The vile creature hissing angrily because didn't manage to attack Yusuf. On the other hand, he was confused about the new ability he gained.
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
The creature attacks violently but fails to land a hit on Yusuf. Every time it attacks, he dunks, dodges, and leaps quickly.
Yusuf landed on the ground and take look at the creature. Dodging its attacks will use a lot of stamina, if I could run away this monster will chase me, he thought. He runs toward it, balls his fist, and punches the monster. Suddenly, he got slapped by its tail, sending him flying to the nearby trees.
CRASH! CRUSH! CRACK!
"Cough! Damn it… Cough!"
EHEHEHEHEHEH
The creature laughs and is ready to give a final blow. Yusuf just lays there, not moving a single muscle. It opens its mouth and moves at high speed towards him. "I've got you now!" then he dodges the attack quickly.
THUD!
The creature collides with a tree and then Yusuf says, "My turn."
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
Yusuf uses his claws to slash the creature without mercy. The monster bleeding terribly but Yusuf doesn't show any sign of stopping. Then, the monster becomes angry and wraps his body around Yusuf. The wrap is so tight and it's getting tighter and tighter.
The creature smiles upon the pressure it gave on Yusuf. He grunts and gasps but he grips its body with his claws. Two of them won't give up until one of them die. Sadly, Yusuf feels like he can't hold it any longer.
His sight got blurry and his face turned blue. The creature's creepy smile widens as Yusuf suffocates to death.
SLASH!!!
The creature's head flew far away from its body. The body that wraps Yusuf falls to the ground, releasing him.
"COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!" "Are you okay? Let me help you," said the mysterious young man helping Yusuf. "Who are you?" asked Yusuf to the person standing in front of him. "Oh, let me introduce myself. My name is–"
SCHUNK!!!
The answer got cut off by a sharp blade pierced through the man's chest. Orange blood splatters on Yusuf's face, shocked by the sudden attack.
SHLUCK!
The man falls into Yusuf's arms as the blade got pulled away by force. The blade turns back into the usual long tongue. It was the disgusting monster that stabbed the man all along. It smiles widely as the man bleeding and dying.
"Hey! Hold on! I'm going to bring you to the hospital!" said Yusuf. The young man could only coughs and grunts in pain. Yusuf carries the young man, trying to save him. The vile creature sees it and forms its tongue into the blade again.
SWISH!
It manages to injure Yusuf's legs, making both of them fall onto the ground. He lifts his head to see if the unlucky man is alright. The young man, however, reaches out his hand to Yusuf. The fear of death could be seen in his eyes.
Thump!
The young man finally exhales his last breath and closes his eyes. The beheaded creature looks at Yusuf and starts to harden its tongue. Yusuf could not believe his own eyes and he clenches his fist in anger. He stands up and looks at the vile beheaded creature.
SWISH!
The creature attacks but Yusuf manages to jump high into the air to avoid it. With all of his might and gravity, Yusuf reaches out his leg toward the ugly beheaded monster.
STOMP!!!
The creature's head crushed flat and its eyeballs popped out. Yusuf stomps the flattened head again, and again angrily. He didn't blink his eyes while stomping the head. His tears running down his face, his anger and sadness mix together.
All of a sudden, he stops and takes a look at the mashed head. His anger has been relieved but his sadness did not. He takes a look around, the place he used to relax turns into a mess. He turns his head to look at his dead friend.
He approached the body, carry it, and a wallet fall from the man's pocket. Yusuf lay him down on the seat and pick up the wallet. He opens the wallet because he wants to know the man's name. Sure enough, there's the NRIC of the man and Yusuf looks for his name.
Mu Chen Wang
After he knows the young man's name, he put it beside the body. He looks at his hands that are smeared with orange blood. He looks back at the young man with his teary eyes. Yusuf noticed that the man's hands have longer claws than his.
I'm stressed out from it and yet how? How can you be so positive? How can you talk like you don't have any problem?
Yusuf's tears run down again as he cries beside his dead friend. Who would know that meeting a person just for five minutes could give such an impact?
"Goodbye, my friend. Even though I don't your name but I'll never forget your good deeds," and he walks away from that park.
***
The evening sky is cloudy and the weather is windy. Yusuf is at the hospital, sitting on a chair beside his mother. His chest feels so heavy since last night, he even can't sleep well. He still wonders about the dead friend he met that night.
Does anyone find his body? If so, where did they bury him? I hope I can visit his grave one day…
A nurse comes in to check on his mother. She smiles at him as a greeting and Yusuf smile at her back, heavily. She observes the machines that are attached to the patient and record the data that she received. Out of the blue, Yusuf asked the nurse, "Where can I find a rental house near this hospital? I've searched online but there's no result."
"Oh, I'm don't know about it, I'm so sorry," replied the nurse. "It's okay, it's not a big deal." "May I ask you, why do you want to find a rental house?" "I can visit my mother more regularly." "I see. Alright, I've finished my tasks here, is there anything that I can help with?" "Oh, it's fine, you may leave." "Thank you so much," then she leaves the room.
Yusuf leans on the chair, he can't forget about the chaos last night. He also can't believe that he's alive and breathing.
"Mother, I want to take some fresh air, take care," he says as he stands up and leaves the room.
***
It's after dusk and Yusuf is riding a rental bicycle. The wind blows strongly indicating that it will rain soon. He found a bus stop and take shelter immediately. Not long after that, it's raining cats and dogs.
Yusuf sits there waiting for the rain to stop. Sometimes, he just exclaims because of the thing he got through. His body and his mind are all messed up. He feels so tired and hoping this is not real.
He can't take the fact that he had met a monster for the third time. He also saw a dead body and a person got killed in front of him. He sits there and puts his face in both of his hands. He wants to scream and cry out loud towards the rainy sky.
"Is this city not safe after all? Please don't appear in front of me again… I just want to live peacefully… that's all… is it so hard? Why can't I live peacefully? Why can't I go anywhere without feeling peaceful?" he asked to himself.
The monologue continues, "Let me live anywhere I want peacefully. Let me find a shelter so I can eat and sleep peacefully! Let me go out of my house PEACEFULLY! LET ME DIE PEACEFULLY! STOP DISTURBING MY LIFE!!!"
The rain finally stops.
Yusuf lifts his head and looks at the cloudy night sky. He stands up and sits on his rental bicycle. He saw someone in front of him, a male teenager with a pale face. The teenager just walking toward the forest behind the bus stop.
The suspicious teenager caught Yusuf's attention and he became curious. After the teenager enters the forest, Yusuf starts to cycle. He doesn't want to take a risk just by saying hi to a stranger. Also, somebody might find him missing tomorrow, he thought.
WHIP!
His wrist got caught by a long, red, and fleshy vine and pulled into the forest. His body got scratched by the tall grass and thick bushes. Suddenly, he lifted into the air above the head level. Yusuf looked below him and is surprised at what he sees.
The teenager he saw earlier is looking at him with glowing eyes. The vine is connected to the teenager's back. The teenager's body and neck start to bulge like a balloon. Yusuf could hear the sound of water filling a barrel coming from the monster.
Yusuf tries to release himself by snapping the vine but he cannot grab it. It's too slippery and hard to be reached by him. The monster realizes it and throws him into the air then catches him by the ankle. The creature lowers Yusuf towards it, definitely to eat its prey.
He is swinging in the middle of the air because of the struggles to reach the vine. He is panicking, his head becomes dizzy, and he feels so tired. At that moment, he remembered the young man Mu Chen Wang. Immediately, he got an idea of how to kill the monster.
He points his finger toward the horrible monster's head. He focuses on trying to take his claw out. Unfortunately, he can't take out his claws and he must be quick. "Damn it! Why it won't come out?!" he says in frustration.
CRACK! BLORP! GURGLE!
The creature opens its mouth that resembles the deep, dark, and cold well. Yusuf struggles, even more, to escape from the vine grip.
SWISH!
THUD!!!
The creature swings him to the ground to faint him. "Cough! Cough! Cough! Not again…" grunts Yusuf in pain.
Now the creature can swallow him whole without waiting anymore. Yusuf on the other hand just stares into the dark mouth.
I can't move my body… Is this where I'll die? In the stomach of a monster? I thought I will die in peace but in the end… ha… haha… Looks like my whole life is wasted just like that… I'll drown in this creature, digested, and maybe turn into a turd…
My whole life is crap and I'll turn into literally crap huh?
Well… this is a goodbye…
SLASH!
The hideous monster's legs got severed by a mysterious woman's sword. It loses its balance and falls on its back.
"Hi," greet the mysterious man that appeared behind it in a flash.
SHANK!!!
The man stabs through the creature's head with his claws. The vine that grabs Yusuf's ankle finally releases him. He falls onto the ground but landed on the monster's bloated body. The woman and the man help him to get up.
"Who are you guys?" asked Yusuf in a weak voice. "Guys? Hello? Excuse me! I'm a girl! Can't you see?" says the woman in anger. "Carla, please don't scream beside his ear," says the man strictly. "But–" "My name is Adipati Uwais and she is Carla Salvador." "Remember my name correctly! Hmph!" "Adipati… Carla… Thank you for saving me…," then Yusuf smiles gratefully. "You're welcome," replied both of them.
They help Yusuf walk to the bus stop nearby. They even help him sit down on the bus stop seat. The bicycle is also placed carefully in front of him by them. "Take a rest, your body will recover and you'll be able to move normally again," explained Adipati.
"Thank you, thank you so much, I don't know how can I repay you two." "Hehe, if we are not passing by, maybe you'll be dead," proud Carla. "Carla, we are here to help people," commented Adipati upon her way of speaking. "You didn't even like the way I speak huh, Adipati?" "No Carla, just don't be arrogant, okay?" "Fine…" "Anyway, may we know your name?" asked Adipati to Yusuf. "Yusuf Yaakob. You can call me Yusuf," answered him. "By the way, I noticed something about you two," mentions him. Then continues, "You two are hybrids, aren't you?"
They look at each other, and Adipati confesses, "Yes, we are. How did you know?" "A normal human can't kill that monster that easily." "We also noticed that you are a hybrid too," Carla interrupts. She continues, "You can't survive that hit if you're a normal human right?" "You're right," he admits. "Also, you two are not from Serpentine, right?" "Yes, I'm from Jasper and Carla is from Malachite," clarifies Adipati. "I see. I'm from Kyanite." "Oh, the business hub city," nod Carla. "May I know, why are you two come to this city?" asked Yusuf.
"We are looking for hybrids," response Adipati. Yusuf is a little bit surprised and confused with that answer. "We will explain to you later," convey Carla. Yusuf nodded slowly, "But I need to send that bicycle back to the shop first."