Meanwhile back in the city, ensued with chaos caused by the portals continuously appearing and pouring out monsters all over the place. Citizens panic as the homes they've known all their lives are being destroyed, friends and family being slaughtered by monsters everywhere. It is hell.
Calgary city is no longer the safe haven it used to be, it has become a waste land with little to no shelter from the monsters. People fighting each other over places to hide.
A woman and her daughter are running frantically from a beast the seemingly looks like a combination of a wolf and a bat, it was a Chimera, monsters that appear to be a merger of other monsters, an abomination. She runs as fast as she can, gripping her daughter's arm as she drags her along. "Help!" She screams, panting and tears running down her cheeks "Someone, please help us!"
The chimera launches at them, claws out and mouth drooling, stretching its paw towards the two of them. They both cry as death seems imminent.
But a mysterious figure rushes towards them, leaping over and severing the chimera's front paw clean off.
*Arf*
It squeals, coming to a full pause to see what had cut it.
It was a tall black haired boy who seemed to be in his late teen years, possessing a striking face full of charm, donning a black long sleeve shirt with folded up arms and an athletic physique that makes the shirt look fitted. James, Arthur's best friend has come to their rescue.
"It's okay now," James says, his tone soft and mellow. "Just wait here, I won't be long."
He grips his sword, sprinting forward towards the chimera, with immense determination in his eyes to protect the little girl and her mother. He charges head on with no hesitation nor fear, as if a veteran on the battlefield. It roars, spreading its wings wide trying to flee but James closes the distance in no time and slashes off its left wing, grounding it before it can take off.
It roars in pain, reaching out its other claws in a desperate attempt to escape. But its fate had already been sealed as it met an opponent it could not beat.
James parries the attack with his sword, using the force of the attack to thrust himself upwards and shift his direction, rotating his body to build up momentum for a powerful attack. He swung his sword and struck its neck with full force, severing its head clean off its body.
The monsters corpse falls to the ground, splattering blood all over the cracked street. James sheathes his sword and walks toward the body, kneeling on one knee and carefully inspecting it.
He pulls out a small knife, making an incision on the lower abdomen of the monster and extracting a small crystal glowing a faint blue light. It was the monsters aether core, the source of its power. He puts the crystal in a small bag wrapped around his waist then turns to the little girl and her mother.
"Are you both okay?" He asks, searching for any visible injuries.
"We're fine, thank you," The lady replies, gently shaking her daughter trying to calm her down.
"May I?" He asks, carefully placing his hand on the little girl's head. "It's fine now," He says to her. "The monster is gone, it can't hurt you anymore."
She calms down, holding his hand tightly over her head. She then glances up at him, mouthing the words, "Thank you."
He smiles softly and then turns towards her mother. "The military set up a camp at the Saddledome just up ahead, I'll escort you there. It'll be much safer than just roaming on the streets."
She nods as he helps both of them up. "Would you like me to carry little miss?" He asks he with a smile on his face.
She shyly nods, fidgeting with her hands as he bends over to give her a piggy back. She gets on his back and they leave for the saddledome camp.
As they walk James pauses for a moment and asks the little girl, "Wanna play a little game with me?"
"Mhm," She replies, nodding her head in agreement.
"Ok, who ever opens their eyes before we reach the camp loses," He says turning to here mother as he motions his head towards what seems to be a dead body not to far from them. "Your mom will be judge, so no cheating ok?"
"But how will you see where you're going?" She asks, with a puzzled look on her face.
"Don't worry, I know these streets like the back of my hand," He replies, reassuring her. "I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."
He counts to three and they both close their eyes, he waits a bit then opens them again, continuing the walk to the camp.
As they walk, they pass by dozens of mutilated bodies scattered all over the streets. The woman presses her hand over her mouth, trying as hard as possible not to throw up. "We're almost there," He whispers. "Hang in there a little longer," This time with a stoic tone.
They pass by the bodies and finally the camp is visible. "We're here, you can open your eyes now," He says, squatting down and gently putting her down. "It's seems I lost, haha." He stands and waves at the soldiers to get their attention.
The soldiers notice them coming and they approach them, taking the little girl and her mom, leading them to the entrance.
"Thank you, mister!" The little girl yells, while slowly losing sight of him and entering the camp.
As the soldiers escorted them in, James stays behind to speak to the commanding officer. "They seem to be the last ones," He says, letting out a deep sigh.
"You've worked really hard James, you've been rescuing people nonstop," He compliments, James. "You're probably exhausted, so I'd suggest to," He says, tapping him on the shoulder and walking away.
James stands quiet for a while with a frustrated look on his face, beads of sweat dripping down his face. "I looked everywhere, but still there no sign of you, Arthur," He mutters to himself, reaching into his pocket to get his phone.
He stares at the texts he sent to Arthur, muttering to himself yet again. "You haven't even replied any of my messages yet," Clenching his phone. "Where could you be."
Just as he was about to lose complete hope that his best friend might still be alive, he receives a call.
He checks his phone in anticipation and it was none other than, Arthur.
He answers the call, waiting to finally hear his best friend's voice again. "Hello?" Arthur asks, in a mildly anticipatory tone.
"So you weren't dead after all." James replies, letting out a little laugh of relief.
"James!" Arthur yells, excitedly.
[END]
To be continued…