I step forward, towards the beast. Inching closer, meter by meter. Eventually, I threw the rock, and it landed heavily on the ground.
The beast's head snapped to the rock, and then snapped to me. With a guttural snarl, it started dashing for me.
Without a hint of hesitation, I turned around and ran. I turned the corner, where we had just been.
The beast, mindless as it was, followed. Just before it turned the corner, Julian hauled a large rock. It fell towards the beast, and it made contact with its head.
THUMP
'Now,' I mentally confirmed to Keira.
With predatory glee, she charged from the stalls. Her face contorted in a savage smile. She swung the mace full power towards the beast's head, and with a wet sound, its head collapsed.
[You have slain a dormant beast, City Hunter's cub.]
Julian's face paled slightly from the gore. Keira was still smiling.
Suddenly, a thought struck me. And all of our faces froze, before forming a massive, identical frown.
"Only a tyrant can make offspring like that. And considering that's just a pup... the tyrant is probably awakened." I whispered, dread settling in my stomach.
Julian just started trembling, repeating "I told you so" over and over.
Keira... her grin returned, only wider.
"Hold on! There are three of us, and the spell never gives impossible nightmares. They are trials, not executions."
Julian calmed slightly. The shaking was still there, but his near delirious paranoia was subdued. Keira didn't move.
"Listen carefully, we explore, we gather information, we gear up, and we locate the monster. Keep eyes on it, formulate a plan. We need to clear this nightmare, not kill that monster." I stated, with calmness that surprised even myself.
I felt almost... delusional, not in the sense of trying to accomplish an impossible task, but in how right it felt to say it. Like, failure wasn't even a variable. Like I could bend the entire nightmare to my will if I just kept walking forward, one step at a time, the calm wasn't a lack of fear. It was a conviction so rigid it almost felt like madness.
I shake my head, trying to rid myself of the thoughts. 'No, that definitely isn't normal. Is it the flaw? Has it already manifested?'
Keira just nodded, a predatory grin spreading across her face. She brought the bloodied mace to her lips and tasted it, eyes fluttering slightly like she was savoring wine.
My face scrunched up instinctively. Julian flinched as if her gesture had triggered a landmine beside him. I didn't say anything. There were more immediate problems to solve.
"Julian," I said, voice steady. "Focus. We need shelter and basic resources. The beast might give us meat. Can we use it?"
He blinked. Once. Twice. Then his breath came out sharp, his posture snapping back into razor tension.
"If its tissues aren't corrupted, it may be edible. I'll boil a sample and monitor the response. Watch for decay. No raw consumption." His eyes flicked to Keira. "This isn't your feeding ground."
She rolled her eyes and crouched beside the corpse, wrenching a jagged fang loose with a wet crack. "Calm down. I'm not that feral, just hungry."
Julian didn't answer. He was already scanning the sky, calculating lines of sight, points where enemies could ambush.
"There's a bell tower northeast, collapsed, but elevated. If the base is intact, it could serve as a temporary stronghold. Debris for barricades. Blind spots are limited."
I nodded. "Keira, help me haul it. No use wasting the body."
Her grin changed slightly, bordering on scary. "Finally. A real carcass."
We moved together, fast, fluid, disturbingly in sync. Keira dragged the beast like it was a prize kill. Julian never stopped watching the shadows. I led, not because I considered myself the strongest, but because I refused to let us drift.
We moved in the direction Julian had indicated. The beast's carcass dragged heavily behind us, but Keira didn't complain. If anything, she was enjoying it. Soft giggles sounded from her lips every few minutes.
"Keira! Shut up!" Julian hissed, his voice sharp and brittle.
"You're fraying my nerves."
She gave a theatrical pout, still dragging the corpse with one hand.
"Well, excuse me, Mr. Coward," she drawled. "Some of us celebrate our kills."
I just sighed.
"Guys, we're almost at the bell tower. Focus."
Their bickering finally died down. Julian returned to scanning every shadow like his eyes were cameras, fingers twitching against the edge of his coat. Keira kept dragging the corpse, practically skipping at this point.
Soon, we arrived.
The bell tower jutted from the bleak skyline like a cracked bone, weathered and leaning, but still intact. Its spire was partially collapsed, but the base held strong. Its entrance is wide and flanked by ruined stone, littered with debris from shattered glass and wood.
Julian stopped in front of the structure, muttering quietly to himself.
"Open field around the perimeter, minimal blind spots. The eastern side has a partial wall collapse… good fallback route. Western windows intact, offering a line of sight. Doorway choke point. Elevated interior. Good acoustics, echoes'll warn us. Debris inside can be rearranged for barricades." He nodded to himself, fast and small. "It works."
Keira just snorted. "You done running your checklist, nerd?"
He ignored her completely and turned to me.
"We clear it first."
"Got it," I said, stepping forward.
The inside was cold and stale, the floor littered with broken pews and ash. The bell itself hung above, warped but intact. Light filtered in through shattered stained glass, casting crooked rainbows across the cracked stone floor.
Keira dropped the beast's carcass just outside the entrance and cracked her knuckles.
"Home sweet home," she said with a smirk.
I didn't smile. I kept my eyes on the walls. It might not be much, but for now, it was shelter.
I turned to Julian.
"Julian, we need a fire to boil the carcass. And we need water. Ideas?"
He didn't answer immediately. His eyes were darting around the interior like he was mapping the place in real time. Then he crouched, ran his fingers through some of the rubble, and stood.
"There was a collapsed storeroom two blocks back. Wood from there might still be dry under the stone." He tapped his temple.
"We'll need to test for rot. And water…" He glanced up, eyes narrowing. "There's a guttering system along the upper edge of the tower. If we're lucky, it's still channeling rainwater into the base well."
Keira yawned theatrically. "Or we could just light the damn thing and roast it like cavemen."
"No," Julian snapped. "If you want to poison yourself, be my guest."
I nodded. "We stick to boiling. Safety over speed."
Julian tilted his head slightly, eyes still roaming. "I'll check the well. You two start clearing a space for the fire."
Keira cracked her neck and stretched, grinning. "Fine, fine. Just don't fall into the well, paranoid boy."
We got to work. Efficient. Quiet. Focused.
I was just a normal teenager yesterday. How had I turned into such a workaholic? All three of me.