2000

"Ito Anzu!"

"Yes!"

"Yeah! That's my daughter! You should answer like this when the teacher calls out your name okay?"

"Of course mama!"

A young girl was overjoyed by her mom teaching with a bright smile decorating her face. She is standing right in front of the mirror wearing a kindergarten uniform while her mother is embracing her from behind.

****

"A new species known as Nightmare is straying around our capital in the night. We warn everyone to stay at home at night to avoid any unwanted incidents."

Anzu heard vaguely from the news on television.

"What is Nightmare mama?"

"It's just some kind of animal Anzu-chan...Nothing to worry about, they will take care of those," her mom said, but a sense of worry clearly showed on her face.

"I have to call your father...take care of Ichiro for a while okay," her mother said.

"Okay, mama!" Anzu plays with her baby brother on the floor.

****

Meanwhile, in a lab, a woman with a ponytail who works with her computer listens to other people's discussions.

"Why has news about it already spread? Didn't I say to keep it a secret!"

A man with a white beard and rectangle spectacles shouted to his people at the oval table. He hit the table to show his dissatisfaction. He looks like a leader to them. There are ten of them sitting around the table. They all wear a white lab coat and seem to have an important meeting.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"It's not our fault, the Nightmare already attacked a bunch of civilians in the open places. They already saw it with their eyes. There's no way we can keep it a secret anymore," a woman with a bun who sat among the people said.

"We should ignore that already, we better search for a way to stop them," a bald man said.

"That's why we don't tell civilians about this, we still can't find the way to stop them!" the leader said.

"I think it's okay for now, the government already ordered us to stay at home at night, we can cope with it in the meantime," another woman with blonde hair said.

"They have not declared a state of emergency, it's just mere advice and warning. Do you think all people will listen to it?" the leader said.

"Relax, if they saw it themselves, then surely they will be afraid of it. The news already shows footage of the Nightmare," a chubby man said.

"Sir! We still don't know exactly where they appear. But we make a hypothesis that they come from the earth itself based on the evidence and witness," the woman with the ponytail suddenly comes to the leader.

"Earth?"

"Yes, most of the evidence shows a hole from the place the Nightmare appears. Even some civilians say they saw it arise from below," the woman continues.

"I see, are they some kind of earth species or aliens from space or whatever it is?"

"We still are not sure about that, but we can assure you that it is dangerous and attacking humans they saw without any particular reason."

"I think we already know about that...Lab D. Can't we contact them yet, Hana?" the leader asked.

"No sir, they still don't answer our call," the woman, whose name is Hana, answered.

"Send our people there! What the hell happened there?"

"Now sir?"

"Don't be stupid! Wait until sunrise! I don't want any of my men getting attacked by those things…"

It's already been a week since these Nightmare things appeared out of nowhere...we try to keep it a secret but it's too big to make sure it is under control. The only good thing is this Nightmare doesn't appear during daylight hours.

“Don’t you find it weird? We never get any report that they invade any house. It’s like they never disturb people in their house,” the chubby man voiced his opinions.

“That’s some useful information that we have to know. At this time, we still don't know much about them. We can’t deal with unknown things,” the leader said.

For now, we just can hope in the military to handle the Nightmare.

****

In the city,

Unlike usual nights, no people are roaming enjoying their night. The noisy city turns into a quiet place.

"Ngrttt! Ngrtt! Dum! Dum! Kpk! Kpk!"

The sound of tanks and the footsteps of soldiers filled the void. A bunch of soldiers took cover behind the tank.

"The target is reported to be around here roger! We are already in a position to block their way out roger!" a soldier named Daiki on his nametag communicates with his superior using his walkie talkie.

"Krkk"

"Good, make sure you beware from above too, we don't know where the monster will attack," the voice from walkie talkie said.

"Krkk"

"Okay! Roger that!"

"Krkk"

"Shiuuu...shiuuu…"

In the middle of their preparations, something lurks from the shadows of the building, waiting for time to show its claws.

****

“Mama, where’s papa? Why is he still not back?” Anzu is filled with curiosity? She knows he usually comes back at this time.

“He'll be back in the morning, Anzu chan. He has to stay in his workplace tonight.”

"Knock! Knock!"

The sound of knocking on the door interrupted their conversation.