It has been five years since the fall of the World Health Organization. The plague had swept in, and invaded the world with its gruesome disease and wiped out most of humanity. It was an international outbreak, and it had escalated so quickly that the WHO couldn’t even stop it from happening. Once, you were bitten, you were a goner.

There were rumors circulating around that the WHO were the ones responsible for the outbreak. Apparently, they had built a secret laboratory in El Dorado where they tested new found medicine and human drugs on animals. The Government had kept it from us, not mentioning it once, not even when the Rebels raised a coup to overthrow them. From one perspective, we were told that the WHO was planning on making a cure for AIDS. At first it was going well, they thought it was going to be a success, but eventually the animals started to reject the medicine. Whatever they had put in them, was a poison that ed with the animals brain and nervous system. When the doctors and scientists noticed what was going on, it was already too late for them to run away. Each one of them had been bitten and from there, the plague spread like wildfire and entered the main land.

The first time I saw a Nightcrawler, I was with Kris, Suho and Chen. We were roaming around the empty neighborhoods, patrolling and searching for any visible signs of Nightcrawlers.

It was my first mission given to me by the trainers at the camp. I was fortunate enough to go with Kris, who had the most experience in killing those dirty things. Although he was a strict leader, I knew I would learn a thing or two from him. Leaders were more than just people who took the lead, they were also teachers.

The sky had darkened dramatically since we left the camp, the world was quiet, and the only sound was coming from us. We had been driving around in Kris’s van for about half an hour now, the engine roaring to life every time Kris placed his foot on the gas. Our eyes were set out on the street, knowing well enough that the sound of the van will alert the Nightcrawlers. They will come to us—that was what we had wanted.

“What if the Rebels come out instead?” asked Chen from the passenger seat, his eyes scanning the empty street. We had never personally dealt with them before, but the world was too small. One day our paths were bound to cross eventually.  

“They don’t give a about us or the Nightcrawlers, what we do doesn’t concern them. As long as we don’t touch their territory, they can’t do to us.” replied Kris.

I was fidgeting in my seat, feeling slightly nervous about the long night that we had ahead of us. It was only 10pm, and we had another 8 hour to go before our shift ended. I wasn’t tired though, I was just nervous. I had never encountered a Nightcrawler before, but I knew not to underestimate their strength. There was something about that poison running through their bodies, which made their strength intensify.

From beside me, the fresh faced and ever positive Suho, turned his attention towards me.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, couldn’t be better.”

He raised his eyebrow at me, knowing my sarcasm far too well. “It’s not as scary as you think. Killing them is pretty easy.”

I chuckled, clutching onto my AEK-971 rifle. It was the newest addition to my rifle and gun collection, I held onto it for dear life that night. “This is coming from someone who is already a Hunter.”

“Trust me, they’re like butterflies. Hard to catch, but once you get them in your hands, killing them is easy.”

Chen laughed, “That’s a great comparison but butterflies aren’t as hideous.”

Right before Suho could make a remark, we heard Kris yell out, “Over there!” He pointed his finger a certain direction and we all followed it with our eyes. From the rearview mirror, I could see Kris assessing their movements. They were at the very end of Ford street, turning towards us. We do not know how many of them were out there, but we knew more were coming our way. They usually came in groups, especially during the night. We knew they were not humans based on how they walked; even their shadows betrayed their true nature. They limped everywhere, like stiffened rag dolls, their shoulders were squared and they dragged their foot wherever they went.

Chen had been right, they were hideous. My eyes zoomed up to one of them, and I felt the need to puke. Their skin colour was faded with dirt lines, nothing about them looked good. The one that I had been eyeing had a piece of his mouth ripped open and all I saw were his decaying yellow teeth, and dried blood near the top of his nose. As much as I tried to hide the distaste on my face, Kris saw right through it. I could see him gauging my expression from the rearview mirror and I shamefully looked away.

“Are you guy’s all ready?” asked Kris, his voice was strict, he was in commander mode.

My heart was racing in my chest. I started to second guess myself.

“Mia,” Kris said my name with a resolute hardness to it.

The colour on my face was probably drained out, I wasn’t sure. I knew everyone was looking at me at this point, so I had no choice but to look up.

“You can’t back out now.”

My eyebrows knitted together, wondering if he thought I was going to out. He didn’t look back at me, but I saw his eyes stare at me through the mirror. “I wasn’t planning to.”

“G