Zane couldn't believe his eyes. Sarah had been mowed down right before him like a meat grinder. The stench of blood, rain, and seawater, mixed into one for a horrible scent. Stomach turners for humans but soup for the Apocrypha. The dog-like creature licked the blood from its lips and slowly approached Zane.
"Damn it! You monsters! First, you take my family and now you plan to take the lives of more innocent people?! I swear, I'm going to kill all of you!!"
"Kill us? Don't be stupid human," answered a dark voice.
Zane froze and looked up at the Apocrypha in shock, "Yo-you... can talk..?"
All the Apocrypha began laughing simultaneously.
"Of course, human! Well, most of us. There are up to five different ranks of Apocrypha with each rank stronger and more intelligent than the last. Rank One Apocrypha can not speak any form of human language. They are inferior to the other ranks and are only responsible for capturing humans to be fed to the Royal Family. As for all of us here, we're all Rank Two. Not only can we speak every variation of human language, but we also have the choice to kill humans if we desire. I won't explain the other ranks since you're about to die anyway."
Zane shuddered. The thought of there being so many different ranks of Apocrypha was bone-chilling. If the ones before him were only Rank Two, he could only imagine how dangerous the other ranks were. Not to mention that he still didn't know much about the strange dog-like creatures that were by their side. There were more questions than answers.
"Wait! Why are you all doing this? What did humans ever do to you?!"
"It's simple. We've been doing this for millennia. Humans aren't the only intelligent species that exist. There are thousands more that the Apocrypha have devoured across hundreds of galaxies. However, humans were created specifically to be consumed by us. The Apocrypha created you for food."
The Apocrypha then paused before moving its shadowy finger across Zane's forehead.
"What we really want from humans are their brains. We allowed humans to develop over time because the more you evolved, the more your brains matured. And your brains have evolved to the point where they can be harvested, making the Apocrypha even stronger and smarter!"
Zane's body trembled as if he was having a seizure. He was afraid of being eaten alive like Sarah. There was not much he could do now— especially with his injuries. The dog-like creature now stood over him, ready to chomp down on him with its four-sectioned mouth. It was his time. Giving up seemed to be the only option.
"Zane, don't give up!!" Screamed a voice, running towards him.
Surprisingly, it was Layla. She had managed to kill the two Apocrypha that were trying to overpower her. Her physical ability didn't cease to amaze. She ran towards Zane and jammed a small knife into one of the Apocrypha's heads. She then followed up with a powerful kick to the dog-like creature's stomach, sending it rolling over like a ball.
Seeing what was happening, two other Apocrypha lunged at her. However, Layla was ready. She dived to the floor and rolled herself toward the gun.
"Augh! Kill them!" Shouted one of the Apocrypha. However, in the blink of an eye, a bullet was lodged between its eyes.
Making use of the opportunity, Zane picked himself up and dashed toward the outer deck alongside Layla. Now getting serious, the remaining Apocrypha pulled out tranquilizer guns from seemingly thin air. They shot a barrage of drugged darts at Layla and Zane but the two jumped out of the way in the nick of time.
Time seemed to slow as they ran past Sarah's lifeless body. It was a horrid sight but there was nothing they could do.
"Zane! The helicopter! We need to use it to escape or we won't survive! I need you to hold them off until I can get it started!" Shouted Layla.
"You can fly a helicopter?!"
"I can do a lot of things! Let's go!"
Layla quickly threw the gun to Zane before both of them dashed up toward the helipad where the helicopter was located. Lightning sliced the sky in two and thunder roared like a bomb. There was a chance that they'd be struck by lightning but that seemed a lot more pleasant than being eaten alive by a hoard of Apocrypha.
However, the stairs to the helipad were wet which made it difficult to climb given the turbulent ocean water. Fortunately, they weren't alone. The Apocrypha and the dog-like creature struggled to move around as well. The adverse conditions were slowing everyone down.
Just then, as soon as they reached the helipad, Zane caught sight of something horrific.
"Layla..." He called dimly.
Layla traced Zane's gaze in confusion. She didn't know what was so important that it required her attention. But she soon came to realize that they were in big trouble. Even the Apocrypha had stopped to look at what was happening.
Around a mile away, a 100ft wave was approaching them at extreme speeds. It easily dwarfed them. If they were hit, there was no doubt that the yacht would be crushed like an insignificant insect.
"Come on! Don't just stand there looking at it! Do you want to die?!" Yelled Layla.
Layla then quickly jumped into the helicopter and fired up its engine. Unfortunately, the engine needed a little more time to gather heat before it could take off. To make things worse, the Apocrypha were quickly gaining on them. They refused to turn back, despite the giant wave that approached.
"Zane! Hold them off!"
Zane gritted his teeth and began pulling the trigger wildly. He shot the dog-like creature in the head, causing it to tumble down the stairs, crashing into the other Apocrypha. However, one of the Apocrypha had managed to avoid being hit. The only good news was that it had dropped its tranquilizer gun amid the confusion.
"Layla! Is it ready yet?!" Shouted Zane in worry.
"I'm taking off! Get in!!"
Just then, the Apocrypha dived into Zane's chest, knocking the gun from his hand. The gun slipped across the wet helipad before plunging into the ocean. Zane hissed with frustration as he wrestled the Apocrypha with everything he had. He kicked it from atop him before wrapping his fingers onto the helicopter's landing skid.
However, the Apocrypha was determined. It quickly got back up before slamming Zane to the ground, yet again. They slid across the wet helipad before crashing into the surrounding guard rails. Unfortunately, the gap between the guard rails was far too big. This caused both of them to slip through, putting them in danger of falling into the ocean.
Desperately, Zane threw his hand forward, barely managing to latch onto the rail. On the other hand, the Apocrypha missed its chance, forced to grab onto Zane's leg to prevent itself from falling into the ocean. It dangled from Zane's leg, hovering just a few feet over the deep abyss below.
"Damn it! Let me go!" Shouted Zane, kicking his legs.
The ocean then started to rise. The giant wave was now closer than ever and the Apocrypha refused to let go of Zane's legs. To make things worse, Zane's arms were growing tired. He could no longer hold on.
Layla watched him with fear in her eyes. Before she knew it, Zane and the Apocrypha plunged into the ocean.
"Zane!!"
Layla knew they were out of time. The wave would crash into the yacht soon and Zane was nowhere to be seen. Even the other Apocrypha had retreated to their strange boat to avoid death. She had no choice. She had to fly away if she hoped to survive.
Taking one last look at the violent ocean waters below, Layla lifted the helicopter into the air. However, she did not give up hope. There was a chance that Zane was still alive. She scouted the waters for even the slightest sign of Zane. But she held her doubts. He could have already drowned.
"Why don't I just fly away already..?" She questioned herself. "He's just a random guy I managed to run into... And he also caused me a lot of trouble... I should just leave..."
This was when Layla caught sight of subtle movement in the water below. This immediately refueled her with hope.
"Zane?!"
Despite the massive wave being dangerously close, Layla decided to risk it. She moved the helicopter close to where she had seen the subtle movement. This was when two hands reached out from the turbulent waters, grabbing onto the landing skids.
"Zane! You're alive!!"
Layla then glanced at the wave. It was now only a few meters away. She didn't even have time to let Zane climb into the helicopter. He had to find the strength to hold on until she could help him. With all her might, Layla hit the gas, lifting the helicopter high into the air. Zane struggled to hold on while coughing up seawater.
However, misfortune continued to follow Zane. As soon as he was lifted from the water by the helicopter, something grabbed onto his legs. Looking down, Zane saw that the Apocrypha had grabbed onto him again.
"You'll die here, human!" It shouted.
Zane kicked the Apocrypha with all his might but it refused to let go. Fortunately, Layla saw what was happening and knew she had to help. She steadied the helicopter mere inches away from the massive wave. Seeing this, Zane was sure he was about to be hit.
"Layla! The wave's going to hit me!!"
Time seemed to slow as the final moments of their predicament approached. Even the yacht below was flipped over like a toy truck from the power of the ferocious wave. The wave was mere inches away from him. He could reach out his hand and touch it if he desired.
He closed his eyes. He didn't want to see what would happen next. Layla could easily raise the helicopter higher but for some reason, she refused to do so. Zane had no choice but to hope she knew what she was doing.
"Zane, hold on with everything you have!!" She screamed.
The wave slammed into Zane's waist, barely missing the helicopter. He held on tightly in pain as he felt as if his lower body was passing through a brick wall. By the next second, Layla lifted the helicopter high into the air, pulling Zane out of the wave.
Slowly, Zane opened his eyes. To his surprise, the Apocrypha that held onto him was swatted away by the violent wave. That had been Layla's plan the entire time. It was risky but it somehow worked.
Layla then steadied the helicopter and opened the door before pulling Zane inside.
"That was so scary..!" Exclaimed Layla with a breath of relief.
"You do realize that I've been close to death more times than you, right..?"
Layla tried to hide it but she was happy that Zane was alive. Despite everything that had happened, she couldn't hold it against him forever. Instead, she felt strangely attracted to his naïve and kindhearted nature.
"We lost one year's worth of supplies to that..." She sighed.
Zane's stomach grumbled. He hadn't even gotten a chance to eat his crackers and cheese. He was still extremely hungry.
"Well, what can we do..? It's better than dying..."
"You seem really hungry for some reason..."
"Please tell me you have something to eat..."
"Wow, Zane! In the midst of fighting for our lives, I managed to salvage a snack because it was so important to grab a bag of chips over a gun!"
"You don't have to be so sarcastic about it..."
Layla chuckled, "Don't worry, you won't die. When we find land, we'll try to get some food."
"Where are we heading anyway?" Inquired Zane as he rubbed the salt water from his eyes.
"We're going to Florida. We have a full tank of gas but I don't think it can get us all the way to the Caribbean. We'll have to stop and get some gas first then fly off again."
"I hope you're right about the Caribbean..."
Layla couldn't give a direct answer. She just knew that staying in densely populated areas was a bad idea. It was better to move across small islands with fewer people.
"By the way, I realized the Apocrypha that attacked us were different. They could talk and they were out to kill us too. Did you get any intel on them?"
"Yeah, according to one of them that I spoke with, Apocrypha are arranged from Rank Ones to Five. Rank One is the lowest while Rank Five is the highest. The higher the rank, the stronger and smarter the Apocrypha. The ones we fought just now were Rank Two while the ones back in New York were Rank Ones. It's a lot to take in..."
Layla bit down on her lip as she steered the helicopter through the storm, "I see... If Rank Two were capable of that much, it makes you wonder what the other three ranks will be like."
Layla waited for Zane to respond but to her surprise, he had fallen asleep. It made sense given how much they had been through. His adrenaline had skyrocketed and he come close to death numerous times. Layla couldn't help but smile as she watched him. He was a lot tougher than he looked.
"Well, it's a good thing you fell asleep. I bet you didn't know that flying a helicopter through a storm is a bad idea. We could get struck by lightning anytime now and crash into the ocean," she laughed.