(Prominis 1, 58 / 7:08PM)

  (Luke’s thoughts) She’s too fast!

  The gym room, which id many dumbbells and weights, held a ring in the middle of its center. Two people, a boy, and a girl, sparred with utmost intensity—

  Well, mostly the girl…

  (Luna) Too easy.

  With utmost ease, Luna used her sword to disarm Luke, the sword pushing its limits to break Luke’s grip in his right hand, its metal showing its state of retirement. Her sword managed to chip away as Luke gave in, his hand covered in blisters and calluses.

  As for Luna, her hand was smooth yet rough, as the hand that shows the knuckles was tender and soft but the palm was bumpy and jagged. In this rough conclusion, Luke’s sword was on the ground, dislodged as he was weaponless, and Luna pointed her sword at Luke.

  Luke looked at Luna’s hands, as well as the stance she used to point her sword at him.

  (Luke) Why are you this good at using swords?

  (Luna) What, going to cry?

  (Luke) No … it’s just …

  (Luna) It’s just what?

  Putting her sword down, she started walking towards where Luke was standing, closing the gap between them, and making her back straight as she slightly looked up. While looking up, she pced her arms on her hips, gring at Luke with cold yet tender eyes.

  Luke being Luke, he nervously looked away, avoiding eye contact as he spoke.

  (Luke) You … didn’t look like you used swords a lot before we met …

  (Luna) Huh?

  (Luke) Your palms were smooth like mine … even more when we had our first ring fight …

  Luna then put her head down, her face being mildly flustered as Luke cleverly noticed one mystery that Luna had…

  (Luna’s thoughts) Damn it. Like a puppy, he has good eyes…

  (Gwen) Are you two going to kiss?

  (Luke and Luna) WHAT?!

  Gwen being Gwen, she barged in knowing that Luke and Luna were sparring, her face cheerful and childish as she saw her disciple with the strongest girl. Causing both to turn red, Luke began sweating hard, backing a couple of steps away.

  (Luke) Hey! We’re just friends!

  (Luna) He’s my pet dumbass!

  Her fists on the verge of breaking, she ferociously eyed Gwen, wanting to make another makeover on Gwen’s face.

  (Gwen) Just kidding with you guys! Man, you guys can’t take a joke to save your lives haha.

  Chuckling for a couple of seconds, she handed Luke a white paper card, the smell of it being freshly made.

  (Gwen) On the st day of training, I want you to put it in your pocket. It’s a little secret if you like to put it…

  (Luke) What does it contain?

  (Gwen) It’s just a little tip.

  Opening the card, Luke opened it to see a little poem made by none other than…

  (Luke) Is this a joke?

  (Gwen) Nope, it’s my way of helping you guys out…

  Luke began reading the poem in his mind, his mind focusing on analyzing every line.

  (Luke’s thoughts) In a forest of dead bricks, take the tunnel to see a cool trick…

  (Luke) What does this line mean anyway?

  (Gwen) Like I said you’ll find out…

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  (Prominis 21, 58 / 12:00AM)

  The sounds of an arm can be heard…

  (Luke’s thoughts) Ow… my head … what’s going on…

  Slowly opening his eyes, he turned his head left to right to notice that he wasn’t in the run-down bathroom like before…

  (Luke’s thoughts) Am I in a city?

  Getting up sluggishly, he noticed that all around him were buildings, buildings corroded and being brought back to nature, the moss and trees calling the buildings home as they rested for the night.

  (Luke’s thoughts) And it’s a double new moon today, so the city is—

  Nestled in darkness, as Luke could not see most of the buildings from far away, the darkness of the sky is shrouded in an almost dystopian setting. The more he looked at the buildings and the scenery, the more Luke began grabbing his stomach, his breathing becoming irregur as memories of the past began coming back.

  (Luke’s thoughts) No … I don’t like it … help … help … where’s … where’s …

  A csh of gss coming from inside a building was heard…

  Luke began looking all over his area, fear prevalent all over his face as he was on the verge of panicking. Not knowing where the sound came from, Luke remained still, yet his body was trembling with utmost fear, his face being deathly pale while his back felt the chillness of the whole scenario.

  Then another csh of gss can be heard…

  Pretty soon another…

  And another…

  Until…

  (Luke) AAAAAAHHH!

  Using his peripheral vision, he noticed that a small figure was walking out of an office building to his left. Jumping out of fear, his vocals convoked a high-pitched shriek.

  (Luke’s thoughts) Wait … Is that a wild chicken…

  Embarrassingly walking towards the wild chicken that looked oddly towards Luke, he looked down, inhaling and exhaling rapidly.

  (Luke’s thoughts) You’re coming with me!

  Grabbing the chicken by its legs, the chicken started to try to fight back, but the way it was grabbed was so that it wouldn’t peck Luke’s hand. With the chicken being submitted to Luke’s will, he looked inside the abandoned building, hoping to see anything that could carry and hold the chicken as he walked.

  Sure enough, he saw an old purse and backpack, just waiting for it to be picked up…

  (Luke’s thoughts) It looks like it was pced…

  Grabbing the purse first, he pced the chicken inside of it, zipping the purse up so that the chicken couldn't escape. As Luke zipped the purse, he noticed that the purse looked expensive.

  (Luke’s thoughts) Reminds me of the purses Dad would buy for Mom…

  He carried the purse with his left hand, followed by the old backpack like he was going to school.

  (Luke’s thoughts) I should get going. Let’s just hope I’m a good cook—

  When Luke was about to exit the door, he felt like something was watching him…

  Turning around normally, he saw—

  Dozens upon dozens of red eyes were watching him in the darkness of the building, with the creatures dropping all kinds of saliva off of their blue beaks.

  Realizing what position Luke was in, he then realized something.

  (Luke’s thoughts) The chicken I was carrying was a female, the only one in their little tribe, so…

  The red-eyed creatures slowly started to walk their way toward Luke.

  (Luke’s thoughts) If this type of tribe system is correct, then … These are poisonous blue-beaked chickens!

  His body moving in motion, Luke quickly ran out of the building and into the street. Looking back, he quickly saw that dozens and dozens of male chickens were running towards him, their beaks drooling with venomous saliva.

  (Luke’s thoughts) Why do chickens hate me so much?!

  Dozens of minutes after midnight, Luke Fenix, a 16-year-old boy holding a Lewis Batton purse with a female chicken in tow, being chased away by dozens of male poisonous chickens can be heard in the distance.

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  (Prominis 21, 58 / 12:33AM)

  (Luke’s thoughts) panting … I think they’re gone…

  Hiding in a home with no front door, Luke lurked in the shadows of an abandoned home, his body heavy as he y down beside the wall in a molded living room. Noticing that a clock still works, he looked and his eyes were met with panic.

  (Luke’s thoughts) I’m only 30 minutes in!

  Tapping his foot up and down for a couple of seconds, he stood up and put his fists against the wall, his head rubbing on it as he tried to calm himself down.

  (Luke’s thoughts) This is insane! How am I supposed to survive six hours of this?! Even then, I’m supposed to reach the center of the city! How! How! How—

  Then Luke looked up, his face inches away from the wall…

  (Luke’s thoughts) What … What did Boris say again?

  Scratching his head furiously, he tried to remember those exact words that Boris said before he passed out, but it was no use.

  Frustrated, Luke smmed his fists hard against the wooden wall, the shock not as hard as Luke thought it would be, but just enough…

  So that a small portrait would hit Luke’s head.

  (Luke) Ow! Now pictures are tormenting me!

  Picking up the portrait, he was about to use his right hand to throw away the little portrait, until he noticed that there were a bunch of legs that the photo had on the bottom.

  (Luke’s thoughts) Is this a suburban home?

  Upon looking at the photo in full view, he saw a normal family photo of a mother and father with their three kids.

  (Luke’s thoughts) They all looked happy…

  Noticing the happiness of the family of five, Luke looked around the living room to see the ambiance of moss and mold already calling the house home.

  Looking at the photo even more, he noticed that the father wore a soldier uniform. Its bck and red striped jacket followed by the amount of shiny medals made the father not just a soldier, but—

  (Luke’s thoughts) A commander… just like Gwen…

  Putting the photo in his pocket, an idea came to him.

  (Luke’s thoughts) If he was a soldier … then … then he must have at least a weapon in storage!

  He went deeper into the house, trying to find anything useful that the soldier may have hidden or kept, but the darkness of the house was Luke’s biggest obstacle.

  (Luke’s thoughts) I should probably find a match or fshlight in here somewhere. If I was a commander, where would I put a fshlight—

  As Luke went inside the kitchen thinking to himself, he noticed that a drawer was wide open. Running towards the drawer with immense speed, he looked through the drawer to find a red and blue kids-sized fshlight.

  (Luke’s thoughts) It may not be that bright, but it would work…

  Having a source of light to navigate the house, he grabbed the fshlight with his right hand, and then made his way to the molded hallway. The more the wooden floorboards creaked with each step, the more he had to cover his face from the moldy air until he noticed that the hallway was pstered with family photos.

  In each photo, Luke noticed that the fatherly soldier was in them, either with his wife, his son, or his two daughters. Their smiles are ever-present in the decay of time.

  (Luke’s thoughts) What happened to him?

  As Luke’s eyes simmered downward, he took a whiff of a door that was conjoined with the floor.

  (Luke’s thoughts) That’s the basement… wait … could he put a weapon stash in there?

  Running to the basement door, he quickly put the purse down near the stairs and made his way down.

  But then he tripped, tumbling his way down the stairs.

  (Luke) Aaah!

  Grabbing the fshlight in his right hand, he tucked his right arm so that the fshlight wouldn’t break on his flight down the stairs. With each stair he tumbled upon, the cold cemented steps would put on a body and face makeup of purple and blue bruises.

  Feeling like an eternity, he managed to tumble down to the basement floor, his face hitting the smooth stone with a lot of force. Slowly getting up, his body was shaking as the cemented stairs made him discombobute, with his head feeling like he was stabbed to the side…

  Ignoring the small ringing in his ears, Luke noticed that the fshlight was still on, his breathing slowing down as the pain started to subside.

  (Luke’s thoughts) Alright, now to find that—oh, is that the weapon’s locker?

  As Luke’s luck got the better of him, he walked towards a wide-open weapon’s locker, his bruised face naturally forming a smile straight from his heart.

  (Luke’s thoughts) I just hope they haven’t … raided it.

  Unfortunately for Luke, the weapon locker was …

  (Luke’s thoughts) It’s empty…

  The chicken from the purse started to cluck hard…

  (Luke’s thoughts) Why is the chicken acting up? And at this time?

  Even when he was in the basement, the clucks the chicken was making were frantic and fast, almost as if the chicken wanted to get out of the purse…

  (Luke’s thoughts) It’s a poisonous blue-beaked chicken … What animal can scare off one of the deadliest animals on…

  The floorboards from the hallway started to creek hard…

  (Luke’s thoughts) Oh no…

  Sweat starting to form on his forehead, Luke noticed a big blue cabinet. Running to the cabinet, he opened it wide and enclosed himself in it. Turning off the fshlight for a much better chance that he wouldn't be seen, he crossed his fingers hoping that whatever was on top of him was just one of the candidates. The more the floorboards creaked hard, the clucks of the chicken could be heard harder…

  (Luke’s thoughts) I don’t want to die…

  Breathing in and out rapidly, his body odor started to be noticeable, as Luke remained fearful for what y outside the basement. Pcing his hands on his ears, he wanted the sounds of hell to stop.

  (Luke’s thoughts) Please go away! Please go away! Please go away! Please go away!

  Shutting his eyes from the world, he remained like that for several minutes, keeping himself mentally stable to not lose hope and humanity.

  Then the sounds of the chicken clucking stopped.

  And the floorboards stop creaking.

  Still having his eyes shut, he steadily uncsped his hands that were binding his ears, his breathing still heavy and fast. His breathing slowly started to dim down as his hands started to press against the cabinet.

  (Luke’s thoughts) Alright, I don’t hear anything. I think I could open my eyes now.

  Opening his eyes slowly, he saw almost nothing out of the hole in the cabinet, the darkness of the basement staggering his vision. Steadily pulling out the kid's fshlight, he fshed the light out of the cabinet.

  (Luke’s thoughts) This is a horrible idea, but I got to know…

  Seeing that the basement was completely devoid of anything, Luke still had a worried face, his sweat still prevalent as he carefully opened the cabinet door to let himself out. Moving inch by inch, he steadily put a foot down on the basement cold floor, making sure a monster wouldn’t grab his leg.

  (Luke’s thoughts) I hope it isn’t hiding … I just hope that it was just my imagination…

  Looking around with the kiddie fshlight, there was nothing that moved or changed—

  The fshlight then stopped working.

  (Luke’s thoughts) Come on! Come on! Why out of all times!

  A putrid hot breath tickled down his neck.

  Then came a low humming growl… from on top of him.

  Luke knew that putrid hot breath from anywhere, his face ghostly pale, his face saturated with sweat, and his whole body shivering as if he had hypothermia.

  And upon noticing this hot breath, Luke …

  Sprinted with so much force to try to escape whatever was near him—

  (Zompire) Save Us!

  The zompire managed to tackle Luke, with enough force for Luke to fall on his chin. As Luke was lying on his back, he was forced to submit by this zompire that was waiting for their prey.

  (Luke) NOOO!!! I DON’T WANT TO DIE!! I DON’T WANT TO DIE!! PLEASE ANYONE—

  Just as the zompire was about to cmp its fangs into his neck, another figure was behind the zompire, a girl who wore blue trousers.

  In an instant, the girl who was wielding a Swiss army knife managed to pinpoint exactly where the zompire’s heart was, and in an instant, the zompire started to melt, with its eye sockets, nose, and mouth spewing out putrid bck tar. For several seconds, the zompire then started to turn into ash, bck ash that covered Luke from top to bottom.

  Slowly and fearfully getting up, his shivering face saw a girl much younger than him, most likely at 12 years of age. In an instant, Luke knew who the girl was.

  (Luke) L-L-L-Loraine?

  Her short height and scrawny body were confusing since she was the second strongest female fighter other than Luna. She had gray eyes and dark brown hair, her hair having pigtails that reached towards her back. Her skin was light and pale, with her nose being above average and her ears being rge in length.

  Looking up at Luke, she pointed towards the stairs.

  (Loraine) sniff sniff. Can I have your chicken?

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  (Prominis 21, 58 / 1:02AM)

  In a park a couple of blocks near the house, a barbeque pit was lit for a special occasion.

  (Luke) I know I said this a million times but thank you for saving me!

  Bowing cndestinely, Luke arched his back 60 degrees to fully give his thanks to Loraine, which caused her to put her hands on her hips.

  (Loraine) I was only really saving you for the chicken. If you died and I stole your chicken then it would leave a nasty taste in my mouth.

  (Luke) But still, if you want, you could have the whole chicken to yourself.

  (Loraine) Hooray!

  Jumping up and down, Loraine continued to cook the chicken on the barbeque pit, her mouth slightly drooling from the fresh and delicious meat that Luke risked his life over. Meanwhile, Luke sat on a wooden table, hunching his back forward as he took in a big breath in and out.

  (Luke) So how did you find me?

  (Loraine) I heard some crazy boy shouting so I checked to see where it was coming from. And just then … chuckles …it was you who did all the shouting, and … chuckles … you looked like you ran off with a woman’s purse being chased by a group of chickens…

  Ignoring the cooking chicken, Loraine gripped her stomach hard as her knees were on the ground, her breath out of pce as the scene continued to py on her mind, causing Luke to fluster and to put his hands on his eyes.

  (Luke whispering) Why do I always need to be saved?

  Loraine giggled softly as she stood up back again with her knees off the ground.

  Just as she was about to check on the chicken, she noticed that Luke pulled out a Micro Uzi from his backpack. Curious, she walked towards him.

  (Loraine) Why do you have that gun?

  (Luke) It’s for protection, why?

  (Loraine) To kill a zompire, you have to slice or damage the heart of it. Anywhere else would be a no-go.

  (Luke) What are you trying to say?

  (Loraine) Unless you have good aim, then guns wouldn’t do much in a fight.

  (Luke) Sorry Loraine, but I’m not like you. Come to think of it, the person with the worst accuracy with guns is I think you.

  Loraine then started to pull both Luke’s ears, her breathing rapid as she made a heavy pouting face. For Luke, he put the Uzi down and grabbed a hold of Loraine’s arms, trying to get her hands off of his ears.

  (Luke) Look I’m sorry! Please stop pulling, you’ll rip them off!

  Letting go, Loraine sat on the ground as she looked up at Luke, her face still pouting as she folded her arms.

  Luke held the gun to his right hand, using his left hand to point a finger toward the gun while looking at Loraine, a hint of sweat dripping down his right eye.

  (Luke) You may not be good at accuracy, but I am. Just let me use this weapon for safety okay? It’s not going to kill me.

  (Loraine) Then what about the one that was wearing the commander's uniform…

  Luke began to carefully dust off the dust that had ash inside of its mechanisms. The more he dusted off the ash, the more his face was pushed downwards.

  (Loraine) Why do you feel so emotional for someone else’s gun? That commander wasn’t human anymore, we did what we had to do.

  (Luke) Loraine, he had a family.

  (Loraine) You know if it weren’t for me, then you wouldn’t be alive to speak to me!

  As Loraine shouted at Luke, Luke remained silent as he continued to stare down at the gun. His fingers traced the blurred bckness of the trigger, his fingertips tracing the fingerprints that were etched into the trigger and grip.

  (Luke’s thoughts) Loraine is just a kid, she wouldn’t get it…

  (Loraine) You’re probably right … I wouldn’t get it …

  Stunned, Luke looked towards Loraine. Not looking at him, she pulled out a picture of her and Boris, the photo bck and white filled with unfinished bread crumbs.

  (Loraine) I wasn’t raised by normal parents … I didn’t even know what my parents were … all I remember was that I was taken into care by Boris…

  The picture showcased little Loraine on top of Boris’s back, her arms wrapped childly around Boris’s chubby neck.

  (Loraine) He’s mean, he’s strict and greedy, but …

  Loraine’s eyes started to water, as she looked towards Luke with her nose beginning to sniffle.

  (Loraine) He’s the only person that took care of me…

  (Luke) Loraine…

  Standing up, Luke decided to pat Loraine on her head, giving her much-needed reassurance.

  (Luke) We all care for each other. You may not be that good to work with, but please …

  Bending down to see Loraine’s watery face, Luke looked directly at Loraine’s eyes, his face calm and warm.

  (Luke) Don’t do this on your own …

  In an instant, Loraine got up from her seat, avoiding eye contact with Luke. As Luke tried to not make it look embarrassing by taking back a couple of steps, Loraine then turned around towards where Luke was and charged forth, simir to a battering ram.

  A weak battery ram…

  (Luke) Uh, what are you doing?

  Because Loraine didn’t have the strength to move Luke at all, his body was still in the same position.

  As Loraine took a couple of steps back, she then smiled gleefully towards Luke, her smile cheerful and childish as she put her hands in the air.

  (Loraine) It’s my test to see if you’re worthy of becoming a friend! I don’t like weak people so I decided to test if you would either flinch or tumble but you didn’t!

  (Luke) Ok?

  Luke remained confused about the logic behind Loraine, so he decided to keep his mouth shut and folded his arms to his sides. As Loraine looked over at the chicken, she threw up her hands..

  (Loraine) No! It’s burnt!

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  (Prominis 21, 58 / 1:35PM)

  As Luke and Loraine walked through the abandoned city after their night dinner, the two managed to get nearer to the center.

  (Luke) I still can’t believe Boris managed to spoil you all the ways and functions of The Array…

  (Loraine) hehe … He has a soft spot for me, I mean … I knew from the beginning what The Array would be like.

  (Luke) But still, you could’ve told us sooner.

  (Loraine) Boris told me to never say anything about it until now. If I did, then he told me I would be kicked out of the program immediately…

  Luke started to breathe slightly off tempo, his fists tightened for a bit until he let go. Meanwhile, Loraine just casually walked with her arms moving back and forth in rge gaps, simir to how a robot would walk.

  (Luke) Hey Loraine? You said that The Array had three stages right?

  (Loraine) Yup! We are in the first stage, or the suburbs of the city! You won’t be seeing zompires any time soon unless you’re unlucky!

  Ouch…

  (Luke) What about the second stage?

  (Loraine) The second stage is the downtown area, where many offices and shops are located! You better have enough ammo, because Boris told me it’s common to run into a zompire!

  (Luke) What about the third stage?

  Loraine then stopped walking, putting her hand on Luke’s arm. As Luke felt the smoothness and purity of Loraine’s hand, he also felt her hand shake with uneasiness.

  (Loraine) It’s … the third stage is in the military complex … at the center of the city …

  (Luke) How many zompires would we run into there?

  (Loraine) … Boris didn’t say anything about how many zompires would appear, so he just …

  Loraine then remembered something from her past…

  (Boris in Loraine’s thoughts) Promise me that you’ll shoot the crates! Promise you’ll stick together with someone! Anyone!

  Luke started to turn a little pale as even Loraine couldn’t grasp how many enemies the military complex would hold since all she did was just look down with her face, even more paler than his. Walking towards her, Luke put both his arms on Loraine’s shoulders, looking at her directly.

  (Luke) I think I know what Boris meant … he wanted us to stick together huh.

  (Loraine) Y-Yeah…

  (Luke) But to improve our chances for survival … or for everyone … then …

  Luke then turned around and grabbed Loraine by her hand, dragging her while running closer to the center.

  (Luke) We just have to find the right company to stick with…

  Luke, running with Loraine through the almost suburban ndscape of Fort Damns, started to scan every inch of the abandoned buildings so that he might find someone either with a group or alone.

  Running more and more, Luke’s stamina was in perfect condition, since he had many hellish experiences before training and during training.

  But for Loraine, she has started to sck off, her stamina isn’t as well built as Luke’s…

  (Luke) Loraine, do you want me to slow down?

  (Loraine) Yes! I’m starting to feel tired—

  Out from a random garbage can was—

  (Zompire #1) Save us!

  Jumping with fear, Luke with Loraine in tow, jumped sideways as a zompire appeared to the side of them. For Luke was pale, his body quivering with fear as the zompire managed to ambush them, Loraine wasn’t scared … but …

  She smiled…

  (Loraine) Fighting time!

  Letting go of Luke’s hand, she then charged forward to hone in on the zompire, its bck hair and no eyes, not even putting a mark of fear onto the 12-year-old girl. Pulling out her Swiss army knife, she made sure her arm was stretching with her knife in tow, with a smile still stuck on her face.

  (Luke) Be careful!

  Loraine lunged to the right side of her to get a cleaner angle for its heart. By bending down, she then put her left hand on the zompire’s chin, to push it so that it wouldn’t take a bite from her. Now using her right hand, she lodged with enough force so that the knife would sink deep into its heart.

  By twisting her knife, she managed to stab right into the zompire’s heart, pushing against the bck tar that leaked out of the creature. As Loraine pulled back her hand, the zompire colpsed onto itself and started to die out.

  But on its death, it started to glitch out…

  And upon death, it started to form bck ash—

  Loraine then was tackled onto the ground by another zompire…

  (Zompire #2) Save us!

  (Loraine) Aah!

  The zompire pressed its body onto Loraine, the creature licking its lips like some sick weirdo as it eyed the barely teenage girl. Twisting its head so that it would take a huge chunk off of Loraine’s head, it bared its fangs as it got closer and closer to Loraines—

  A bullet was shot…

  As the piercing sound cshed across the city, where would that bullet hit?

  The answer to that would be the zompire’s temple, where a bullet was lodged inside the creature’s skull. The bullet looked to be tiny compared to other cartridges, as it trickled down the creature’s shoulder and onto the paved dirt.

  The zompire looked towards the direction of where the bullet was shot, and it was none other than…

  (Luke’s thoughts) Just need a clean shot!

  As Luke aimed his uzi in his right hand, his right arm started to shake intensely as the fear and panic from four years ago started to flood in. His face was drenched with chivalrous sweat, and his palms weren’t gripped well enough to hold a gun accurately, but…

  Luke put his left hand supporting his right arm.

  The zompire started to run towards Luke with superhuman speed, making Luke’s job of aiming for the creature’s heart much harder than it needed it to be. His hand shaking nervously, he wanted to jump out of the way, he wanted to run away, he wanted—

  (Luke’s thoughts) Focus! Focus! Focus!

  The zompire was mere feet away from where Luke stood, and in a fsh, Luke shot another bullet, aiming at the zompire’s heart. Upon shooting the creature, Luke waited for the creature to die, since, unlike metal objects like knives or swords, the creature didn’t move like it would normally, the creature not wanting to move—

  The zompire then started to glitch out like the first one, its little ceremonial death taking pce as the zompire melted into pure bck tar and bck ash.

  (Luke’s thoughts) I got one … my first zompire kill…

  With the creature dead, Luke and Loraine looked at each other with exhausted eyes, their bodies drenched with cold sweat to cool them off.

  But the night was already cold enough to begin with.

  Luke then extended his hand towards Loraine, wanting to help her get back up on her feet. Loraine accepted Luke’s hand, her smooth hands grabbing onto Luke’s sweaty and nervous ones.

  (Loraine) Why are you so sweaty?

  (Luke) I just got my first kill, that’s all.

  (Cameron) Oh crap, you guys alright?

  (Ryan) Hey Cam, let’s check them out!

  Two beast people who happened to hear the gunshot ran towards where Luke and Loraine were.

  (Luke) Cam! Ryan!

  (Loraine) Ew, beast humans!

  Luke smacked Loraine’s head hard.