We were almost at the bus stop but the monsters still hadn't shown themselves to us. In fact, it's been a while since I last saw their silhouettes moving behind the buildings. I was starting to think they had given up on chasing us.
But of course, that wasn't possible at all. They must have widened the distance to go unnoticed.
As we searched for a taxi, I could feel the stares of people. With our appearance, we were probably weirding out many people. At last, we found one and hailed the driver. Soon it pulled to the side and we got in a hurry.
I sat near the window. While everyone else sat on the back, Adriel had seized the front seat.
"To the east coast of the Long Island. Ride as fast as you can, I will pay extra."
"Okay. Hold tight then."
The driver pressed the gas and we took off, hurtling through the roads. Luckily for us, the man was a profound driver. He got us out of the streets of New York City in a manner of time. We were back on the highway along the coast. Although the sun was declining instead of inclining, the glittering sea was still the same.
As we drove away from the city, everything quieted down, as if we were out of the danger. But something was still amiss. I peeked at Adriel to see if he was also feeling restless. My doubts were confirmed as I saw him looking out of the window for potential threats.
'Even if my instincts were to be lying to me, there is no way the main character's instincts are false as well.'
"Pull to the side now! We gotta get out!"
Unable to resist the uneasiness, I harshly told to the driver.
"What? We are in the middle of a highway, kid."
"Just listen to Blake! We need to leave the car now!"
Adriel supported my decision since his instincts were also screaming danger. Others didn't object to our decision seeing us that distressed.
"Okay, okay. I am pulling over. Tsk. Why do I have to deal with a bunch of kids?"
The car slowed down but before it came to a halt, I got goosebumps all around my body. Something big was coming behind us. The rumbling sound of heavy steps became closer and louder. I glanced at the side mirror to identify the incoming threat.
What reflected through the side mirror was a giant slime in a humanoid form. It was similar to the dog that had initially attacked us, but much bigger and dangerous. With every step, chunks of black slime fell apart to the ground. Although its face was devoid of any structure or detail, just like the dog, there were red glowing circles on it. As if this wasn't worse enough, behind the giant followed more dogs.
"Everybody! Throw yourself out of th-"
Before Adriel could finish his warning, the giant monster caught up to the car and smashed it with its hand. Upon impact, the car was blown away to the side while flipping over for a few times.
When the car stopped rolling, we were upside-down. After coming back to my senses, I looked out and saw the waves washing over the sand. The car was dragged on the shore. Then I tried to move but failed to do so as I felt an extra weight on my chest.
When I looked down, I found out why I felt so heavy. Eleanor was on top of me, lying half unconscious. Her blood was dripping from her head to my chest. But I could still feel the beating of her heart against mine so she was still alive. Her eyes were clouded yet still met mine. She was making subtle groaning noises once in a while.
My eyes wandered inside the car to see how others were doing. The driver had fainted but was okay. Adriel was almost out of the vehicles. Amelia and Nadia were also about to get out of the other window which had been broken. I needed more time to get me and Eleanor out of here.
"Adriel!"
"What is it?"
"Stall them for a few seconds!"
"Understood!"
He got out of the car with the other two to defend the car until we were out too. I knew they wouldn't be able to stand against that hord of monsters for too long so I needed to be quick.
I channeled divine energy to my elbow and hit the window as hard as I could. The glass shattered into little pieces. I dragged myself out of the broken window with my legs while holding Eleanor in my embrace. My back was rubbed against sharp shards of glass, which was cutting through my skin. The pain made me whine but I still went ahead regardless.
When I was finally out, I lifted Eleanor in my arms as I stood up. Looking around, I found Adriel fighting against the giant and the dogs. Amelia was trying to shoot arrows but out of fear of hitting Adriel, he couldn't bring herself to release the string. Her hands were trembling. Nadia didn't have any weapon so she just hid behind Amelia. Basically, Adriel was taking on all the monsters by himself.
"Adriel, can you deal with the big one on your own?"
Although he didn't look in our direction, hearing my shouting, he was relieved to know we made it out of the car all right.
"I am not sure! Maybe!"
He shouted back while blocking a punch from the black humanoid monster. But he wasn't able to react in time to the dogs' claws grazing over his shoulder.
"It doesn't seem like we have a choice anyway..."
"What did you say?"
I close my eyes and concentrate on my divine energy. Overdriving my divine energy, I began emanating the excess divine energy from my body. I was trying to appeal to the monster's, desire for divine energy. I manifested my divine energy just enough to taunt the dogs but not the giant figure.
"Hey! Leave that loser alone! There are two of the same quality here for you to feast on. Come and eat us!"
Understanding what I was trying to do, Adriel voiced his worries.
"Blake! You can't face that many dogs all the while carrying Eleanor!"
"Never mind me, survive against that blob of slime first!"
He might have been right but the dogs were already sprinting towards me so there was no meaning in arguing over it. Without looking back, I turned back and ran towards the sea. I wasn't stupid enough to try to fight them all on my own.
The cold and subtle waves gently brushed past my ankles. As I went further, the sea gradually reached my knee, finally reaching all the way to my waist. I let go of Eleanor from my arms and immersed her softly in the water. As her face was being submerged in the water, our gazes intersected for a split second. Her eyes held a gratitude in them.
'Now all I need to do is try not to get torn into pieces by these dogs until Eleanor recovers. Pretty simple when I say it out loud...'
A pack of dogs covered in a black and stiff substance that looked like a smile surrounded me. What I thought to be their red eyes shined even more seeing me left nowhere to run. The terrifying growling of the dogs revealed their white fangs that would send shivers down one's spine.
Fortunately, they were too timid to test out the seawater so they were refraining themselves from jumping on me. But I knew this wouldn't last long since they ought to realize water wasn't harmful eventually.
*Sigh...*
'Here we go...'