章 8: Campfire in the barrenlands

"Hey Shaker, why don't you show us your might now?" A male student mocked Jackson, but Jackson didn't think it was funny and he walked towards the unsuspecting student and picked him up by the the collar shaking him in the air like a cocktail.

"Like this?" Jackson smirked evilly, the rest of the group could only watch in despair as their young classmate was being roughed up. The soldiers stood idly, letting him do as he pleased and by the time Jackson was finally done with the poor guy he was puking his guts in the ground, completely dizzy.

"Hey, why didn't you stop him?" The pretty female student complained at the solders, but the lieutenant shook her head.

"Why should we? He shouldn't have made fun of him if he wasn't planning on facing the consequences. I said this before, this isn't school and as long as no one gets hurt it's all in good fun."

The previous joyful mood suddenly turned grim. They were used to making fun and laughing at the expense of their classmates all the time, but never did it cross their mind that someone could retaliate like that. Violence was strictly forbidden on campus and they assumed it would be the same during this trip, even though the lieutenant kept reminding them that they were off city walls, they didn't put two and two together until it was too late, and now one of them was brutally tormented by Jackson.

Now they were wondering if Uriel too was planing on exacting revenge on them and, even though he didn't look like much, there was no telling on what kind of trait he could eventually acquire.

The long walk towards the mysterious POI proved to be a challenge for Uriel who wasn't used to physical activity. When the alarm sounded marking that six hours had passed, the lieutenant turned towards the corporal with the flaregun, nodding at him to shoot it and, at the same time many other flares traversed the skies. This time it didn't look like a circle but something that resembled an oval.

Thanks to the flares, every unit was able to pace themselves so they could all reach the center at more or less the same time. It was an effective way of communication considering that the presence of those creatures messed up with electronics and they couldn't use cellphones or radios to speak.

"It seems we're lagging behind a bit, this means we won't be able to rest unless we make up for the time being." The lieutenant said with a disappointed expression on her face and everyone turned to glare towards Uriel, deeming him to be the cause of their misfortune.

Feeling dejected, Uriel shifted his gaze towards the ground. His legs were already shaky and if he didn't get some rest there was no way in hell for him to keep up with everyone.

"Are you ok?" The droopy eyed girl asked him worriedly.

"Yes, I'm just tired that's all." He replied with the nicest smile he could muster, which actually resembled a twitch on his face rather than a nice gesture.

"I'm Luna." She said extending her hand towards Uriel.

"I'm Uriel, it's nice meeting you." He said shaking her hand.

"So, that's why they call you Urinal, because it sounds similar..." She lingered for a few seconds. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bully you, I just realized the reason why, that's all." She quickly apologized for her blunt words, but that didn't stop the bitterness in his heart as his face cramped into a grimace.

In the afternoon the soldiers made a campfire and secured the area giving the students the time to eat properly. All of them took out lunchboxes from their backpacks and started eating as they chatted merrily.

Uriel, though, didn't have enough money for a proper meal. All he had for breakfast, lunch and dinner was instant noodles. Vegetables and meat were a luxury most second class citizens like him couldn't afford, but he was content with his meal as it had most of the nutrients a person should need.

After heating up some water he started slurping his cheap noodles, making a sound that seemingly bothered the pretty girl in front of him. Luna sat besides him despite his bad manners and she quickly attempted to start a conversation with him. Her droopy eyes and sleepy face gave the impression that she would prefer to keep to herself, but instead she was really talkative, something Uriel didn't appreciate much. Still, the young girl relentlessly talked to him receiving only monosyllables in reply until she finally mentioned something that piqued Uriel's interest.

"Do you know why are those creatures called cryptids and not monsters, aliens or beasts?" She asked in between bites of her meal.

"No, why?" He replied.

"No one really knows where did they came from, that's why they can't call them alien. For all we know they could have been always dwelling somewhere underground, in fact, there was extensive lore about them even before they appeared. Take the horned rabbits by example, there had been many sightings of them. I believe people around this area called them Jackalopes." She excitedly explained.

"Uh, I've heard about those, but I thought it was just sick rabbits with warts on their heads." Uriel replied.

"Well... that is... that's actually true, but that's precisely what's odd about it. You see, even though they found many of those cases, the existence of true horned rabbits could never be disproven."

"That's not how science work. You don't go disproving stuff that doesn't exist to begin with, you seek for an explanation and proof of existence, not the other way around." Uriel replied.

"That would be true in most cases, but in my line of work..."

"What's your line of work?" He interrupted her asking in honest curiosity.

"Well... I want to be a cryptozoologist."

"A what now?" his eyes widened at the same time the sun started to set.

"It's the study of the animals that remain undiscovered, like Nessie or the Kraken. The strange beasts that arrived are unknown animals too, hence why they call them cryptids." Her face remained sleepy as it was and only her tone of voice betrayed her excitement when mentioning those creatures.

"I remember now, isn't cryptozoology a pseudo science?" Uriel muttered placing his hand over his chin in deep thought.

"Pseudo science!?" For a brief second Uriel thought he caught a glimpse of anger in Luna's face under the dim light of the campfire. "How can you call the science that studies cryptids a pseudo science, when cryptids are now scourging the earth? Do you even understand why this operations are called incursions? It's because we're not on human territory anymore, this is their home now and we are the ones intruding. These creatures aren't animals, they're supernatural beings with incredible powers and abilities and the only science that can provide any information about them is cryptozooly!" Her voice raised up to a volume and the rest of the group was able to hear her clearly.

The coward student came near and sat besides Uriel and the pretty girl Uriel saw before followed suit and sat besides Luna.

"I heard that too, that those creatures took over the southern hemisphere. Some even say they came from the south pole and that's the only reason why we are still standing. I'm Sam by the way." He was friendly and he seemed truly interested in the subject, but Uriel still felt awkward near so many people.

"I don't know about the south hemisphere. I do, however, know a lot about cryptids, both my parents were cryptozoologist back when cryptids were only a myth, a legend." Luna said, much to Uriel's surprise, she was as calm as before and it made him believe that maybe he was just imagining things.

"I still don't buy it. Just because there's some lore about these creatures doesn't mean they're the same things as the ones attacking humanity right now. It would mean they were always present and there's no evidence to support that claim. The fact they're called cryptids is just because they're unknown, not because they're the same ones from tales and legends." Uriel and Luna remained silent silent after that but both Sam and the pretty girl started chatting excitedly until sunset.

When the alarm sounded again the corporal shot his flaregun and flares lit up the night sky drawing a much smaller circle than before signalling that they every group was much closer to the POI. The students fell silent and watched the show with awe, flares looked a lot more impressive during night time displaying the full extent of their brightness.

"There's something wrong..." Sam said watching the same spectacle as the rest of them, but instead of awe, his face was stiff and his hands trembled. "There's a flare missing." He said after gulping down a clump of saliva.

Although his words seemed grim, the group remained the same. They didn't believe that someone would be able to count the flares in the sky in so little time, and even if he was right, it could mean a lot of different things.

"Anyway, I don't believe the government could keep something like the disappearance of cities hidden from the citizens." Uriel commented.

"I disagree," Said Luna. "I mean, I don't know about the southern hemisphere or other secrets, but there's a lot of secret information and lore about cryptids on the internet."

"Like what?" The cute girl nudged on Luna's side in a friendly manner, prompting her to speak again.

"Back then, there were a few sightings of a slender creature, tall and shadowy that crept around these places. Its height was fearsome and it looked like a man, but its proportions were all wrong. With long fingers and a fashionable suit, the creature was called... the Slenderman." The shadow of the night seemed even darker and Luna's sleepy face now seemed creepy and distorted under the campfire light.

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