathering at every part of the forest with rare occurrence they completely filled an area.

    The black wood and the white silk made walking on Kapok street to be one of kind experience. Sometimes he feels like he just stepped on innocent and happy fairytale, the way the silk gathered feel like it was cloud, adding a grandness and touch of whimsical while the silk on the tree ook a cotton candy you could eat and one moment later it become hundred of worm that feasting above a body, hidden and tragic, the silk on the branch becomes a white hair belonging to a mad woman where sometimes see her haunted voice in the song of the birds.

    Charles stop observing the forest and walk to a clump of silk, thank his experience he could see something different in the clump, kneeling down and taking a camera, he focuses it on a small sleeping snake. Its body long as his spread hand and thick as his finger, the snake was juvenile filed with a bloody wound and half grew scale, it tried to hide that irregular color in the clump of white but there was big different from scale to silk.

    The snake injury probably contributed to the several baby snake inside his embrace, they were so small he knew both of sibling come from different egg group but what happens with the first group was the big snake the only one who survived or he was the only egg.

    He took a picture of them and stand when he saw almost identical snake except it was long as his arm and had an average width for a snake, the snake also whites as silk, it white scale was special, giving an impression of soft and royal, it was flying in front of his face like mighty dragon.

    Then he realized the snake probably floating and using its light body to take advantage the air current to fly some snake do that by jumping from a very high tree but he guess this one take it another step. He watched it fly but it feels the snake was swimming than flying.

    It¡¯s swimming seem to be chaotic and hypnotic whether because the air current or it was trying to distract him from her nest full of children. He offers his hand and snake traveling on his hand feel like water being wrapped around his hand.

    It nods at Beatrice and giving him single glance like he wasn¡¯t old enough to join the conversation, he wants to pop its head but his family had drill all kind ethic and manner lesson as soon he speaks and walks.

    He forgives the snake because he was a naturally good person, not all mutant had to be killed sometime cooperation can be made especially if the power level were to close to each other, that the resulting battle would make them dying and it never worth because they would be easy picking for the even weaker hunter.

    The snake hiss and point at his camera. He brings the camera up until he realized the snake probably didn¡¯t want him to sell the picture of its children to human.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to delete it once you pay something equal.¡±

    The snake slithering on his hand giving him a good feeling around it and pointed at the center of the zone where the highest Kapok tree grow. It pointed at the tree and start to communicate with Beatrice, he focused his mind and for the first time try to sneak on Beatrice mind so he can hear the conversation.

    It was jumbled but there is a strong image that keeps appearing.

    Sky.

    Eye.

    King.

    The apex in this forest was an owl who live on the biggest tree. That was awfully helpful in fact the price wasn¡¯t fair since they would be discovered anyway if he and Beatrice saw an owl they would run and spend no time to wonder whether they are going to fight the King or not.

    It was the apex they had no chance, no matter how strong Beatrice was, she is a mutant, not yet evolved into a King and beside attacking the apex just rude if he wants to steal and kill the house owner he is going to act like one start from the front door.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t equal, how about we help you made a new nest, this one was really unsafe.¡± The snake starts circling them a few time before it nests around his head apparently agreeing with them. Beatrice takes the proactive by jumping and start to search for a good place to be a nest

    He kneels and take the white snake nest and watch as the oldest wake up and stare at him. He wonders what happen with the previous egg group, snake laid more than one egg, did they grow out of their nest or something more tragic. Anyway, this runt must have thought job protecting his sibling.

    Speaking about that, he wonders how exactly this pretty snake defends itself, he was sure if his theory correct that the snake uses wind current to do the flying then it should have a specific sensory organ to the detect it and very light body.

    His gut feeling telling him the tame snake was the unfortunate one, sometime mutation didn¡¯t always helpful like the ferret useless wing but at least Icarus had his wind magic, he can defend himself and he also ferrets they were no pushover but what about them, they look to be more house pet than a wild animal.

    The runt still staring at him then look to see his mother. He was looking with a suspicious eye and moving with a grace of a toddler, the young one had seen his mother but still looking at him with his beautiful squinty eye, he chuckled and pat the snake but he was bitten instead.

    ¡°You need to bite harder.¡± He takes his finger, sucked the blood and spit it. He had confidence that his immune system wouldn''t lose to a baby but just to make sure he still spit the blood. The snake looking up, circling his younger sibling and hissing again.

    It doesn¡¯t hurt. His face says while he smirks and teasing the snake with his finger but keep pull it out once he tries to attack.

    Finally, they arrived at a small dead tree, he couldn¡¯t identify what tree is that since Beatrice had gone overboard with his suggestion, she decided to make the whole tree as the new nest for the white snake. It was like seeing drunken spider who just randomly splat web into the tree, he was sure it was a death trap for anyone who wants to sneak but to him and probably the snake it was just a mess.

    He put them down in front of the tree, walk away from the tree and take out his machete. He starts swinging it down imitating what other men do when they cut an animal. He held it in his right hand, gripping the hilt, he slashes down cutting an imaginary chicken neck. He moves his hand again, cutting down and try to seep it into his muscle, he starts running and dodging fighting myriad creature he once fights, doing the downward slash committing to that one move only even if another move would be more effective.

    Every time he was getting used to the imaginary enemy he switched from fighting a long arm monkey to a slippery eel, from a lost crocodile to bullet spitting and face eating sunflower. He keeps his breathing controlled and made sure he didn¡¯t slip to root when he does tricky maneuver keep the downward slash again and again.

    He keeps slashing, cornering the mutant he fights into a shrub and raises his hand in ease manner to split his head.

    Ping.

    His machete was stopped by a little bird, it was the size of his arm and probably male with how bright his fur, his eye was black and his machete was stopped by the yellow beak. They both stared at each other and at the same time Charles pull his machete and step back when the bird flies up looking down at him.

    They were in a standoff and Charles had to grind his teeth, he already imagines the frustration hitting something so small and fast. The bird flies higher than dive flying straight to his heart, he already predicts those move way before the bird had flown.

    Ping.

    The bird had flown straight the machete he places in front of his heart but before he could strike back, it already fly out of his sight, the bird had used its advantage in fullest, using the tree or simply fly to his blind spot, Charles had no way to spot it instead he bend down and take a clump of silk on the ground and wait.

    He heard the sound of an object that falling fast, he throws the silk at that direction and roll to the right, and smirk at the bird. The bird was chirping, flying while glaring at him.

    ¡°Weak,¡± he said, taunting the bird and wait the bird show it¡¯s a trump card. The bird''s screech, smiling at him as it turns invisible in front of his eye.

    He slumped his should and stop smiling. His eye moves to the right and left searching for the enemy and shake his leg.

    ¡®Boring.¡¯ Invisibility had lost its charm after encountering so many them, either they use it the smart way to complement it with another skill or they were so arrogant they believe they are undefeatable because no one can see them.

    Charles holds his machete and shields his body in the last moment, making the bird successfully wound his shoulder, he cursed and pretend he didn¡¯t hear it¡¯s a flapping wing. He moved the machete again preventing the bird attacks his joint, cutting a light wound on his left leg and pretend the air didn¡¯t shimmer in front of him.

    He moves the machete to protect him again but it was thrown near a tree making him lose his weapon. He moves back, tripping on a root and fall to the ground, he ¡®desperately¡¯ get back until his back touch a tree making him unable to move again.

    He grabs as many silks as he could and when he saw the bird start its last attack, he throws the silk at the air, creating a white curtain and take his gun out. At the same time the curtain split, he aims the gun and pulls the trigger.

    He stands up, finally, obnoxious wing flapping noise had gone, he looks down at the bird on the ground with a hole on its right wing, it was crawling trying to run away and chirping for help. It stopped once he kneels in front of it and holsters his gun. The bird suddenly jumped when he saw the weapon that hurt him had been put away, it chirped, relieved while he cut its neck.

    ¡®You¡¯re not a virgin anymore knife No. 3.¡± He said to his new dagger, he put it down, taking a paper corpse from his bag and wrap it around the corpse. Once he put the paper it wraps around it like a second skin, protecting and preserve the corpse while he places a tube under it and collects the blood.

    The blood was his own use while the rest he was going to sell on his friend.

    He then places them inside the bag in their respective place. Cleaning the dust from his body and he walks back toward the brand new nest, it looks something that came out of a nightmare and the only thing they need was thousand of tiny spider chilling on those webs. Beatrice had clearly gone overboard with mummy snake standing in front of her bowing her head again and again to express her gratitude then walk inside.

    Charles waits, Beatrice walks to him, treat his injuries without asking anything then climbing to his hair sleeping like a house cat.

    Charles wait, he stands on the front of web tree, his gut told him how ingeniously these webs was where if someone managed to sneak in they would be trapped with the thing they never expect.

    Charles waits, he suspects Beatrice had spread her scent into the nest, in human language, it was the same as Head Honcho came into a house and said it was under his protection that means the white snake was really safe inside the nest especially because Beatrice come from Forbidden Zone.

    Charles wait but no treasure was given.

    He sighs and walks away from the white snake new nest. Guess they talk too much about those kinds of the book in their room.

    ¡°Why are you helping them so much.¡± He hoped he didn''t sound bitter, it was disappointed he didn¡¯t get a reward like the stories but his disappointment is like being given a wrapped candy and found it wasn¡¯t your favorite flavor, nothing to cry.

    At least he had new stories for Thomas, he and his cousin like to read fantasy book together in their room or the yard in the big house, giving treasure by helping stranger was something that keeps happening in their adventure book, Thomas like to talk how he was going to his adventure find treasure like the usual protagonist.

    He hasn¡¯t had his adventure because he never had the courage and still need to be guarded because he never pays attention to his surrounding.

    ¡°I like to make a story for him based on my near-death experience and you like helping ¡®someone¡¯. We all have our hobbies.¡± He said once he understands Beatrice trying to say while he remembers some of his favorite time with his cousin.

    They then continue their journey until they are in an area where the Kapok tree had bear a fruit, there are two of them that were filled with kapok fruit, dancing and hardly move when a wind swipe at them, some of them still green, some them had turned to brown, some of the looks it had exploded with the silk coming out of the shell.

    He and Beatrice were enjoying their walk in the zone where people goes missing and died. Then a Kapok fruit falls from the branch directly above his head, he already takes his machete again, moves back, the kapok keep falling like a normal fruit would until it split open revealing a camouflaged bat, it¡¯s inside was leathery and pink but the outer part of it clearly a very hard shell, the bat flies straight to his stomach, he sidesteps and swings it down toward the bat.

    Pak.

    The sound was exactly like he was hitting a wood, the bat was tumbling but it survived and continue to fly again. It didn¡¯t stop there though, he looks up and more Kapok fruit starts to fall like rain.

    His heart was drumming inside his rib cage, it was beating so hard he felt the earth trembled under him, he smiled hitting a jackpot of nest full new mutant.

    He waits and observes the falling bat waiting until it broke open but instead a bat fly toward one of the Kapok and destroy the fruit spreading Kapok silk into the air, he heard another bat flying and another Kapok fruit had been destroyed creating more chaos into the air.

    ¡°Tsked.¡± Look like ¡®covering the air with silk¡¯ strategy wasn¡¯t that original.

    He gripped his machete waiting what going to happen next and saw two bats from his front and back flying with much higher speed toward his leg, failing to prepared with the sudden speed Charles jumped into the air and realized he had fallen into a trap, he pulled his gun and start shooting whenever he saw something moving.

    He rolled to the ground and start running run to the tree. He bit his lip and wipe the stupid tear in his eye. He had many scratches and bite but some bastard was making a huge wound in his back and Beatrice was making a temporary shelter with the tree behind them. He tosses her cream and let her bandage his wound.

    While he let Beatrice treat his back, he takes a piece of wood that he thankfully found when he was running it wasn¡¯t that good but it was the type of wood that can be carved to make a bow, once he realized he pisses a full colony he already made a plan to take care of them.

    Inside the shelter, he had taken the wood and shave it with his machete and take out his knife to work on the finer part. Based on the wood size it would under the medium bow, he haven¡¯t ready to tackle big bow so this a good size even though it was bit shorter he can work with it and voila he had working bow that can be finished with so little and time thanks to his love of weapon.

    Tying Beatrice strong silk toward the end of the bow and tie it again, he pulls the string and now he only needs an arrow which he has, ten of them inside his bag.

    Opening his bag, taking his takedown arrow, it looks like all the arrow had been broken half but it was n purpose because it can be put back and made carrying them very easy. He put all ten arrow on his arms reach, take one and start wrapping the silk around the arrowhead.

    He grin, take a match and light the arrow.

    ¡°Fire.¡± He gets out the shelter, aim, and bullseye, it hit a ripe Kapok fruit and it exploded with burning silk and starting a beautiful fire on the tree. He gets inside again, taking his second fire arrow and shot the second tree. He didn¡¯t hit kapok but the silk around certainly help him to burn the tree, he made three fire arrow so he still has another one.

    He saw Beatrice already climb the tree, avoiding the pesky bat, while she suns her thread connecting both three and all the Kapok silk. He waited until Beatrice finish then pulling his arm, aims at that sweet spot where the tree had connected and he shoots the arrow and it burst like a waking of a dragon, traveling on Beatrice thread toward all the kapok turning the tree into living hell and turning the world into crimson of destruction. There were many noises, there was the heat that holstered into his face and was the sky was red or blue, he couldn¡¯t guess anymore.

    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.While the mutant especially a bat had gone batshit, he takes his camera, put a timer and pose with Beatrice to immortalize their first ever mass destruction. They take a pose then notice several bats who started to fly at them.

    ¡°Catch me the loser.¡± He put his camera laughing while several bat chasing them, he put all the arrow in his mouth and start shooting several of them. He stopped, seeing a bat had been caught in silk and in that moment of weakness he pulls the arrow killing the bat, he runs again, hiding behind a tree and shot a bat that just past him. It didn¡¯t die but still fall to the ground, he runs toward the bat, raises his machete and lunges into the bat.

    The rest was an easy kill.

    ¡°You guys so tough.¡± He said, sitting on the ground, pressing the soft inner body the bat and wrap them with his corpse paper and putting them inside his bag. It probably because he burned their home or them just stupid.

    He takes a breath and looks at his body, he had many more wound and his mom would scream if he goes he in this state. He had the face of someone who eats a lemon, ugggh, she would...

    He sighed and pat Beatrice. ¡°I could hide and go home after it healed.¡±

    He takes a complete picture of the bat anatomy and starts remembering their battle.

    ¡°While their body may be soft but it was very easy for a Kapok bat to maneuver and exposed their shell toward an attack, they also clearly a social animal as they show good cooperation but I have high suspect there are stronger individual who controls them because they lost that strategy when the first fire start... or they just pissed he burn their home.¡± He said but stopped the recorder on his last sentence.

    He plays with the bat, that he used as a model it was the one with one lethal wound, making an intact body. He stretches the batwing and flaps it like it was alive but from her stare, Beatrice didn¡¯t appreciate him playing with a carcass.

    He put the bat down and like playing with a puzzle he tried to turn it into Kapok camouflage then Ask Beatrice to close it off with her thread and he made a small hole above it, tied it with her silk and he has a new toy that could be played like a yoyo.

    He spins his new toy and sees a potential of weapon but right now they are just good to propel the annoying bug.

    The more he was in this forest the more he wants to distract himself, the forest was interesting but the jarringness and the change of mood at the flip of hand was tiresome, it gives him too much unnecessary thought. One moment you had a whimsical fantasy with an otherworldly creature as the mutation was stronger in these zones then you stumble upon what seems a broken house, full of sound from the past, memories of one who had lived here.

    Stumbling upon the house, he remembers a story that stubbornly stuck in his head, told by a man who eats burned chicken in bonfire night.

    ¡°If you found the abandoned doll in a forest what you found was not a doll but a soul of a kid who lost in the forest, so to all of you brat, if you lost in there you will become a doll.¡± Charles scratched his head, he was sure the story was scarier but he still believe it, not in 100% but if he found an abandoned doll, which he found a lot, he likes to take it and give to Mr. Ymamanaka a crafter with hand that active as buzzing bee, he was a grandpa who lives alone and fixes their broken toy for free.

    He didn¡¯t really believe that they were real children but if it is then they wouldn''t be lonely if he takes them. The doll he found was a girl, with curly orange hair and a pink dress, there was a small paper on the body, he will the dust and read it.

    ¡°2013, Made in China.¡±

    ¡°Is China still exist, Ms. Ying still alive, she wasn¡¯t a China but she was Chinese but she wasn''t born in China so what is she, is she a gardener or something more.¡± In answer to his dilemma, Beatrice tied a new thread to his hand and lead him away.

    ¡°I want a brawl.¡± He said to Beatrice, after many walks, he had had been in two fight but it mostly using his brain instead of brawn, he wanted something like the chestnut tree, it was troublesome but it was manly, there was blood, sweat, and oath of vengeance. Sure burning someone house is cool but he didn''t get up close to blow some steam.

    Awoooo.

    He stops and catches his Bayo from Bat and Yoyo hence Bayo, the sound comes from the east toward the center, he tied his Bayo and walk toward the sound but Beatrice jump in front of him and start leading the way.

    He walks beside her she stops and pointed at him and herself again.

    ¡®Watch¡¯ The message was clear. Charles decides to trust Beatrice abandoning his sense and watch all Beatrice move, how she walks, why she moved, how many times she stop or accelerate. It dawns that Beatrice tried to teach him how to navigate through the forest.

    It was hard to translate what she was teaching, since she doesn''t speak and their body was so different, if he was baby spider he would jump in joy that mummy spider had taught him her cool trick but since he didn¡¯t have eight legs and walk like her, he could only learn so much, like how not to being the loudest and standout being in the forest.

    Walking to an animal track would trick other about your identity, it¡¯s common sense not to step on dry leave but here how to cover your track in case there is no other way or just jump and detour if you don¡¯t want to make noise because you are following something, he keep watching her and found Beatrice more keen on identifying danger than him, for example.

    Don¡¯t breath near this red berry, If you were chased by a blind mutant jumping into the water might be a good idea since they probably detect you with heat, some mutant like blood and it¡¯s a fair price to trade some of your blood to distract them and run away along with many other lessons.

    Beatrice was teaching with only sign language and vague feeling, he was eating the lesson with ease, especially on a subject like this, she was also a good teacher, straight to the point and her explanation was easy enough to understand

    She led him to a different part of the zone, so close to the center the highest Kapok tree didn¡¯t allow any wooden plant to grown instead it was full with a weird leafless tree, that seems to want to play hard whether it was alive or dead, they are crooked, long and bendy some branch even touch the ground and he could see two-tailed monkeys swinging on the branch.

    They walk above the branch passing many more mutants who seem offended when they pass. He knew they had arrived at their destination by the chilling wind on his cheek and the thick smell of blood, they climb higher on these gnarly trees and observe the monster bellow them.

    The forest was always noisy but this the first time one noise drowned other, it was the sound of bone broken and chewed, sound of blood sucked along the sound of minced meat, blood dried n their black fur, they scuffle and growl, so eerily remind him of dinner time, where the sound fork clashed with the porcelain, gulping a juice and conversation with each other about their day.

    The monster under him was having dinner, a carcass of a beast he couldn¡¯t recognize, the ground around it had spattered with organ and meat, there two tongues from their mouth, pulling the bone from the flesh and sucking inside the bone. The leader was far from the bloodshed but he was the one with blood red fur compared to the brownish fur of his kin. Holding a head of beast feating on the brain and his second tongue happily sucking the spinal marrow.

    The monster and mutant come from a different group of survivors, some group was lucky when they were meeting a creature like the white snake or the Kapok Bat but most call this new demon Monster, a sign of the end of their world. They weren''t normal, they were a creature so broken they made you question your eye, a kind creature that had should be paced in a nightmare but suddenly barge into the cafe you always visit on Sunday, it made you question everything as it kills the nearest human with their blood splattered on your face.

    Was this still the earth.

    The creature was mutated from wolf but if he never learn canine anatomy it was impossible to tell, they were twice the size of normal wolf, their fur was brown and some of it had fall exposing squirming and bulging muscle under it, their tail was thin and malnourished like they were too eager to forget their heritage.

    Their head become boxier with two slitted eye and new eyes have grown above it, bulging out the socket, an eye so red and manic because it didn¡¯t have eyelid protecting it and their mouth had become so different it was like a thicker crocodile mouth when they opened it look like four petal flower.

    Two sets of upper and bottom lip had the structure of hooked teeth to trapped the prey, armed with long and short hooked teeth while the left and right mouth had a bunch of teeth that come out from mincer meat. The thought of someone had been trapped inside that mouth would make people piss but Charles had thought far, just seeing their mouth he could already see what hunting method these monster had.

    The fastest one would be hiding, waiting and watching the prey, he would then jump catching the beast in that mouth while the prey trashed pulling its body the mouth but by the time he could escape it was too late because the rest of the pack would jump and each take a bite on the prey body and at the same time, they would pull their mouth ripping the body in piece.

    His body was shivering every time they move and growl, his cloth was sticking to his body thanks to the cold sweat, his breath was short and rapid, he was eye unblinking, moving around to collect all their move and behavior. His grin was stretched to the fullest as he stops pretending to be human.

    He would break the new record if he fights this creature, his heart beating and his mouth salivating the next fight. He was animal, a defect just like he was a human defect. He didn¡¯t hunt for food but taste and pleasure, do you know what if feel to fight with death in every step. It was exhilarating, it was a rebirth, every color is new, every taste is heavenly, your site was blessed catching every detail whether it was beauty or ugly that vision was magnificent when you are a breath away from death.

    ¡®Watch.¡¯

    He turns back at her partner, he was growling, who want to stay back, they had found this beast together no one would eat alone.

    She jumps to him and pats his head.

    ¡®Watch.¡¯

    Charles blinks and grumble.

    ¡°I watch your back,¡± He said, wiping the drool in his mouth and stop gripping the branch so hard. His cheek reddened imagining how crazy he looks a second ago, but it doesn¡¯t stop him to wait for the next battle.

    He unsheathed his machete and insert a new magazine to his pistol. He jumps following Beatrice, she had chosen the closest while he choose one who was picking inside a bone and slide underneath it, he tenses his muscle and slashes its throat open, and insert the gun shoving the bullet twice inside exploding the head in gore, he swerves to the left roll and hack a claw that going slash his face.

    It only got his right cheek, but he was fine, licking the blood he jumps forward evading the open mouth slide under two body twice and roll to his right staring at the glaring eye before he blows it with his gun, it roar and knock his with its tail.

    He was thrown on the ground, quickly got his bearing by searching for Beatrice, he starts running toward her when two wolves had blocked his way. He spits some blood sheathed his gun and machete, running full speed to the blooming mouth, he could smell the fresh blood and rotten meat inside while their two tongues were swinging like a tempting hand that tells him to jump.

    Charles did jump into the mouth grabbing the hooked teeth and propelled himself above the mouth, running and jumping between the two body, Beatrice had seen him and shot a thread across a branch for him, he jumps grabbing the thread and swinging toward Beatrice but he stopped near a wolf she fights using its surprise to slid under him and start spinning the thread n his neck.

    Beatrice pulled her thread and before it could escape Charles held his Machete and use the force of his whole body he slashed it stomach, breaking the muscle spilling the blood and gut into the earth.

    He jumps back, holding his chest as it feels his lung was on fire, his muscles were screaming and realized he never get proper rest after all this fighting and they start losing their ambush advantage. Beatrice had dispatch many of them, gone her day building a web and waiting for a fly to fall in, she had grown to be a ground hunter, using her speed, silk, and leg. She became an unrivaled assassin, binding, tripping and disabled her enemy while her leg would dodge and stab at their soft spot with her sharp leg.

    They stood back to back, Beatrice was facing three wolf at the same time and he had one enemy, a wolf who had climb a tree and looking down at them, this was his enemy, he stands his ground committed with his machete. He was silent and the wolf was looking down at them, smirking with those mouths and jump toward him with utmost confidence, Charles had his plan, it close to suicidal but he had to do it, Beatrice was fighting with her utmost effort but she couldn''t fight four at once, not if he wants to stay alive, he had to face the wolf and protect Beatrice back.

    Fighting is hurting your enemy more than it hurt you. With that said, he holds both machete and a dagger, once again he jumps inside these monster mouth. He moves between those mouth until he reaches the base and plunge his machete and use his dagger to hold the upper mouth, finally holding the pain as his body had pressed into the teeth he pulls his gun and shot.

    One, two, three. He shoots until the wolf stop moving, sweat, blood, and mucus surrounding his body, he keeps holding the dagger. He holds his right hand and withstands the weight of the mouth, as the wolf body went limp. He wants to escape but it was a wall of teeth, he didn¡¯t know if he could survive without being crushed unless he had a third or fourth arm, he needs Beatrice to let him out.

    There was a liquid in his hand, was that blood, fuck, there were so many teeth. He wishes Beatrice could help him, soon. The air was hot and stuffy, he still gripping the dagger, he can do this, no pressure, the air so pungent though and it was hard to see when his hand full and sweat and blood closed his eye.

    ¡®Beatrice.¡¯

    There was light and he gets out, lied down on the ground. He opens his bag, takes out a syringe, and stab it in his neck, all the blood in his skin absorbed back inside his body, clotting the blood and closing his wound.

    ¡°Something I steal.¡± He said throwing the syringe and try not to saw his arm, his mum would forbid him to get out after this. He takes all the food to shove it and drink all his water. He would like to slow down if not for the nagging sense there are still dangerous.

    ¡®Crack.¡¯

    He turned around, holding his stomach and saw another wolf still alive, it was the leader and just like him, he didn''t want to be bothered while eating but now he had done eating. He was growling and howling to the sky, it wasn''t normal howl, but a series of pitched sound that came each from the mouths, there was pressure in his body and illusion that the world had become bloody night.

    The wolf was blooming, his mouth stretched so far he had seen all inside the body but it was not what he expected.

    King. He trembled, a creature who defied nature, a creature who had gone beyond logic, it became a floating bulging mass of muscle with blue vein beating and he realized it was a heart, a beating heart without anything to support it. Several veins popped up with blood gushing out and they flow toward other wolves, whether they are still alive or not the vein dragged them into the heart.

    Both of them start to run from the creature, they don¡¯t want to know what exactly it tries to do. They were running at their highest speed and he was sure Beatrice seem had taught him a lesson about stealth but who cares, the girl had lost some of her legs and Charles held her like a baby and told her to focus on the road since he realized he didn¡¯t know where the exit.

    He keeps hearing horrifying noise from behind them, thankfully it wasn¡¯t owllike but they know they have to run very fast.

    Crash.

    He moves faster again and Beatrice start choosing an easier route for two legs once she heard the crash, they were going to be eaten as the sound of running behind them getting closer and closer

    He found the finally had become many again and saw two trees that grow close at each other like a gate, he passes it and hold Beatrice in his arm like an unique-looking gun and start shooting thread to connects the tree. The wolf had become more grotesque but he didn¡¯t have time to observe it beside it crimson fur seems to be dripping with something.

    He had a plan to made a web that works like a trampoline so long he fulfill the condition he would buy more time.

    He finished and wishes it would work as the King still running and the trampoline had been stretched and when it seems they were ready to broken, it stumbled and throw crashing several trees.

    He finally sees the end of the zone, he keeps running and drops to the street. He grins at the growling King, it¡¯s eye looked at him but it didn¡¯t dare to step out the zone, once again he was reminded how strong the mayor was. There are already people noticing his wounded body and his head feel so light and he tried t hold his consciousness but his stomach churn and throw all the food he just eats.

    Charles bites his tongue, he¡¯s not going to faint, he''s not going to faint, he¡¯s¡­