"It doesn't matter how scared I am, something supernatural is happening. People don't just vanish like that, and Aline's Scanner went off."
Oliver strapped the crossbow to his waist and drew both ivory blades. Then, he began to think, trying to calm himself down.
"If this is an ambush, I need to move." In the few seconds since everyone had disappeared, he made a quick decision, better to act now than be caught off guard. He ran deeper into the forest, searching for a place to hide.
Up ahead, the roots of a massive tree had created a hollow in the ground, and he threw himself into it. Between the darkness of the roots and the thin beams of sunlight piercing through the canopy, Oliver held his breath, hoping no one would find him.
His choice proved right when he began hearing the sound of metal clashing with metal nearby. The noise grew louder with time.
"I have to understand what's going on. An ambush has to give off some kind of signal..."
His thoughts were interrupted when a body came flying toward him. It slammed into the trunk of a tree and landed near the shadows where he was hiding.
"I know that face! Isn't that the guy who went out earlier to fetch weapons?"
Emerging from the brighter area, came what he could only describe as an abomination on two legs. Or rather, two feet. A man whose upper body was that of a serpent, with arms and below, human legs.
"Screw this! That thing looks like the devil himself."
Sssssssssssss!
Its hiss was deep and seemed to take pleasure in the boy's pain. The problem was that if it got a little closer, it might spot Oliver.
He grabbed the crossbow and aimed it straight at its chest. No time for perfect aim, but it was too close to miss.
He pulled the trigger.
Zim!
The bolt sliced through the air, and the creature visibly tried to dodge but failed. The bolt struck right in the chest. But it wasn't enough.
Oliver took the opportunity to grab his blades and charge toward the creature.
"Is this thing human? Some kind of mutation?"
"Ahhh! Full human! I'm gonna devour you!" Its voice sounded far too brutal to be human.
"Screw it."
He lunged forward, even through his fear. That thing looked more like an RPG monster than a person, and with that mindset, he ignored the fact he was trying to kill a man.
Even if he was half snake.
Its sword resembled the gladius-style weapons they had received. Bronze clashed with ivory. For a few seconds, they tested their strength, and with a push, Oliver shoved him backward.
"Where did this strength come from? Are these creatures weak?"
The shock in the snake-man's eyes mirrored Oliver's, but its ferocity didn't let it back down.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" With a roar of rage, it charged at Oliver, who sidestepped just in time.
The attack barely missed his throat, tearing through his already ragged shirt and drawing a thin line of blood.
"He's weaker than the damn viper I killed. Not even as terrifying... It's like his attacks are hollow."
Adjusting his stance, Oliver attacked the abomination's gladius. A dance of strikes followed, through sun-drenched forest and deep shadows.
Its posture began to falter, and the creature showed signs of fatigue. With a sidestep, Oliver dodged the next slash and countered. His blade sliced through the air and pierced the monster's abdomen.
Red blood ran down the blade, and the thing collapsed to its knees at his feet.
Oliver was exhausted too, but even so, he grabbed the sword and dragged himself toward the boy in the shadows of the roots.
The fight had lasted only seconds, but his arms felt heavy.
"It wasn't as bad as the viper, but it was still tough." The boy was breathing heavily, and the hole in his abdomen made it clear he didn't have much time left.
Blood spilled from his mouth as Oliver knelt beside him. His eyes were vacant but responded when Oliver gently lifted his head.
"O... Oli... Oliver."
"Yes, it's me..."
Damn it. He's dead. The herbs I have don't have healing properties, and even if they did, that kind of wound wouldn't be magically cured.
"Lis... Listen..." His voice faltered, revealing unbearable pain.
"I'm here! I'm right here! I wish I could do something..."
"Listen... When I went to get the weapons... something was wrong."
He was breathing hard, still coughing blood, but forced himself to speak, even if slowly.
"Bolts... spears... swords... They all died by weapons... All OURS died by weapons... our weapons."
Cough-cough!
He started coughing blood again, his face contorting in pain, yet he kept staring into Oliver's eyes. A light in his gaze... Oliver recognized that look.
"Hope!"
"Please... if you can, tell my mom I was brave...", with those final words, his body went still in Oliver's arms. His mind had run through countless ways to save him, but none could pull him from death's grip.
Oliver closed the boy's eyes with his hand and laid his head to rest on the roots. His thoughts spiraled for several minutes, trying to cope with the fact that a classmate had just died in his arms.
"And I don't even know his name..."
Quickly, he searched the boy's body and found an ID in his pants pocket. Of all things to come with them, useless as they seemed, his own documents were still in his backpack.
"Miguel dos Santos"
"Sarah dos Santos"
"So, your name was Miguel and your mom's Sarah. Kinda ironic to have the last name 'Santos' in an apocalypse started by an angel."
Oliver stared at the ID for a long time, thinking about what Miguel had told him.
"If our weapons are what's killing people, then are we the ones responsible for the deaths when fighting these creatures? And the vipers, how do they fit into this? Are the other participants affected too?"
His mind was flooded with questions, but clearly, standing still wouldn't bring any answers. He stood up and started walking deeper into the forest.
That's where he would find answers.
Or his death.