SINS

  Chapter 5: Corruption

  A monster with disrupted features appeared on the door. It had walked passed the room Hiro was in and headed to the other rooms. Hiro remembered Hunter’s words (“They are more ruthless and very sensitive to noise.”) He tried to be as quiet as possible, but his heavy breathing might blow his cover. Hiro peeked out the door and investigated the hall.

  The monster was gone.

  He tried to listen closely to know where it was but the place was dead quiet. He felt his spine curled when he heard something behind him. He turned around to see nothing, but something odd on the wall. It was bending, and it followed the same distortion effect of the monster. The wall distorted into multiple figures and it had opened a hole. Revealing the distorted monster with a sinister smile and drooling with desire for blood.

  “AHHHHH!”

  Hiro ran out of the room. He quickly ran down the stairs and exited the cabin. He was greeted by Hunter and Arlo who were sitting and scraping the floor. Hiro ran towards Hunter and pointed back into the cabin with a horrified look.

  The monster once more appeared. It went through the solid wooden door and walked down the stairs. |BZZZTTTTTKRRRR|

  The two men on the ground were alerted and stood up in a battling position.

  “What the hell is that!?” Said Arlo with a confused face.

  “Don’t ask me! Just kill it!”

  Arlo nabbed the sword on the ground and pointed it at the monster. Hiro saw the weird phenomena again. Arlo had instantly appeared in front of the monster and was ready to swing its sword. He remembers the same thing happening before at the underground bunker when he was carried by Arlo. They were moving at a unbelievable speed, almost as if they were teleporting.

  [What did Arlo just do!? He appeared out of thin air in front of that monster!]

  He glanced at Hunter, he didn’t seem to be bothered at the situation. Arlo had swung his sword at the monster with enormous strength. The nearby bushes and trees had reacted to the strong force and harshly swayed. The air had blown into Hiro and Hunter’s faces and dust headed their way.

  [Arlo… he is strong!] “uughh” Hiro held onto Hunter until the dust had calmed. The wind blew away some of the dust and it showed Arlo standing with his sword in the sky. And the monster untouched, was still standing.

  [What just happened!?] thought hunter [Didn’t Arlo just made a clean cut to that thing? Or did he miss-] “It… went t…” said Arlo mumbling to himself.

  [I’m sure I saw it, my sword went through this thing! It didn’t even leave a scratch!] Arlo backed up “What now!?” he said while looking at Hunter. Hunter was just as surprised as him, but he responded with confidence. “We hit it with full force” His fists went up in flames sending the burned Hiro back. [Fire… but how? Just what are they?]

  “Haha, I like that!” Arlo grinned and pulled his pants before turning to face the distorted monster.

  |AHHHRAAAAHHH| The monster emitted a white noise as it opened its mouth. It lifted one of its relaxed arms and pointed at them. “I-.. on.. ly… nee… d.. to k..ill.. h.. im.” Pointing directly at Hiro.

  “What… How can you speak?” Arlo was frozen in place. Hunter felt the same, his fire was dying slowly by the minute.

  “I… hav…e…bee..n…looki.ng for- you. For, two hundred years-” Arlo showed up out of thin air, and with another great force swung its sword at the monster. Dust scattered everywhere and a greater air force hit Hiro and Hunter, making them step back. “HEY! We gotta run-” Arlo appeared in front of them, signaling them to start running towards the forest. Their faces paled at seeing the sight of Arlo appeared out of nowhere. Especially as they see the monster clinging onto his leg. Its arm had gone through his calf and was holding onto his knee.

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  “I have already touched you” said the monster “No matter how fast you are… you wont escape me”

  “Good” said Hunter, his fist burst with fire like a furnace pushed to the limit. “Don’t move… I will finish this.” Arlo was desperate, he didn’t want to get burned just because the monster was in his leg. “Wait! It wont work-” Hunter quickly smashed his fiery fist into the monster. The intense heat made Arlo and Hiro yelp. The firepower was so strong that Hiro had to look away. After a few seconds he looked back at the scene where the monster would be burn to a crisp.

  “Hraa Hraa” The monster’s laugh sounded like as if it was being cut off for having bad signal. “Get. Out, the way… I, will deal. With you after, I’m finished.. with him” it said with a melting distorted smile. The monster had its hands on the floor so Arlo used this chance to not get near it.

  Hiro had a decent amount of distance from the two men in front. [What just happened? How is he not burned!?]

  “I saw it…” Hunter said with a hopeless face. “My arm… it passed him. Like if it was dismembered and placed into another part of its body in the air.”

  “Yeah…” replied Arlo with an unsure face. “The same thing happened with my sword… We can’t kill this thing… but I’m not leaving with my tail between my legs.” He pointed back towards the forest. “Hiro, run and hide into the forest.” Hiro was shaking his head rejecting what he had said. “THAT’S AN ORDER!”

  Hiro was startled at his sudden temper, then remembered something before he joined.

  +

  “Listen closely.” Said Arlo with a serious face “You are now part of our group, so now you must follow our rules!” He stood up and bumped his fist into his big chest. “I’m the leader of this group, and no matter what I say you must always follow my orders. If you can’t do that I don’t want you in this group. Understood!?”

  Hiro responded with a confident nod. He was sure that no matter what happens he will follow his orders.

  +

  Hiro was now looking at the tempered Arlo. He didn’t want to leave them to die. Even thou they just met, he feels a strong connection with the group. As if it was its own family. He started sobbing and was walking backwards until he bumped into something that prevented him from going back. He slowly turn around to face the being that was behind him and was speechless.

  “Hey, did ya miss me?” Said Henry with a smile and a raised eyebrow. Hiro was relieved to see him, and he let out a sobbing smile.

  Henry walked pass Hiro and dropped the wooden pieces he had collected. “Leave this nasty one to me” he said with a smug. “hmmph” responded Arlo “its all yours”

  The monster stood up, and from its sinister smile a black heavy liquid poured off of it. “Having more of you wont make a diff-” The monster stopped and looked at its arm, it was moving on its own in a very odd way.

  |Crack|

  The monster’s arm moved on its own and violently curved in one direction. Cracking the bones and damaging the skin tissues, resulting in blood pouring out like a fountain. The monster did not respond to the pain, but his eyes widened in surprise.

  “You- what did you just do-” The monster’s body was next. Its lower body twisted in one direction while the upper body twisting the opposite.

  “AAHHRAAA GGHHRRAAAHHHHRAGGG”

  The Monster screeched on top of its lungs and its voice came out like a corrupted record. The monster looked at Hiro “Even if I couldn’t do it… They will be the ones to kill you-!” it said before being twisted to death. The monster fell on the ground and its distortion features were fading. A pool of blood with a mix of a black substance formed and ruined the campfire.

  “Oh, oops… Did you guys needed that?” said Henry with an uncertain smile.

  ----------------------------------------------

  The four of them were around the campfire, outside of the cabin. They decided not to sleep inside since they don’t want to risk another of those things appearing. Henry has been assigned to stay next to Hiro since it seemed that they targeted him. And he was the only one capable to kill those things.

  “brr” Hiro shivered as he felt the cold wind swirl in each hair strand of his body. “Here” said Arlo as he takes off his brown jacket and gives it to Hiro. Henry, who was next to him felt something bitter inside him. Something that made him feel envious.

  The atmosphere was again quiet, and Hiro wanted to break it. He remembered how Hunter’s fists burst on fire, Arlo was teleporting, and Henry killed the monster with only one look. He stood up while holding Arlo’s sweater and pointed at the fire and at Hunter. The three men looked at each other with clueless faces. “Are you asking how Hunter can cook?” said Arlo.

  “No idiot he is asking how I was able to use fire”

  “I knew that! And I’m not dumb!”

  Hunter looked at Hiro with a serious face. “It’s a genetic thing. I’m not sure how it works but every single being has one at least.”

  “Every being has its own unique ability.” Henry interrupted “Some are unfair while others are decent. But you shouldn’t take anyone lightly. In this world the ones who are still alive are because they are strong enough to survive.”

  Hiro looked back at Hunter with more questions. He was making claws with his hands, he pointed at the fire and pointed back at the mountain with the biggest cliff. He meant to ask [why didn’t you use your fire in the first place to kill the monsters back at the mountain with the big cliff?]

  “Well you were someone I just met. I can’t be showing off my ability to anyone I see.”

  Hiro sat down, he was processing the answers from the men. He wondered [could I have one of those “abilities”? Can my ability help me know who I was?] His thoughts was interrupted by the sudden talk from Hunter.

  “You must have been an important person.” He was pushing in the wood further into the fire with a stick. “Could you have… come from the past?”

  Hiro shrugs, he wanted to know that as much as him. “That sounds impossible.” Said Arlo “That thing was probably bluffing, there is no way for it to survive 200 years…”

  “But what if it did?” said Hunter “maybe that explains why it looked weird and blocky. It’s possible that his ability has something to do with time. Tsk. Lucky bastard”

  “I have never seen a dead with an ability” continued Arlo “but I never thought that one could speak…” He looks at Hiro. Hiro felt like if Arlo had regrated taking him in. He was scared to be left alone, yet on this forest with monsters. Where did they originate from?

  Arlo smile with pride. “Mmph, you’re an interesting one! Now I want to know more of who you were”

  Henry’s face looked like a kid who wanted to take part in the conversation.

  “Hey! I just thought of a crazy idea!” he said enthusiastically “What if Hiro actually came from the past with the cure for these monsters and it was actually that small thing Arlo threw away?!”

  Arlo’s face paled

  “Oh…”