Interval 4 – Basilisk
Kingdom of Night, 4192
Alan's POV
How did it get so bad? I thought as I walked out of an office building, Novi and I were leaning on each other, on the sidewalk and in the street there were several dead bodies of SHADES, they were slowly disappearing in black smoke, looking back I saw the reception of the building full of SHADES dead, if anyone entered the building they could see the corpses strewn across the hallways and up the stairs to a room of cubicles where we were fighting.
Novi and I didn't come out unscathed, I had a cut going left to right just below my eyes, blood was running down my face, I also had three cuts on my chest and one on the left side of my torso thanks to a SHADE who got too close, Novi had received a blow to the head, blood flowed from her forehead towards her eyes, she also had a cut on her wrist and right shoulder.
"Let's go home before more arrive." Novi said beside me as she pointed her Colt 1878 down the street in search of any SHADE.
"I agree, I am exhausted." I slung my Colt Lightning Carbine over my left shoulder, and we slowly walked down the street, but we couldn't get far as the ground started to shake.
"What the fuck is this?!" Novi screamed as she held on to me.
"I don't know!" I screamed as I tried to keep my balance, but I couldn't, Novi and I fell to the ground.
Suddenly, the shaking stopped.
"Ended?" Novi asked as she got to her feet.
"I think so." I said while holding my carbine with both hands, looking to the side I saw Novi reloading her revolver, Novi and I used a series of belts around the body to carry the ammunition, I decided to do the same.
Fortunately SHADE did not tear the ammo belt that went across my chest, in it, I carried the carbine ammo and in a belt around my waist I carried the Colt Single Action Army ammo and in the side pocket of my pants I carried the ammo of my Winchester Model 1894, reloaded all my guns, now I only have ammo left in the guns, the rest is at our house.
In other words, I have six shots from a revolver, twelve from a carbine, and nine from a rifle.
"Do you still have ammo?" I asked Novi as she finished reloading her weapons.
"Only the one on the guns." Novi said as she finished reloading her Burnside Carbine.
"Damn it! And the dynamite?" Please tell me you still have it.
"I only have one more." Novi said as she pulled a stick of dynamite from a pocket in her pants.
"Better than nothing. Let's go… Let's go, I just want to rest." She said as she started to walk away.
"You're not the only one." Novi said as she walked beside me.
Then the ground started to shake again.
"Again!" Novi screamed.
I couldn't answer as the asphalt below us began to crack, the ground opened up, and Novi and I fell into the hole that formed.
"AAAHHH!" We screamed as we fell.
Alan's POV
"My head!" I said, as I got up, I started to look around me; I was in a kind of stone and concrete tunnel. I immediately held my nose, this place stank horribly, and looking down to the floor I saw water running around my boots. I was in the city sewer.
"Novi! Novi!" I screamed through the sewer tunnels, my screams echoing off the wall.
"Alan!" I heard Novi's screams echoing too, I started to run towards the scream, my boots squeaking in the water, I kept running in a straight line.
"Alan!" I heard Novi's scream, it seemed to be coming from ahead, the sewer divided with tunnels left and right in several places.
"Alan!" It seemed to be coming from the right ahead, I quickly entered the tunnel to the right only to collide with something large, I was thrown to the ground, when I got up I noticed what I had bumped into.
My eyes widened, and I started to shiver at the thing I saw in front of me.
"Alan!" I heard Novi's voice; it was coming from behind that thing.
"Alan!" She was here somewhere. I pointed my carbine at the thing and pulled the trigger.
BANG!
"RRROOOAAARRR!"
The thing roared as the lead rain hit its face, I got up quickly and started running in the opposite direction, I can't get to Novi with this thing in my path, and I heard the sound of the thing sliding behind me, the thing made a noise familiar.
"SSSSHHHH!"
The sound of a snake.
As I ran, I went back to my previous thought. How did it get so bad?
Kingdom of Night, 4191
Alan's POV
"Faster!" Novi yelled at me.
"I am trying!" I replied.
"Well, you are not trying hard enough!" Novi replied.
"What fault do I have? I've never done this before!" I said to Novi.
"It's time to learn! Use your hands!"
"But I am using my hands!"
Why is this so difficult? I was sitting at Novi's kitchen table with my rifle disassembled in front of me, Novi was teaching me how to assemble, disassemble and maintain my weapons.
"Again!" Novi said as she turned over an hourglass that was on the table.
And I repeated the process I've been doing all day, that of assembling and disassembling my gun, soon all the sand had passed from one side of the hourglass to the other, I didn't finish assembling the rifle until ten seconds later.
"Still not fast enough! I want that rifle ready to fire in less than thirty seconds! Again!" Novi turned the hourglass over, and I repeated the process again.
"Listen here! It's just you and me against the SHADES of this city, if you want to survive you better know how to ready a weapon in the blink of an eye, because I won't always be here to save you, and I want to be able to count on you if I need help! You got it?" Novi asked as she slammed her hand down on the table.
"Yes ma'am!" I answered as if I were a soldier.
"Excellent! So keep trying!"
Months later I was finally able to prepare all my weapons as if it came naturally to me, but my training didn't end there, now that I knew how to assemble a weapon, it came to loading and unloading the weapon.
TIMESKIP
"Three, two, one, now!" Novi screamed as she turned the hourglass over in her hand, the sand started to fall, and I did what Novi was trying to teach me.
I opened the barrel of the revolver in my left hand and began to reload it with my right hand, I took the ammunition that was in my belt and put it in the barrel, closed the barrel of the revolver and pulled the hammer with my thumb.
"Still not fast enough, I want these weapons loaded in less than a minute! Again!"
And the training continued, I spent a few more weeks training how to quickly load and unload a gun, revolver, rifle, and carbine. As Novi said to me a long time ago, due to my lack of training, I have to do intensive training.
TIMESKIP
"You've been doing well so far, but it's time to learn how to fire a gun! So do as I taught you!" Novi said, as she placed glass bottles on top of wooden boxes at the back of her house, the boxes were at different distances.
"Right!" I removed the revolver from my holster and started reloading it, in a few seconds the revolver was ready, I pulled the hammer, pointed at the bottle that was closest to me and pulled the trigger.
BANG!
The sound of the shot echoed through the backyard of the house, but I wasn't prepared for the recoil of the weapon, my arm was thrown upwards, I ended up missing the shot and hitting a tree.
"Congratulations! You showed that poor tree who's boss! Unfortunately, there isn't a SHADE here, because if there were, you'd be dead by now!" Novi said while clapping her hands sarcastically.
"I will make you eat those words." I said to Novi, I pulled the dog back and aimed for the bottle, this time bracing myself for the kick.
BANG!
I missed again, but this time I was closer to hitting the bottle.
"Sorry, what did you say again? What was going to make me eat my words? Well, I'm waiting for you to do it!" Novi said as she stopped beside me, her face close to mine, I tried not to blush at the closeness.
"Wait and you will see!" I took aim at the bottle once more.
"Of course, as if you were…" Novi was about to say something, but was cut off by the sound of gunfire.
BANG!
CRASH!
Novi looked in surprise at what was left of the bottle, "Who knew? You did better than most."
"What can I say? I learn fast." I said as I turned to Novi, a cocky smile on my face and the gun pointed up with smoke pouring from its barrel.
"Of course, but you still have a lot to learn before you reach my level." Novi said as she walked past me and stood facing the bottles.
Then Novi did something that I only thought was possible in old west movies, in the blink of an eye Novi removed her revolver from the holster, with her right hand she pulled the trigger and with her left hand she pulled the hammer, with a quick draw Novi shot from her hip.
BANG!
CRASH!
BANG!
CRASH!
BANG!
CRASH!
Novi had hit all the bottles accurately, my eyes widened, and my mouth hit the ground, Novi then twirled the revolver around on her index finger and put it back in the holster, she then approached me with a smug smile on her face.
"Keep trying and someday maybe you can do it." Novi said as she pinched my cheek and flicked my face left and right.
I quickly grabbed her hand and wrapped my hands around it and brought my face close to hers, "Teach me this, please." She said as she looked Novi in the eyes.
She looked me in the eyes for a few seconds, suddenly her face started to turn red, and she let go of my hand, "Idiot! Focus on your training! If you do well, I'll teach you how to do this trick."
"Leave it to me! I will not disappoint!" I said as I smiled at Novi.
"I will wait." Novi said smiling.
So my training continued, for months I practiced shooting bottles at different distances. But not without some difficulties.
TIMESKIP
"3, 2, 1, Go!" Novi screamed.
I removed the carbine from my back, started to load it with the ammunition attached to an ammunition belt that was on my chest, I got into firing position, with the carbine resting on my shoulder, and I pumped the bottom of the carbine, aimed at one of the bottles and pulled the trigger.
BANG!
The carbine flew out of my hands and landed somewhere behind me, I stood in the position I was trying to process what had happened, the only thing in front of me was a cloud of smoke that came out of the gun.
SLAP!
I was pushed forward by a slap I received on the back of my head, it was Novi, and she was looking at me with a disappointed look.
"Looking for this?" She asked me as she showed me the carbine in her hands.
I didn't answer, just accepted the gun, embarrassed.
Novi then sighed and patted me on the shoulder, "Keep trying." She said as she walked away.
Luckily Novi didn't just tell me what to do, she also helped me practically, but I needed to control myself sometimes, that practical help often involved proximity and when you're alone in a city with a pretty girl by your side, I can end up creating an embarrassing situation if I let my imagination run wild.
TIMESKIP
I had my rifle ready to shoot at a bottle that was further away, according to Novi, this part of the training served to learn how to hit distant SHADES.
"3, 2, 1, Go!" Novi screamed.
I removed the rifle from my back, started to load it with the ammo that was in my pocket, pulled the lever that was on the bottom of the rifle near the trigger, assumed the position to fire, but was interrupted by Novi.
"Wait!"
"What's it!" I asked as I turned to her.
"Your posture is wrong." Novi said as she approached me.
Novi then approached me from behind and started correcting my posture, I felt her body pressed against my back and her hands touching mine, I felt my face starting to heat up.
"Okay, try it now." I heard Novi's voice close to my ear; I shuddered a little at her voice.
Let's try it now, I held my breath, aimed at the bottle and pulled the trigger.
BANG!
CRASH!
"You are getting better." Novi said from behind me.
"What can I say? I have a great teacher." I said to Novi.
I noticed something, Novi was still holding me, we stayed like that for a few minutes without saying anything, so I decided to break the silence, and it was getting awkward.
"Novi?"
"Yes?"
"Can you let me go?"
I felt Novi flinch slightly, so she let go of me, I turned to Novi and saw that her face was red.
"If you want to hold me that badly, then be my guest." I said to Novi playfully.
Novi's face turned even redder; suddenly, Novi tripped me and knocked me to the ground.
"Idiot!" Novi said as she walked away.
I laughed a little as Novi walked away, until life in the far future isn't so bad after all.
Time passed and my training continued.
TIMESKIP
Novi and I were practicing hand-to-hand combat and once again I couldn't lay a hand on Novi, I was thrown to the ground again and again.
Then there was the training to improve my physique, squats, push-ups, running around town, as time went on the training got easier which Novi stepped up to it, it was hell, but the muscles started to form in my body, how I wish I had this body while I was still living in the past, in fact, I wish I had known Novi in the past. What would our life have been like in a normal world without monsters?
Sometimes the SHADES could be a problem.
TIMESKIP
Kingdom of Night, 4192
Alan's POV
The SHADES were really a problem!
"Pedal faster!" Novi yelled after me.
"I am trying!" I yelled back.
How did it get so bad? As I fled on a bike with Novi on the back with my feet on a rack that was on either side of the rear wheel and my hands gripping my shoulders.
My mind raced back to the strange events that had taken place over the past few days. The SHADES were disappearing, each day we saw less and less of them, until one day Novi and I were walking through the city streets in search of some animal to hunt.
It was quiet, very quiet, we both had a bad feeling, suddenly the manhole covers popped off, shop doors opened, screams started coming out of the alleys, it was a horde of SHADES, and we had fallen into a trap.
We had to get away somehow, I saw a bike lying in the street next to us, it looked to be in good condition, so I got on the bike, and Novi got on soon after, so we fled with the horde behind us.
"They are coming!" Novi screamed.
"I know!" I replied.
A SHADE jumped out of an alley in front of us.
BANG!
SHADE was missing a piece of its head, my ears hurt from the noise, and Novi had drawn her revolver and shot SHADE.
"Keep pedaling until you lose them! I shoot those who stayed in front!" Novi screamed as she fired at another SHADE.
BANG!
Another SHADE was taken out of our way with a headshot.
So I kept pedaling, dodging cars and debris, taking sharp turns, but the SHADES were still chasing us.
"Over there!" Novi said as she pointed to an alley to our right.
As I approached the alley, I pulled the brake on the bicycle's rear wheel, the bicycle slid along the street in an arc until it was facing the entrance to the alley, I was going to continue pedaling, but I was stopped by Novi.
"Stop!" Novi yelled at me.
"What do you mean stop?! The SHADES are coming!" I called out to Novi. Had she gone mad?
Novi then took a stick of dynamite from one of her pockets and lit the fuse.
"Novi, what are you doing?!" I screamed as the SHADES approached.
"Wait." Novi said as she held the dynamite and watched the horde, the fuse was still burning.
"Novi! Just throw that thing away and let's go!"
"Wait." She answered me.
Then Novi dropped the dynamite right behind us at the entrance to the alley, and then she grabbed my shoulders tightly and screamed.
"GO! GO! GO! GO!" It took a while for me to process what Novi was saying, but my brain finally kicked in, and I pedaled down the alley.
Looking back over my shoulder I saw the horde arriving at the entrance to the alley, due to the abundance of SHADES and the size of the alley they were trapped, some SHADES passed through the dynamite on the ground, but they could not go far because…
BOOM!
The dynamite had exploded, pieces of SHADES flew, shop windows shattered, a crater opened in the alley, for a moment all was silent, but suddenly the rest of the horde broke through the cloud of smoke that the explosion had created.
"Holy crap!" I kept pedaling, the hour chasing us with fury.
We continued fleeing through the alleys of the city, but eventually we came out onto a main street, when I turned the corner I ended up facing a wall of SHADES, I pulled the bike brake, but due to the speed that Novi and I were, we ended up skidding down the street, we roll along the ground until we stop in front of a building.
"Motherfucker!" Novi screamed as she got to her feet.
"I'm very sorry!" I called out to Novi.
We were surrounded, there were SHADES on our right and the horde was coming on our left, looking back I saw the entrance to a building, there is only one place to go now.
"This way!" I called out to Novi as I ran towards the entrance to the building.
"I am going!" Novi screamed, a SHADE jumped towards him, Novi quickly drew her carbine and shot the SHADE in the chest.
BANG!
SHADE's body was riddled with holes; Novi removed the empty shells from inside her carbine and reloaded her gun, then followed me into the building.
For the first time in my life I hated modern architecture, the entrance door to the building was a sliding glass door, I was holding the door, when Novi passed I closed the door with some effort, there was a reception at the entrance to the building.
"Help me here!" Novi yelled at me.
Novi was pushing the wooden reception desk towards the door, I went behind the desk and helped her, and we placed the desk horizontally in front of the door, forming a barricade.
That gave us a few seconds of relief, but…
CRASH!
A SHADE just threw itself towards the glass door; blood stained the cracked part where the SHADE had hit.
I felt a hand on my shoulder, I jumped with fright, and it was Novi.
"Follow me!" Novi said, as she pointed to the stairs leading up.
We started to go up the stairs, as we went up we could hear the sound of the SHADES throwing themselves against the door, we went up until we reached the fifth floor, we entered a room and closed the door behind us, looking around I saw we were in a room of cubicles, this was an office building.
CRASH!
We heard the sound of the glass door shattering.
CRASH!
That must have been the sound of the wooden counter being crushed.
"Let's barricade the door!" Novi yelled at me.
Together we started blocking the entrance door to the room, tables, chairs, computers, water fountains and the coffee machine.
"Well, that seems to be it. We will probably die today." Novi said to me as she pointed her carbine towards the door.
"Hm! There must be something we can do!" I approached the office window, it was a glass window that went from the ceiling to the floor, looking down I could see the entrance to the building and the SHADES below. I started looking around the office. I have an idea.
I ran towards a large printer that was in the office.
"Novi come here!" I called Novi to help me.
"I am going! So what's your plan?" Novi asked.
"Help me throw this down there!"
Novi nodded her head, understanding my plan. Together we push the printer towards the window, we pick up great speed pushing the printer, then…
CRASH!
The printer fell from the fifth floor towards the SHADES below, several horde members were crushed.
"Quick! Start throwing heavy stuff down there!" Said to Novi.
We started throwing tables out the window smashing SHADES, slowly we were getting the horde numbers down, there was a small kitchen in the office, Novi and I managed to rip one of the kitchen cupboards off the wall, screws long rusted.
"Anything else left?" Novi asked me.
I looked around the office; there was nothing heavy left to throw.
"No." I said with a sigh.
"Well…" Novi took dynamite out of her pocket, lit it and threw it down, a few seconds passed then…
BOOM!
The dynamite exploded, and several SHADES were torn to pieces.
"Do you still have dynamite?" Novi asked.
I started checking the various pockets of my pants.
"I have three."
"Pass it over!" I handed the dynamite to Novi.
Novi then proceeded to light the dynamites and shoot them down at intervals.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
The dynamites exploded, opening holes in the facade of the building and leveling the horde, Novi then drew her rifle and started shooting at the SHADES below.
I was going to draw my rifle too and help Novi, but I was stopped by the barricade in the swaying door.
CRASH!
The SHADES have finally reached this floor.
"They are here, aren't they?" Novi asked me as she continued shooting.
"Yes." I said to Novi.
"Hm! So this is how we will die?"
"Probably." I replied while pointing my carbine at the door.
"It's not that bad; at least I'll die fighting."
"I would rather die old in my sleep, without pain, and knowing I've lived a good life."
"Wow, what a boring death."
"I'm sorry, but I don't have a warrior mentality like you do."
"That's proof you're a softie."
"Wow, how encouraging, I'm glad to hear what you think of me."
"If we survive, I will tell you what I really think of you."
"What did you say?"
"Nothing!"
CRASH!
The door was starting to crack.
"You know, I'm glad I met you." Novi said to me.
"I am also glad to have met you." Said to Novi.
"Not going to lie, the loneliness was killing me, when I met you at the hospital I felt a little bit of happiness."
"I will be honest, I am grateful that you taught me how to survive, if not for you, I would have died a long time ago, so thank you."
CRASH!
A hand made of darkness crossed the door, the hand moved away and on the other side I could see SHADE's white eyes staring at me.
"Hey!" Novi called me.
"Yes?"
"If we survive, would you like to go out with me?"
"Like a date?"
"Yes."
"I would love."
"Then survive, it wouldn't be fun to go on a date alone."
"Same goes for you; let's go out to dinner when this is all over."
"You'll pick up the check."
"Considering how much you eat, my wallet will be lighter."
"Are you calling me fat?"
"N-no."
"That's what I thought."
CRASH!
The door was knocked down, and the SHADES started to come in, well done Alan, that's what you've been training for all this time, the first SHADE ran towards me, it was a being made of darkness with claws on its hands and feet, it wore a manhole cover as a breastplate and in his right hand he carried a metal pipe.
As I aimed my carbine at the SHADE, I realized I couldn't fire. What was happening? Shoot Alan!
I couldn't pull the trigger, my hand started to shake as SHADE approached. Shoot Alan!
Isn't this what I trained for? Why am I standing here? Then I realized what was happening, I was scared. Training to fight SHADES was one thing, but seeing one running towards me, fear took over my body. Shoot Alan!
Otherwise, you will die!
Shoot!
Do you really want to be ripped to shreds by that thing?!
Shoot!
Do you want the last thing you'll see before you die is a pair of empty white eye?!
Shoot!
Don't you want to know how you got here?! What happened to the world after the dragon and the giant appeared?!
Shoot!
Shoot or Novi will die!
When SHADE leapt onto a table and then leapt towards me, I pulled the trigger.
BANG!
Kingdom of Night, 4192
Alan's POV
I kept running through the sewers, the thing was still behind me, I could hear it hissing, it was close.
"SSSSHHHH!"
Without looking back, I pointed my carbine behind me and pulled the trigger.
BANG!
"RRROOOAAARRR!"
The thing roared in pain, slowed by the shot, which gave me time to get away, and as I ran I heard Novi's voice again.
"Alan!" She was close by.
I kept running until I reached a large square room.
"Novi!" I screamed.
"Alan! Here!" Looking up, I saw Novi standing on an X-shaped metal walkway above me.
Novi waved at me and I waved back.
"SSSHHHH!"
The thing was coming.
I walked away from the entrance to the room and saw the thing in its entirety. It was a large serpent with black scales, bright yellow eyes staring at me.
"Novi, is this one of the monstrous SHADES you spoke of?"
"Yes!" Novi shouted from the top of the walkway, she drew her rifle and aimed it at the snake.
The serpent opened its mouth to reveal two large fangs and a forked tongue.
BANG!
"RRROOOAAARRR!"
Only for that tongue to be ripped out by Novi's rifle fire.
"Do you like this motherfucker?!" Novi called down from the walkway.
The snake recovered from the shot and slid across the floor towards me, I rolled to the left letting the snake pass right by me, then I realized that I was not the snake's target, but Novi.
The serpent raised its body as it approached the platform and tried to bite Novi.
"Shit!" Novi screamed as she leapt back, the snake ended up biting the walkway.
Taking this chance, I aimed my carbine at the serpent's back and fired.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
"RRROOOAAARRR!"
The snake swung its tail towards me throwing me against a wall, the air left my lungs and the corners of my eyes went dark, I almost passed out, I started to hyperventilate trying to recover my air, amidst my blurred vision I could see Novi drawing her revolver and shooting the snake in the right eye.
BANG!
"RRROOOAAARRR!"
The snake let go of the walkway and began to struggle, its large body colliding with the ceiling and the walls of the sewer causing everything to shake, looking up I saw dirt and dust falling on my head, I also saw a piece of the ceiling coming at my direction, I rolled left again, the piece of stone from the sewer shattered against the ground.
"That bastard is going to bury us!" Novi screamed as she tried to keep her balance.
With difficulty, I managed to get up, the air was returning to my lungs and my vision was clearing. I managed to point my carbine at the thing and fired.
BANG!
BANG!
This time the snake focused on mine, its remaining eye staring at me, the snake then spit something from its mouth, as I watched the green goo flying towards me, I ran away, when the goo hit the ground, the stone began to melt.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
Three rifle shots hit the serpent's back, the serpent then turned towards Novi, but before it could do anything, I fired two more shots at his back.
BANG!
BANG!
Now I only have three carbine shots left, so I switched to my rifle.
We went on like this for a while, Novi and I are taking turns getting the serpent's attention, never letting it focus too much on one of us, but it wasn't going anywhere, we didn't have enough ammo to kill this thing.
BANG!
Novi shot once more at the snake, getting its attention, when the snake turned around I decided to use my rifle, but when I pulled the trigger nothing happened.
CLICK!
I pulled the lever on the rifle trying to cock the next shell, and then pulled the trigger again.
CLICK!
I was out of bullets.
The snake spat another wave of venom towards Novi, seeing this, Novi ran to the right, but the venom ended up melting the center of the walkway.
I took out my revolver and shot the snake.
BANG!
The shot hit the snake in the side of its head, which caused the snake to slowly turn towards me.
"Novi, this is getting us nowhere! We need to end this thing!"
"And what do you suggest?!" Novi screamed as she drew her carbine, her rifle empty of bullets.
I jumped to the right, dodging a snake bite.
"Do you still have that dynamite?!" I asked Novi as I ran away from the snake.
Novi started to check her pockets.
"Yes!" She said as she showed me the dynamite.
"Then light it!" I said as I bolted in circles across the room, the snake nearly reaching me.
"What!"
"Trust me, you only get one chance!"
"You better know what you're doing!" Novi screamed as she lit the dynamite.
Come on Alan! If the plan fails, you will die, but if the plan works, there is also a chance you will die. A pleasant situation, isn't it?
"Get ready Novi!"
I started running towards the walkway where Novi was, the walkway was X-shaped, and the center had been melted by the snake's venom, which meant there was a hole in the center where the walkway interconnected, I started running towards the walkway where Novi was. I stayed below the catwalk, drew my carbine, and let the serpent approach.
The serpent opened its mouth to devour me, but that was its mistake, I shot its mouth open.
BANG!
"RRROOOAAARRR!"
The snake threw its head back in pain, that's what I wanted, two more shots to its chin.
BANG!
BANG!
This caused the snake's head to rise even higher and be at the same height as the walkway where Novi was standing.
"Novi now!" I yelled as I climbed out from under the platform.
I could see Novi throwing the last of the dynamite we had into the snake's mouth.
"Run!" I called out to Novi.
Novi jumped off the platform and rolled across the floor, I grabbed him by the arm, and together we ran away from the snake, the snake shook its head from left to right trying to recover from the shots, then its remaining eye focused on us, the snake released more a hiss and started forward.
"SSSSHHHH!"
But it didn't get very far.
BOOM!
The serpent exploded in a shower of blood, Novi and I were covered in red. Looks like it's over.
Suddenly, what was left of the serpent began to move.
Or not.
From inside the stump that used to be where the serpent's head was, a SHADE came out, this SHADE was missing both of its legs and its left arm, it slowly crawled towards me using its remaining arm.
I drew my revolver and approached SHADE.
"Alan! What are you doing?" Novi asked as she held my arm.
"Ending it." I replied.
I approached SHADE, he stopped dragging himself and stared at me with his white and empty eyes, and I pointed the barrel of the gun at his face and pulled the trigger.
BANG!
SHADE's head was thrown back, but when I came back forward I noticed the hole in his forehead, blood was leaking from the wound, SHADE started to approach.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
There were three more holes in SHADE's head; his hand slowly approached my leg.
BANG!
With one last shot, the SHADE disappeared.
In its place there was an object, when I picked up the object I saw it was a photo of a family, a man, a woman and two children, I kept the photo in my pocket. Why would a SHADE carry that?
I felt a hand on my shoulder, "Alan, let's get out of here." Novi said to me.
I didn't answer, just followed her out of the sewer.
TIMESKIP
Alan's POV
We had finally made it out of the sewer, had removed a manhole cover, and were now in the middle of a shopping district.
"I know this street; we can find our house from here." Novi said to me.
"Great, I don't know how long I can stay conscious." I replied to Novi.
"I hope you don't pass out before we have our date." Novi said.
"I promise nothing." I replied.
Together, we started walking back to Novi's house.
TIMESKIP
Time had passed; Novi and I had bandaged our wounds, now we were sitting on a wooden bench at the back of Novi's house, just watching the stars.
"Alan?" Novi called me.
"Yes?" I replied.
Suddenly I felt something touching my cheek, Novi had just kissed me.
"I… I like you" Novi said.
"I… I like you too." I said to Novi.
Novi then laid her head on my shoulder, and I laid my head on top of hers, so we continued watching the moon and stars in this eternal night.
What followed next was years of peace, unfortunately that peace did not last for long.
END OF CHAPTER
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