Lord of the Apocalypse

by Michael Sisa

  Urine uncontrollably oozed down my trousers as I sat there on the ground, eyes wide with shock. I was next. I was next. I was next.

  I was about to close my eyes and embrace my fate when a figure was seen from the distance. The child’s red hair was a distinct feature, and his saucer eyes were swimming in tears, snot dripping down his nose. The woman beside him had both her arms opened wide, assuming the role of a human shield.

  “Francesca! Marco!” I yelled with all my might. My voice echoed despite the numerous roars and stomping sounds, and the woman named Francesca cast a glance my way. Her eyes, brown and almost hazel, met mine.

  I swore that a bitter smile filled with helplessness and regret flashed across her face as the beast before her approached at a tip-toe speed.

  My eyes glanced at my family’s figures then to the beasts in front of me, then back. I cannot die yet. Not yet. Not yet. Not yet!

  The moment my eyes landed on the pistol the policeman held before, I dived towards it without regards for the consequence. I large hoof missed me by a whisper as my body rolled thrice before coming to a halt. I immediately stood up, and ignoring the three beasts before me, I ran past them and towards my family.

  My heart pumped violently as I ran with the gun pointed at the Minotaur before Francesca, veins evident on my ashen face. After a roar that contained all my might, resolve and retribution, I pulled the trigger and the ammunition hit the beast right at the forehead. It momentarily lost its balance but eventually, it stood up straight as it glared at my direction.

  As expected, guns did not work, but I kept firing regardless. I fired. I fired. I fired. I fired until I was out of ammo, and knowing that it was not enough, I ran forward and tackled the beast head-on. My almost skeletal body did nothing but bounce back after the impact, and I was sent rolling onto the ground.

  I was expecting a hoof to come cruising towards my fallen body but to my surprise, none came. It was then that I noticed the thin line of blood that oozed out of the beast’s head. The metallic ammunitions had been partly engraved inside its skull. It was not enough to deal a deathblow, but was definitely enough to make the beast momentarily lose its focus and totter all over.

  My ears perked up as numerous rumbling sounds came towards my direction, our direction. Without a second wasted, I carried my son. Tears still uncontrollably flowed down his cheeks. Voice raspy and coarse, I screamed, “Let’s go! Let’s go!”

  It took a full second before Francesca broke out of her trance, and she came running with the both of us for dear life. My blood was boiling and my heart was violently thumping. My body was filled with inexplicable energy that made my body move forward despite the fatigue that blatantly enveloped it.

  I heard the beasts stop for a moment and stare at their light-headed comrade, the one that I shot indiscriminately before. A couple of seconds passed before a furious roar echoed and was accompanied by mad rumbling sounds. The ground quaked and creaked, but to my relief, we arrived at the haven from before: the comfort room. It was murky and putrid, but it was our best shot for survival.

  I grabbed Francesca’s hand and tossed her inside along with our son, not minding the bruises that would without doubt form after the impact. After affording a glance at our pursuers, I immediately dived headfirst into our shelter, narrowly avoiding the gargantuan hand that passed through the air.

  At the corner of the room, I noticed a lone figure crouching with her knees bent, body violently shaking. A student. It seemed that another survivor had found her solace in the bathroom.

  “We’ll be safe here,” I said as I tried to reassure the woman and the child beside me, all the while the beast before us struggled to squeeze their bodies inside, creating small cracks on the entrance, taking our breath away with every popping sound.

  “Those monsters can’t get inside,” I added in affirmation, more to myself than to those beside me. Even I doubted my words. Eventually, to our relief, the beasts gave up after a few more tries. They again snorted then turned back towards the outside.

  A minute of absolute silence inside the putrid room emanated, and to my surprise, the other survivor inside the bathroom wailed and sobbed; she was in hysteria. Probably due to the fact that she had survived till now, or to the fact that she had seen another survivor, she unrestrainedly cried her soul out. Her wails echoed loudly, and for a minute, I thought that her lungs would break apart from the tension. I was so wasted that I did not have the energy to hush her, moreover reprimand her for giving out our location. All I did was sit there, bruised and battered, eyes longingly staring at the two people beside me.

  “Richard…” My voice trailed off as I wiped the sweat on my forehead. By now, the cries from the other survivor had calmed down to a hiccup. “What happened to him? Where is he? Why is he not with you?!”

  My voice escalated to a snarl. Instead of questions, they were more of accusations. Why was that bastard not with my family when they needed him the most? Why was he not with them when they were in peril? Why was he not with them when they were facing imminent death? I had so many questions and curses running through my head as I bit my lips in bitter fury.

  Francesca lowered her head and hugged our eight-year-old son. Marco had fallen asleep by now, dried tears evident on his sleeping face. She turned her face toward me and whispered, “I don’t know.”

  Those words were simple, but they held everything I needed to know. So, that bastard disappeared the moment the first sign of danger manifested itself? I was becoming pessimistic and overly accusing, but the rage boiling inside of me had yet to fully calm itself. I wanted to punch him and tear him from limb to limb, to cut his neck and feed him to the Minotaurs. That fucking bastard, how dare he abandon my wife and son!

  I breathed in and out, and after almost a minute, calmed myself to a white-knuckled fist. Another series of gunshots from the outside was heard. The barrage of papapa! sounds continued for a while before dying out, eventually being replaced by sounds of horror, of bones breaking and flesh tearing. Within me, I knew that the police forces were currently useless. Their guns did not work; something I did not blame them for. Those Minotaurs were simply immortal bastards with skulls as strong as an iron plate.

  The light above flickered for a couple of times, casting ominous shadows around, before eventually turning everything pitch black. It seemed that the electricity inside the mall had failed altogether, and we were now inside an abyss, mortified with the unknown just right behind the corner.

  The sonorous cries and roars from the outside continued, and our family of three plus the other survivor sat inside our solace, unmoving, trying our best not to make noticeable sounds. Eventually, the sounds of anguish turned into background, our fatigue kicked in, and we dozed off into dreamland.

  Chapter 3: The Martyr

  My body jerked and my eyes bolted open when a series of soft, but continuous rustling sounds were heard inside the room. My heart violently thumped as my eyes scanned the dimly lit four walls of our abode, with only the digital numbers from my son’s watch as source of light; it was five o’clock in the morning. I noticed that everyone else aside from me were in deep slumber; the dreadful scenarios from before without doubt had taken its toll.

  With the light wheezing sounds from my sleeping wife and son as background, I perked up my ears as I tried to catch the tiniest bit of sound inside the room, trying to figure out if my mind was playing tricks on me, if everything was the product of my paranoia. The sounds from before had completely stopped the moment I completely woke up.

  Seconds passed and quickly turned into minutes, and I vigilantly sat there, fists ready and ear alert for any inconspicuous movements. I almost jumped in fright when I heard the student survivor at the corner mumble an incomprehensible word in her sleep. Another minute passed.

  Again, another series of rustling sounds were heard but this time, I realized that it came outside. The screeching sounds were followed by soft thuds, numerous soft thuds.

  I glanced
at my sleeping family then to the student crouched at the deepest corner. After a gulp and a loudly beating heart, I crawled towards the bathroom’s entrance as I craned my neck, eyes peering at what was going on outside. My eye widened when I saw the small innumerable figures tottering about, dragging the corpses to somewhere I would rather not know. Their bodies were small, incredibly so, hardly running past two feet in height.

  Despite the lack of illumination, I was able to discern their bulbous nose, and the patches and protrusions that filled their dark green skin. Their nails were long and jagged, definitely rotting. Their eyes were large, almost bulging. At their naked back, a small, almost inconspicuous tail flailed about.

  “Goblins?” I mumbled in disbelief. I never expected to encounter one. The Minotaurs themselves were already enough abomination, and now, we were forced to encounter these discreet, pesky little creatures.

  I realize that there were significantly fewer corpses than before. Furthermore, I noticed that only the corpses of women were being dragged off by the creatures, leaving the male bodies to rot in their places.

  Where were they taking the corpses? Why were they taking only the bodies of women? What were they going to do with it? Such questions filled my mind as my eyes remained glued at the figures, my body cold and clammy.

  The thing that bothered me the most were not the fact that the creatures were taking away the corpses, but their size and numbers. Before, our temporary haven, in the form of the bathroom, had driven away the Minotaurs. Those beasts were simply too large to enter inside, and thankfully, the walls of the murky room were thick, probably sturdy. But now, our abode’s only advantage had disappeared. With their sizes, I was sure that those creatures were able to easily get inside this place. The only question was when.

  I tapped my wife as I tried to wake her up in the gentlest way possible. I did not want her to suddenly shout and scream, giving out the fact that there were survivors here. After a soft moan, she slowly opened her eyes then blinked thrice in succession.

  “Wake up,” I whispered. “We can’t stay here much longer.”

  She glanced at my son that remained snuggled deep in her bosom, then to me. She also replied in a whisper, “What is it? What do you mean?”

  I paused for a full second, mind filled with various thoughts. “Goblins. They’re outside, dragging dead bodies. There’s no assurance that they won’t find us here. It’s too risky.”

  I glanced at the bathroom’s entrance. Specifically, I stared at the door decimated beyond recognition. Only tidbits of wood had remained. “We need to find a better shelter.”

  “But it’s too dangerous to go outside! Nicholas! You’ve seen those monsters, right? There’s no way humans can win against those!” She breathed.

  I was in dilemma. Should we stay, or should we escape while we still have the energy to do so? I was stuck in between such choices. The goblins were creatures unknown to us before, and we had no idea what they were capable of. Once those creatures found out that there were survivors here, and they flocked to us in the dozens, our chances of survival were definitely slim.

  “The best course of action is to stay here… for now,” a voice from the corner was heard. It came from the student. To my surprise, her voice was perfectly calm and composed, a complete contrast to her hysteric sounds from before. It seemed that our little conversation had woken her up. She added, “You said that the goblins were dragging the bodies, no? Then in all probability, those creatures are unable to fight at the same level as the cow monsters from before—hopefully. They must have been tasked to collect the spoils of war… if we are to state it in better terms.”

  I had thought of the same things as before, but the fact that we hardly knew anything regarding the little creatures did not change. It was too risky to stay in such a place surrounded by hundreds of such monsters. I bit my lips as I gnashed my teeth. I sat there like a Buddhist statue, unmoving, pondering.

  I broke out of my trance when I heard soft footsteps coming to our direction. Upon looking, my gaze met the eyes of a small creature. It opened its large mouth and squeaked, its ears perking up and down as it stomped its feet on the tiled floor. My immediate fear had become reality. A goblin had found us.

  “Kreeee!” A long screeching sound echoed as I immediately stood up, my knuckles white and ready. Without hesitation, I kicked the goblin before me, sending its body crashing against the wall. It skidded downwards until it slumped onto the ground, unmoving.

  “It’s weak? Incredibly weak!” I said in disbelief. My words ignited hope within the group but such hope was quickly crushed when we heard numerous rumbling sounds coming towards our direction. To my horror, the sound of hooves crushing bodies were horrifyingly familiar.

  You have killed a Goblin Worker!

  You have gained 3 Experience Points!

  The familiar blue window from before popped up a few seconds after I sent the goblin flying away. Although I wanted to find out what that window was and what it entailed, I currently have no time for that.

  I grabbed and carried my sleeping son. With a firm and resolute expression, I told everyone, “No time to waste! We need to get out of here! This room won’t hold like before!”

  What I said was the truth. Before the lights from the day before had completely vanished, I had already noticed that the walls were filled with innumerable cracks. I was no engineering graduate, but I was sure that it would no longer be able to withstand another series of attacks and forceful squeezing of bodies inside.

  Like compressed spring, everyone got to their feet in haste. Two more goblins appeared at the doorway, and I kicked both without hesitation. Their bodies were sent flying backwards, and despite the lack of proper illumination, I saw one of them vomit out blood before collapsing on the ground. Thank God, the little pesky bastards were weak!

  You have killed a Goblin Worker!

  You have gained 3 Experience Points!

  Once again, the same notification popped up, and I immediately dismissed it from my mind.

  Outside, I could hear the roars of the cow-like monsters from before. They were probably alerted by the squeaks of the goblins. Damn it.

  The sounds from the charging Minotaurs were becoming louder as we got out of the room, our feet moving at a quick pace towards our survival. We ran. We ran. We ran. Through the pieces of broken furniture, broken walls, and over dead bodies, we ran with all our might.

  My heart was close to exploding as I afforded a glance at our pursuer, seeing nothing but almost a dozen gigantic silhouettes chasing after our group. A roar from our front was heard, and a livid Minotaur appeared, blocking our path.

  “Take him!” I said as I shoved our recently woken son towards Francesca. My son, Marco, was staring at the gigantic beast before us, with only my body as partition.

  I snarled, “What are you doing!? Go! Go! Go!”

  I picked up the splintered wood on the ground and unreservedly dashed headfirst towards the Minotaur before me. At the corner of my eyes, I saw Francesca, Marco, and the student go down the flight of stairs. Just below us was the ground floor, and it was only a few more meters away from the mall’s exit. Someone had to stall these monsters here. Otherwise, we would all die a dog’s death.

  I heard Francesca wail and sob as her figure, along with those of others, eventually disappeared from sight. I bit my lips as my body came skidding to a halt when a large hand came cruising towards my direction, definitely aimed at my head. I ducked, and using all strength I could muster, I smashed my wooden weapon at the monster’s calf.

  The Minotaur stared at me for a second, my feat definitely nothing but a small spank before this almighty beast. I threw away the piece of wood when I noticed that it had broken right at the middle after the impact. I was weaponless, defenseless, and my current use was nothing but a meat shield.

  By now, the other Minotaurs from before had caught up, and I soon found myself surrounded by more than a dozen of them, each of their bodies towering absurd
heights. Series of roars echoed as I stood my ground, knees wobbling, body shaking. I was going to die. I knew, but I did not regret.

  From my position, despite the roars that served as background, I could hear the faint sounds of footsteps at the floor below. Those same footsteps made my lips turn into a small curl, something that was incomprehensible in my current situation. At least, my role as meat shield had served its purpose. Those three were going to survive.