The world turned upside down, filled with chaos due to the sudden earthquake. The cause was unknown. It took a life of billions in the blink of a second.

After a few minutes of the earthquake, strange monsters came up from the cracks and roamed the grounds. Some ate humans while others killed humans for pleasure.

When Keith woke up from the dark, the cold night reached his face. He touched his head and grumbled. ‘ What is going on? ’ He tried to place the scattered memories.

He remembered everything. Suddenly, the door opened beside him and Roey rushed into the room with a flashlight. He got a gun and a large knife placed on his back. He looked concerned and worried.

Roey pointed the flashlight in Keith’s direction. He blocked the light and said. “ Stop it. I am awake. ”

“ Good. Here. ” Roey crunched down and picked up a revolver. He handed it over to Keith.

Keith grabbed the gun in a reflex. “ What? It is my gun. ” Keith frowned.

“ Don’t tell me this is your stupid mission? ” Keith said, remembering the early morning practice he had to do during his teenage years.

“ Drop your remark. ” Roey said in a flat tone. “ This is not practice anymore. They are coming. ”

Keith tilted his head. “ Who? ”

Roey turned off the flashlight and walked quietly over to the window. He grabbed the curtain and looked over. But he did it smoothly. Keith frowned and got up from the bed.

He noticed he was inside the hunter's house in the forest. He used to hide here running away from Roey.

Keith smiled. The memories were not pleasant but they were connected by something. He couldn't pinpoint that something at this moment.

He walked near Roey and took a look outside. It was a brief moment but the scene was burned in his memory. Keith took a step back in shock. “ What are those? ” He asked.

“ Outer Creature. Beyond the ice walls. ” Roey replied and shut off the curtain tight. “ We faced that kind of monster on the sea. Come downstairs. We had to kill them before, they spread their blood to humans. ”

Roey walked out of the door, leaving Keith alone. What he saw were humanoid creatures walking on all fours. It had a long wide mouth and tongue dragging on the ground. And razor-sharp spikes come out from the spine and it has two tails as well.

The colour was white.

Keith cursed himself and ran downstairs following Roey. He was used to this kind of stress. He felt cold in his heart. It was fear. The flesh fear.

Those are monsters. Like monsters from books.

Keith placed his revolver behind his back and grabbed the rifle which was placed on the wall. He also took a set of ammo and put it inside a pocket.

Roey was standing beside the wall, sticking his back and signalling Keith to open the door. Roey turned off the light and darkness overran the room.

In nights dark beyond darkness, Keith asked for a plan. “ Can bullets kill those guys? ”

Roey nodded.

No help? I guess. What am I thinking? He is my father. He never asks for help, especially from the government.

Keith swallowed the silva and opened the door. Roey immediately dashed outside and started open firing everything he saw.

Keith followed him with his finger placed on the trigger. It rose and fell with each breath. He cursed.

Fuck it. Think about the training. But I haven't been near a gun for 7 years. What should I do if I miss? What is happening? Outer creatures?

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Shit. They could be in the North city.

Panic rose in his heart as he thought about his family.

He noticed a white figure running toward him. Keith pointed the tip of the gun and fired. It blasted open and hit the white creature. He heard a heart scream before drying on his face.

Keith pointed to the creature's heart and fired again. He kicked the dead and moved on to the next. He killed a few from afar.

There were about ten of them. Keith killed three of them while Roey killed the rest.

“ Ah. ”

Keith heard a scream coming from the dark. He grabbed the gun and ran to the source.

It sounds like my father. Is he dead? It could be bad.

Keith looked around and saw Roey on the ground. A white spike struck his shoulder and blood dripped, falling and forming a red pool beneath him.

“ Are you okay? ” Keith asked.

“ The wound is shallow. The enemy is hiding in the shadows. He is sneaky. Probably the leader or something. Careful. ” Roey warned.

“ Alright. ” Keith said.

He looked around. “ Any tips? ” He asked for an answer.

“ White but larger. ”

How helpful? Keith rolled his eyes and focused his attention.

Although he was putting on a facade, the fear was pressing on him. The fear of the unknown. But there was no other way to pass the night without putting up a facade.

Keith reminded himself of his family. Another deep fear formed. Fear of losing the family.

It is not easy to be an adult. But I don't want to experience being a teenager.

Keith smiled. A fast white shadow was thrown in his direction. He was not a very good fighter or shooter from the training but he sure got a great sense.

He dodged the thrown by the neck and fired a series of bullets. From the sound of it, all of them hit the trees. Keith replaced the ammo.

But the creature was smart. It attacked. Coming down from the tree, it spread its limbs and tried to grab Keith. The two tails were now nowhere to be seen.

Keith immediately grabbed the revolver from his back and rolled over to the side while firing a perfect shot at the head. It died instantly.

He grabbed his chest and calmed down his breath. He was close to being headless. Keith put the revolver back and walked to the creature.

Seeing it nearby, Keith felt disgusted. It looked like a human with two tails but at the same time, it looked familiar to a tiger or other primal creature.

The speed was not that fast but the real deal came from the tails. It released two shots when cornered.

Roey walked beside him. “ Can you feel something? ” He asked.

Keith nodded. “ There is some kind of strength in the air. Almost like fire covering the area. ” He commented.

He remembered the blue panel and turned to Roey. “ Have you seen the blue panel? Like the one floating in front of you. ”

“ Call Status. A voice spoke to me before these creatures came from the cracks. You were unconscious. I had to drag you from the workshop to here. ”

Keith looked at Roey and nodded. “ Thank you. ” He was not a scum. His mother installed a great quantity.

Roey started to dismantle the creature.

“ Aren’t you hurt? ” Keith asked.

“ It is healing. It hurt but the blood stopped for some reason. ”

Keith nodded and walked to the side, sat on the rock and finally caught a break. He looked up and muttered.

“ Status. ”

[ Name - Keith.]

[ Speice- Human.]

[ Rank - Beginner Life Form.]

[ Aura - Rank - 1.]

[ Specialist - Empty.]

[ Essence - None.]

[ Skill- None.]

The panel rolled down. Keith was taken aback by this. He understood a few of the words but Aura, specialist and essence were beyond him.

“ What is your rank, Dad? ” Keith asked.

“ Beginner life form. 1. strings and none. ” Roey said.

Keith nodded. He wanted it to close off and it did.

Strange. Ah. I am having a headache.

A stabbing pain rose under his skull. Keith grabbed his face and stayed there. The wind caught him and warped around his body.

After a while, Roey came to him and showed him a red crystal. “ Take a look at this. I got this from the creature. We never found this kind of thing before. ”

Keith picked up a few red crystals. He took about five and put it in his pockets. He got the feeling that they were important.

He got up from the rock. “ Tell me about your mission. I know you are hiding something from me. ”

Keith looked into Roey’s eyes and said. “ Tell me. ”