Chapter 10 Fear

Asia covered herself instinctively as the heat warms her face and skin. She smiled at herself, remembering how she compared warmth to people. She realized now that it was plain stupid.

“Are you ready now, Asia?” Judy asked with a fake smile on her face. Her red hair was tied in a bun.

“Of course she is. We trained her for a week,” John said as he skimmed through the surroundings for their target.

Asia did not respond. She knew Judy expected no response either. Asia had been training extensively with Judy and John for the past week.

But that’s not all, aside from her team’s training, Arlo added more activities to make their training as grueling as possible, like he was punishing them for some mistake they’re not aware of. Every day was a living hell for her as they woke up early in the morning and trained. Arlo made sure that they would increase their stamina and strength. He even focused on their ability to react and think fast. Night time was her favorite as she lay down on the hard bed and fell asleep the instant her back touched the blankets. Asia realized that Ekrons, no matter how strong they were, could also be fatigued from nonstop training.

Normally, Ekrons would feel stronger from the training but Asia felt nothing more than the usual. The only thing she got from the training were sore muscles, weariness and her very own huge sword and cleaver.

And for her very first mission as a trainee, they went to the Omicron Zone, which was supposed to be an agricultural land but now, it’s nothing but an endless view of burnt fields. Houses were destroyed, here and there, one can find burnt corpses.

“It's here,” Judy whispered and faked an excited smile.

John licked his lips and readied his weapons.

Not long after, a huge beast stood in front of them. It does not show any fear or wariness. Instead, it was Asia who felt the dread as she stood behind Judy and John.

The monster had huge claws and brown, hairy skin. It was seven feet tall and its slit eyes were trained on their direction.

Asia felt as both Judy and John tensed in front of her. The monster moved even before one of them managed to press the button at the cleaver.

In an instant, John was pierced through the stomach leaving Judy with her mouth agape. She might have been surprised by how easy John was impaled by the monster.

Asia readied the cleaver in front of her and reached for the huge sword that was at her back. Normally, it would encumber a girl as small as she was but she found its weight easy to bear.

Judy attacked and Asia almost thought that she was lucky to be on Judy's team. She was fast and strong despite using both the cleaver and the sword in each hand. Asia watched, mesmerized.

“She really is a skilled Ekron.” Asia almost jumped at the sound of John's voice. His wounds were slowly healing.

“She really took after Finley, the strongest woman in the city.”

“What’s her relation to Finley?” Asia couldn't help to ask amidst the fear.

“Judy and Finley are sisters. Isn't it obvious with their red hair?”

‘A lot of people had red hair.’ Asia thought without voicing it out.

“Come. Let's join the fun,” John invited her and Asia almost shook her head.

John went to help Judy, ecstatically, yet Asia was still frozen at the same spot. The cleaver was on her hands and was ready to be activated anytime. She took a deep breath wishing that it would grant her a little courage and took the first step.

However, on her first step the monster growled, John and Judy were thrown towards her. Asia was thrown together with them meters away from where she stands. A rumble followed and Asia shivered from it in horror. She looked around and saw hundreds of the same brown creature around them.

Asia's mouth fell open. The sheer number of the monsters around them was enough for her to faint, if not for John who stood up and laughed.

“Well, isn't this a grand entrance?” John asked.

“You said it,” Judy agreed.

The two of them stood up and they defended Asia.

“You are such an unlucky trainee,” Judy commented. There were no more fake smiles on her face.

Asia tried to stand but her knees failed her again. She looked around and studied the newly arrived monsters, she could almost smell the stink of the dumps.

The monsters stormed all at once and Asia closed her eyes and cowered. She could hear the monsters attack. She could hear the sound of the cleaver as it sliced through the monsters. She could hear Judy and John heaving. She could feel the thudding on the ground as each monster fell, impaled.

Yet, Asia chose to cover her ears, defeated by her own fears. Then she remembered Arlo's words during the past week.

"Last year, a monster killed and banished forty of our Ekrons in a single night and is still at large. Its origins are unknown and in case you encountered an overpowering monster like that. Run."

Is it really a monster? Or monsters?

Asia found her strength again and looked around for Judy and John. Only, they were nowhere to be found. Instead two cleaver, its electric edge still open, were lying on the ground. On each of its handles was a dismembered hand, hands that previously belonged to both Judy and John.

Asia fell down again as the courage she arduously gathered vanished like thin air. The monsters slowly approached her. She thought she cried out of fear but maybe it was just a hallucination of her imminent death.

The monster simultaneously growled at her and she almost fainted if only she was not frozen by terror. She could smell the stink in the air. Then she saw Ernest. He was standing in front of her, cleaver in hand. On either side of him was his team.

The scene played fast in front of her. While she was uselessly shivering in fear, the three Ekrons fought off the monsters. She watched how Ernest's team was devoured by the monsters and how she admired Ernest's strength and flexibility at using his weapons.

Ernest backed off as his team finally got devoured leaving only their hands that were holding the still functioning cleaver.

“Snap out of it, Asia!” Ernest screamed at her.

But Asia just stared as one of the monsters approached them.

“Asia!” Ernest shouted again. “Run!”

Asia did not respond. Ernest hit her across the face and she was immediately brought back to reality. She settled her eyes on Ernest.

“Are you back, Asia?” Ernest asked. There was an edge on his voice as the monsters approached them.

Asia nodded.

“Listen well. We are going to run. I can't defeat this number of monsters.”

Asia nodded again.

Ernest stood up and faced the monsters.

“Stay close to me,” he added.

Moments after, a shrill scream escaped Asia's mouth. Hairy hands pulled her away from Ernest. Ernest looked behind him and saw when Asia was about to get eaten by a monster. The other monsters encircled her and Asia could see the panic and fear in Ernest's face.

‘Ernest should just run away. He could survive this.’ Asia thought. She felt the first teeth on her skin and prepared herself for the first bite. She searched for the sword at her back. She will not suffer from being eaten to death.

Then she felt as something she could not describe enveloped Ernest and fear vanished on his face. He ran like the speed of sound and killed three monsters in one stroke. Almost like Arlo.

The monster holding Asia released her. Within minutes, no traces of the monsters could be found, instead a bath of blood was left.

Asia warily approached Ernest. His face devoid of any emotion as he stared at the pool of blood in front of him.

“Ernest? You can stop acting now. You can be afraid,” Asia suggested.

“Afraid? Afraid of what?” Ernest asked as he cocked his head towards her. He did not even bother to look behind the fallen Ekrons.

“Thanks for saving me,” Asia said instead, perplexed at Ernest's reactions.

“Let's go back to Ashkelon. My head is killing me and I wanted to see Pat,” Ernest answered.

After managing a few steps, Ernest fell unconscious in front of her.

To be continued………