Cracking my eyes with alertness, the beating of my heart grew rapidly as I sensed a sensation of unclearness and unease. Getting up from my resting position, I looked around the room; nothing out of the ordinary, I then walked towards the entrance; my heart beated faster. There I saw the still cloth which beckoned me to take a peek at its secrets; I only agreed to differ as I came closer towards the entrance. The winds were silent–the sands stood still; something was amidst–everything felt uncanny. Folding the palm of my hand into a fist, a cold sweat drooped down the side of my face–I reached to fold the cloth and let the brim of my glowing eye peek through the darkness. From the position of sleeping sands, a darkened figure could be spotted from a distance–I squinted to see what it was, its figure was muscular–yet its stoney gray skin ran thin across its bones and tendons, making it look malnourished and sickened. It crouched on its toes as if it was waiting for something; my breath only grew more heavy as I made out more finer details. Its blue-ish whitened veins were clear–its ears were as sharp as the thinnest spikes you could find, and its eyes; its pupils were as blue as the old sky. It was then I realized the only reason I could see its eyes was because it was directly staring at me–unblinking, unmoving–only staring. My skin crawled with all bouts of pins and needles; I quickly reeled back to hide my presence from the creature's notice but as if the creature could read my thoughts–the pressure of winds burst through the entryway–forcibly waking the still cloth and fleeing sands which slept peacefully moments before. Standing right behind the now feigning cloth–the creature stood still–tall and unmoving; I silently hid behind a crate as I watched the creature's fingers slowly crept through the thin sheets which hindered its sight. The slight tear of the fabric made my heart beat even faster, the sharpened claws of the monster were elongated–as if they were prepared to tear flesh from bone; its gnarled teeth were in a row of a twisted smile, its eyes staring straight ahead. Clink! A noise from outside grabbed the creature's attention; it swirled its head towards the noise as if it finally found a target. Fwoosh! Leaving nothing but winds of terror and terrible fabric, the creature was gone–as fast as it came-it left; as if its existence was only a part of my imagination. I could only sit still and widen my eyes for what felt like hours, finally I started counting–and eventually minutes passed quietly without a hinch. I was clear of whatever invaded our camp though I still held fast–gripping the cold handle on the handgun; its position of rest fell onto the right side of my thigh. It was still clear that whatever lurked in the dark was no man nor beast–it was truly something else; a monster.
“Linden, wake up!” Feeling the palm of my hand on the now warm handle of the gun–I was soon awoken from Alaine’s voice, “Hey-Hey, wake up–wake up!” my vision blurred as I tried to concentrate my sight, “A-Ah..what’s..what’s going on?” I stumbley asked. Alaine looked with curiosity and confusion, “Well let me ask first, what’re you doing over here?” putting her hands to her waist, she only pondered. I looked back at her with a covering face, “T-That..I…well…” she again asked another question, “Also, why do you have your hand on your firearm? Did something happen last night?” It was then I finally let go of the handle which bathed in the sweat of my fingers. “U-Uhm..not in..particular…” I statically answered, her face only grew more worried. “Hey, look–if something is going on, please tell me or Dax alright? We’re all comrades here.” I could only look with a sombering face, it was then I quivered my lips to speak; “L-Last night..there–there was…a monster..” Alaine could only listen. It was then I told Alaine everything, from the creeping panic within my chest to the shape of its ears and color of its skin–the unnatural winds and the alien glow of its pupils; everything I saw–I told. “G-God..I’m, I’m sorry Linden..” Alaine could only murmur words of falting comfort, “N-No..I’m sorry, I–didn’t want to tell you…but..” she shook her head, “I understand, to see something and experience something unspeakable..can’t really say I could imagine it..; What’re you two talking about?” walking in, Dax closed the conversation. “Oh..well…” Alaine hesitantly answered. Sometime later–Alaine and Dax finished their conversation and soon after Dax gathered everyone in a group. “Alright..if what Linden saw was true–then it's a fact that we aren’t safe here..” Everyone only stood and looked with worry, “As planned we will be leaving as of today, Vanessa will still be our guide as she seems to have the most knowledge about our location; but I will leave it up to a vote..” standing off his sentence he waited for someone to disagree; there was only silence. “Alright then, if anyone wants to stay for one more night you are welcome to raise your hand” no one raised their hand. Dax looked around for confirmation, “If you are willing to leave as of this moment please, raise your hand..” the whole group raised their hand, I was no different. Dax nodded his head, “Guess it's settled, start gathering your things and wait at the entrance until everyone is finished.” With that–the group gathered everything they had and waited for instructions by the door. “Linden you almost done?” exclaimed Dax, “Y-Yeah–just..retying the heels of this thing” I shouted back. Lifting the beast onto my back once again–we started trekking towards our destination. Taking a look outside–I was the last one behind the group; naturally I took a longer look around for confirmation. It wasn’t until I looked down at my feet did I see some trail of footprints which were half way within the sand–I can only and silently lament towards the night before; everything was real. Walking up some rocky cliffs–the sands flew off with the wind pushing and shoving; giving slight sounds of whispering despite the open area. “I wonder why the wind is so loud here?” questioned Alaine, “Hmm..some say that the small crevices within the rocks bore holes from a war that happened almost a decade ago; and bullet holes are all that's left..” Alaine could only look at Alan with intrigue, “Oh..so..then, do you know who won?” she could only show more curiosity as she walked towards him–Alan with a surprised and flustered look can only flush his cheeks, “A-Ah..W-Well..” trying to compose himself he feignedly coughed “Ahem” clearing his throat–he spoke, “I-I think..about eight or so years ago, the rival gangs at the time had a whole shoot out–it was said to be around this general area..since then, no one really knew who won the battle..since the faction disbanded after a two year stalemate” Alaine’s eyes only sparkled with intrigue, asking more questions about the cliff's history–she could only converse loudly. “No matter where we go or what happens, Alaine will always be Alaine..” Dax chuffed, “You..think so..?” I half heartedly asked. Dax looked at me with neutrality, “Well, it's something to think about; after all it’s still the end of the world” I could only trek on, with the weight behind my back.
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