"Don't move! Please we don't want to hurt anyone!" screamed a breathy male voice.
Layla and Zane stopped in their tracks upon seeing this mystery figure holding a gun. He looked around twenty and had straight black hair and wore a pair of square-lens-black-colored-frame-nerd-glasses that covered eyes that were like fleshy melted chocolate. On his body he wore a simple light blue T-shirt and baggy black shorts.
By his side was another girl looking the same age with beautiful dark chocolate skin and pale-brown eyes. Her straight black hair was short, dangling right above her shoulders. Her body was quite petite covered by a brown blouse and tattered light-blue jeans.
Just to their right, Zane noticed another young male. He looked around the same age as Serenity. His eyes were like that of amber with a rare touch of golden honey. He had a light skin complexion with dark silky hair. His clothing was made up of an orange T-shirt with the words 'Cool' embedded in the middle and black fitted jeans. He too was armed with a small handgun.
"Wow! Wow! Wow! What the hell??" screamed Nick in surprise.
"Just let us go and we'll leave peacefully! We promise!" pleaded the female.
Layla carefully stepped forward; her gun placed comfortably in the palm of her hands ready to take action upon the slightest move.
"Who are you people??"
"We're simply passing through! We didn't mean for any confrontations!" persuaded the male.
"Simply passing through a store filled with unknown people?" Layla paused as she turned her head towards Elio. "How did they get in? I thought I told you and Serenity to keep watch!"
Elio chuckled, "Don't blame us. They were already in the store. We all just failed to notice them until now."
Slowly, the three mystery figures began to back up towards the door; their guns pinned in front of them to ensure their safety.
"Wait! Hold on! We aren't bad people... Who are you guys?" inquired Zane carefully.
"Zane, we don't need to keep them around... If they promise to leave they can..." Layla paused once more as she pondered, "But there's also the possibility they are Apocrypha under disguise..."
"We aren't Apocrypha! We promise you that!" cried the male once more.
"Anastasia! Is it possible for you to tell other Apocrypha's under disguise?" asked Zane.
Anastasia slowly stepped forward; her hands above her head to show she meant no harm.
"Yes, but we need to look one another in the eyes... Looking at the transformed body doesn't allow us to tell one another apart from real humans."
"Wait, what's she talking about? Why is she saying 'WE'?" inquired the female figure tightening her grip around her gun.
"I can tell from their gaze that they're human." continued Anastasia.
Finally, the young boy stepped forward with his gun pointed towards Zane. His eyes burning with an intensity.
"The grey eyed girl called you Zane, did she not? I remember you two from the broadcast by the Apocrypha. You're Layla and Zane, the selfish humans who would rather save themselves than give their lives for humanity! You're both disgusting!"
Layla and Zane both paused in shock for a short moment. Due to the current circumstances, they had forgotten about the broadcast.
"Wait! Don't shoot! I promise you the Apocrypha are lying!" cried Zane desperately.
For a short moment, a look of confusion came across the three strangers face's.
"What? How can you prove that you're not the one's lying?"
Serenity stepped forward in between the guns, bravely extending her arms in defense. "Because everyone else here can vouch for them. The Apocrypha tricked you all into thinking that! It's actually the other way around... If they die then all of humanity perishes!"
"What? That's ridiculous... You're all probably just their family or friends trying to defend them. There's still no reason for us to believe you." stated the female stranger sternly.
Ashley finally stepped forward alongside Serenity defending both Layla and Zane.
"We can prove it! But first we need everyone to put their guns down. I promise it on my life that we can prove their innocence."
The three strangers looked back and forth amongst one another as if contemplating what to do. To them, it was risky. They would be dropping their guns fully knowing they were out numbered.
"Please, I'm begging you to take this chance... What if you kill them and end up being wrong? What would you do then?"
Ashley's words were quite persuasive. They really didn't want to have such guilt on their conscience if it turned out that they were wrong. Reluctantly, they eased their guns below them. Layla did the same encouraging the action even more.
"Fine, prove your innocence... But if you can't, then we will do everything we can to kill you two." firmly stated the more mature male figure.
Layla averted her eyes to Anastasia and signaled her to come over. Anastasia was a little worried but she knew she had to do it if it meant helping them. She could also receive a larger portion of Layla's trust by doing so.
Layla slowly lowered her blouse revealing the dark purple spot on her neck. Zane did the same.
"As you can see, those are Apocrypha markings that were given to them. This entire situation is like a survival game. If these two manage to stay alive for all of 2020 then humanity will be spared. This was the deal between them and the Apocrypha." Anastasia paused as she took a deep breath. "Furthermore, I can prove this by revealing something else to you, but please keep yourselves calm when I do. I promise I am not hostile!"
"Um- okay..." the three responded in perfect sync.
Slowly, Anastasia reverted half her body into Apocrypha form. The three strangers jumped in fright almost tumbling over one another.
"What the hell?? You're an Apocrypha!"
"Yes... I know this comes as a shock to you but think about it. If I, an Apocrypha is willing to help them, then they must be telling the truth! My kind wants them dead so they can win this game. If they succeed in killing them then all of humanities hope is lost!"
A feeling of apprehension seeped into their hearts as they listened to the words of Anastasia. They found it hard to believe, but based on the current circumstances it seemed to be true.
"But how?? Why would they make such a deal with humans?? Why would you, an Apocrypha even help them in the first place??" screamed the female figure in confusion.
"We can't explain everything to you right now... Just believe that we're telling the truth." added Zane.
Elio then slowly walked up to them. A smirk placed neatly across his face as he looked at them. "So you three... What's your names?"
The male in the nerd glasses took a deep breath to soothe himself, "Well, I'm Tyrone. The girl beside me is called Hazel and the smaller boy is called Deandre."
"I take it everything's settled then?" inquired Layla.
"Yeah... For now at least." replied Hazel.
"Hey! I got an idea! Why don't you all join up with us! The more people we have then the more people to keep Zane and Layla safe!" offered Serenity.
They pondered for a small moment before answering. There were both risks and benefits to joining already such a large group. They however wanted to ensure the safety of humanities last hope of survival.
"Okay, sure we can tag along with."
Hazel's words were music to their ears. They really wanted to avoid a deadly fight with other humans if possible. Layla was also happy about the outcome, but she was slightly turned off by the size of the group. It had now turned into a total of ten people. It would be hard to keep track of so many not to mention that they would be limited to only certain modes of transport.
"So where are you guy's heading?" inquired Nick.
"I have a house back in the countryside. Me and my family use to use it for whenever we went camping but that's where I've been staying for the past few days. I was planning to head back there alongside these two." declared Tyrone.
"Isn't the countryside filled with Apocrypha too? I mean it's not as bad as the cities but it's still bad..."
Tyrone placed a grin across his face brimming with pride, "That's normally true but the house is in an extremely secluded area. Honestly, I would say there's a relatively low-chance of the Apocrypha finding us there."
"Is that so?" grinned Elio.
"So what do you say? The house is just big enough for all of us to fit! We can at least spend a few days there before moving out!"
Everyone went quiet as they thought about it. Their original destination was the Caribbean which seemed to be the safest option, but there was still an issue. Apocrypha were everywhere, even if the island they come across is safe, the journey would be like a rock climb without any gear. Was taking a chance on the house worth it? Apollo could still track them which was always going to be an issue.
Layla asserted herself as she prepared to speak. "We'll go... I mean it's the safest and most logical option we have at the moment. We want to make it to the Caribbean nonetheless but look at us. We all have some type of injury. It would be good to take a break for once and settle down somewhere for a little while. After we are healed up we can get going."
Zane placed his hand to his chin verifying Layla's answer. It seemed to make sense. They had to just hope that the house was as secure as Tyrone made it out to be.
"Okay, I agree as well."
The others nodded in approval seeing it as their best option for the time being. Recovery was definitely a needed factor. They had all been desperately trying to ignore the pain from their wounds. Especially Zane, his feet felt like an elephant constantly kicked it. He had just learnt to withstand the pain he felt to stop himself from slowing down the others.
After a few minutes, they were all out of the store with a few needed items. Nick had even found himself a new baseball bat.
The only issue was Anastasia. Worry was very much evident on her face as she stared up at the rising sun. She would only be able to withstand the heat once it reached it's peak for around ten to thirty minutes and that was taking into consideration whether or not she could force herself to withstand the pain.
Elio came beside her in a teasing manner, "Afraid of a little heat?"
Anastasia gave an awkward laugh, "Yeah... I really don't want to slow anyone down for my sake. So I'll just have to persevere for now."
"Don't worry, the house is surrounded by trees so just hold out for now." encouraged Tyrone.
"How long will it take us to get to your house by the way?" inquired Layla.
"Honestly... around a day at most."
"That's encouraging..." replied Layla sarcastically.
They continued to walk through the lonely streets. The wind whistling past them resulting in the fluttering of their hair. For some reason, they had sub-consciously divided themselves in small pairs; Serenity was making friends with Deandre. Nick and Elio were talking amongst themselves. Ashely was trying to use her body to block the incoming sunlight from Anastasia. Tyrone was seemingly discussing something with Hazel. And Zane and Layla were walking side by side.
Zane felt a little awkward as his memory drifted upon what had happened between him and Layla. He looked over at Layla who was as calm as a cucumber seemingly unbothered by what had transpired. Zane felt tempted to ask about the situation. What had happened between them and what would have taken place if they weren't interrupted?
Zane was conflicted with himself. Why was it that he almost kissed Layla? This girl he had only known for a few days. Was he in love with her? He wasn't sure how to put it into words. He felt extremely comfortable around her like laying on a sandy beach under the simmering sun. He bit his lip as he pondered on whether or not he should ask her.
He slowly held out his hand and slid his fingers into hers. Layla looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Um- What are you doing?"
"I swear I don't even know. I just wanted to ask you a question..."
Layla sighed, "Then ask it... It's not like I'm gonna shame you or anything."
"Yeah right... sure."
Layla chuckled sweetly as she looked up into his eyes, "Okay, I mean it though. I won't... I promise!"
Zane took the bait as he prepared himself to ask.
"So... Um- What happened between us back in the... store..?"
"Oh that! I was simply teasing you. Checking if you had fallen in love with me and it seems you did. Sorry, I like to play around with guy's who think they have a chance with me."
Zane knew he should have felt heartbroken or angry but for some reason he felt more calm than anything else. She didn't seem as if she completely meant what she said.
"You shouldn't play with people's emotions you know... Makes you seem narcissistic which I really hate in people."
Layla didn't answer as she kept her head straight. Zane tried releasing his grip around her fingers a little upset but he suddenly felt her tighten her grip instead. His hand stuck in entanglement with hers. A small smile across her face confusing him even more.
Zane sighed as he thought to himself, "I swear, she's just like some Kūdere from an anime... You can never tell what they're thinking..."
The group continued to walk towards the unknown. Little did they know something was on their trail. Another terrifying reveal was about to take place. What was about to occur in their next encounter?