Free Web NovelChapter 3: The Invitation (3)
Streets rolled like waves beneath their feet by the time Mateo dragged his siblings out of their place, leading them to an open ground for safety.
Misha clung to her older brother when she was pulled down to the ground.
What was happening? Was the world finally coming to an end?
This was the first time the country was struck by a big earthquake. Buildings groaned, while glass shattered. Screams were heard as people ran out of their houses. A minute had only passed, but it already felt like hours. Then, little by little, the trembling finally faded into silence, broken only by distant cries and car alarms.
Without electricity, darkness swallowed the city. Only the moon remained overhead.
"Look!" Someone shouted.
Misha, who was burying her face on her brother’s shoulder, slowly lifted her head to look around. Her sight reflexively landed on a huge building nearby. A gigantic structure stood where none should have existed.
"The tower..." Caleb’s voice sounded strangely small.
Everyone was looking up at the humongous skyscraper. Some even had their phones out just so they could capture the impossible height.
Misha’s heart raced, cold sweat trickled down her forehead. "No way..."
She felt Mateo tighten his arm around her shoulders as he pulled both her and Caleb protectively.
"Stay close–"
All of a sudden, her brother’s warmth was gone. She turned her head to look, but Mateo was nowhere to be seen.
Her heart skipped a beat. Instinctively, she immediately grabbed Caleb’s hand.
"Shash–"
Right there and then, her youngest brother disappeared before her eyes.
"No... no..." Misha’s chest tightened, and her face became pale and drained of color.
"Mom?!"
"Where are you?!"
"Dad? Dad!"
"Where did they go?!"
The chaos of the earthquake was soon replaced by horrified screams and cries from those who were witnessing people vanishing into thin air.
Misha barely heard any of that. She felt her world stop when her brothers disappeared. She saw the mouths of people around her moving, but all she could hear at that moment was a hollow ringing in her ears.
She had to push herself up to stand. Her unfocused eyes were wide and were frantically darting around her surroundings, trying to find them.
"Mateo? Caleb?" She tried to call out for them. "Please stop playing around. Where are you?!"
Tears welled up in her eyes, blurring her sight. She wiped it off with her arm before she continued to look for them. "Mateo! Caleb!"
She pushed forward another step as she tried to search for them. Eventually, her feet carried her back to their house. The walls had cracks on them, broken shards of glass lay scattered on the ground. She remained motionless in front of their home, which leaned at an angle.
Misha stared blankly. Her brothers weren’t there...
"Ah!"
She finally snapped out of her trance when someone bumped into her.
"I’m sorry!" The woman hurriedly apologized before she rushed away.
Misha barely registered her since her gaze had already landed back at the tower that was looming over the city.
The tower... that’s right. Her brothers didn’t just vanish into thin air, they were most likely summoned to the tower.
Slap!
A stinging sensation was felt on her cheeks after Misha slapped herself with both hands. Inhaling deeply, then releasing a long sigh, she finally managed to steady herself down.
"My brothers aren’t dead." She told herself. "They’re just over there, inside the tower."
Misha needed to convince herself to quickly adjust to her current situation since the world wasn’t going to start making sense anytime soon. "I need to get inside the tower."
"Look over there!"
"Something’s coming out of the tower!"
Lifting her gaze, a dark shape jumped out from one of the tower’s windows. With the moon behind it, everyone saw it flap its wings. At first, it looked like a bird, but as it flew closer, the creature grew larger. Its silhouette blotted out part of the moon. Then, more shadows followed behind it.
The blood drained from Misha’s face when she realized what was about to happen.
"Shit! Everyone, hide!" Misha shouted in horror. This was something she never expected. Who said it was going to be safe outside of the tower?
Right... She did, thanks to the comics, but that didn’t mean things would be the same in reality.
"Are you stupid, Misha? You should have known better!" She scolded herself as she rushed inside her house and slammed the door shut behind her.
She locked it, then locked it again. As if that would somehow stop a giant flying monster.
Things were scattered inside, but none of that mattered. She needed to survive if she were to enter the tower.
The safest place she knew was the closet, so without wasting another second, Misha grabbed some blankets and clothes, then she covered herself and squeezed herself inside. She pulled the closet door shut until only darkness remained.
"KYAAAH!!!"
"UAGHH...!!"
"H-HELP!!!"
The screams outside made her flinch. Misha curled into herself, covered her ears with her hands, and trembled in fear. "I-it’s going to be over soon..." She whispered. "I... I need to survive..."
Yes, that was all that mattered. She needed to survive.... she has to survive.
There was no point in trying to fight monsters to save others. She wasn’t a hero. Misha knew her limits well. If she ran into a monster, she wouldn’t magically awaken hidden powers. Her brothers were probably waiting for her. They had to be, that’s why she needed to stay alive no matter what. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
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Hours passed.
Even when things finally became quiet, Misha remained hidden.
She was scared to the point where every time she thought about opening the door, images of those flying monsters immediately surfaced in her mind. She wasn’t ready to step out.
What if one were still outside?
What if it heard her?
What if...?
Her thoughts gradually slowed as exhaustion crept over. Her eyelids grew heavy, and before she knew it, fatigue won.
By the time she woke up, it was already morning.
For several seconds, she simply stared blankly in her wake. Then everything came rushing back.
"Right... " Her throat felt dry.
She couldn’t believe she actually managed to fall asleep after what happened. Still, her body felt far better than it had the night before.
Waiting for a few more minutes, Misha remained still, listening for any sounds she could hear from outside. Not a sound was heard, it was eerily quiet.
She slowly pushed the closet door open, just a little, just enough to peek outside. Her eyes scanned the room. Seeing that there was no one, that nothing moved, only then did she finally crawl out.
The house was a mess. Cracks ran across parts of the wall, several things had fallen over during the earthquake... yet somehow it was still standing.
Misha stepped carefully through the room, each footstep felt louder than it should. She paused every seconds to listen.
Still nothing.
After confirming she was alonee, she finally released a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding.
Now what?
The answer came surprisingly quickly. She needed to head out, though not without preparing herself first.
Misha went to her room, grabbed her large-sized backpack, and emptied it. "Let’s start packing."
She rummaged through her drawers, grabbing a few pairs of underwear and extra clothes before taking the first aid kit stored in the medicine cabinet located near the bathroom.
"Food. I need food and water."
Entering the kitchen, she placed most of the canned food inside the bag. She wasn’t sure how long she would be gone.
"One can per day..." Hopefully, that was going to be enough.
She filled a water container before slipping it into the side pocket of the bag.
"Ugh..." She groaned as she slipped the bag straps over her shoulders. It was heavy. The weight nearly pulled her backward. It actually felt like carrying a small child... or maybe two. But still, she couldn’t afford to leave anything behind.
There was final thing she needed.
"Weapons... Right. I need weapons." She looked around the kitchen until she found some. She grabbed a knife with her right hand and an iron pan with her left.
A nervous laugh escaped her when she saw her reflection in the mirror. She looked like a joke right now.
She took a deep breath to calm herself.
"Next step..." Her grip tightened. "Leave the house."
