Chapter 12: The Military Camp

After being given permission to enter, we passed through the second gate of the military camp. The view that greeted us reminded me of a medieval city. Stone houses were seen in all directions. Dome-shaped structures, which I assumed to be barracks, were positioned near the intersections, obstructing most of the view. Further ahead were wooden watchtowers. The soldiers moving about blended with the civilians that took refuge inside the military camp.

Well, I should probably stop calling this a camp. It was far too large and fortified than that.

We walked further inside and soon, we saw a crowd gathered not far from us.

“Repent, O ye sinners!” said a skinny man wearing a tattered chasuble. He stood on top of a make-do pedestal and was at the center of the crowd. “This is the wrath of the Heavenly Father! For the world has sinned!”

Judging by the reactions of the crowd, this man had been preaching for quite some time now. At the corner of my eyes, I could see some soldiers standing and listening to his speech.

Weren’t they going to do something about that guy? Surely, he would cause unrest within the refugees. That was something we don’t need right now.

The man raised his arms to the heavens. Some of the refugees knelt down the moment he did so.

“Oh Father! Cast your mercy upon us! Upon these wicked souls!” he said. Even from this distance, I could feel the passion within his voice. “By your will, we shall take arms and fend off the spawns of the devil! By your will, we shall stand up and rise! We shall bring light to this forsaken world!”

I almost shook my head after his statement. If the atmosphere was not so tense right now, I would have been rolling on the floor, laughing.

“Pastor Keith,” said one of the refugees. “What will happen to us? What should we do so those demons won’t kill us? Please tell us!”

“Pastor Keith!”

“Pastor!”

The shrieks and wails of the crowd amalgamated into buzzing sounds that screamed of the word loser. I frowned as I lead my group away from the mob.

“Just trust in the Lord!” shouted the Pastor. I swear, guys like this one would be first to flee from danger. “He will make way! He will save us! Just trust our God!”

“An interesting guy, isn’t he?” said a voice behind me. I turned around and saw Nostra. Like before, he wore his usual arrogant smirk. “Normally, I would have asked the soldiers to throw him to jail… but he’s so funny that I can’t bring myself to do it.”

There was a chuckle within his voice, and I clearly heard it.

“Say, if there really exists a God,” said Nostra. “Then he’s nothing but a shitty existence that loves to play with the lives of mortals.”

It was the first time I met someone with the same views. I nodded at that statement, and he seemed delighted after seeing that.

“So, what do you think of the military base?” said Nostra. “My military base.”

Once again, I glanced around. It was far more peaceful than I thought. The tension in the air was palpable, but order still existed within the grounds. Soldiers would patrol the streets, and refugees would come in and out of stone houses.

If I were asked what surprised me the most in the city, then I would point out the numerous stone houses built in strategical places. I could clearly see those stone houses as another wall, and the barracks at the intersections were the gates.

I was pretty sure that even if the walls were breached, this military base would be able to hold on for a decent amount of time. I had to give credit to whoever planned the layout of this military base.

“I built this place,” said Nostra, as though he was able to read my mind. “Took me some time to plan the layout and the defenses, but it’s definitely worth it.” He nodded at his words. “Definitely the best place to be during this apocalypse. There’s no safer place.”

I had the urge to retort that the foot of the mountains was far safer, but I decided to keep my mouth shut. After all, there was no point in revealing all my cards.

We passed by a small cathedral, and as expected, it was packed full of refugees praying to their God.

“Oh, the cathedral’s mandatory,” said Nostra. He tucked both his hands inside the pockets of his baggy jacket. “The soldiers insisted that we build that thing. Though I really think it’s a waste of space.”

Occasionally, some of the soldiers would see Nostra, and they would immediately stand rigidly and make a salute. It was an amusing sight, as though this teenager was a God clad in human flesh.

“Who are you?” I asked.

There was a chuckling sound before Nostra playfully replied, “That’s a secret.”

He briskly walked ahead of us then turned around to face me. He tilted his head to the side and placed a finger on his lips. “Rather… I should be the one asking that.” His eyes, as he stared at me, were predatory. “Who are you? The wind kept whispering at me that I should meet you, no matter what.”

I did not reply. I merely stared back at him.

A soldier approached Nostra then whispered something to him. Nostra nodded then mumbled, “I see… I see.” His brows creased momentarily, but he was able to immediately regain his smiling face.

“There’s something I need to take care of~,” he playfully said. He pointed at a stone house not far from us. “You can use that one. Topmost floor. The one at the right. Oh, you don’t mind sharing a small room, do you?”

The soldier beside Nostra seemed uncomfortable of our presence. He intently glared at my direction. He whispered something to Nostra, and Nostra replied with, “It’s fine! It’s fine!”

Thunder bellowed on the sky. The refugees on the streets shrieked, and some crouched on the ground. I remembered my past self. I was like that before, too. I was so traumatized of the events that transpired that the slightest bit of noise would make me jolt and tremble in fear.

“It’s probably going to rain,” said Kristine, her voice small and trembling.

Nostra approached me then sniffed my neck. I took three steps back in reflex.

“What are you doing?” I said, my voice filled with wariness. This guy was too weird.

Nostra snickered. “You really smell of blood.” He stared at my sword for a few seconds. “Don’t kill the soldiers, ‘kay?”

At the corner of my eyes, I could see that Franchesca and Jerry were clearly bothered by what Nostra had said. I was sure that once again, the image of me killing humans before resurfaced within their minds.

“I can’t promise you that,” I simply stated. After all, it did not matter who it was. If someone were to harm Franchesca and Jerry, I would kill without hesitation. And the soldiers were not excluded from that list.

Nostra chuckled. He meandered back towards the soldier from before. Before disappearing amidst the crowd, he said, “Then, see you later!”

And he was gone.

The four of us went towards the stone house Nostra previously pointed at. Even from the distance, we could hear the voices of men and women arguing inside.

I knocked on the door thrice then twisted the knob. The door creaked open, and those that were inside stared at us.

Eleven people. If we include our group, it was a tad too many for such a small house.

“Hello,” I greeted politely. “We’re supposed to occupy the room at the topmost floor. The one at the right—”

“—This house’s full,” interjected one of them. “Get lost, kids.”

The members of my group shriveled from the glares shot by the adults.

“The soldiers told us that we’re supposed to occupy the room at the topmost floor,” I stood my ground.

“Didn’t ya hear me?” snarled one of them. “This house’s full—”

He stopped midway in his remark when an old woman tapped his shoulder. Her brows were creased as she gently shook her head. From that single instance, I realized that that woman held great authority within the group. Everyone suddenly turned quiet as she spoke.

“You can take the room at the topmost floor, son,” she said. Her voice was gentle, almost soothing. “I’m sorry for the rude remarks of family. You see… a lot has happened since we came here…”

Her voice trailed off, and I was sure that her mind was reminiscing the horrid encounters. Her lips quivered as she suppressed the tears from coming out.

Silence befell us. And the agitated man from before broke the ice.

“You heard her,” he said, this time calmly. “You lot can take the room. Go.”

Indeed, not everyone was evil. These people were just probably traumatized by what happened. Judging by their expressions, these guys had probably lost some of their family members.

“Thank you,” I said as I led my group towards the spiraling staircase. There was silence as we climbed up the floors, and eventually, we reached the room at the top.

I opened the wooden door and it made a characteristic creaking sound.

“It’s a lot bigger than I’ve expected,” I whistled.

This was not a bad place to stay, at all. Well, at the very least until the fifth wave arrives.

After all, this place would be reduced to smithereens once the monsters from the fifth wave attacked this place.

After all of us entered the room, Jerry shut the door tight.

He gulped down the lump in his throat then said, “Pal, aren’t you going to explain to us what’s happening?”

Silence was absolute as everyone stared at my direction. I sighed for I knew that this was going to happen.

I sat down on one of the two beds in the room. The cold breeze of the night whistled through the window on my right.

And I began explaining to them the things that I knew, and the things that I’ve experienced before. It took me a long time telling them my story, and that was after leaving out the most horrid and gruesome details.

Jerry and Franchesca was staring at me, their eyes wide and their jaws slacked. Kristine, one the other hand, merely looked dumbfounded. I was not ever sure if the brat understood what I have just told them.

“W-Wait!” shrieked Jerry. I told him to hush, and thankfully, he did. “So, you’re telling me that you came from the future, and that you’ve experienced this nightmare before? That in that timeline, both Franchesca and I were dead and you were the only one that survived?!”

I nodded, and Jerry pulled out some of his hair.

“And what’s with the story of entering Hell?!” he once again shrieked. “You mean to tell me that you successfully killed the one responsible for this shitty reality… this apocalypse—but died afterwards? And what with the kid at the end of that story? You’re telling us that’s the famous lucifer from the bible? That’s a damn crazy story!”

“Yeah, it’s pretty crazy,” I said in agreement. Jerry still wore a dubious face as he repeatedly opened then closed his mouth.

I looked outside the window and saw the numerous stone houses inside the military camp.

“This place’s going to fall a few days from now. A week at most,” I said.

The members of my group shivered after the thought.

“Personally, I think it’s safer in the mountains,” I said. “There’s nothing living there aside from the Silver Wisp.”

“Silver Wisp?” said Jerry.

I smoothened out the blanket of the bed then nodded. “A Boss monster that lives in isolation. It’s pretty aggressive if someone enters its territory—and that includes even the other monsters. So simply speaking, if we know the limits of its territory, we can use that to our advantage. We can use that monster to protect us while we bid for time. Plus, there’re those flowers that bloom at the feet of the mountain.”

I did not further elaborate that I needed to kill the Silver Wisp to obtain its special skill. This explanation of mine was good enough for now.

Franchesca walked towards me. “Chase… if your story was true, then…”

I immediately understood what she was trying to say. I did say that we used to be lovers before, back in the previous timeline.

I gave out a smile. “Don’t dwell too much on it. Even if you don’t feel the same way this time, I’ll still continue to stay by your side. No matter what.” I emphasized the last part.

Franchesca seemed flustered by what I have said. She momentarily stared at me, then averted her gaze after. Jerry wore a mischievous grin as he approvingly nodded at me.

After we took our rest, time quickly ticked by. Kristine fell asleep on the bed, while Jerry and Franchesca merely sat inside the room in silence. I could not blame them. After all, so much things transpired. They’ll probably find it hard to sleep for the next few days.

Suddenly, the people outside shrieked. The three of us immediately stood up to see what the commotion was about. From the window, we saw the sky turn redder by each passing moment. The clouds twirled into a violent maelstrom, and thunder bellowed continuously.

The second wave of monsters have arrived!

Despair, mortals!

Moments after that announcement, particles of light formed right at the center of the twirling mass of clouds. The entire sky turned blood red, and lightning slithered into numerous crisscrossing veins. From the center of the vortex, a pillar of blinding light fell down. I squinted as I watched its intensity wane and disappear a few seconds after. Eventually, the clouds dispersed, and the sky resumed its lull.

“W-What was that?” breathed Jerry. Even now, the people outside, the soldiers included, were flustered.

“The start of the second wave,” I said.

Tears started forming at the corner of Jerry’s eyes. “W-What do you mean, mate?”

“New batch of monsters,” I said in simple terms. “The guys that arrived this time are far more dangerous than the demons from before. It’s a good thing we’ve gone out of the city.”

As though on cue, numerous gunshots were heard from the outside. Buzzes and shrieks were heard as the refugees went into a state of panic.

“Monsters! A wave of monsters is attacking us!” one of the soldiers shouted. And this drove the crowd into frenzy.

“Stupid,” I said as I grabbed my sword. “What’s the use of telling the refugees about it?”

For sure, chaos was something we did not need right now.

I opened the door. “I’ll be going out of a bit. It’s safe in this camp—for now.” I looked at Jerry and Franchesca. “Stay here. Don’t go out. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

I licked my lips.

I guess this was the perfect time to slaughter some monsters.