Scattered all over its pavement, from where it began to as far as one's legs could carry them, were skulls, human skulls, countless number of them. While most appeared old, indicating their long time placement, a few looked to have been newer, fresh, only recently placed with skins that were yet to lot away which resulted in them excluding a gut wrenching stench that permeated the entire field
Alpha, seeing this, his legs nearly gave out, his heart pondered almost jumping out of his chest, his breathing Haggard as he tried his best to back away from the scene. The only reason he had yet to break or freak out like his fellow classmates was only because of the amount of horror films his sister had made him watch. Yet even with his exposure, for him this was way more terrifying, gruesome, cruel than any film he'd ever watched. Maybe it was because this was real or the fact that he was standing right in the middle of it all, but he doubted that was the case.
As he slowly backed far away from the path, his back suddenly bumped onto to something. At that moment he could've sworn every person on the field could hear his heartbeat which was now beating thrice as fast as that of any healthy person. Trying to keep his body from giving out, he crenched his shaking hands onto fists and slowly turned around.
Much to his relief though, it wasn't some sort of serial killer his mind had conjured up from one of the movies he'd watched, but instead the bald driver with a green jacket in hand. Easing up a little Alpha let out a soft sign.
"Oh Mr Leonard, where exactly are we?" trying his best to seem calm he asked, though in spite all the effort his voice still trembled.
Handing him the jacket, Mr Leonard hesitated for a few seconds before answering with a low voice that laced with fear and anxiety
"Actually I have no idea, I lost consciousness like every one else. From the looks of it history has a way of repe.."
~Whrrrr! Whrrr~
Before he could finish, he was abruptly interrupted by a whistling sound that was echoing in the forest. It had the same rythm as the first one, only this time it wasn't as intensifying, but it still managed to send shivers to anyone who heard it.
"Let's join the others" said Mr Leonard
Maybe it was what we call basic human intuition, but soon as the sound subsided Mr Leonard grabbed Alpha by the wrist and walked towards Mrs Taiyo and the other kids who'd now formed some sort of a crowd in the middle of the small field
....
After the whistling sound resounded, the chaos that'd elevated around the braided young woman came to a complete halt, some kids, wearing looks of fear, terror and confusion on their faces, busied themselves, throwing gazes at every direction as they tried their best to pinpoint the origin of the sound, while the rest of them were too scared to even turn their heads.
Mrs Taiyo was no exception wearing the same calm look_or at least trying to, if anyone paid close attention to her face one would see fear engraved on it while being barricaded by a calm look, also tried to pinpoint the origin of the sound before she saw Mr Leonard and Alpha walking towards them.
Seeing them approach a smile curved up on her face, although it wasn't a happy smile nor was it genuine as it was that of someone who'd lost all hope
When Alpha saw the smile he immediately figured what kind it was. Being one that he'd seen multiple times on his father every time he asked him about his mother and when she'd be coming back, he couldn't fail to decern it.
Mr Leonard, walking fast as he could, didn't seem to make much of the smile as he went on to increase his pace, though before he could take a few more steps, he gazed at the group once again, only this time he was able to see what he'd missed the first time.
The whole group had it's eyes on them, but instead of being happy_or atleast partially even in this situation, all of their faces filled with terror and hopelessness, some even had their eyes and noses running like endless fountains, yet none of them let out a sound, even after losing strength to stand and staggering kneeling or sitting.
When all this was happening Alpha was the first to notice that not a pair of eyes were on them, rather peered past them.
Slightly turning his head, he faced what had everyone frozen. What he saw made his body shudder and freeze to a point where he couldn't even move a finger to save his life.
Standing at approximately 4 metres tall, a man, or if one was a novelist would call it 'the embodiment of chaos' , Dressed in a black cowboy hat, black westerner shirt with pearl snap fastener, black jeans and black boots. His face round like any other human, though what really made everyone hold their breath was the fact that he had no facial features. His face was hollow, a mixture of white and black, the absence of nothing, a void. The cowboy hat seemed to have been hanging on a cloud of greyness.
In his right hand was a machete half it's size, on the left was a silver chain wrapped around its black gloved hand.
Mr Leonard, fast stepping and reducing the distance between them and Mrs Taiyo, suddenly felt a resistance from Alpha, who now stood still as if even moving an inch would mean sudden death.
"What's the matter?, try to keep up, will you?" stopping he abruptly turned around and asked " w..."
~Whrrr! Whrrr~
Now faced with the culprit behind the whistling, Mr Leonard had every hair in his body erect.
He'd served in the military for over 30 years, faced multiple terrorist organisation, was at deaths door a few times but with all those experiences, nothing has ever made him feel dispair. Every enemy he'd ever faced was a foe he could kill or atleast had a chance of winning against, but not this time.
The enemy that stood before him was like a pillar, one that'd stood in place for centuries, overcoming every calamity nature threw at it without so much as a scratch.
Turning his head back, he glanced at the group before him that stood there frozen and hopeless.
"Pull yourselves together." without batting another eye at the faceless cowboy who now stood there motionlessly, Mr Leonard turned and looked at Alpha before clenching his fists and taking on a battle stance.
Alpha, snapping out of the daze, peered at Mr Leonard fear and suprise in his eyes.
"Go help your teacher and classmates. Follow that path" He said pointing at the skull paved path.
"What...,why that path?, why not go through the forest?" Alpha asked his voice still trembling.
"You have about a minute, when you are all ready, run, run like your life depends on it." Brushing his questions Mr Leonard continued
"What about.."
With a mixture of worry and anger in his eyes.
"Now."
Hearing that, Alpha didn't refute anymore, after stealing a glance at Mr Leonard one last time, he dashed towards the group.
A couple of seconds later he approached them and explained everything Mr Leonard had said, to which he was a bit skeptical about them agreeing to, though was rather surprised at how Mrs Taiyo didn't oppose but instead doubtlessly agreed to it.
The kids however didn't seem to be on board, but after a lot of persuasion and a passionate smile that seemed to have been capable of driving any person that saw it into a trance from their teacher, they all agreed.
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~Crrring~
A loud bang could be heard echoing across the entire field.
The faceless cowboy who had stood there motionlessly all this time, like a lifeless log in the middle of a forest, dropped his two metre silver long machete, letting it tear through the earth, whilst sending chunks of dirt frying in every directions due to it's weight. After the display, he untied the silver chain which was almost six metres tall off his left arm and tied it to his right, before mimicking the fighting stance of the man before him
Mr Leonard, who now stood facing the cowboy, flinched after the display and took a step back.
After the staring contest of about four seconds, Mr Leonard tilted his head slightly to his left, seeing that every kid had gotten up and the group was now circling towards the path, he heaved a soft sigh before charging forward.
Standing at approximately 2.5 meatres tall, Mr Leonard was heavily outmatched and would have needed a miracle to win. But that wasn't his objective, from the moment he saw the giant man before him, he new he couldn't win, he also new due to his countless battles, that the moment he took his eyes off of him it would be the end of him and everyone on the field.
He had been ready for death since the moment he entered his first battle back home, now that it was a certainty, he couldn't help a longing for a few more years to spend with his grandkids. He could see their smiling faces whenever he told them about his missions and adventures. Becoming a school bus driver so as to be close to the warmth of today and the pillars of tomorrow, was the best decision he'd ever made in his life. Being a mere distraction of protecting the warm smiles of the kids was a duty and an honour.
As he closed the gap between them he lept forward, swinging his right fist and aiming for the face_or rather the emptiness. It's not like he couldn't aim for any other part in this cowboy's body, but he pondered if the face looked like that then even the body must have been the same. In the same logic if he couldn't land the punch and hit some kind of surface then there was really no point in trying.
To his suprise though, the punch connected, even if the cowboy didn't flinch or move in the slightest from its earlier mimicked fighting stance, Mr Leonard could feel a surface although not any ordinary one. This felt much like punching water, even though you could feel it, punching it was an entirely different story.
After landing the punch, Mr Leonard moved back two steps and was about to take another one, before the cowboy appeared Infront of him in an instant seemingly mimicking his punch, only this time it was more powerful and deverstating.
'I see , he wasn't hesitating , he was learning, trying to mimic us, it's different from last time' With a smile on his now disfigured face that'd been bashed in on one side 'I just hope you'll all make it. I did my duty, now let's see how long it'll take for you to notice that there's no do..' Before he could finish, his thoughts trailed off to the back of his head as his now lifeless body hit the ground, his soul trailing towards eternal darkness.