The next day I woke up to a loud splashing sound coming from outside the shelter. My brother was still fast asleep and wanting to figure out what had caused this sound, I slowly got up and walked outside.
The air outside was cold and chilly; faint glows from the moon illuminated the path on the ground while I observed my surroundings. After a moment of silence, a louder splashing sound than before could be heard from the distance as I jumped in surprise, quickly hiding in nearby trees.
Eventually I got over it and found some courage to explore this splashing sound, hoping that it wasn't some type of monster that would attack us.
Slowly walking towards the sound, taking one slow step at a time, I eventually arrived very close to the lake. In front of me was a couple of trees blocking the view of the lake. Not wanting to risk any chances of encountering a monster or creature, I decided to climb a tree close to the lake that would allow me to be a bit safer while observing from further away.
Grabbing onto one of the branches, I felt the rough and faintly wet surface as I gradually pulled myself onto the branch with the help of my feet. Stabilizing myself, I kept on going further up until I could see the lake.
Standing on the branches and looking down on the lake, the sight was beyond anything that I've seen before. The glistening blue water, reflecting the soft moonlight that rained from above.
The lake seemed to also be glowing in a bluish color, making the surroundings faintly visible and giving it a mystical feel to it.
Aside from the stunning lake, there was also a figure that I could make out. Squinting my eyes, I could make out another human-like figure. But unlike the black human like creature from before, this one was less mysterious and didn't bring the same sense of impending doom.
The creature seemed to be some sort of hybrid between a bear and a human. Its body was humanoid but held many characteristics of a wild bear.
Although when I was younger I had never seen any type of dangerous animal before, based on the old records left by our ancestors, I had a general idea of different animals that lingered in the dangerous forest surrounding our village.
But what I've never read about or heard about are these types of hybrid monsters. A wild animal mixed with a human—just the sight of these things brought a trickle of fear down my spine.
As I watched on from the trees above, I found myself being more and more curious about these creatures. From what was written on the village record, this hadn't ever been seen before. As time slowly passed, I eventually saw a ripple in the vast lake. The bear-like creature got closer and closer to the lake before it pounced at the moving ripple in the lake.
As the creature emerged from the glistening blue lake, in the human face of his mouth he caught a small blue fish. Although these past actions weren't too important of a detail, they still brought me some information. This and some other habits gave me some crucial information about the world outside of my village.
Although it had a human figure, it didn't even come close to the same intelligence as an actual human. Along with that, the creature seemed to be acting like he was still a bear. He walked on all fours; even though most humans walked on two legs, the bear still walked with all four limbs, with extreme difficulty.
After looking at this scene before me, I couldn't help comparing this creature that I was currently observing with the creature that I had met a day before in my village.
Comparing the bear-like monster to the mysterious black human-like being from before made me realize how different these two existences were.
The bear-like monster still felt like an animal; it did not seem to have any intelligence nor did it have any special ability. The differences between this and a regular bear were quite minute.
But the mysterious black figure from before was completely different. Ranging from the way it acted like it was above all being in this world to the way it felt like he was toying with our lives to bring enjoyment, everything was different.
After eating the fish that was in his mouth, the bear-like creature tried letting out a roar with great difficulty with his now new body and pounced at another fish, making a loud splashing sound.
With this, I decided to head back after discovering the source of the sound as well as crucial information that I gained. Although I deeply wanted to stay and observe further, I knew that this wasn't the right time to do so. The bear wouldn't bother us as long as we don't bother him; thus, I wouldn't do anything for no reason.
Not only that but it was getting a lot colder, so much so that it left shivers running down my body, but I also wanted to check on my younger brother. Even though Inkens was going to be relatively safe, I still felt a large amount of worry and discomfort.
Slowly climbing down the tree, I felt the rough bark on my calloused hands as I made my way to the ground. Once I finally got to the ground, I looked around cautiously before heading back where I came from, to the small shelter that I had set up.
When I got back, I was relieved that my brother was still doing alright; he hadn't moved from his original position and was still sleeping soundly. Although I only slept for a bit before I woke up, I just couldn't seem to go back to sleep no matter what.
Now that the shock of all the events had calmed down and I couldn't fall asleep, my mind naturally drifted to the one thing that I had been avoiding thinking about.
Although I didn't want to think of what could be happening to my family right at this moment, I also knew that I couldn't keep pushing it away. Eventually trying to stop thoughts of my family was fruitless and my mind slowly started to speculate about what happened to them.
My family consisted of five people: my father and mother, an older brother, a younger brother, and finally myself. At the moment only I and my younger brother was safe and the conditions of the rest were still unknown.
Although I had a great guess of the condition of my family, I still couldn't bear thinking about it. After all, it was hard to believe that anyone could survive in the face of that horrifying monster and my family was no different from any other people After this thought came to my mind, I also remembered a sudden thought that had been plaguing my mind but I subconsciously avoided thinking about it.
How was it possible that I and my brother got out of there?
That terrifying sensation that I felt made it seem like all life was mere ants in front of that creature. If he had wanted it, he could've waved his hand, and all of us could've easily been either trapped or killed.
Yet he had let us go without any trouble? It was hard to believe; I racked my mind thinking of possible reasons why that creature would do this but eventually I gave up. It was impossible to imagine what that creature was scheming; not only that but obsessing over this might as well make me go mad.
Taking in deep breaths one after the other, I focused on calming my mind as I tried to make preparations for the next day. Trying to consider all possible situations and making sure that I avoid any of those negative situations was a must.
After all, I had neither the power nor the ability to try and change a disadvantageous situation into an advantageous one. I was still too weak at the time to even try and attempt to do so. Even mere animals would manage to kill me and my younger brother.
Because of that, I spent a long while thinking and trying to plan what to do next. Before long the sun had long risen, and my brother was becoming more and more restless. Eventually my brother sat up while rubbing his eyes, blinking to adjust to the light.
As he woke up, I decided to eat some leftover food and plants for breakfast, a quick meal to recover our energy and set off to do some tasks. My younger brother, after his sleep, seemed to have matured more than I could have ever imagined.
He was constantly trying to help me while paying attention to what I was doing, learning, and carefully examining every move of mine. Even though I felt deeply moved, I also worried that this was taking a toll on his young body.
Because of this, I decided to have a quick change of plans and started to do tasks in a slower manner. Whether it was scavenging edible food or gathering materials to start a fire, I slowed down and tried showing my brother each step of how I did it.
Eventually days passed, and this same routine continued on for about two weeks. Around the end of the first week I had already become increasingly restless. My worry for my family became increasingly bigger and my concern for my friends was also growing.
By the end of the second week, these thoughts became too much for me to bear. Even though I knew I should've continued on living like this, I just couldn't accept that without going back to clarify the event one last time.
I knew that doing this would be risky beyond belief, but at the same time I just couldn't bring myself not to. After all, it was in common human nature to care for their loved ones.
The family that I had lived with for as long as I had been alive is now out of sight. Whether they were safe or whether they were dead was something that I have to see for myself. But I also wouldn't implicate my younger brother in this matter. Even though my brother also wanted to explore what had happened, I promised that I would come back safe and tell him every little detail.
Throughout this entire time my brother had done nothing but amaze me. He was now only slightly inferior to me in terms of pure skills and the only aspect he lacked was his physical strength, but of course this couldn't be improved considering his size and age.
After discussing this with my brother, he reluctantly agreed to stay behind while I go out and explore the ruined village. I was by no means stupid enough to bring my brother into something that I foolishly wanted to explore.
Even if I were to, I was confident my brother would keep on living. Although it would most likely be extremely hard on him, I was also confident that there had to be at least other people out here in this vast world.
WIth the amount of supplies I decided to prepare over the next couple of days, I reluctantly decided to head off back to where I had previously lived. After giving my brother one last hug and promising him I would return back alive, I finally headed off.
Even though I had originally gone with my brother into the forest randomly to escape from that monster, I had also mentally taken some notes of how to get back. With those mental notes I found traces of footsteps and traces that I eventually kept tracking back to the village.
As I got closer and closer and the scenery around me became more familiar by the moment, I could feel my hands trembling and my legs shaking as I kept on walking.
Eventually I had finally reached my destination! But what was left of the place I once called home looked nothing like it had before; I even doubted myself and had to check the second time because this scene didn't look right.
It was desolate.
The once green grass had long eroded and was left with nothing but dirt. The once beautiful farms had nothing but rotting corpses and bones. And the place I had once called home had nothing left but ruins.
This feeling of fear kept on growing more and more uneasy as I frantically tried exploring through the ruins of my old home. Although it was in tatters, I could still squeeze my way through some areas and move parts of the house to uncover what was beneath it.
Upon seeing no corpses or bones, it brought a sense of relief to my body but I quickly killed that feeling as I tried to compose myself. After all, what were the chances of my family dying while in our home?
We were already outside when the incident occurred, yet my mind thought irrationally due to fear. After calming down my mind, I thought about the current situation at hand thoroughly before taking my next action.
I carefully decided to explore throughout the entire village, but the same scene remained consistent. Houses wer destroyed and any signs of life were either gone or dead.
But this was only part of my main objective; my main reason for exploring throughout the village was to find any clues of what could have happened. After walking around the village, I had found three main traces that I could pursue.
But learning from my past mistakes, I didn't make any rash actions as I slowly contemplated what to do next.
The first trace was a series of blood trailing off into the forest. Enough that the person either died or multiple people had been injured while heading off in that direction.
The second trace was leftover scraps of torn clothes that littered the ground as it went deep into the forest. From the looks of it, the torn clothes seemed to have been torn off by something sharp but no toher clues was there
The third trace was a series of footprints. Large bare footprints were embedded into the dirt as it tailed off in the opposite direction of the first trace. But also, like the other traces, it went deep into the forest.
The traces were relatively close to each other and it seemed like they were the only available clues in the entire village. Not a single other trace could be found even with hours of searching.
Time was ticking by as I sat down on a nearby dead tree trunk. I grabbed my head as I carefully pondered over the smallest of details. If I were to choose wrong and end up in those mysterious hands, I would die for sure.
This next decision would determine the chances of me living and returning my brother or the possibility of dying a horrible death in the face of chaos. I could feel an impending feeling of doom as the sun slowly started to set.
I had to make a decision soon. If not, it would soon become nighttime, and every instinct in my body told me to avoid nighttime at all costs. But along with this, running was also another option. But the risk of that was I would encounter monsters along my way back and could unintentionally risk my brother's life.
I could either follow the first trace, the second trace, or the third trace, but I could also choose to tuck my tail in between my legs and run.
Which option should I choose?