Brandi was walking home with her mother, who was carrying a basket of wet clothing. They had only just finished washing their clothes in the stream at the back side of the village. “Do you think Dad and Chief Leon will have a good hunt?” She was always worried about her father when he went out on hunting trips. Sometimes, he would be gone for days. When that happened, the anxiety and stress would set in. But he always came back.
“They just left this morning. I’m sure they will come back soon with meat and skins—like always,” her mother answered with a smile, but Brandi could see the worry that was always in her eye ever since she heard about the beasts becoming more aggressive lately.
The duo made it home and hung their clothes out to dry. “We really do need more hides. Our old ones are pretty worn down. Maybe they’ll hunt a bear this time.” Brandi was excited at the chance to help work on making new leathers.
She had only unlocked the Great System recently. Her father had helped her unlock an achievement and earn an extra skill point, which she instantly allocated to Leatherworking. She wanted to pick a skill that could help the village. She would love it if she could make better armor for the hunters to help keep them safe.
Brandi was a squeamish girl and didn’t try to hide it. The sight of blood churned her stomach. She went an entire day without eating after she had to kill the level 10 bunny to earn an achievement and unlock the Great System. It didn’t help that the bunny was cute and fluffy. She had a stuffed animal she slept with that looked just like the bunny. She couldn’t look it in the eyes anymore.
“Do you think Dad will let me tan the hide on anything they hunt? I want to increase my skill so I can help more,” she asked her mother, hoping to get her on her side when she inevitably asked her father.
“That’s up to your father,” her mother said. “Besides, are you willing to help skin the animal? That could be considered an important part of Leatherworking.”
Brandi lost all color thinking about skinning an animal carcass. “Do you think I should have spent my skill point on something else? Did I make a mistake? I wasn’t thinking about having to touch dead animals. I just wanted to help Dad and the other villagers.” She shuddered, tears almost forming in her eyes.
Her mother giggled. “You’ll be fine, dear. You will grow used to it. You’re not the only little girl to have that reaction to killing monsters or dealing with a carcass. I wish your father didn’t go out and find the cutest beast I’ve ever seen. That was cruel of him, and he knows it.” She sighed. “But it’s not easy to find such an easy-to-kill level 10 creature.”
As the two chatted, they heard a loud crash. Their eyes darted toward the sound, only to see the village’s front gate swinging closed. Some villagers strained to keep it from opening back up. Finally, Brandi saw a man running in her direction, blood running down his chest from a fresh wound.
“Daddy!” she yelled out after recognizing the man as her father.
“Mal! Take Brandi and gather the other non-fighters and group up at the back of the villager,” her father commanded Malorie, Brandi’s mother.
“What happened?” Her mother’s gaze turned serious. She handed him a salve she had in her pockets.
“Beasts are attacking. Strong beasts. We don’t have enough time. Do what I said, and someone will meet you to let you know what to do next.” He took the salve and hugged Brandi and her mother. “Go, now!”
Brandi’s mom scooped her up and ran toward the back of the village. Brandi watched her father’s figure get smaller and smaller as they moved in opposite directions.
She watched as her father stopped and started talking with Chief Leon close to the gate. The man looked just as bad as her father, if not worse. They were both badly injured.
“Mom! It’s Chief Leon. He’s hurt, too!” she told her mom. “Dad said that there are beasts. Do you think there are a lot of them? How strong is strong?”
“Don’t worry. I’m sure everything will be fine.” Her mother placed her hand on the back of Brandi’s head, soothing her. “I’m sure your father and Chief Leon have a plan for whatever happens.”
Soon, the duo arrived at the back of the village, where others were already waiting. Among them was Sana, Chief Leon’s wife.
“Sana, did Leon tell you anything?” Malorie asked. “All Travis said before running off was that there was a beast attack, and they were strong.”
Sana pursed her lips and sighed. “Leon said that there are at least 30 beasts attacking, maybe more. All from the forest and attacking the front gate. He thinks they are all around level 20 or higher. He wanted us to gather here so we can slip out of the village and try to get away.”
“When do we leave, and where are we going?” Malorie asked.
“Marshall will be here soon. He’s going to guide us away from the village and the beasts. Hopefully, they will be too occupied with the village to come after us.” The woman clenched her fist. “We’ll head towards Rayna’s village. She should be strong enough to help us. If something happens and we can’t go that way, we will go to Phillip’s village.”
Malorie nodded. “We need to collect enough water so we don’t get dehydrated on our way there.” She looked around. “Not many of us have high endurance.”
After that, everyone went and collected water while waiting for Marshall to arrive. Brandi heard all the older people whispering to each other. Her worry for her father grew greater with every passing second. It was all she could do not to break down and cry.
Finally—after what seemed like hours but was no more than a few minutes—Brandi saw Marshall heading their way. She picked up a small water skin and hugged it to her chest, joining everyone else.
“Quiet everyone!” Marshall hissed in a hushed tone. The murmurs and whispers came to an instant halt. “Okay, listen. Things aren’t looking good. Chief Leon and the other hunters are doing everything they can to keep the gate closed and give us time to escape.”
“A few beasts have made it over the gate and were killed. If they can keep at it, they may be able to whittle the beasts down and get out of this situation. No matter what happens, we need to run so they don’t have to worry about us while fighting,” the man continued. “We are going to Rayna’s village. If we move fast enough and there are no problems, we should get there in a few days, no more than a week.”
Marshall shifted his gaze to the adults in the group. “I know there aren’t many fighters among us, and I will do my best to escort everyone, but I know that some of you can handle yourselves. If something happens, you may have to help.” He looked at Malorie and Sana and nodded.
The two women nodded back at him in understanding. Brandi’s mother used to go on hunting trips with her father, so she knew why the man was looking at her. Brandi watched her mother put her hand on the dagger fastened to her waist.
“Good. Is everyone ready?” The group nodded in silent agreement. “It’s as clear as it’s going to get. It’s now or never. Let’s go.” Marshall quietly opened the back gate. “Remember, be quiet,” he whispered back to the group, then stepped out.
The group soon followed, and they were off. They kept to a brisk but quiet pace as they escaped the village. Soon, they were far enough away from the village that the sounds of fighting were barely audible.
Unable to take it anymore, Brandi tugged on her mother’s shirt and whispered, “Momma, is Daddy going to be okay? He’ll make it back to us, right?”
“He’ll catch up to us. Now, hush,” Malorie said in a stern tone. She took Brandi’s hand and pulled her forward.
The group kept moving, and time passed. Once they were a couple miles away from the village, the tension started easing. With the tension gone, everyone was able to think about what was going on, and the gloom set in. So, though the tension eased, the quiet march continued.
It was like this for hours until one of the older female villagers finally dropped to her knees and started hyperventilating. “They’re gone. They’re all gone!” she cried out. “Andrew, Jack, they’re dead. Both dead.”
Brandi knew the lady and Andrew and Jack. She knew everyone in the village. Andrew was the woman’s son and Jack was her husband. They were both hunters who stayed back with her father and the others.
Thinking about her father, her mouth started quivering. She did her best not to break down like the older woman. She had to be strong for her mom.
Then, other villagers began to break. The children started crying out. Brandi tried her best not to think about it. She wanted to believe in Chief Leon and her father, but seeing everyone else caused her to sob. She tried to hold it back, but the tears still ran down her face. Still, she stayed quiet.
Their escape turned into a sad trudge. The morale of the group was broken. Marshall tried to shush them a few times but failed. The smaller children were the worst. Their sobs were frequent and loud.
Marshall put his hand up to stop the group, his serious face causing most of them to go silent. He turned his head to the right, causing Brandi to follow his line of sight. In the distance, there was movement in the tree line.
Brandi prayed that it was nothing. That it was only a couple of bunnies. The same that she had killed to unlock the Great System. She didn’t care about their cuteness anymore. She would watch a thousand bunnies get slaughtered if it meant that everyone was safe. Alas, her prayers weren’t answered.
“Everyone, behind me!” Marshall shouted, causing the group to shift. He drew his sword as two wolves broke out of the tree line and rushed in the group’s direction. “We’ve got two wolves. Sana, Malorie, we can take them.” Then two more wolves appeared. “Never mind! I’ll hold them off. Run!”
Marshall lunged forward at the leading wolf, thrusting his sword. It connected. The sword pierced the right shoulder of the wolf. When his momentum stopped, Marshall pulled the blade out, ripping through the skin of the wolf. He let out a sigh and confronted the next wolf.
Brandi was in her mother’s arms, being carried away from the battle. Occasionally, her mother would glance behind them at the battle. Brandi looked too.
Marshall wasn’t losing. He was holding his own with the four wolves. One wolf even had a gaping wound. Brandi let out a sigh of relief just before the other wolf jumped out of the tree line. It was so much bigger than the other four wolves.
Soon, Brandi stopped moving. Her mother sat her on the ground and looked at her with a smile. “Go along now. We’re going to go help Marshall.” She patted Brandi on the head.
“No! I’m not losing you, too!” Brandi yelled. She refused to leave without her mother.
“Be a good girl and go. You’ll only make it harder on us if you stay,” Sana said to Brandi, and her mother nodded as well.
Brandi sniffled a few times, but, in the end, she turned to run to the rest of the group.
“Let’s go,” Sana said.
Brandi watched as Sana and her mother ran back… to the wolves.
