Chapter 3

"Hurry! We're almost near the wall! We just need to get to the entrance and we'll all be safe." 

"Wait, wait, wait... There are people missing. Where is Betty!?" 

"Betty?... Wait, isn't she just right behind you Lianne?" 

"Huh!" 

Everybody looked behind and found out there were only ten of them remaining. 

"Wait... wait... She's not the only one missing! Where are the two kids?! Aren't you with them a while ago, Abdaal?!" 

"Huh? I thought you were-" 

Everybody seemed more frightened. The day had already passed. The night had already taken over. With hours of traveling across the forest and the glades, everyone was already exhausted. 

They need to keep moving even though they are already exhausted and struggling in the dark and scary forest. If they even try to stop just to rest, who knows what lies inside the forest that will pounce at them at any given moment. 

"What's that sound?! Shhh..." 

"What is it? Do you see something?" 

Wandering in the open wild with nothing to protect themselves, people who have been from places to places, people who have no place to call home are trying their best to survive. 

With how the world has turned into, humans are no longer safe out in the open. Out in the open, in the wild beast glades, where it is known to be home of numerous and dangerous large Wamilos, no one is safe. 

It can be said that monsters that are lurking around the forest could easily devour each of them in a matter of seconds. 

"What do we do about Betty and the two kids?" Abdaal asks. 

"We can't do anything... with the situation we are in I don't know what we can do." Darwin replied. 

They are out in the wild trying to find a place to take refuge. Hoping to find a place to rest. 

The nearest fortified city from them is Aslem city. It is the only place they could go to seek refuge and get out of their current situation. 

"Everyone...be quiet." 

Each of them went silent, nobody dared to speak and everyone was afraid to even make any loud movements. The forest was so quiet that you could hear your own heart pounding. 

"It's strange, how can the whole forest be this quiet. I'm not hearing anything except for our breaths that aren't that loud." Abdaal said.

"This is not good, everyone keeps moving." Cheng said. 

With the fear of not knowing anything around them, the group started to move a bit faster. 

"Isn't that the Aslem city?" 

Everyone looked like hope started appearing in their faces. 

"Let's head there... Everyone keeps up with the pace." 

The group started to increase their pace again. They are not letting their guard down while they are moving. They are still feeling the presence behind them, a frightening presence that no one could not ignore. 

"We only need to get to the wall and we'll be safe. We just need to get there!" Darwin scaredly said. 

The presence grew larger and larger until... 

"I can't take it anymore!" Traga said scaredly. He quickly ran ahead of the group leaving the rest of them. 

Everyone started panicking as Traga went further and further. Everyone else followed and that was when the frightening presence that was trailing behind them came closer and closer. 

"Everybody runs quickly!" Cheng, the leader of the group, said loudly. 

They can already see it much clearer, the fortified wall of the city that surrounds the entire mountain city of Aslem. On top of the 80 meter tall wall were soldiers that patrol the wall and luckily right in front of them was the west gate of the city. 

"Wait...are those..." 

The soldiers who had been patrolling on top of the wall noticed them running towards the wall. 

"Hey hurry up and signal the gate guards." One of the soldiers on top said to the other soldier. 

"Please help me, please help me, please help me." Lianne continued on repeating the words over and over. 

The guards on the gate opened the west gate and soldiers went to their post as the wandering people came one by one to the gate. 

The first one to arrive was Abdaal, the closest aid of the group leader. 

"Cheng! Run!" he shouted after arriving at the gate. 

One by one, the people who were running behind Cheng got dragged back into the forest. 

Lianne who was slowing down on her pace was extremely exhausted. Cheng was the only person behind her, everyone else was already gone. 

He couldn't stand it, seeing his other companions get dragged back to the forest and devoured one by one. 

"Lianne! Run faster!" Cheng shouted. 

*growling sound of a large beast* 

The frightening growl was heard even on top of the wall. The monster showed itself as it was trailing behind Cheng and Lianne. 

"...That's the ruler of the western part of the glades." The soldiers were shocked and frightened to see the large Wamilos in front of them. 

Without any reinforcement from the main forces, the guards had no choice but to shut the gate while Cheng and Lianne were still outside. 

"Get inside! You and you get inside, we're closing it!" Guard Mali said. 

"...My friends are still out there. You can't close the gate leaving them to die out there?!" Abdaal angrily said to the guards. 

"There is no one here that can save your friends from that monster. If we wait for your friends to reach the gate then we would have no time to close it before that monster reaches us." Guard Cecil replied. 

"You, get your pal inside now!" Cecil added. 

As the gate was about to be closed, the reinforcements from the main force came shortly after. Soldiers came and many of them took their position on top of the wall and started pointing their weapons towards the monster. 

Seeing how the reinforcements are here, one particular soldier wearing a black uniform that shows the symbol of captain on his arm started walking towards the outside. 

"...Sir." Guard Cecil reluctantly said. 

"Captain!" said. 

"Hold the gate... I'll take care of it." Captain Vines of the west unit confidently said. 

Vines walked slowly away from the gate and towards Cheng and Lianne who were running for their lives and the monster shortly following behind them. 

"Head towards the gate, go!" Vines said to them as they passed. 

After Cheng and Lianne safely arrived to the gate, everybody stared at Captain Vines as he took on one of the ruler of the 

beast glades. 

"Come at me you beast." 

Vines said proudly to the monster as he took his stand. 

"Captain!!" Ceccil shouted in worry. 

With one swing to the head, Captain Vines brought down the beast. It only took him one swing and he cut down the monster's head. 

"What the... what was that just now?" 

Cheng and the rest of his group were shocked to see what just happened. Someone was able to bring down a monster that large with no effort.

That is the display of the few people in the world capable of fighting back against the monsters that took over the world. 

With the small monster remaining on the scene, the soldiers on top of the wall started raining down fire on the group of monsters. 

"Call on the clean up crew, tell them to get this monster and the other small ones inside. Secure the corpse, set up a perimeter in the area as they get these inside the wall." 

"Yes, sir!" Cecil and Mali answered. 

Cheng and his group are now safe. Even though half of them were lost, they are still lucky to have survived and got to safety in Aslem city.