The night was at its peak. The sounds of monsters growling and howling echoed throughout the entire town.
In the midst of it. Nicolas was in his room beside the window, bathed in moonlight.
He was trying to decipher the riddles that were his only hope to get out of this cursed town.
Nicolas muttered to himself.
"The lock has no shape? which lock has no shape?" he continued "Is this something carved in a mountain or something?"
A thought had been bothering Nicolas for a few days.
"Why are these puzzles here? who made them? Are they meant to give hope to the people who got trapped here? or is it something else? i don't know."
"I am feeling sleepy."
So much had already happened to them today, yet Nicolas was still pushing himself to decipher the riddle. But his body did not agree with him. It needed rest.
His eyes closed, his head fell onto the pillow, and he fell asleep.
…
Nicolas woke up.
He turned towards the window. It was still night. The moon was shining brightly in the sky. Then, he noticed something.
A shadow. Not of a monster. Not of an animal, but of a human.
"Am I hallucinating? Or is this really a person outside?"
Nicolas rubbed his eyes. But it was still there. The shadow was standing there. It wore a cloak. It looked as if it had been watching him the entire time.
"I don't think it's Sierra or Claire. Judging by the build, I guess it's a man"
Nicolas suddenly remembered. The same shadow-like appearance that had appeared in front of him. Before the incident of shifting town that happened to them.
Nicolas didn't waste any time and picked the rod that he stored under the bed. He went outside the house. silently, moving carefully.
The man saw him coming. He moved back and disappeared into the swamp of monsters. He was walking among the monsters as if in a crowd of people in the market. without any fear or hesitation.
Nicolas was shocked. He silently put his rod on the ground and He tried to slip past them without catching their attention. Suddenly, a monster noticed him.
GHHAAAHAHHH
Nicolas's heartbeat became raced like a moving train. He stood and started walking normally with a smile on his face that was saying. "you are doomed". The monsters were staring at him.
"Fuck," he muttered, his casual stroll instantly shifted into a fast, heavy-footed march. "My,"
he panted, his chest heaving as he leaned forward and exploded into a desperate, full-blown sprint. "Life!!!"
The monsters also started following him.
GHHAAAAHHH
The house was not far from Nicolas. He jumped into a narrow passageway. That was the entrance of the house. He started crawling to get in.
Then, a monster grabbed his leg.
"fuckkk!!!"
The monster pulled him and threw him outside of the passageway.
He was slammed into a wall and went into the building by breaking through it.
SLAAMMM!!!
"Aaahhh." Nicolas was trembling in pain.
Then, he saw monsters coming towards him. He managed to stand, barely alive. His body was covered in wounds.
"What should I do? How do I get out from this situation?..." Thoughts flooded Nicolas's mind.
He started limping toward the next room, hoping to lose them. There was a door to go outside. Nicolas went outside.
A thought suddenly came to Nicolas' mind after seeing the sky.
He said while looking at the sky.
"The dawn is just around the corner."
The morning was about to come. He just needed to survive till then. Nothing else came to his mind.
He went into a house and went up the stairs to reach the terrace of the house. He had a plan. The monsters were following him.
He reached the terrace and saw the houses beside it.
He looked at one house and said.
"This one."
He jumped onto that house's terrace. He limped and hid behind a wall.
When the monsters came onto the terrace. He wasn't there. They searched for him. But Nicolas forgot one thing. His body was covered in the blood and the monsters' senses were sharp as a predator's.
They smelled him and jumped to the terrace while running towards him.
"Can't they eat vegetables? or Am I that tasty to be chasing me like that?"
Nicolas started running to another roof.
"Can I jump from here? Doesn't matter, I just don't wanna get eaten alive by these monsters."
The roof was too far to jump to in his current, weakened state while limping.
He moved two steps back while trying to run toward the edge and jumped toward the terrace.
Monsters were just a foot away from him.
He didn't reach the terrace. his body slammed into the building, crashing through wall and into the house.
"AHHHHH!!!" he was suffering from excessive pain.
He couldn't get up this time. His body had reached its limit.
The monsters reached him.
"Guess, My story ends here."
Nicolas thought. He accepted his death. There was no hope left in him.
A monster was about to attack him.
Then... a light—a ray of light fell upon him.
All the monsters turned into ashes.
Nicolas said with a smile.
"Guess. My story has some chapters left to end" and fell unconscious.
After some time. He heard a voice.
"Nic.. Nicolas"
He opened his eyes slightly and closed again. It was Sierra.
He woke up. He was in bed. Wearing a thin white sheet above his body.
Claire was beside him in a chair. She was sleeping.
He tried to sit slowly. Claire woke from her sleep.
"Nic.. Nicolas slowly. Let me help you sit up."
He said as he sat up by himself.
"Nah... I am fine."
Sierra just entered the room.
She saw Nicolas. and said.
"So, you woke up."
"hmmm"
He asked.
"How much time was I asleep for?"
"Four days."
"Four days?"
"Yeah. When I found you, you were covered in blood and wounds all around your body." She continued. "I tended to your wounds. You can see for yourself"
He suddenly noticed. His whole body was covered in bandages. and his clothes were gone.
Nicolas looked disheartened.
Sierra said after seeing Nicolas' face.
"Don't worry. No bones are broken."
Nicolas said in frustration.
"That's not the issue here."
She asked.
"So, what is?"
"Just forget it."
Claire asked in the middle.
"What were you doing out there?"
Nicolas fell silent.
After a brief pause. He said.
"I woke up in the middle of the night. when I looked toward the window. There was a man standing in a cloak there. He was standing at some distance away. It looked as if he was watching me." He continued. "So... I went outside. But that guy disappeared among the monsters and all the monsters came after me."
They were shocked.
"A man? Didn't the monsters attack him?"
"Nah. He was walking casually among them."
Nicolas asked.
"Grandma, Have you ever seen another person besides us here?"
"No, you were the first."
A thought came to Claire's mind.
"Wait. Could he be Steve?"***