Issue #3: Chapter 5

It had been a while since the old man collapsed to the floor. I sat near him and watched him sleep after I checked his impulses. Thank God he was still alive.

Now all I had to do was to watch him awake and check for any incoming werewolf coming nearby. I heard and saw nothing in sight so far. Nothing but silence echoing around me.

I wanted to dump this man and leave him alone while he was unconscious, yet I wasn't brave enough to go alone, especially after encountering the werewolf earlier. There was no way in hell I would go off in that dangerous world out there with all those monsters roaming around. No way!

Plus, why would I even both carry a heavy guy to my way out of this place? He would be too heavy for me to carry him out of here anyhow.

I continued to stay here with him and wait for him to wake up, so that we could both leave this place. I sighed as there was no telling when we would leave.

Growing bored of just staring at him and waited for him to wake up from his slumber, I stood up from the ground and had a lot of exploring around to do in here. I was curious to know what secrets could this old man store, as well as learn more about this new world's culture. I loved the idea of traveling all over the world, so my curiosity about this world dominated my mind at the moment.

Walking around the secret room, I looked everywhere in here so far and found nothing of interest. I was going to open the chest door but it was guarded by a rusty lock.

Looking down at the chest box, I placed my hand on my chin and sighed. Hmm…I wonder what's in that box. How do I find this key?

By the time I wanted to look for the key, my ears caught the old man's moan. I gasped when my eyes turned right with my broadened eyes. It appeared the old man was awake afterall. That was when I better go check on him to see if he was alright or not.

Crossing my arms to cover up my breasts, I slowly turned around and saw the old man moving around on the floor. I smiled at the fact that I rushed my way over to him and sat back down on the floor.

I saw him slowly open his eyes to readjust his vision. The moment he saw me sitting near him, he grinned at me and said, "Oh, it's you again."

"Oh, thank God, you're alive. I couldn't leave without someone on my side, thanks to those monsters running around loose. We need to get you out of here now and find some help for you."

The old man nodded, "Right. Let's go get this over with, shall we?"

As I reluctantly uncrossed my arms, I tried to pull him up from the floor. But for some reason, his painful chest prevented him from leaving his position any time further.

"Oh, oh, oh, oh!" Panting, the old man placed his hand on his chest and just sat still. He didn't bother moving any further.

I widened my eyes. "Are you alright, sir?"

"Nope, I don't think so," the old man responded. "I think my heart is still suffering from pain." He looked up at my face. "It looks like I won't be able to continue on for a little while, at least."

And I thought we were supposed to get out of here. Well since the old man's a bit too weak to move, I guess I would have to keep staying here, did I?

He slowly laid himself down on the floor, and then returned his attention back to me. So I crossed my arms again to prevent the old man from ogling at them. I was going to help him lay back down, yet his face appeared to fight against the pain a little, and I thought he did it pretty well.

"Excuse me, miss…um…uh…" the old man said. I could tell he deliberately wanted to know my name, yet I wouldn't even bother telling him mine.

"I don't remember my name right now," I lied.

"Oh…I see…I'm going to need you to meet up with other survivors Aleke and Silverus at the fountain area of the town."

I broadened my fearful eyes. "By myself?! With all those monsters roaming around in this kingdom?!"

The old man nodded. "Yes, by yourself. I was pretty clear when I told you that I couldn't move for now. Plus, Silverus has one of those potions to help me cool down the pain on my chest more. That's why I'm sending you there."

"But that's impossible! There's no way I'm going out there alone! Not ever!"

"But you must." The old man scanned his surroundings and was going to give me a crossbow, yet all the arrows were empty. So he grabbed the ax from his back despite the pain hurting him and gave it to me instead. "Here. Take it. You'll need it for self defense a lot more than I do."

You can't be serious!

I shivered and just stared at the weapon, taking some quick breaths. I swallowed my saliva with my heart pounding on my chest hard and fast like a train engine. Okay, I really didn't feel like taking it right now.

"Go on, what are you waiting for? Take it. Don't be afraid. You're going to need it to defend yourself, you know," the old man suggested, moving the ax toward me a little further.

"And what about you? How are you going to defend yourself?" I questioned after I looked down at the old man and the ax back and forth.

"I'm already safe here. Those monsters won't come in here to kill me and take me to that awful, awful witch. You're going out there and I'm not. In fact, I was going down there until you came. I'll be fine."

"But-" This old man was incredibly insane.

The old man sighed out of patience and shook it a little. "Just take the ax and don't worry about me. I'll be fine here. Just take it already."

Oh, screw it! If the old man wants to die here, so be it!

My eyes darted straight at the ax and I slowly moved my shaky hand towards the ax. Sweat was pouring down on my face and my heart beated harder and faster than ever before.

Once I grabbed the ax from the old man's hand, the old man returned his attention to the ceiling and I asked, "So where do I find this fountain, old man?"

"Once you leave this place, you head straight at the end of the alleyway and turn left. When you continue to walk straight, you should be able to find the fountain there," the old man answered. "And when you arrive there, be sure to tell the survivors that I sent you there."

"Got it," I slowly stood up from the floor and looked down at the old man. "I'll be sure to return with the survivors with me as soon as possible."

The old man smiled at me and nodded. "Good luck. You're going to need it."

"I will. You too."

Turning to the staircase, I swallowed my saliva and shivered a little. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before I even took a step forward. I seriously couldn't believe I agreed to do this, yet I did anyway.

As soon as I walked towards the stairs, I walked upwards on the first floor and took a look around. Despite being dark in here, everything seemed back to normal except the door pieces lying on the floor.

I looked down at those pieces and tried not to step on them while I walked towards the exit. Standing by the doorway, my eyes scanned my environment, only to see buildings without any lights on, the road below me and the fog in my way. I was at least happy to see no werewolves in sight.

The smell of death and decay still bothered me and the sound of silence filled the air around me. The cold air caused me to have some goosebumps on my skin.

I shivered even more whenever I examined that fog. Something about it just gave me the creeps, especially when that werewolf came out of there like that earlier.

Standing there for a while longer, I swallowed my spit and took a deep breath once again. Alright, Mara. Here we go now. I began walking on this path towards the end of the alleyway, reminding myself of the directions the old man gave me earlier.

While I walked, I would look front and back just to make sure no werewolf was in sight. It could be anywhere, even hiding in the fog!

Once I finally got there, I looked both ways for any signs of the werewolf present. I found nothing but the street lights, leafless trees and buildings.

When I was about to turn left, I spotted a pool of fresh new blood lying on the ground. Curiosity made me investigate the scene, only to find some blood splatter on the walls standing near the pool of blood.

I betted someone was killed recently, and wondered how many survivors were killed as well. It was all a mystery like a shrouded fog. Either way, it definitely made me shiver down my spine, swallowing my spit once more.

Then I noticed something that I missed: the trailing blood on the ground. When I turned to its direction, it probably led to the fountain area or even elsewhere within Pagis. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I reminded myself to find Aleke and...Silverus. I just hoped no werewolves were there at the fountain.

I reluctantly began to turn left and walk forward towards the fountain. While I walked, I turned my head up at the castle, hoping I would be able to escape from this horrible place.

As I was halfway towards my destination, there was no sound of a running fountain at all. It felt as though the water was either dried up or turned off.

Next, my ears caught a woman's scream, followed by the werewolf's roar, made me gasp quietly and jump a bit. I shivered and breathed deeply a couple times, along with swallowing my spit.

The werewolf's growl, the slicing sound of its victim, and a loud thud also in front of me, followed by the dragging sound. I hoped that the victim wasn't Aleke. I really hoped not.

I failed to see either the victim nor the werewolf in sight, with all this fog in the way. So I took a couple steps while moving my terrified eyes sideways. The ax stood near my cheek and its blade reflected it like a mirror.

Although I knew the old man told me to head straight, but there was no way I would be heading there anytime soon. Not ever in my lifetime as long as the werewolf was there. I needed to find another way to that fountain.

My eyes searched everywhere and failed to find any, even behind me. I returned my head to the front and was relieved when I saw no incoming werewolf so far.

Then I bumped onto something behind me, something furry. Huh? I quickly turned around and gasped as a giant shadow was cast upon me, widening my eyes.

It was a werewolf standing before me and growled at me, with its drooling, sharp teeth smirking at me. Its brown fur gazed at me and its yellow, serpent-like eyes gazed at me.

Opening my mouth, I shivered and breathed hard a couple more breaths out of fear. I frowned and widened my eyes when my heart beated on my chest hard and fast, with sweat forming on my forehead, getting ready to slide down on my face. I couldn't believe that I encountered another werewolf.

When it raised its claws up in the air, it roared at me and sent its saliva and bad breath flying towards my face. I was lucky no spit landed on my face up to my chest area.