Oliver and Sophia only breathed relief when they were walking down the entrance ramp.

"My arm is tired of holding this shield," Sophia said. "Let's switch."

"Alright," Oliver said.

Oliver carefully watched their surroundings as they proceeded along the highway. The rattling of the cart followed closely behind.

"Let's take a break," Oliver said. "We don't want to fight when exhausted."

Oliver and Sophia were tired and covered in sweat. The mist protected against the sun, but the temperature was still warmer.

She squinted into the distance, "How about that van over there?" she said. "We could lay down inside," pointing to a van barely discernible in the green fog.

"Let's go then."

They quickly reached the van and wedged the cart between a car and a jeep.

"Wait!" she exclaimed as Oliver reached for the handle. "We don't know what could be inside."

"Okay," Oliver said. "You open it from the side. I'll take the front with my shield."

She nodded, and Oliver raised his shield and gripped his bat. Oliver gave her a nod, and she quickly opened the door.

"Ugh," Oliver moaned as he was hit with the smell of death and retreated in disgust.

She shut the door and cried out, "Oh my god! What the hell is that horrible smell?!"

"Cough cough, it feels like my eyes are burning!"

"What was inside?"

"I think it was a body," Oliver said. "It's just been sitting there for who knows how long. Let's go somewhere else."

They kept moving and found an RV they hadn't paid much attention to before. The inside was clean and safe, a little warm but comfortable.

"Now, this is much better. We should use this place in the future," she said.

"That's a great idea," Oliver said. "We could even keep some extra supplies here, anyway. We can also keep supplies here and go on more supply runs."

"Like a relay point."

"Exactly," Oliver replied with a smile.

"Do you think we could do it?"

"Do what?"

Her eyes started glistening with tears before falling, "Survive like this? I'm scared, Oliver."

"We can, no we will. We have to be careful." Oliver said confidently.

She wiped her tears, "You're right. We should be optimistic."

"Anyway, it seems like Amelia warmed up to you."

She smiled slightly, "She's a nice girl that's been through a lot, we all have."

"She's slowly opening up, and it's nice to see life come back to her eyes."

"They're probably waiting for us. We should probably go."

"Yeah, you're right. Let's go."

The RV was at the halfway point of the highway. They made it to the mansion without encountering any enemies. They left the cart on the steps before the front door. They tried to open the door, but it was locked, so we kept knocking until Isabella opened it with Amelia.

"You guys are finally back!" Isabella said,

"It's been a long day," Sophia said.

Amelia ran out and hugged Sophia.

"I told you we would be back."

Oliver pointed to the cart behind them, "Let's get this stuff inside. We're exhausted."

"That's a pretty good haul."

"It wasn't easy, but this can help us hold out longer. We also grabbed a few other supplies we thought we could use and some snacks for Amelia." Oliver said with pride.

Amelia's eyes lit up, and she helped bring everything in.

"What's in this," Isabella asked.

Oliver looked over to see her holding the personal bag he had made. "That's mine. I'll take it."

Oliver took the bag and put it off to the side. They left the cart outside and locked the door.

"How did it go?"

"We only fought a single Malum the entire way, and it was on the highway. We got too close without noticing because we couldn't see it until it saw us. What's more interesting is the monstrous-sized bear we saw surrounded by Malum but quickly killed them with astonishing strength and speed."

Isabella's face was filled with concern, "A bear? How large was it exactly?"

"About the same size as a lifted pick-up truck, it was terrifying as it was massive."

Isabella grew pale, and Amelia hugged her fearfully.

"All we could do is avoid it and hope we never see it again."

"We can scavenge the nearby houses before heading back to town for a supply run anyway."

"Let's talk about something else. We have enough food and water, but our safety is still a concern." Sophia said.

"I've also been worried about our security here," Oliver said. "The gate is nice but can still be easily opened, and we don't have enough people to watch the property's perimeter. Demons shouldn't be a big problem, but flying creatures wouldn't be affected, and a person could push the gate open."

"I remember seeing some bows and arrows at the sports store," Sophia said. "I learned how to use a bow in high school and was pretty good. It could be useful for flying creatures and other enemies."

"Haa," Oliver sighed. "Looks like we shouldn't scavenge nearby yet."

"We could use chains, locks, bows, and arrows. Anything else?" Sophia had already started writing down a list on a piece of paper she got from somewhere.

"How about some tools? Like shovels or hammers and nails?" Sophia asked.

"While you were gone, I looked through the shed in the back, and there were a lot of gardening tools and some shovels."

"Does anyone know how to build anything?" Oliver asked.

The girls looked at each other with helpless expressions.

"Yeah, I didn't think so. Not that I do, either. Do you know where the library is? Hopefully, we could find some instructional books." Oliver said. "I'll check the shed later and see what else it has. It might have some chains and locks already."

"That's possible. I only took a quick look. So a hardware store, sports store, and a library, does that summarize it?" Isabella asked.

"That sounds good. We can also grab some wood for reinforcement. I imagine it could take multiple trips, though." Sophia said.

"If we want to thrive and not just survive, we need more people," Oliver said. "There's too much to be done and not enough hands. We've all seen this in the movies: if we want to thrive, we must make a large self-sufficient group."

"That's easy to say, but if there are any survivors, they're hiding, trying to survive. We can't blindly trust anyone we find and bring them back here."

"I'm sure we will find people in due time," Isabella said.

"Ha, you're right," Sophia said, "Once people start running out of supplies, we will come across more people,"

"How about this?" Oliver suggested, "Tomorrow, Sophia and I will go to the town and prioritize more weapons, the library, and the hardware store."

"Alright, now that you have the basics of a plan, how about we have dinner?

"Dinner sounds amazing," Sophia said.

"Yes," Oliver replied. "Does this place have a grill?" I asked.

"It does, but there's no propane," Isabella said.

"Hmm, we'll keep that in mind," Sophia replied.

Later that night, Oliver was exhilarated to find a lock and chain but devastated when he couldn't find the key for the lock. His mood changed for the better when he saw some rope instead. He tied the rope around the gate and some heavy furniture to prevent it from being pushed open.

Oliver looked toward Sophia after walking out the front door, "My feet are still sore from yesterday."

She replied with a knowing smile, "Mine too. At least we have access to a stream so we can stay clean. It may be cold, but it's refreshing."

Her attractive smile made him nervous, "Should we leave the carriage here?" Oliver asked to distract himself.

She looked towards the cart as they walked to the gate, "Let's leave it here. The metal frame could be useful, but moving it is not worth the attention or effort. We can always grab another one when we need it."

"You're right," Oliver said. "It could be a good reinforcement material for windows. Too bad none of us are skilled with tools, but we should be able to manage a few things."

"We'll figure something out," She said confidently.

Oliver looked back at her as he untied the rope and opened the gate. "You've been growing more optimistic lately," he said.

"I already thought I would die, but now I live in a mansion with new friends. I can see a bright future for all of us. We have to work for it."

"I don't think we would last long without some support. Right now, it looks peaceful, but we could be attacked by who knows what at any moment. The world is mayhem right now." I replied, shutting the gate and tying it back up.

"Look! It's one of those horned rabbits! They're so cute," she said.

"They look like normal rabbits if you don't look at their horns. Sophia, stop. They can still hurt you." Oliver said as she slowly approached the horned rabbit before it ran away.

"Awwww," She cried out.

Oliver looked at her disapprovingly, "It might look like a rabbit, but it's a wild creature with a sharp horn. For all we know, it could be venomous."

She looked at me almost poutingly, "Yeah, okay."

It seems Sophia is coping better than the rest of us.

"The highway was still disgusting, but at least it was free of demons today," Oliver noted once we exited the highway.

"They all must have left. There's not much for them on the highway after all."

"Areas with higher populations are going to look like hell. I hope the demons leave the town and head deeper into the forest."

"It never hurts to have hope. Which way to the sports store again?"

She pointed across the intersection, "That way, it's pretty close to the grocery store."

"We could really use some maps. Do they even sell paper maps anywhere?"

"No idea. I wouldn't even know where to start looking."

Oliver suddenly points into the distance, "Well, speak of the devil."

In the distance was the distinctive slouch form of a demon roaming the street.

"Let's just see if it leaves," she whispered.

"Alright."

They waited patiently as the demon roamed around randomly before disappearing in a random direction.

"It's clear. Let's keep moving."

"Groooaaaa!" They froze when they heard a loud, distant roar.

She looked at Oliver in fright, "What was that? Is it the bear again?"

"I don't know, it might be. Let's keep hiding here for now."

While they waited, they heard the same roar several times, and dozens of figures moved towards the source.

"Why are they all rushing towards the roar?"

"Are they just attracted to noise, or is it a call for help?

"I'm not sure. I have never seen Demons call for each other before. There is too much we don't understand. It could be a new form of demon. Should we go back?"

She shivered fearfully. " There are a lot of them, but they're all heading in a different direction. We need the supplies, and this could work in our favor."

"You're right, let's keep going."

After several minutes of silence, they finally felt safe and left their hiding spot. Sophia was right; they had to keep moving and hadn't seen any demons, and all the creatures seemed scared.

"What is that?" Oliver asked, pointing at a slight reddish glow. Its color was only discernible as the fog happened to turn white. As the mist turned blue, the glowing light became a bluish-purple color.

"I don't know, a fire?"

"Maybe? It doesn't look like it's flickering like a fire."

"Is it heading towards us?" she pointed off the side of the street, "Let's hide behind those cars."

They stepped around a couple of half-eaten corpses and hid behind the cars. The glowing light grew larger over a few minutes, and at times, it would stop or slightly change directions but always headed in our direction. The light became more defined over time and sat atop a large shadow.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Shhh, I don't know, but we'll find out," Oliver whispered.

As the figure approached, they could make out its outline as it bent over and lowered its head.

"Is it me, or does it look like a deer?"

"It does, but why would its antlers be glowing?" Oliver asked as the deer started moving away.

"I'm surprised it hasn't been killed by some demon yet. It stands out way too much."

"Well, we can worry about that later. We have better things to worry about now."

"You're right. It doesn't matter right now. It doesn't seem to be a threat to us."

They kept moving and made it to the sports store without interruptions.

"What's wrong with you, Oliver? You seemed out of it."

"Today has just been a weird day."

"Well, I need you to focus. It's still dangerous out here, and we can only rely on each other."

Oliver took a deep breath and released it, "You're right. I'm sorry, Sophia."

The store was the same as they left it, and they already knew where to find what they needed. They grabbed several bows and every spare arrow that could fit before filling the cart. On the bottom of the cart, we found a tiny target we could use to practice with the bow. We unexpectedly found some locks we could use and took several.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"You seem excited. Are you that happy to have a bow?" Oliver asked Sophia.

"I learned how to use a bow in high school, and these bows are significantly better in quality. I prefer a bow over a bat; now I can kill them at a distance, and it will be much safer and easier."

"Alright, you can attack from a distance, and if they get too close, I'll finish them off," Oliver said.

They took the cart and headed back to the highway. They didn't see any more demons the entire time, but we saw a couple of creatures on the way that seemed wary of us. Due to the lack of demons, they saved much time by heading straight to the highway.

A large shadow suddenly jumped out of the tall grass.

"Get back!" Oliver said, shield raised, my heart racing at the large enemy before us.

Over ten feet away, the figure stopped and stared at them. Oliver and the creature stared at each other briefly before the beast started whimpering. It rubbed its head on the ground before turning on its back and exposing its belly.

"Is that a pit bull?" Sophia said, releasing the tension on her bow.

"It is, but it's huge, and you know, has horns."

"Does it want belly rubs?" She asked.

"No. I think it's surrendering to us, but why?" Oliver stares into its eyes as it whimpers and can see the intelligence in its eyes.

"His collar is choking him!" she exclaimed.

Oliver looked at its collar, and the chain collar, which must have once hung loosely on his neck, was constantly strangling him.

"I think he's in pain and knows we could help."

Oliver slowly approaches, and his whimpers sound even more pitiful.

"Easy boy, easy."

Oliver slowly reached his hand out and rubbed the dog creature's stomach a couple of times before unclipping the chain around its neck. It was challenging since he had to pull it tighter to remove the clip. The collar quickly fell off with the tension against it, and the dog stopped whimpering. It started shaking its tail in joy and squirming, and Oliver rubbed its stomach.

"Awww, he's so cute!" she exclaimed.

"He is, but he's huge."

"Let's bring him with us!" she said, petting his belly, "Who is a good boy? You're a good boy!"

"And keep him where? What would we feed him? He probably needs as much food as the four of us combined!"

"But look how smart he is! He could be our guard dog! Can't you, boy! Oh yes, you can!" The pitbull seems in complete bliss as it receives bully rubs and "good boys.".

"I guess we could find some dog food, not like anyone else needs it these days. However, before then, He should be able to find some food on his own since he already lasted this long."

"Arf!"

"Yes!"

"Alright, alright. Let's keep going. I want to get home."

They were worried the dog would leave them alone, but the horned dog followed them the entire way and growled when other creatures were nearby. Its head was almost as tall as Oliver's. The beast would occasionally jump on a car and scan the area.

It was another exhausting day, but they finally returned to the mansion and had a surprise for Amelia and Isabella.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Isabella asked when she saw the giant creature. Amelia hid behind her, frightened of this massive dog.

"Yeah, he is very friendly and seems to be very intelligent. He seems to understand what we ask him. He probably grew smarter just as he grew larger. He's going to be our new guard dog."

"Arf!" The horned dog confirmed and raised his head proudly.

"Where do you want to keep him, and how will we feed him?"

"We can give him a spare mattress and blankets in the garage. He survived this long alone, so he should be able to find food until we get some dog food."

"Arf!"

"Just watch," Sophia said. "Max, sit. Lay down. Roll over. Up. Jump. Paw. Good boy." Sophia gave a series of commands, which he followed exactly. She named him Maximus, or Max for short, for his sheer size. She also tried to have him do some tricks on the highway, and he performed them flawlessly.

"Arf!"

"Wow," Isabella said.

Amelia seemed a bit more relaxed and met Maximus's eyes. Maximus rolled over and exposed his stomach while maintaining eye contact.

"It's okay, Amelia, go pet him."

She nervously approached him and slowly reached out to pet his stomach. Amelia relaxed as he wagged his tail and enjoyed having his belly rubbed. A rare smile appeared on her face as she joyfully patted him. Oliver left the others to make a comfortable place for Maximus in the garage. His body is too large, and regular doorways might be too small for him to fit. The mansion has plenty of spare rooms from which a bed and blankets could be redistributed. Oliver struggled to bring it to the garage until Sophia saw him and offered to help.

Outside of the garage, Amelia was playing catch with Maximus using a soccer ball that Oliver had no idea where they had found. Everyone's depression seemed noticeably less and a bit better today.

In his huge mouth, the soccer ball barely looked larger than a tennis ball. Despite his colossal size, he still had great agility and jumping ability, capable of jumping over the solid stone wall around the property.

If a dog could do that, what are other creatures capable of?

"Alright, everyone, let's go eat; it's getting late! Max, are you able to find your food?" Oliver said.

"Arf!" he barked before disappearing over the wall.

"His intelligence is extraordinary," Isabella said.

That night, Sophia practiced using the bow in the garage. She was initially a little rusty but quickly became proficient. Oliver was worried she would use a weapon she wasn't skilled at. However, she seemed capable enough. There was plenty of space, even with all the various expensive cars and Maximus's bed.

Isabella soon had dinner ready and called everyone to the kitchen.

"This is good, but I miss warm food," Sophia said.

"Yeah, me too."

"I'm sorry. There's not much I could do right now. In the future, we could find propane and cook on the grill."

"We're not blaming you, Isabella," Oliver said. "We're grateful that you're with us."

"Oliver's right," Sophia said.

"Thank you guys."

The sound of broken glass and a loud crash woke me in the middle of the night.

"Shit!"

As Oliver quickly got dressed when he could hear aggressive barking and hissing.

"What's happening?!" Sophia yelled.

"Stay inside your rooms!" Oliver yelled.

Unfortunately, Oliver left his protective gear in the garage but still had a spare bat. He found Maximus and another sizable black mass over 4 feet tall trying to intimidate each other. The intruder crashed through a large window in the kitchen and left glass everywhere.

The intruder shot some fluid from its mouth, which Maximus dodged. The fluid landed on the tile and created a sizzling sound.

Is that acid? Did that thing shoot acid from its mouth?!

The enemy took to the air, flapping its wings. While the kitchen was spacious, the enemy had a large wingspan and crashed into the ceiling and walls.

It's a giant fucking bat!

Maximus saw it fall back to the ground and went for the kill. He bit down on its wing as it shrieked in pain, and it shot more acid at Max. The acid was fast, but Max moved even quicker, leaving a blur behind his movements. The acid harmlessly fell on the tiled floor, and Max wasted no time going back for the kill and caught its neck between his teeth. The bat furiously struggled before Max crushed its neck between its teeth. It spent its final moments twitching in pain before finally dying. Its blood was slowly creating small pools of blood in the kitchen.

"Max, could you take it outside?" Oliver asked the giant dog.

"Arf!"

He dragged the body through the doorway to the garage and carried it outside. Oliver stared at the scene bitterly as the rain started coming through the broken window and spreading the blood. He went back to the others and told them what happened. Amelia was terrified, so Sophia stayed with her while Sophia and Oliver returned to the kitchen. They cleaned up the blood, glass, and the acid that corroded through most of the tile it landed on. They cleared the rest of the glass around the window frame, covered the opening with a tarp, and sealed it with duct tape. Oliver felt like hours had passed before he could go back to sleep.

Oliver wakes up at sunrise every day, and today, he felt incredibly exhausted. Oliver pushed himself to finish his morning workout, used some fresh water to freshen up, and joined the others for breakfast after Isabella woke them up. After breakfast, Sophia freshened up by the stream, and Oliver got ready for our next supply run. Soon, she returned to the living room in her combat attire, and they left for town for reinforcement supplies. Maximus stayed behind to make sure Isabella and Amelia would be safe. It takes around three hours to get to the center of the city. It would only take roughly two hours if they didn't have to move cautiously and with many detours. Most demons mindlessly charge, making their journey even easier as Sophia usually has a clear shot to kill them.

One particular demon stood out from the rest. It ambushed them several times, and when it failed, it ran away. It tried to ambush Sophia, who was trying to look for an opening while Oliver was fighting another Creature. Sophia could barely hold it off long enough for Oliver to scare off the creature, and the demon ran.

They referred to it as the Stalker. It continued to stalk them from afar. They couldn't let it follow them back, so they attempted to lure it out. They devised a simple plan to lure it into a trap, with Oliver as bait. Oliver moved around in the open as Sophia watched from a second-floor window of a house. Sophia aimed for its torso, but it dodged, and the arrow impaled its leg. It screeched in pain and tried to run away, only making it a few feet before Oliver caught up and finished the job. It was smaller than a usual demon, and its skin was gray.

At the store, they stocked up on wood planks, nails, and essential tools. They would have liked to get more but could only bring so much with a cart. Sophia was adamant about stopping at a couple of other stores. After finding a lot of essential or non-essential supplies to improve their quality of life, they each ended up pushing full shopping carts. Oliver was nervous because it could take longer to respond to an ambush. However, Oliver saw how much Sophia wanted it, and he wanted her to be happy. They returned to the mansion with all their supplies and only a few minor fights.

The following day, they scavenged the other houses for supplies. They went through several homes and found no survivors or threats but several cans of food and other supplies. Inside the living room of the third house was a fox. The fox was of a standard size but had two tails. They planned to leave it alone, but it must have felt threatened when balls of ice it conjured smashed into the walls near them and left holes in the wall. They immediately ran away, not wanting to start a fight with a Creature of seemingly magical nature.

"That was magic, right?" Oliver asked, "I can't believe it was magic!"

"I, I don't know!"

Oliver felt a mix of fear and excitement. Magic would explain the deer with glowing antlers, the giant bear that moved faster than its size would suggest, the steel-like webs from a giant spider, and a big venom-shooting bat.

Magic! Why didn't I think of that?! It seems so obvious now: is magic the reason for everything happening? Or I guess that would be, uh, what was it called again? Mana?

"We need to head back immediately," Oliver said. "We need to tell the others."

"Of course, we're going back! That fox just shot ice at us!" Sophie stated.

"A magical fox conjured and shot ice balls in a house nearby, and you ran away?" Isabella said while Amelia was sitting wide-eyed on her lap. They seem to have gotten very close, spending most of their time together when we're gone.

"Yes!"

"So magic is real?"

"Yes, that's what we've been saying!"

"The world is so crazy that I'm not surprised anymore. So what now?" Isabella asked.

"Well, I think the creatures we've seen that stood out the most could be using magic or mana in a fashion we don't understand. I think this Mist is concentrated Mana, and it's driving all these mutations. I don't know if you need a mana core or organ or something, but if a random fox used magic, it's only a matter of time before we have to face off against a magic Creature or Demon."

"Slow down. First of all, what's Mana?" Sophia asked.

"Mana is the energy that drives magic. You could compare it to modern technology. Mana would be electricity; that fox could be a lightbulb, and when it has electricity, it produces the effect of light. However, when the fox has Mana, it can have the effect of conjuring ice balls."

"That seems easy to understand," Isabella said.

"Yeah, I think I read something similar before," Oliver said.

"Well, it sounds like it could come in handy," Sophia said.

"Now, the questions we should be asked are: can people also use magic? Does magic need magical words to be used in spells or visualization? Spells could be essential or simply a means of assisting in visualization."

"That's a lot of information," Isabella said.

"Sorry, I may have gotten a bit excited," Oliver said. "However, if I had to think about it logically, even if humanity had the potential for magic, I don't think we would be able to learn."

"Why not?" Sophia asked.

"First of all, magical talent is always rare among humans in almost every movie or novel with magic. I don't know about you, but I don't feel like I have a mana reserve, core, or whatever you want to call it. You definitely can't use magic if you can't store mana. It could require a special organ to store or filter mana, which humans would already possess or grow with the introduction of mana. Lastly, all of us except Amelia are past 20, and our bodies and minds are almost completely done growing and changing. It would be like having a new limb suddenly attached or being born with it."

"But the fox was fully grown and seemed to use magic just fine?" Sophia noted.

"Possibly, we don't even know if it could control it or if it had to painfully grow an entirely new organ before it could use magic. I don't want to get my hopes up. This is reality and not a fantasy book or movie. Statistically, we would be magicless commoners and die to the next magical Creature we come across."

"That's a bleak but realistic outlook. I don't even know what to say," Isabella said.

As incredible as the discovery of magic is, they still need a steady flow of supplies, or they will run out sooner or later. They shortly went for another supply run since plenty of daylight was left and found three more houses nearby.

They grabbed whatever could be helpful and returned it to the mansion using a couple of shopping carts. They could only find the six houses in the vicinity, but there could be more further away.

I might have gone crazy if I had to spend all this time by myself.

Later that night, they saw the first demon that made it this deep into the woods. Or rather, they were attracted to the noise it was making as it fought a giant salamander creature. They could only view the fight as it happened briefly before the gate.

The salamander was slower but had thick scales that the demon could barely leave a scratch on. The salamander fought by biting and swinging its tail. The demon wasn't strong enough to pierce its scales but was notably faster than the salamander and avoided attacks. It was a repetitive battle until the demon almost scratched its eye, and the salamander grew furious, spitting a head-size fireball at the demon. It exploded on contact with its torso, knocking it off its feet and leaving severe burns as the demon shirt, its only remaining clothing, was burned away. The demon continuously screamed in pain until the salamander tore its throat and dragged it off into the woods.

"Another magical creature! I feel so stupid for not realizing it earlier. I didn't even think of it when a deer had glowing antlers! I wonder if the deer could also use fire magic?"

"I've only seen you get this excited when it's about magic."

"Well, sorry for being such a geek."

"I didn't say it was a bad thing," Sophia said with a smile.

Amelia went to bed earlier today, so we played card games together. Maximus lay next to Isabella while they played together. Maximus has grown friendlier with them since Sophia and Oliver spent their days scavenging. Only when it was getting dark outside did they stop for the night. They've all started going to their rooms during the sunset to save our limited light sources and make the most of the available sunlight.

Oliver woke up in the middle of the night from another nightmare and couldn't fall asleep. He got dressed and went on a walk around the mansion. His heart almost stopped when I saw something big moving in the dark, but it was just Maximus.

"What are you doing, Maximus? You couldn't sleep either?"

"Arf!"

"Ssh, not so loud, Max. The others are sleeping. Hey bud, you wanna sleep in my room?"

"Arf!"

"I'll take that as a yes."

The following morning, Oliver and Sophia further investigated their surroundings. Sophia brought her bow and a spare bat with a shopping cart. Oliver carried his bat in hand and left the machete on the cart to be swapped for when they scavenged nearby houses. The forest was full of harmless creatures with noticeably various appearances.

A shadow that came up to their knees suddenly ran by them at incredible speed, appearing as just a blur.

"What was that!?" Oliver exclaimed fearfully.

"I don't know! It has to be a creature!" Sophia cried.

"Ah!" Oliver cried in pain.

The shadow returned and left a deep scratch on Oliver's leg so fast he didn't even understand how it attacked him. This creature's speed was complimented by its small size and the mist that had only slightly dissipated.

"Oliver!" Sophia cried. "Ah!"

"Use the bat! It's too fast!" Oliver exclaimed.

The creature moved with such speed that as soon as it appeared, it was gone a moment later, only after leaving another deep gash on Oliver's leg. Sophia grabbed the bat and threw the bow in the cart.

"Put our backs together!" Sophia cried.

Oliver and Sophia stood against each other to protect their blind spots. Oliver saw a blur move in the mist approaching him and crouched down to switch at the low target. The creature managed to avoid it but failed to land its attack. Its extreme speed gave it a significant advantage. However, it was only capable of making slight changes to its trajectory. The creature refused to give up and attacked in random directions. Oliver and Sophia landed a couple of grazing blows. However, even though they made several of its attacks miss, the injuries continued to pile up. The creature suddenly changed its method of attack and came at them from the size. It jumped through the air and crashed into them, pushing them apart. Oliver landed awkwardly on his shield, finally breaking the handle. Oliver and Sophia fell away from each other, and the creature came back around, leaving another deep cut down his torso.

"Ahhh!"

Oliver tried to stand back when he felt a burning pain and fell back on his stomach. He looked to see Sophia still on the ground and the shadow jumping towards her.

"No!" Oliver screamed.

Suddenly, a blue flash of light shot out of Oliver and collided with the shadow, sending it flying. The last thing Oliver noticed was the smell of something burning before he passed out.

Oliver woke up in confusion and agony, still healing from the several wounds on his leg and the rest of his body.

Am I still alive? What happened? Where am I?

Oliver had just woken up, and his mind still recalled the time right before he passed out. The worst of his wounds have been covered in blood-soaked gauze. He tried his best to ignore the constant pain and the agony of every twitch. Oliver was lying on the hard floor of what appeared to be a living room and saw Sophia sitting across from him.

"Sophia?" he asked. "Are you okay? Where are we? How did we get here? How long have I been out?"

Oliver felt somewhat wet touch his hand and looked down. The floor was covered in blood.

"Sophia?!"

Oliver carried the sheet-covered figure in his arms, following the occasional trail of blood down the road. Oliver's body cried in agony, but he refused to leave her behind. Various creatures have appeared attracted by the smell of blood. Some creatures fled at his more prominent figure, while others took it as their next meal.

When a creature similar to a raccoon but the size of a small bear appeared, Oliver had no choice but to put Sophia down and use his shame and anger to ignore the pain.

"Fuck off!" Oliver screamed as he swung his bat, his body screaming in such agony it brought tears to his eyes.

"Graaa!" the raccoon bear growled aggressively.

The creature stood on its hind legs and waved its clawed paws aggressively. The creature stumbled forward awkwardly but threateningly. Oliver used his rage as fuel to push against his agony. Oliver pushed forward aggressively, hitting it on its leg just below its paws and forcing the raccoon bear to fall and step back in retreat.

"AAAAAA!" Oliver screamed, full of rage.

"GAAA!" The raccoon bear screamed in pain as Oliver landed a hit to its head.

It stumbled, and Oliver landed another blow to its head, causing it to collapse. As the creature lay on the dirt, Oliver smashed his bat against its head, over and over, in pure fury. What remained was its misshapen head, a small puddle of blood, and various questionable fluids.

"Hah, Hah," Oliver breathed as the pain overwhelmed his anger. The bandages around his leg soaked up the blood from his reopened wounds. Oliver heals significantly faster than an ordinary person, but his injuries were too severe for any significant healing to occur in such a short period. A strange creature stumbled out of the woods as Oliver stumbled towards Sophia. It had a humanoid figure but was far from human. It was a plant creature, seemingly unbound from the earth, as it slowly stumbled towards the dead raccoon bear. Its body appeared made out of vines and covered in bark. It had a face, or where a face would be if it had any features. The vine creature stopped beside the dead raccoon bear and raised its arms. Vines covered in giant thorns creeped out of its body and entangled the dead creature. The thorns dug into the corpse, drinking its blood. The vine creature seemed only interested in the dead body and ignored Oliver, and Oliver did the same.

Oliver moved slowly, carrying Sophia as his legs were still severely injured, even with his enhanced healing. After a few minutes of walking, Oliver came across the burnt figure of a creature. It was a mystery how Sophia managed to bring him to safety so far away with severe wounds of her own. It looked like a giant rabbit with strong back legs and an extra set of arms ending in claws that came out the front of its torso. Most of its fur was burnt away, revealing charred skin. Its remaining fur was black and shriveled, its original color impossible to determine, while its body smelled heavily of burnt flesh.

Did I do this?

Oliver only spared a hateful glare for the dead creature and continued his journey. Oliver approached the empty cart that got left behind and carefully placed the figure inside. Oliver and Sophia didn't travel too far during their journey, and Oliver only took an hour to walk back to the mansion.

"No. No. No!" Oliver screamed dreadfully.

Oliver fell on his knees as he took in the scene before him. The mist has thinned considerably since its first appearance, giving Oliver a much clearer sight. The rope that secured the gate was destroyed, while the solid metal gate was seemingly blown off its hinges. Maximus's body lay on the grass halfway to the mansion. The front door and its surrounding wall were gone, making a giant hole in the mansion. It would have looked like a bomb went off if not for the trail of destruction, something large and powerful made as it forced itself through the more narrow spaces. The trail of destruction branched off in several directions. However, the one Oliver cared for the most was headed straight for their rooms.

All their rooms were seemingly blown apart, with no creature in sight. The room with the most damage belonged to Isabella. Oliver was in terror when he saw the giant bloodied pawprints on the floor leading away from the room. Oliver felt like his soul left his body and walked like a drunk man, nearly falling with every step.

For the second time that day, Oliver uncontrollably sobbed next to what little remained of Isabella and Amelia.