The arrow flew with great speed, puncturing the creature’s head.

  For a moment, Kiel feared that he might miss. If he did, Kate would have been gone.

  Just as the arrow hit, blood splattered all over the place, and the monster’s body had fallen over Kate.

  She felt the creature’s crushing weight resting on her body. She had to push it away in order to stand up; her face was smeared with the creature’s blood.

  Kate then stood with a sigh.

  Kiel and Althea approached her, followed by the brothers and the Captain.

  “Kate, are you alright?” asked Althea.

  Kate nodded, wiping the blood off her face.

  “Thanks to Kiel.”

  “Do I get a point for that?” asked the boy.

  “No,” Kate replied.

  “You and Adam still play that dumb game?” Charlie asked.

  Kate replied with a sneer.

  “So what happened with the speech about them not directly going to the island?”

  “I- I don't know,” Charlie answered with uncertainty.

  “That could have killed the captain if we weren't fast enough.”

  “But I'm fine,” declared the captain, trying to move with his limping legs.

  “Can you not argue? We still don't know the reason why it got here,” Althea declared.

  “They were attacked, look—there was a burn mark on its left wing,” Kleoff said, pointing at the fallen beast.

  “The boy was right.

  When that creature arrived, it was already injured,” said the captain, using Kleoff to gain balance.

  Just as they were discussing the possibilities, Adam arrived at the scene.

  Kate explained that they saw a creature fly above them, so they followed it and saw the Captain attacked. Adam said he saw the same thing, so he rushed to return to the island.

  “You think it's man-made? I mean the burn,” Adam asked the brothers.

  “I don't know. Any human would be able to stand a chance against the horde. I fail to think of any creature or human that can damage them enough to change their course,” Charlie explained.

  “And if they did change course, then the entire island would be in danger,” explained Kleoff.

  Suddenly, the creature flinched uncontrollably. Before it could make another move, Kiel had released another arrow from his bow.

  “Was it regenerating that quick?” Kate said, sounding surprised.

  Kleoff nodded.

  “It was their strength. Just like the other greys, they had insane regeneration. Not only that, but they also had great mobility and massive numbers, allowing them to take down Alphas.”

  “I can't keep shooting, though. How do we kill it? We can't just leave it here like we usually do,” asked Kiel.

  “By fire,” the brothers, along with Kate and Adam, answered almost at the same time.

  Kleoff brought the captain back to the island, where he could rest and recover. Adam took some extra kerosene, while the rest of the group dug a pit where they could burn the creature.

  After moving the corpse to the pit, Adam showered it with the kerosene and used a lighter to start the fire.

  He stepped back and admired the rising flames with the rest of the group.

  The fire crackled and danced for a few minutes before it slowly died.

  After it does, the group had to plan on what they would do about the horde.

  …

  They decided it was best to plan at Althea's room. Not only was it the biggest of the rooms aside from the meeting room, of course, it had a natural source of lighting with its wide glass windows. Kleoff was complaining that the meeting room made his eyes hurt with all the lanterns.

  At the room, a map lay by the floor, with the entire group sitting around it, aside Kate, who was sitting by the edge of Althea’s bed.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Kleoff pointed at a part of the map.

  “This is the last place we saw the horde.”

  His finger moved on a straight line until it hit another red circle.

  “This is where they changed their paths,” said Kleoff, tapping at that certain part of the map.

  “Wasn’t that the old prison?” asked Charlie.

  “Yes, I think I read a newspaper about it before. They once convicted a man who tortured his victim by burning them,” Kate said as she stretched as she said.

  “Hey, there’s a kid here. Also, can't you just forget about that?” said Charlie, crossing his arms.

  “The boy should be fine.”

  Kiel nodded.

  “Also, I don't forget.”

  Charlie sighed. Thankfully, Adam changed the topic before the boy could inquire more about burned humans.

  “I thought your horde is capable of killing alphas.”

  “That's what we thought too, but someone—or something—made them change course,” explained Kleoff.

  “What do you think is the chance that a human did that?”

  When Adam asked this, Kate turned her head sharply to meet Adam’s eyes.

  She knew why he asked the question.

  “I don’t think so. Any normal human wouldn't stand a chance against the horde.”

  What about someone not normal, Adam thought.

  They haven't told the brothers about what happened with Beth and Nolan. Adam figured it was about time.

  …

  The brothers gaped their mouths at the story, while Kiel and Kate were quiet during the entire time. Adam also realized that Althea also hadn't heard of the story, due to her surprised face.

  When Adam finished, the group remained silent.

  It was Kleoff who broke the silence.

  “You think he could have done it to get back?”

  “We weren’t sure if he really died, but if he survived, then he would definitely hunt us down,” Kate explained.

  “I don't think it was him. Hybrid or not, the horde was too strong for a single human,” Charlie said while removing his hat.

  “Those creatures should be resting somewhere. Whatever it was that attacked them, it attacked them good. That would give us some time to plan ahead,” he finished.

  “Maybe we could set a trap?” Kleoff suggested.

  “If we find where they are resting, we might be able to do something,” Althea said, trying her best to contribute.

  “How should we do that?” asked Kleoff.

  “What about those?” Kiel asked, pointing at several green oxygen tanks by the side of the bed.

  “Those were flammable. They don't explode, unless—” Kate said with a smile while turning her head towards Adam.

  “NO, we are not blowing up my car.”

  …

  During the discussion, Charlie stood up sometime in the middle of it, saying he would like to get some fresh air. When Adam noticed that he hadn't returned after a while, he decided he would go look for him.

  He searched all the rooms of the entire building, but he wasn't there.

  After this, he tried to search outside. When he did, he saw the captain along with his crew; his leg was wrapped in bandage. Adam asked what he was doing when he should be resting. The captain insisted that he was fine and that he wasn’t exerting himself; he just didn't like lying inside his room.

  He argued that it was “too quiet” in there.

  Adam shrugged it off and asked instead if he saw Charlie. The captain replied that he saw him leave the building, but he didn't notice where he had gone into.

  Adam thanked the captain and decided to search the plantation. Birds chirped as he stepped into the woods; it looked no way comparable to what the outside world looked like now. Leaves rustled for every wind that breezed past the trees.

  It was calming here, so peaceful.

  He searched the entire plantation for almost half an hour before he realized that Charlie wasn’t here. His next guess was the barn. With a short span of time, he arrived at the massive wooden barn. It had undergone several repairs ever since they moved here; he thought it must have looked way different when they first arrived. He would not know—he had poor memory, Kate would.

  Lighting and Thunder was still here, so Charlie was somewhere on the island. Adam thought that during the discussion, Charlie suddenly turned quiet. He tried to remember what they were talking about.

  Nolan, Adam thought.

  They were talking about Nolan and Beth when Charlie had suddenly turned quiet.

  The last location Adam thought Charlie might have gone was the shore, yet ironically, he was there.

  Standing by the fire pit where they had burned the creature that attacked the captain. He was tall, probably a little taller than Kate.

  He was still wearing his hat as he stared directly at the lifeless creature that lay beneath the ground.

  Adam slowly approached him. Charlie turned his head slightly, obviously noticing Adam.

  Once Adam arrived at his side, he spoke.

  “That Nolan, why do you think he became like that?”

  He was right. Charlie was thinking about Nolan, but why would he?

  “I dont know. To be fair, i dont even know what made them like that and what made us like this.”

  Charlie sighed.

  “It had been nine years, and we still don't have any idea what cause all of this.”

  “What’s it with you? Your not usually like this. There is something your not telling us.”

  “Its nothing, im just thinking about stuff.”

  Adam crossed his arms as if to wait for Charlie to finish his statement.

  However, the reply didn't come immediately. The only sound Adam heard was the distant waves crashing farther down the shore.

  “You care about Kate, don't you?”

  The statement was unexpected, that it had taken Adam aback.

  “What do you mean? Of course i do.”

  “So you don't want to hurt her, do you?”

  Adam suddenly remembered the dream where he did. The thought of him actually doing it to Kate sent a shiver down his spine.

  “That applies to me as well. I wouldn't want to hurt any of you guys, specially Kleoff.”

  He paused.

  “Ever since we were younger, I'm the only one he could rely on.”

  “What are you talking about? It's starting to sound like a eulogy,” Adam crossed his arms.

  “Can I trust you that if I told you, you won't tell anyone?”

  Adam thought for a moment, but proceeded to reply with a nod.

  Charlie sighed as he removed one of his gloves, revealing a grey patch of skin.