I gave a last glance at the pure girl, assuring myself that she is save; I stood up and went to the door. It was still wide open from when I came in.

After I stepped through the door, I pushed it close, but it creaked open again.

'Oh right. I damaged it.'

'But if I don't shut the door close, the Creepers will get into the house. I can't let that happen; it would mean her death.'

Anxiously I looked around in hope to find something that I can block the door with.

'Ah. The table from the veranda,' I thought and grabbed the rough, wooden table, dragging it in front of the door.

'That should do it.' To be absolutely sure that the entrance was blocked, I put my hand on the door handle and tried to open it.

It didn't budge in the slightest; it was tightly shut close. This way, even the Creepers shouldn't be able to get in.

Feeling more assured about the girl's safety, I readied my two knives and confidently stood still on the veranda. I surveyed the surroundings and looked for the slightest abnormality.

The sky was pitch black and brooding. Even the clouds gathered and seemed upset.

Staring at the forest, ghost-grey mist crawled out from it. It spread its spineless tentacles and grasped everything in its way, wrapping around it.

It turned the grassland into a maze of mist. Growing in density, dewdrops formed on the grass, showing that the mist had gone too far.

Then the drizzle came; it was sizzling. The beauty of the nature was ruined by the rain drippling like the saliva of a demon.

Through the thick mist, I could roughly see the outlines of human figures. But looking at their hands, I could see fingers which are longer and pointer than those of humans.

The hunchbacks slowly creeped through the mist, drawing nearer towards me. My heart pounced against my rib cage, my neck hairs felt like sharp pins drilling into my skin, and my blood rushed through my veins.

As soon as the Creepers spotted me, they shouted; "Rooargh!" in an inhumanly deep voice. It rattled the grass around them and made the dewdrops fall.

Not waiting any longer, I ran to one of them with my knife drawn. He had a buffalo's neck and dishevelled hairs, looking like a typical Creeper.

Arriving in front of him, I dipped right and slashed towards him.

He raised his claws and blocked my knives.

I followed up with another slash and another one, keeping his claws busy. I kicked at his foot and sent him to his knees.

He followed up with a swift rising uppercut.

I jumped back, evading it, and he stood up. Quickly, I moved back to him and swung the knife to his neck while my foot swept to his foot.

The Creeper held his claws up and blocked again.

My foot swept him off his feet and he fell onto his back. I raised my knife and bore it into his chest, penetrating his heart.

A fountain of magma-red blood sprayed out from where I stabbed him, dying my clothes in a hellish red colour.

My clothes were now wet with blood and stuck to my skin, giving me an unpleasant feeling.

Not feeling bad after killing, I straightened my back and looked at my other foes. One, Two, … Ten, … Fifteen, … The numbers of them kept rising. They appeared one after another from the clouded forest.

'There are too many. I can't defend the house like that.'

I knew there was no other option besides luring them away from the house to keep the girl safe.

I slashed at the empty air. The blood from the blade flew like spit from it, making my knife look a little bit cleaner.

'I can't scream to get their attention. It looks like I have to bleed so that they run after me and not her.'

Unafraid, I pushed the knife into my shoulder and blood oozed out from the fresh wound.

Instantly, all the Creepers focused on me, glaring with their glacier cold eyes. I sprinted away from the house and the Creepers. The Creepers kept getting faster and faster.

After running for a minute tightly followed by them and the mist, I arrived at a tall cliff. I couldn't see the ground beneath it because the mist blocked my view.

I turned around and already saw a Creeper not far from me. I readied my knives again and pierced them between the shoulder blades of him. I kicked him into his hip and shot him out of the way and down the cliff.

Another Creeper came and sent his claw towards my face. I held up my knives and jumped a bit backwards. Another claw came at me. I jumped back again, nearly falling off the cliff.

Gritting my teeth, I slashed at the nearest Creeper's face. Blood spritzed. I followed up with another slash, hitting his neck.

A pain assaulted my shoulder; it was his claw. With my other knife I penetrated his hand and kicked his chest.

The Creeper was sent flying backwards, taking two others with him to the ground.

I moved forward and held up my knives to kill them. A breeze blew by my face. Reacting fast, I held my knives in defence in front of my face.

*clink*

The claw hit my knives and pushed me backwards. Feeling the force decrease, I withdrew my blades and bore my teeth into the foul flesh of his hand, holding it in place. I slashed his neck open and let go of his arm.

*spit*

I spat out the rotten and bloody taste from my mouth. The next Creeper came. I split open his belly and his guts rolled out.

He dropped dead.

I looked to my right and saw three more Creepers. I slashed at one of them and hit his claws. My foot swept over the ground and sent him falling.

The claws of the other two Creepers came flying at me. Moving nearer to them, the claws missed me and only their forearms hit me. I lowered my head and sent each knife into one of their hearts.

Meanwhile, the fallen Creeper stood back up and shot his claws like a needle forward. I slid to the side and the claws only pierced my shoulder. I bore my knife into his throat and moved back.

My clothes were now not only covered in blood but also in sweat, tightly sticking to my skin. A putrefying stench was in the air, and sweat stung like a viper into my eyes.

Another dozen Creepers came running at me.

'There are too many! I can't kill them all. What should I do?'