003 ┃ The girl with the spear

The boy couldn't move. He still couldn't believe that this was happening to him, as if he didn't know whether it was a dream or reality. But he knew it was real. His heart was beating so hard he thought it would burst out of his chest. When the monster was a few meters from him, as if a gun had been fired to start a race, the boy turned around and began to run from the monster at full speed.

His steps seemed dwarfed by the giant strides of the four-legged monster. Although he had finally decided to run, the monster would catch him in a few seconds.

He turned sharply around a corner. As he had anticipated, the monster was so close to him and moving so fast that it didn't have time to make the turn and crashed forcefully into the wall of a house, causing a deafening noise throughout the area. The boy took those moments to get a head start on the monster. However, the monster quickly recovered. As if it was just a small bump, it resumed the chase as if nothing had happened.

The boy tried to think of something, but his mind had stopped working. Now all he could think about was that he had to escape from that thing. "Why can't I think?" he asked himself as his body moved on its own. As he ran, he saw the facade of the house where he planned to spend the night in the distance. Unbeknownst to him, he must have retraced his steps. With no other options, he headed there.

He passed through the entrance and fell to the ground completely exhausted while the monster's screams echoed behind him. He could only hope that the door gap was small enough to prevent the beast from entering. In an instant, the beast crashed into the entrance, only being able to fit its long arm through the gap. Chills ran down the boy's spine as he clung tightly to the thick book he was holding against his chest. Was he safe?

As if answering his question, the monster let out a spine-chilling scream and began to pound on the walls of the entrance. The whole house shook with each blow, which scared the boy. The only wall separating the monster from him began to crack.

Alarmed, the boy jumped up and darted into the kitchen. Just as he crossed the threshold, the walls of the entrance gave way with a loud crash, and the beast came after him. "Come on, come on, come on...," he said to himself, frantically searching for something to get out of this situation. He didn't have much time to think, so he did the first thing that came to mind. He grabbed a frying pan that was on the counter and threw it hard against the window, shattering it into pieces. Hearing screams behind him, he took all the momentum he could and jumped through, landing face-first in the street. He had cut his shoulder and leg on the broken glass, but he had no time to stop. He got up and kept running while leaving a trail of blood.

The monster tried to get through the window, but it was too small for him. As before, it pounded on the kitchen walls with force. It took him no more than a couple of blows to destroy the walls and get outside in search of the boy.

Although he had managed to gain some distance, the boy soon slowed down. His lungs were burning, and he could feel his wounds throbbing with every beat of his heart. He was so tired that his vision was starting to blur. Without paying attention to where he was stepping, he tripped over a piece of debris on the ground and fell again. The impact knocked the wind out of him, leaving him gasping on the ground. He only had time to turn towards the monster to see it running towards him.

He couldn't do anything else. That thing was going to kill him. He was going to die there without remembering anything at all. It was pathetic. The monster lunged at him, raising its sharp claws. He tensed his muscles, hoping it would at least be a quick death, but the blow never came.

Instead, a human figure tackled the monster, knocking it down and throwing it to the ground. The person also fell to the ground, but in less than a second was back on their feet, with a long, sharp spear pointed at the monster.

Once she stood still, the boy could take a good look at his savior. She seemed to be a young girl somewhat older than him, although with the darkness of the night, it was difficult to make out her face. She wore dusty and old-looking clothes, with leather pants and a green poncho covering much of her torso. She had her long hair tied back in a long braid.

A few meters away from them, the creature stood up again and defiantly looked at the girl, letting out a shriek. She did not seem intimidated and stood firm. Right now, she was the only thing standing between the boy and the beast.

In less than a second, the monster lunged at the girl with its claws raised. It was so fast that the boy thought it would kill his savior in an instant, and then come for him. However, the young woman swiftly moved to the side. With an almost imperceptible spear cut, she severed one of the beast's limbs in one swipe. It let out a powerful shriek that made the boy think his eardrums were going to burst, and a black fluid began to gush from the wound.

Now much more furious than before, the monster lunged at the young woman again, trying to hit her in any way as its expression transformed into one of anger. The girl, who still hadn't regained her balance from the previous attack, couldn't react in time. The monster managed to land a blow to the girl's stomach, sending her flying several meters until she crashed into the hard stone wall of a house.

"Are you okay?" the boy asked, alarmed. If that blow had knocked her unconscious, they would both be dead.

With a grunt and clearly in pain, the girl got up within a few seconds. She didn't seem to be bleeding, but she had a hand on her forehead as if trying to stay conscious. Seeing that its victim was weak, the monster attacked again, using its remaining limbs to run towards the young woman and pounce on her.

The girl did not back down. Instead, she used her spear to propel herself above the monster and avoid its claws. From above, and without the creature having time to react, she drove the spear into its head with a strong blow.

The monster collapsed, now completely motionless. The boy kept his gaze fixed on the corpse, wondering if it was really dead. His heart was still beating a thousand miles per hour, and his wounds stung so much that it prevented him from thinking clearly. As if answering his question, both the severed arm and the body of the beast began to disintegrate quickly and be carried away by the wind, like the ashes of a burning paper. He sighed, relieved to still be alive.

The young woman pulled the spear out of the decomposing body of the monster and turned to the boy. In the moonlight, he couldn't help but think she was beautiful. She looked like an angel who had come to save him. They looked at each other, and the boy could feel the distrust in her eyes. Still on the ground, he watched as the young woman approached him.

Without warning, she pointed the spear towards him until the blade was just a few centimeters from his face.