Seven stood in position, facing the creature. He was scared, very scared, with his legs and hands trembling greatly, but even so, he firmly gripped the small knife he carried.
Waiting for the attack, he remained steadfast in the same spot.
But that wait, which lasted seconds, soon turned into minutes, yet the attack did not come.
The wanderer was still moving toward him, but with slow, aimless steps.
What?
That didn't make sense; a thing like that wouldn't hold back or show mercy.
Unable to understand why and with more time to think, he finally managed to look at the creature more closely, and that's when he noticed.
The wanderer was blind.
The place they were in was dark, as the corridor was inside a building, but not so dark that he couldn't see, allowing him to observe some characteristics. The one that stood out the most was on its face—a horrific horizontal wound that ran across where its eyes and nose would be.
Feeling as if something heavy had been lifted from his shoulders, Seven almost sighed in relief but held back, afraid of giving away his position, focusing on the creature in front of him.
Humanoid, wendigo, wanderer or White Wanderer, scourge, and ghost—these were some of the names they had; there were more than a dozen others, though none could accurately convey the danger they represented.
Monster wasn't a bad name for them either, since even the largest beasts feared them.
At first glance, due to its thin, lanky appearance, one might think it was weak, but that was nothing but a lie.
Regardless of its appearance, with monstrous strength, they were more than capable of throwing a grown man meters away as if he were a toy. They were also fast, very fast, so even trying to run would be futile.
Of all the things that existed in the city, this was what his Father had warned him about the most, as they were extremely aggressive.
They weren't common to come across, and because of that, this was the first time he'd seen one.
But he knew it wasn't something he could face, even with firearms; it was a relentless opponent.
If it weren't for that creature being blind, Seven knew he would have met his end right there. That terrified him.
But, although powerful, there were some strange facts about them.
Knowing this, turning his attention back to the Humanoid, he began to analyze it.
It wasn't just its face; its entire body was covered in wounds, something even more noticeable due to the contrast of the dark red blood flowing over its pale white skin, devoid of any hair.
The wounds weren't normal, like those caused by bumping into something or falling from a height; they were signs of a confrontation, with claw marks, bites, and some deep cuts.
Whatever or whoever had fought the wanderer had left it severely injured.
But that wasn't what stood out the most about it—it was its overdeveloped jaw, with sharp teeth that didn't fit in its mouth, and one of its arms, smaller than the other, seemed to have formed incorrectly.
That didn't surprise him; in fact, he had expected something like this. This was one of the strange facts about humanoids—their imperfections; they could have missing limbs, limbs in the wrong place, underdeveloped or overdeveloped, or even extra parts, like two heads or three arms.
Luckily, the only overdeveloped part was its mouth, and it didn't seem to have any other mutation of that kind.
While analyzing the situation, the creature stopped moving.
Seven, startled, tightened his grip on the knife.
— Sniff Sniff —
Moving its head from side to side, it was trying to pick up a scent.
Can it sense something?
Even though it was heavily disfigured, unlike its eyes, its nose seemed to still work, able to detect odors.
Is it tracking me by my scent?
That wasn't possible, or at least, it shouldn't be. To avoid attracting attention, they had a habit of rubbing herbs that masked their scent on their clothes, as it helped avoid predators, so that shouldn't be it.
As he wondered, he heard the sound of a drop of something hitting the floor coming from behind him.
With his peripheral vision, he noticed a small red puddle forming beneath his backpack.
The rabbit!
It wasn't exactly him, but the smell of its blood. If he untied it, he could try to escape by using it as bait—just throw it far down the corridor to draw the creature's attention while staying still near one of the corridor's walls.
The place was spacious, so the chance of bumping into it was low.
Quickly turning to untie it and use it as a distraction, he caused some metal parts of his backpack to make a small noise.
Though faint, in the silent environment, it was enough to alert the creature, which became slightly agitated.
It, which had been standing still trying to locate him, took a heavier step forward and planted it firmly on the ground, as if preparing to lunge, and spread its arms.
Realizing what he had done, Seven stopped moving.
After some time, the wanderer, calming down, began to change its posture, its body gradually becoming less rigid until it returned to normal, trying to find a scent to guide it.
Noticing the creature had calmed, he turned his attention back to the rabbit, starting to untie it more carefully this time.
It seems to be having trouble finding me... In a confined space like that, the smell of blood had already filled the area, making it hard to pinpoint the exact source.
But as he was about to finish, he noticed something.
His clothes and backpack were wet with the animal's blood.
No way...
Even if he got rid of the rabbit, there was no way to hide—he was marked.
Looking toward the humanoid, he saw, far behind it, the building's exit where sunlight still shone.
If only I were near the exit.
That was the other strange fact—their weakness to direct sunlight, only coming out to hunt at night. During the day, they sought dark places to hide.
Inside the building, there was almost no light, let alone direct sunlight.
Trying to slip past it was an option, but from what he'd seen, any hint of sound would make the creature attack.
Besides, even if he were lucky enough to get close without being noticed, if it grabbed him while he tried to pass, he'd have no chance of escaping—he'd be killed and devoured in an instant.
Leon is waiting for me outside... if I take too long, he'll come looking for me.
Even though he'd told him to wait, he might find his delay strange and enter the building after him.
Even if he didn't, once it was done with him and night fell, the Wanderer could very well leave the building to start hunting.
Even if it took a long time, his younger brother, though familiar with some passages and parts of the city, knew nothing about where they were, so he'd have to wait for him even as the sun was setting.
Damn it!
Seven didn't want that; he had to escape soon or, at the very least, lead the creature as far away from his brother as possible.
If he went in and found nothing, he'd realize something was wrong and hide until dawn to return to the plains, where their Father, noticing their delay, would come looking for them at the last place they'd been.
Looking back, he saw the dark corridor leading deeper into the building. There was probably another exit if he followed it, but what would stop there from being another one of those things?
By luck, he'd found one that was injured and blind, but if he encountered another without injuries, he'd have no chance.
Why is one of these here!? Father said they only live in the city center!!
He was certain he hadn't walked far enough to reach the center, so he couldn't understand why one was there.
Halting his thoughts, he focused on what was in front of him; he had no time for this. Getting lost in pointless thoughts wouldn't help him at all. Giving up on that for now, he looked at the corridor again.
He had to run that way, even if he didn't know what he'd find, because staying there meant certain death.
Humanoids weren't slow, so if he started running, it could easily catch up to him, but...
It's badly injured...
Seven hoped its injuries would slow it down, at least enough for him to escape, since it had been moving slowly ever since it started following him.
Deciding to run deeper into the building, he began to back away with silent steps, keeping his eyes on the creature.
Taking his first step back, a beam of light hit his face and slightly blinded him.
What's that!?
It came from a door to his side, leading to a bathroom. Inside were several stalls and a long marble sink on the opposite side with a large mirror, but it was so dirty that no reflection could be seen.
Though the room was ornate, it didn't carry the same air of wealth as the building's entrance hall; it seemed like a bathroom meant for employee use.
In the corner of the wall, just above the sink, was a small window.
That's why! He understood why the animal had tried to get in there, believing there was an exit, but since it was high up, the animal had to give up and tried to return to the corridor.
There was still an escape route.
The window wasn't large, but it was big enough for him to fit through, and the height wasn't an issue for Seven.
Looking at the humanoid, which had started moving forward again with slow steps, he realized that if he was going to try something, it had to be now, as he was at a safe distance from it.
Now!
Without wasting time, he turned toward the door and entered the room.
The humanoid, noticing the sudden movement and sound of his footsteps, realized its prey was trying to escape and let out a piercing scream—
"AARHHH!!"
—before chasing after him.
Seven, leaping onto the marble sink, began running across it.
Please don't break!
When he heard something reaching the door, it was the humanoid. In no time, it had closed the distance between them in the corridor as if it were nothing.
Gripping the doorframe, which cracked under the pressure of its hand, it lunged toward him but ended up hitting the marble sink, which partially broke but held the creature back slightly.
Taking advantage of this, without wasting time, Seven moved his backpack to his front and jumped through the window, using it as a shield to protect himself from the glass.
Landing outside, he rolled on the ground before getting up and continuing to run back the way he'd come.
That wall won't hold it!
Next, he heard an impact on the wall, making it tremble, followed by another.
He'd landed on a side street, which, luckily, wasn't blocked or full of obstacles, allowing him to run as fast as he could.
Now some distance from the place, he heard a third impact, along with the sound of bricks falling.
It got out!
As he looked back, he saw it let out another scream.
"AARHHHG!!"
But this one was different—it was a scream of pain.
The wanderer, using both arms, was trying to shield itself from the sun burning its skin, which began to bubble and darken.
Giving up, it retreated back into the building, into the darkness.
...
Passing by the side of the building, Seven went to where his brother was.
Reaching the front of the building, staying as far as possible from the entrance, he picked up the bow he'd tossed aside in the middle of the square and went to Leon.
Leon, who was still at the top of the rubble, noticing his approach, quickly climbed down and ran toward him.
He had a worried expression on his face as he got closer.
"Are you okay?! Did something happen?!"
Noticing that Seven was a bit pale and had some small cuts on his face, he grew even more concerned.
"I'm fine, nothing big happened."
Along with that answer, Seven kept a smile.
"But I heard some screams and the sound of something collapsing!"
I figured he'd hear it.
He wasn't that far from him when he was attacked, so he'd definitely have heard it.
"The rabbit bit me while I was trying to catch it, and a wall collapsed after I passed by it."
"But it was really loud!"
"Oh, that must've been because of the echo from the buildings."
Faced with his brother's quick responses, Leon, a bit confused, looked at him with some disbelief.
He doesn't need to know about this.
There was no reason for him to know what had happened there, especially the encounter with the humanoid; he couldn't let him find out.
In case it reached any of their siblings, especially Isis.
A fight with the rabbit was an easy excuse to give, and though the screams were louder than a rabbit could make, the echo caused by the buildings was the best justification.
And, strangely, the sound of the humanoid's two roars was oddly human-like.
It was an answer he'd been thinking of since he left there.
"I see…"
Leon nodded, though he was still confused.
Seven didn't like lying, but besides not wanting to scare or alarm him, he didn't want to risk him telling anyone.
Trying to keep a controlled tone, he wanted to end the conversation as quickly as possible and get out of there while the sun protected them.
But he couldn't show it.
With the best forced smile he could muster, Seven changed the subject.
"Look."
Taking the backpack off his shoulders, he showed the captured rabbit.
"You got it!"
His brother, distracted by it, completely changed.
"Yeah! Let's head back home! Because tonight we'll have meat for dinner!"
"Awesome!"
Celebrating, Leon turned to climb the large pile of rubble and grab what he'd left there. As Seven was about to follow, Leon stopped him.
"No need to climb, I'll grab your stuff for you!"
Noticing his brother's excitement, Seven sighed in relief.
It worked…
While waiting, looking at his backpack, he noticed it was trembling slightly—or rather, the hand holding it was still shaking.
Putting the backpack on his back, he lowered his hands and clenched his fists.
***
On the way home, far from the square, the two walked in a line, with Seven in front and Leon following.
In that quiet environment, though faint, you could hear the younger one happily humming some song he'd made up.
"Meat, meat, meat, meat, it can be cooked or it can be fried, even smoked, but it always has to be well-seasoned…"
Fresh meat wasn't common; they usually ate dried meat, and even that was restricted to certain days of the week.
It wasn't because they couldn't hunt—Father did that fairly often—but because it wasn't common to find large animals in most of the city they frequented.
But unlike Leon, Seven had a cold expression on his face.
Though it was a reason for joy to eat fresh meat on a day they weren't supposed to, and for his first successful hunt, he wasn't as happy as his brother.
It wasn't that he didn't care about his achievement—it was the image of the humanoid that wouldn't leave his mind. It was accompanied by a chill running up his spine.
Even though some time had passed, his mind was still back there.
Sighing, he looked up, gazing at the tops of the buildings surrounding him.
For some reason, some of them had more developed vegetation on their upper floors than on the ground, creating a strange scene.
I've never come so close to dying…
As soon as he saw it, he felt something screaming inside him to get out of there as fast as possible. It was a complex feeling, one he'd never felt before, but somehow familiar.
He didn't quite know how to describe it, but he believed he felt it because he'd come so close to death.
Maybe that's what they call instinct.
In truth, he didn't even understand how he managed to move and make so many decisions in that moment, believing it was that instinct guiding him.
Even though he already knew about White Wanderers from the very specific descriptions his Father had given about how they acted and their appearance, seeing one in the flesh was completely different—it was terrifying.
When he saw it reach the door in an instant, several thoughts ran through his mind: If I had run down the corridor, wouldn't it have caught me easily? If I had tried to slip past it and run, wouldn't the result have been the same?
In the end, he'd have been easily caught.
That made him realize the reason it was moving so slowly wasn't because it was injured, but because it was trying to approach without being noticed.
Was it trying to trick me?
Feeling a chill run up his spine along with the hairs on his body standing on end, he felt a bead of sweat roll down his face.
It might have been moving that way to make him think it was weak.
No, it can't be that.
Pushing that thought aside, he didn't think it was possible—or maybe he refused to believe it.
Though he'd found them strange before, he'd never wondered why they were that way, perhaps because he didn't expect to encounter one, so it seemed far off. But now that he'd seen one, it became a constant thought in his mind.
What is that thing? How the hell did they come to be?
Seven knew concepts like natural selection and evolution, as his Father had taught him and his siblings about these and other things at home, saying it was the basics for survival.
So, when he thought about that ghost, he couldn't see it as something natural; underdeveloped or overdeveloped, weak to sunlight, and a thin appearance that resembled a human, though hairless and with strange superhuman strength.
No matter how he looked at it, it seemed like it had been created, but he couldn't understand why. He also couldn't find a good reason for creating such an aberration or for releasing it into the world.
All of it seemed very strange to him.
Sighing, he gave up thinking about it; he didn't believe he'd find an answer. Maybe asking his Father about it could yield some results.
But there was another issue that worried him more—why was there a Wanderer in that part of the city?
From what he knew, humanoids only lived in the city center, so there shouldn't have been one outside of there.
Though he'd chased the rabbit toward the center, he didn't believe he'd reached it or gotten close enough to encounter one.
He had an idea of what it was like there from what he'd been told and knew there were several signs that warned when you were getting too close.
One of them was the presence of large trees, bigger than normal ones. At first, they'd be sparse and far apart, but their numbers would increase as you neared the center, until they formed a large forest.
But he hadn't seen things like that—just creeping plants and some bushes. And that vegetation, though present, wasn't very dense.
When I get home, I'll have to talk to Father…
Interrupting his thoughts, Leon called out to him.
"Brother."
"Yeah."
"How are you gonna ask Father to prepare the rabbit?"
He hadn't thought about it, so he had no idea.
"Well."
Seven didn't have many preferences, unlike his siblings. He wouldn't mind if the rabbit's meat was turned into jerky, but he knew if he said that, he'd get strong protests from them.
"I don't know."
Along with his answer, he slightly shrugged without looking back.
Leon, with a thoughtful look, watched Seven's back.
"…Brother, are you okay?"
With that question, Seven's body stiffened.
"Why?"
"You seem down… ever since you came back with the rabbit…"
"…I'm just tired, after running so much and having to fight the rabbit. No need to worry…"
"…"
"Let's go, we're almost there."