August ran.
Deep into the forest, he paid no heed to anything that happened behind or even around him, he only focused on running.
He couldn't focus on what was behind him, or he wouldn't be able to run. If he thought too long about what he was running from...
He had always been a coward, August knew that much. Though he never knew it would turn out like this.
He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry– not simply because if the redhead, but also due to the fact he was leaving her to die.
A human life was being extinguished right behind him, maybe if he turned back he could stop it, he could save her...
But he didn't.
He cut between the brush, barely avoiding the places he knew monsters lurked. The colorful vegetation of the dark forest had never felt so somber, but he didn't want to think about that.
He ran for a long as he could, until his lungs burned and his legs eventually gave out, landing in a thick bush. As he was getting up, he realized the bush was quite large and had a small hole at the bottom, barely big enough to squeeze through. So, deciding to test his luck, he squeezed beneath it.
He studied the inside, finding only an old nest and broken eggs. Whatever had once called this piece of shrubbery home was clearly long gone.
While laying in the hollow bush, he was truly alone, and when he found loneliness, his thoughts began to flow.
He wondered if Alia had expected something like this, the red haired girl had seemed quite confident in her ability to kill the behemoth. For a second, she almost looked like she could.
Her plan had relied on using herself as the vanguard, whilst August would use his weapon firing ability to draw the creature's attention whenever she was in crucial danger.
On the surface it seemed to be a reliable plan, not the best, but certainly not the worst either.
They had considered other options as well. One of which had been killing weaker monsters to prolong the behemoth's caution and buy some time by using the corpses as a warning, but they simply did not have the knowledge of the forest to risk attempting such a task.
They would have to scout the area further, whilst avoiding the new dangers presented by the monsters that were returning to their habitats surrounding the clearing.
And even if they had managed to find weaker monsters, there were too many variables, such as the chance of them moving in packs, or outside interference because of any noise they would cause. The two of them would have to spend days tailing a monster before they could take that sort of risk, and the sheer number of monsters lurking near and around the clearing was slowly making that impossible.
How had they come to be driven out in the first place? No matter which way he tried to percieve it, August couldn't come up with a good reason.
As far as he knew, the humans had simply appeared here after being swallowed by the rifts, but how? What could have scared the lurking beasts to run away for months?
'Were they even scared away?'
He also found it oddly suspicious that their return coincided almost perfectly with the time he had awoken from his slumber.
The sleep itself was another mystery. From what he had heard Alia speak of, it seemed there were only two types of people who crossed over. Those who had slept, and those who had died. Just what separated the two groups?
He did not know the reason for any of these things, which fed into another great question. What was this world? And why had the rifts transported them here?
Though August had long ago learned that not everything had a reason, he also knew that could only be confirmed if researched into.
The more he thought about it, he realized that there was one glaring piece of evidence.
The organizer.
Something had given this power to them, and August was inclined to believe that it had a reason to do so.
Thinking about it in depth, his skills were direct results of his past, not that he wanted to think about it.
August had never been physically gifted, and that reflected in his [Master of None] ability.
Even so, he still wasn't sure how this theory would translate to his [The Great Collector] skill.
Slowly, August ran out of things to think about, and though all of these were important questions, he simply could no longer distract himself from what had just happened.
August was a coward, that he had never doubted once. From the time he spent hiding in the attic of his first home, to the fear of the rifts during the end days, and now, he had fled and left the only other person he had known in this new world behind.
Even though she had told him to run, the fear she must have felt didn't need speaking of, yet she still thought of him in that moment.
That wasn't coincidental, thinking about it now, she must have known what would happen, but why had she chosen not to run away with him beforehand?
The answer was obvious, the red haired girl possessed quite the lion's heart. Evidenced by both the fact she had spent all this time protecting his sleeping body, and the fact she had sacrificed her own well-being for his.
August was not stupid, he had seen the wistful glances she had snuck at him while he ate, but never once had she accepted his offer of food, simply stating her skill let her go without.
Alia was truly a kind soul, one of the few he had met in his lifetime. He could not help but wonder what would happen to her now.
As if to answer his question, a great shadow passed overhead. August looked up, only to notice one of the bird-like monsters he saw before, and it was flying towards the direction he had come from.
It wasn't long after that he heard the first steps, then came the galloping, and the thunderous steps of larger creatures. All moving towards the clearing.
Instead of fearing the stench of blood, the monsters began to prey upon the next easy meal. August found himself glad that his smell would get lost in the crowd, that none of the creatures had stepped on he bush he hid in.
Then he found himself disgusted at his own feelings. He was safe, but at what cost?
Was this the price he would have to pay? The cost of his cowardice? Was he willing to run away forever?
Of course he was, he couldn't deny that, he was as lowly and self serving as they came. He was a horrible person, and he had to admit it.
He had left her to die, a kind person was dying because of him.
Just like that, the tears finally began to flow.