“I’m Alex and this is Barry,” said the survivor.

  Henry gnced behind him, over his shoulder, his feet continued to move without stopping. From the introduction, he understood that the one walking finely was Alex and the one who needed a shoulder to even limp was Barry. If the two had switched pces when his was turned, he doubted he could discern who was who once he turned his head back to them. The two survivors wore no mask but they had headgear on and their faces were covered in dirt and blood. Their build and height were also simir.

  “I don’t know why you’re doing this but you have my thanks, the two of you,” Alex continued.

  “Don’t thank me just yet,” Henry responded. The tunnels ahead were vast, enough to fit five people and more, but the terrain was not as accommodating as its width and height. “We are not out of the woods yet.”

  “We’re in a cave,” said Ani, who was walking by Henry’s side.

  “It’s an expression.”

  Ani blushed. “Oh… I see.” She hoped the darkness would hide her blush but that was a vain optimism.

  “Regardless, we would not have lived even if you didn’t come and save us.”

  “Save your gratitude for ter and for someone else. I’m not doing a charity here. And watch where you’re going.”

  The tunnels were dark but being in the darkness for so long, the survivors’ eyes had adapted to their environment to a certain extent. It was still difficult to perceive in the darkness but they could at least see a foot or two in front of them. They had no torch nor a fshlight. The tter was destroyed in their desperate retreat from the monsters. The former option was not feasible as Henry’s fire burned too quickly. They could only proceed on their journey in the darkness.

  As they trode through the seemingly endless meandering path, Henry had not been idle with his hands. He continued to temper his control over his Murux. He didn’t throw caution to the wind. He was also constantly surveying his surroundings to the best of his abilities. He used Life Sense and Bio-sonar alternately. So far, neither of the two had given any positive results and the monsters had proven themselves to be able to hide from his senses.

  Still, he wasn’t defenceless. The monsters were not faster than him. Even if they could creep up on him, they moment they affirmed their intent to strike, their presence would be revealed before they even actually made the first move.

  “What are you doing?” asked Alex. He appeared to be the talkative type while Barry was more reserved, probably due to the wounds on him.

  “Training.”

  “Training? Are you sure you should be doing that?”

  “We’re just walking now.”

  “Shouldn’t you be focusing on walking, given the type of terrain we are treading?”

  “I am focusing on walking and looking out at the surroundings. I can focus on a lot of things. I am not human.”

  “If you say so…” Alex backed away.

  “What about Chloe?” Barry asked in a hushed voice.

  Henry raised his brows at the mention of that name, but he didn’t stop in his tracks.

  “You saw the monsters dragging her away. What do you think?”

  “But… she’s a tough one. She has been in worse situations and she has survived. She could have survived.”

  “She could have but how would we find her? This pce is a maze.”

  “W-we can ask for his help. He seems to know his way around. We could—”

  “No, dammit. We can’t. Look at us. We’re fucked up pretty badly and we don’t have our gear. If he goes to search for Chloe, we would be putting ourselves in danger.”

  “Chloe is our companion.”

  “She may be, but I like myself more.”

  “There’s another survivor?” Henry asked. He couldn’t help himself any longer.

  “You heard us?” Alex stopped and so did the rest.

  “You’re not exactly silent and your voices are the only noises in the proximity. Moreover, I have a very good hearing. So, yes, I heard you. Well, who’s this survivor? I believe I heard the name ‘Chloe’, was it?”

  “Y-yes, her name’s Chloe,” Barry admitted. “She was with us when we were running for our lives. She saved us. She sacrificed herself just so we could run. She was dragged away by those monsters.”

  “She didn’t just get dragged away. The monsters sshed and cwed at her before they finally got to drag her away.”

  “She could still be alive.”

  “She could but that’s a very slim chance.”

  “It’s not slim. She’s not like us, you know that.”

  “I know, but it makes no difference. I don’t know how tough her armour is but there’s no way it can endure hundreds of cws that can even ssh through metal.”

  “Damn it, Alex! Why are you so pessimistic?”

  “Pessimistic? I’m being realistic here.”

  “Hold it there,” Henry intervened. “This… Chloe, how is she different?”

  “She has powers, superpowers. Barry and I… we’re just humans. Chloe, she has powers. She could—”

  “—don her entire body in armour of solidified silver liquid,” Henry finished Alex’s sentence.

  “...That’s… unsettling. You… do you know her?”

  “Chloe… hmm. I know a Chloe, but I wasn’t sure if it was the same one. However, now I’m fairly certain that she just might be the very same Chloe that I know.”

  “Oh… are you going to save her, then?”

  “Is there a reason that I shouldn’t? I know her. I know her powers. She might even be faring better than the two of you.”

  “You can’t be serious. We are hurt. Do you intend to turn back now and—”

  “Who says anything about turning back?”

  “Huh? But you said—”

  “We don’t need to turn back to save her. We just need to continue forward.”

  “I-I don’t understand.”

  “What's hard to understand? Exit’s ahead and so is the monsters’ nest.”

  “What?! The monster’s nest is in front of us? Are you leading us to our deaths?”

  “It’s the only way. Well, the only way that I can find.”

  “How can you even tell the way out of here?”

  Henry smiled. “It’s complicated.” A vague answer. The truth was, not even Henry himself knew the truth. He simply somehow knew this was the way out, just as he could wander around in Ulrum and never get lost. He always knew the way back to his home.

  “The only way out is through the monsters’ nest?” Alex asked.

  “The shortest way, yes.”

  “I don’t mind a longer one, so long as it’s a path that doesn’t take us through the nest.”

  “Just because the other paths don’t take you through the nest, it’s no guarantee that it will be safer. Besides, this path will be safer than most. The monsters will never expect anyone or anything to just walk into their nest.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “If you don’t like my methods, you’re welcome to leave and go off on your own.”

  Alex fell silent. Whatever methods he had in mind, it wouldn’t be better than staying by the dragon’s side, even if it meant walking into the monsters’ nest.

  They continued the walk in silence. Henry resumed his training. There were no turns along the way, just slight curves, but nothing drastic. There were also no detours, paths that would lead them astray.

  “Henry,” Ani called out, as quietly as she could.

  “Hmm?”

  “This is strange.”

  “What is?”

  “We have been walking for so long but no monsters have attacked us and I don't see any alternate paths.”

  “Is that something strange?”

  “I don’t know about this world but in our world, or rather, in my world, these kinds of pces don’t usually have straight tunnels without any deviating paths. If there is, they are artificial.”

  “Artificial…”

  “There’s no people living here. Therefore, these tunnels might have been dug and formed by those monsters or… something else. If this tunnel is dug by those monsters, there’s no way they would not know of our presence already. We may be walking into a trap.”

  “Or— they could be just distancing themselves from us. They have some sembnce of intelligence and they saw what I was capable of. They would have likely shared that information with the rest of the… herd. And that very same infernal beast is heading straight towards their nest; they would either unch a pre-emptive assault or they would resort to a peaceful way.”

  “Peaceful? Would they truly?”

  “They are practically the only predators here. They don’t have their own predators. They know only prey. Now, there’s something significantly stronger and fiercer than them. They would either submit or fight. If it’s the tter, they would already be swarming us.”

  “Hey, man. The air’s getting shittier,” cried Alex. He was covering his nose with a twisted face. “What is that smell?”

  “We are close. Be on your guard.”

  There was light ahead. It was faint, but it was still strange.

  The two survivors huddled closer to Henry as they neared the nest.

  “It’s quiet,” Ani said.

  “Too quiet,” Henry nodded. “Almost like… nobody’s home.”

  “The smell is still awful,” Alex grumbled. “I feel faint.”

  “Get yourself together. Your friend is faring better than you, even though he’s hurt. I’m not carrying your ass if you faint.”

  The straight path came to an end, bringing the group to a vast area. The lights came from above. Glowing mosses. They grew on the ceiling, through the cracks that covered the entire area.

  “Oh my god…” Ani gasped. “This is truly their nest.”

  There were piles of bones strewn about, and half-eaten carcasses that had rotted beyond recognition. Henry stared at those carcasses. He didn’t recognise what animal the carcass belonged to but he didn’t think there were other creatures in these tunnels.

  “I don’t see any of the monsters,” Barry remarked. “Where did they all go?”

  “Could this pce be some kind of a dump, instead of their nest?”

  “If that’s the case, it will be very concerning. Animals don’t discriminate where they throw their waste, where they eat, or where they sleep. This pce feels deserted, abandoned. They ran.”

  “What would they be running from?” Alex asked.

  Ani gnced at Henry. “More like who are they running from?”

  The two stared at Henry.

  “I won’t deny my presence is certainly a probable reason but we can’t be sure yet. Anyway, I don’t see any survivors.”

  “See, I told you she won’t be—”

  “Henry?” a voice called out.

  Henry snapped his gaze to the voice that came from behind a carcass that was impaled on a stagmite. Others followed suit.

  Then, a girl emerged from behind the stagmite.

  “Chloe…?”.

  “Henry, it really is you.” Her face brightened, amidst the blood and dirt that smeared her expression. She ran towards him. “What are you doing here?”

  “To save you, apparently?”

  “Really?”

  “No, not really. It’s a coincidence.”

  Chloe rolled her eyes. “I see your humour hasn’t changed. And… you looked… the same. You’re a bit older.”

  “You haven’t changed.”

  “I haven’t, but the world has. It has changed a great deal since you… left.”

  “How many years has it been?”

  “One and a half.”

  “Only one and a half, and the world has changed a great deal.”

  “You have no idea, Henry. Thanks to you.”

  “Me?”

  “Your actions then have not gone unnoticed. It propelled a lot of initiatives and discovery.”

  “Oh…”

  “Chloe, you’re alive!” Alex came forward. His arms were spread wide. “I was worried that you were—”

  “Motherfucker,” Chloe growled. Without a warning, she sent Alex stumbling with a jab that Henry was barely able to follow.

  “Ow!” Alex screamed as he stumbled a few steps back. “What the hell was that—”

  “Don’t py dumb, you son of a bitch. You left me for dead.”

  “What? I did no such thing.”

  “Oh, so you didn’t just run off while the monsters swarmed me?”

  “They were all over you!”

  “You had your gun, then! You could have shot at them. You know damn well that my armour would protect me from your bullets. Even aside from that, there were plenty of opportunities for you to save me but you chose to run.”

  “Alex, is that true?” Barry asked. “You told me that you tried to save her but—”

  “Silence!” Alex snarled. “I did my best! It’s not my fault that she—” Suddenly, he lost his voice, his bance, and gravity. Before he knew it, he was crashing into the wall.

  “Keep your damn mouth shut,” Henry warned.