As we made our way through the city we soon heard the chitter of what we could only assume were goblins. At this point the sky was beginning to take on a reddish hue. The temperature was beginning to drop but we were tired and everything was starting to smell. We had little choice but to take a detour through an alleyway even as we heard the soft whimpers of some people in what seemed to be a beauty supply store.

Along the way we had to avoid many goblins, some of which were huge like the one we saw before.We saw another variant of goblin which was taller than the normal ones however shorter than what we called the tanks. They were lean and seemed to have a longer but somewhat rusted blade as their weapon. They were sharper as well however we barely managed to get past it. The goblins were traveling in groups and we saw some people doing the same however avoided making contact with them.

Eventually we found our way into a neighbor which was filled with 2 story houses that had plenty of space around them as their lawn. There were wooden fences as well however many had bodies and blood in seemingly random places. I looked around cautiously as there may be more goblins around.

“ How far is your house? With the way things look right now this place may not be safe. The goblins may make a base around here or something. “

It was mostly speculation however the goblins seemed to work in groups so them living together and controlling an area wasn’t off the list. Dr.Terkel seemed to be kind of nervous which was warranted considering how things were.

“ It’s not far now. I have a high stone wall around my house with barbed wire and it’s also electrical. I have a gate but I'm not sure if the finger sca will still work. Even if it doesn’t Freya can open the gate from the inside. “

‘ Freya? His wife perhaps. ‘

To avoid walking in complete silence and due to curiosity I kept the conversation going although I kept it down to a whisper.

“ Who’s Freya? “

He glanced at me.

“ She’s basically a maid. She cleans the house and takes care of meals and other things. I usually walk my dog Flash. He’s a Doberman. When we get inside and stay close to me I don’t want him attacking since he may be kind of anxious. “

I was thinking about what he said. I stumbled and nearly fell but I caught myself. My vision was kind of blurry and pain started appearing everywhere on my body.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

“ I forgot, basically all your wounds have reopened and you’ve lost a lot of blood. Constantly fighting, moving around, exhausting yourself, stress, and getting more untreated wounds would leave you in a bad state. We’re about a minute away and I have medical supplies back at my house. “

He wasn’t in the best state himself but he helped support some of my weight which made me able to maintain my previous speed. It was then a group of 4 came from around a house. They seemed to be young perhaps in high school or college with blood stains and baseball bats alongside some other sport equipment. They saw us and stopped abruptly. They seemed kind of relieved, however they were hesitant to approach.

They spoke softly among one another before they approached us. We never stopped walking although we both clenched our weapons in our hands. The tallest guy who was a bit taller than me since I was hunched over started talking to us while standing right next to us. His friends stood behind him or to his side. He had a football breastplate, helmet, and other football equipment alongside a bloodied metal baseball bat. The theme seemed to be red as the number 17 was on his jersey.

“ Hey my name is Jake and these are my friends from college. We had others but we had to leave them behind. Our places were overrun or too far to get to. Me and my friend Jake play football and basketball. We’ve killed quite a few of those things already so we won’t hold you back. We can group up and help you guys while you recover as long as you accept us. “

I glanced at the guy beside him who was slightly shorter than him and had a darker tone of skin. He looked around while occasionally glancing at us. He had a baseball helmet on with some padding making him look slightly bulky with a baseball bat in hand.

The two girls behind them were around the chest height of those two and held knives. They stuck close while looking around nervously. I didn’t respond to Jake since it wasn’t my house we were going to anyway.

“ Sure, can you help him walk? My house is just ahead and I need my hands free to type in the code and scan my finger. I’m a doctor so I can treat your wounds later. “

The guy’s eyes brightened a bit but he was still tense.

“ Yeah. “

He put his bat into his left hand and supported me with his right. Soon a house came into view however only the top of it could be seen as a 9 foot stone wall with barbed wire at the top could be seen. The area around it had trees and other things around it while a path was paved leading to the gate made of steel.

I wondered how he got a place like this but I didn’t question it as we quickly went up to the gate. He typed in a 7 digit passcode before wiping his hands on his clothes and scanning his finger. Soon a noise was made and the gates began to slowly open outward.

We all backed up and quickly entered which caused the gate to close behind us. I heard the chittering of what I could only believe to be goblins from a distance but I ignored it. I looked around as I was brought up to the front door of the 3 story house.

The walls enclosed the place as flowers, grass, plants, and some trees were spotted around the place. The atmosphere was relaxing and my body relaxed causing me to feel weaker than before.

As we walked up to the front door it opened and a woman revealed herself holding the collar of a dog who growled standing at nearly half her height.