12 Chapter 12: Before The Game Begins

An appalling feeling flowed through the air as Layla and Zane stared into the devilish eyes of the Chimera. A survival game was about to begin and they were the prime targets. Survival was their mission and death was their opponent.

"Your names are Layla and Zane, correct?" Asked the Chimera carefully.

"Yeah..." replied Zane hesitantly.

"Now, no need to be afraid— at least not yet! I'm a Chimera of my word! My name's Apollo!"

"Apollo? Like one of the Olympians from Greek Mythology? Apollo, the twin brother of Artemis and the son of Zeus and Leto," queried Layla.

"You seem to know a lot about Greek Mythology. I find it humorous how we're portrayed as gods. Well, I guess some worshipped us all those years ago."

"Now that you've made your point, can we leave now? And I mean with our lives."

"Hehehoo! It wouldn't be very fun to end the game as soon as it began now, would it? My fellow Apocrypha have told me that there is a convoy of human soldiers heading this way. Once they arrive, we'll hand you over to them so that your safety is guaranteed for the next 24 hours."

"Wait! Won't they simply attack you once they get here?!" Questioned Zane.

"We'll send a message to them ahead of time. If they still try to attack us then we'll just kill them all."

A chill ran through their spines as soon as they heard Apollo's words. If that were to happen then their 24-hour protection would cease to exist.

"I have a question," began Layla. "Why us? Why did you choose Zane and me when you had countless other humans to choose from?"

"For one, I smell Apocrypha blood on you. That shows that you were lucky enough to kill more than just a few Apocrypha. That alone makes you two stand out from most others given that you're only regular humans. Secondly, it's based on both your personalities. On one hand, we have our Queen who knows what she wants. She's strong, resilient, and wise. On the other hand, we have our King who isn't of much use. He's naïve, indecisive, and too kind for his own good. In a game of chess, the Queen is the one that does most of the work and protects the king, leading the army to victory. But what I desire is to change the rules of this game of chess just a little."

Layla and Zane looked at Apollo in confusion. His analogy was too coded for them to understand.

"You want to change the rules..? I don't think I follow..." Muttered Zane.

"The Queen is the strongest pawn on the chess board while the King is one of the weakest. What I desire is to have the King gain enough power to acquire checkmate for his army. A King that is even more powerful than his Queen!"

Layla and Zane looked at one another in confusion. They still didn't understand what Apollo meant but they had given up trying to decode it. All they cared about was getting out alive.

"Éla!" Suddenly shouted Apollo.

"What are you doing?!" Squealed Layla in shock.

"Don't worry, Layla..! I'm just calling the other Apocrypha to escort you to the approaching human convoy. I wouldn't want them ruining my fun before the game even began."

In the blink of an eye, an entire hoard of Apocrypha and Chimera gathered outside the store. Layla and Zane froze with fear upon seeing their large numbers. They couldn't be any more intimidated. 

"I'll say this in English so that both of you can understand," began Apollo as he turned toward the hoard of Apocrypha. "Escort these humans to the approaching military convoy safely! They should not be touched or harmed. If they are harmed in any way then I will kill all of you! Do you understand me?"

The Apocrypha released short bellows to show that they understood what Apollo was trying to say.

"Zane, Layla, come. It is time!"

Zane and Layla glanced at one another before picking themselves up. It was intimidating to approach an entire hoard of Apocrypha. A second later, they stepped out into the hoard with Apollo by their side. They were terrified but they desperately tried not to let it show. 

With every step they took, their bodies threatened to shut down from anxiety. For once, even Layla was showing signs of fear. Walking with a hoard of bloodthirsty Apocrypha was not something that was easily done.

Zane glanced at Layla. He noticed that she was slightly trembling. Her eyes were softer than normal and the look of a fearful wolf was written across her face. Seeing this, Zane gently held onto her hand.

This jolted Layla with shock. Zane smiled at her reassuringly, doing his best to keep her comfortable. She didn't know he had it in him to be so bold. However, it was working. Strangely, just by holding his hand, she felt more confident. Her anxiety had weakened just enough for her to stop shaking.

After a few minutes, they were led outside of the airport terminal into the open. The dark clouds still hung over their heads, preventing even a ray of sunshine from passing through. Some of the Apocrypha hissed at the clouds in fear. The last thing they wanted was for the sunlight to pass through.

Seeing this gave Layla the courage to ask a question while she still had the chance.

"Apollo, the Apocrypha are afraid of the sunlight, aren't they? So I take it that you all have technology capable of controlling the weather?"

Apollo turned his sinister eyes towards her, "Hehehoo! We do have the power to control the weather. That I won't deny."

"Then it doesn't make sense! Back in New York City, it was about to snow. That provided perfect cloud cover for the Apocrypha to hide from the sun. But by the next morning, the snow and the clouds were gone. That couldn't have been natural. It must have been the work of the Apocrypha. So my question is, why would you change the weather when the conditions were beneficial to you?"

"If I were you, I'd stop using that brain of yours. That intelligence of yours is starting to make me hungry."

Layla bit her tongue. She had a tugging theory about the reasons for the Apocrypha's actions. However, it was evident that she would upset Apollo if she said anything else. Due to this, she remained quiet.

Just then, the sound of heavy artillery and sturdy vehicles came into play. The Apocrypha immediately got themselves ready. The military convoy had arrived. Fighter jets flew above their heads and dozens of tanks, battle jeeps, and other weaponized vehicles drove toward them. Some soldiers were even on foot, armed with massive guns and rockets.

Layla and Zane were praying that they didn't attack. If they did, then they'd all die.

Apollo then took their hands and walked them toward the convoy. The soldiers quickly got their weapons ready, pointing them at him and the other Apocrypha. 

"No! Don't!" Warned Zane.

"Zane, it's okay," comforted Layla. "They're just being cautious. I would be skeptical too if the Apocrypha suddenly wanted to make a deal with me..."

Carefully, a man dressed in full military-grade combat gear stepped out from a tanker and approached them. He was the commander of the army. He was around six feet tall and had a sturdy figure. His beard was neatly shaved and his collected dark brown eyes glared at Apollo.

"To think that the Apocrypha are making such an absurd deal is beyond me," began the Commander. "I was certain this was some sort of trap but you truly do have two humans with you."

"Of course, Commander Frost!" Laughed Apollo. "The game is simple. Protect these two humans until the end of the year and you win. If you win then the Apocrypha will leave the Earth."

"You seem quite confident. You shouldn't underestimate humans. If we desired it, we could nuke this entire city and wipe you Apocrypha from existence."

Apollo began to laugh hysterically, "Annihilate us? Did you think we came unprepared?"

Apollo then pointed to the sky. This was when everyone looked up to see a large warship aiming a massive cannon at them. It was similar to one of the weapons that had destroyed New York. The warship had been hiding above the clouds the entire time.

Commander Frost froze like a block of ice as soon as he saw this.

"Hehehoo! It's your choice Commander."

The commander didn't dare to say another word. He swallowed his pride and gritted his teeth in frustration. Without another word, he took Layla and Zane and moved back toward the convoy.

Before long, they were allowed inside a large tank that quickly drove away with them. Apollo couldn't help but feel a strong sense of bliss.

"After so many years, I can finally put my plan into action. Hehehoo! Now, I should go ahead and make my preparations for what's to come. Don't disappoint me, my King..!"

On the other hand, Zane and Layla sat safely inside the tanker. After a short discussion with the commander, they were given a delicious meal of cooked chicken and rice to quell their hunger. Layla calmly feasted away but Zane refused to take a single bite.

"Weren't you hungry?" Questioned Layla.

"I'm just thinking... If our survival determines humanity's fate then doesn't that mean we'll become prime targets..?"

"I guess you're right..."

"I can't help but imagine that this chicken leg is symbolic to my leg being on the Apocrypha's plate in the future..."

"Zane... That's dark..."

"Sorry..."

Layla playfully punched his shoulder, "Eat up! You need to recover your strength. I don't know how we're going to do it but we'll survive this year together!"

Zane felt a little more encouraged hearing Layla's words. It was refreshing hearing something so positive after so long. Due to this, he gained an appetite and started munching away at his food.

"Zane, thanks for holding my hand back at the airport, by the way... If you hadn't calmed me down then I might have snapped and done something stupid... Thanks for that."