First confrontation

Arlan pulled Kaylynn's arm and made her sit on the floor with her back against the kitchen counter. He also sat down next to her and the first thing he did was cover his mouth with his hand.

Like Arlan, Kaylynn did the same, covering her mouth. The sound of the scrap metal being stepped on grew louder and louder until it was quiet again.

The monster had entered the cafeteria, where there was no scrap metal on the floor, so its footsteps became completely silent and Arlan couldn't tell where the monster was.

'Shit!'

The chances of encountering a monster when entering the bunker were high, and Arlan had already thought about it. However, Arlan hadn't planned that instead of meeting the monsters inside, the monsters would meet him.

Fortunately, the monster seemed not to have noticed them, since they were still alive, or maybe he was just playing with them, putting them through more stress to make them nervous, Arlan had no idea.

With his free hand, he shakily took the black knife and held it ready for anything.

Badump...Badump...Badump.

Arlan could only hear his heartbeat slowing. He had not yet reached the point of feeling fear, but anxiety was beginning to take hold of him.

The feeling got worse when Arlan could hear a small breath above him.

Lifting his head as carefully as he could, Arlan saw that the air was slightly distorted by the emergency lights, which kept flickering.

The monster was not completely invisible, perhaps because of the lack of light in the place, or because the emergency lights allowed him to see it. Still, it was easy to miss the distortion in the air.

Arlan could hear the breathing getting closer and closer to the point where he could practically hear it next to his ear.

For both of them it seemed as if time had stopped, although it was only a few seconds, Arlan and Kaylynn felt like an eternity with that breath crashing against their necks.

'...Please...just back away'

His hands were shaking, and his heart was racing so fast it felt like it was going to burst. Still, the sound of his heartbeat stayed inside his body and did not spread to the ears of the monster, who slowly began to back away.

Beside him, Arlan could feel Kaylynn shaking terribly. The young woman was in a state of panic, yet she managed to remain silent, smothering her fear.

A minute passed since they could no longer hear the monster's breathing, but since it was so quiet, Arlan couldn't decipher where the creature was.

The only way out of the cafeteria was down the hallway where, thanks to the scrap metal, they could hear if the monster came out, but from the lack of noise it was clear it was still among them.

'What the hell am I going to do?'

Arlan had no idea how to deal with a monster that was invisible and possibly much stronger and deadlier than he was.

Time passed slowly and Arlan was still thinking about what to do, he just couldn't think of anything. Beside him, Kaylynn stared blankly into the kitchen.

Arlan stood up very slowly, not making a sound, hoping that the monster had left.

He was right.

The monster had moved away...just one meter from where he was.

Out of instinct, out of the pure, wild instinct that welled up inside of Arlan, he raised his knife and deflected the bite that was approaching his neck.

The monster's sharp but visible teeth sliced through his right arm, leaving a rather long but shallow gash.

Ignoring the burning in his arm, Arlan began running to the other side of the kitchen.

Kaylynn had ducked under the counter so the monster wouldn't see her. She was still exhausted and had no energy left to create the barriers, so if the monster found her, she might be dead. That meant she couldn't help Arlan either, so he was on his own.

The kitchen was a sparse place with a central table and other typical restaurant kitchen furniture, which worked in his favor to avoid the monster.

Still, Arlan didn't know the size of the monster, so if it was small, the obstacles wouldn't be a problem and Arlan would be in more trouble.

Arlan made it to the other side of the kitchen, and since there was no way out, he had no choice but to turn around and face the monster.

His breathing was ragged, and adrenaline coursed through his veins, giving him a moment of strength and energy for his tired body.

'Where are you damned?'

The monster was hidden, favored by its race attribute. However, thanks to the emergency light that had allowed Arlan to see its silhouette earlier, he was now able to make it out very faintly.

Still, its silhouette didn't give him much information, only that it was a quadruped monster and that it had a long tail. Even better, the monster did not seem to be too big, but just big enough to not be able to walk properly through the corridors of the kitchen.

Using both factors to his advantage, Arlan walked sideways, slowly moving further and further away from the slowly approaching monster, preparing to hunt it down.

With no one to help him, this would be Arlan's first direct fight with a monster, and what better than one that was practically invisible and completely deadly.

Still, Arlan did not let his state of mind waver; if he succumbed to his own fears, then he would be giving the monster a chance to finish him off.