After arriving back to the base, Raven finally feel relax and let her guard down. Taking a gulp from the stream water, she asked “Are you okay?” Hazel looked back at her and smiled “That was some incredible accuracy Raven! I would have been in a lot of trouble if you weren’t there with me. Thank you very much.”

Raven smiled back. She thought Hazel was a shy and reserved girl, and didn’t know why Kip wanted to recruit her. When she was about to take aim at the boy with her rocks, Raven noticed Hazel was preparing to do the same with the books she was holding, and she admired her friend’s courage despite her being so easily scared.

“I need to get stronger as well. I can’t protect anyone like this” Raven thought. Making up her mind, she told Hazel to stay here for now why she scouts for danger around the base. She didn’t want Hazel to know that she was actually going to train.

Raven leaves through the cave entrance this time, her targets? monsters that was drinking from the stream were mostly small in size, so they make perfect prey for now. When a bigger monster arrives, all of them scatters away as quickly as possible anyway, so she can use them as a sort of indicator.

Walking along the stream where the water current makes it harder for the monster to get near her. She shoots, she scores!! Raven throwing skill was immediate level 2 now, seemingly hitting animals at their weakest spot when she aims.

She levelled up to level 5 after killing a few monsters that weren’t fast enough to get away. Since everything was going so well, aside from the monsters that were running from her; Raven did not notice the others that were running away due to a much bigger threat.

“Come on, come on, come on…” urged Brendan “Just leave already”. The thirty-five years old bus driver was lying flat on the ground, waiting for a chance to drink from the stream he had just discovered.

The last 2 days were the worst of his entire life. He was ridiculed by student after the bus stops, since he lost unconsciousness on top of the driving handle and broke his nose as a results. Not only that, he was only responsible for dropping the kids off at the camps, now he was stuck in this strange world with nowhere to go and dangers seemingly lurking everywhere.

“Those damn Meerkats, that was the only piece of candy I have left. How dare they….” He signed. Brendan escaped with his life and limb intact after the cyclopes monster attacked the camp yesterday.

He was relieving himself away from the buses when he heard and saw students getting tear apart from afar. Lucky he has already done his business, or else he would wet himself again. Turning around, he ran as far as he could into the night.

As soon as he thought he got away from danger, he was attacked by seemingly every creature possible on the day after that. Caterpillars fell on him, rabbit bit at his shoes, a bunch of Meerkats attacked him when they smelled the candy he was about to eat… It was a miracle he hasn’t die yet. Only suffering from minor injuries and insect bites.

He felt ashamed on himself. Brendan was a good person at heart. He loved to help people whenever he can. Helping an old lady cross the street, please, he would carry her to where she wants go is she needs too. That’s why he felt very bad when he ran away, abandon the students and teachers to their demise.

Brendan know he doesn’t have to stay back, there was nothing that he could do anyway. But his personality and being another adult in that situation compile him to feel this way.

When he heard the sound of water running, he was about to jump straight toward the sound, but stopped quickly as he does so. Even a slow person can only be attack so many time until he develops a sense of caution.

Peering his head outside from a bush, he saw a bunch of strangle animals drinking from a stream. Even though they appear harmless, he was traumatising from seeing small animals after getting attacked so many times. “Now I just have to wait until they leave for my turn” he solemnly says.

Brendan was wake up suddenly by loud splashing water sounds from the stream. He seemed to have doze off why he was waiting for his turn. Peering his head outside, he saw a long hair girl running along the water stream, getting chased by an extremely blood-thirsty looking green baboon. Before he was even sure of the situation, his body rushed toward the monster with new-found invigorating strength.

“What do I do now, Kip would be upset if something was to happen to me while he is away.” Raven cursed herself. She blamed her carelessness, for being too absorbed in killing monster that she did not notice this baboon approaching. She was quickly running out of strength, the baboon did not approach the stream where she was running in order to get away. It was playing around with her, waiting for Raven to collapsed in exhaustion before it goes for the kill.

Raven knows she was about to die, and it sadden her to imagine that Kip would not find her even after she die since she is going to become monster food anyway. She stopped running, and was about to fight with the monster to the death, before she saw a large man running out of the wood to tackle the baboon down to the ground.

Brendan successfully topple the chasing baboon down to the ground before he realised he was in imminent danger. Although he was a big man, he could feel the baboon body containing incredible strength pushing him back.

“HAHAHA, looks like I can’t beat you with strength alone. You want my life huh? Well, come and get it. I’m dragging you down with me regardless whether you wanted it or not” he shouted. Brendan punches, kicks and knees the baboon with all his strength. He could feel the baboon tearing and biting his flesh, he could feel his life draining away from the sharp claw of the monster underneath him.

But strangely, he didn’t feel scared. He was actually happy. Brendan could feel the damn baboon attack weakening. "Looks like it’s a one-way trip to hell for the both of us. At least I can atone for my sin by leaving those kid behind now” he said quietly, before being pushed away and rolling away from the monster. With no strength left in his body, he closed both his eye, and gladly accept his fate.

Raven was moved. The man in front of her was throwing away his life in order for her to get away. Aside from Kip, she didn’t think anyone would do that for her, much less a person she didn’t know. But who was Raven, she didn’t give up even when death come looking for her, how could she let someone to die for her sake. Grabbing a branch nearby, she ran to where the fight was; and using all her strength, she pushed the stick toward the baboon’s brain with all her might.

Brendan was confused, why did the Baboon stopped attacking. “Oh no, is it chasing after the girl” he thought. Opening his eyes, he saw Raven sitting beside a still body of a dead baboon with a branch sticking out of its head. “Hahaha, good one. You are braver than I thought. At least you are safe now” he told Raven in ragged breath.

“Why did you save me? The girl asked him, a look of respect in her eyes.

“I don’t even know myself. Maybe I’m just getting sick of being attacked by monster, can you come here for a bit.” Raven was reluctant as first, but seeing how he was attacked to this state for her, she quickly came to his side. Pulling a key out of his pocket, he gave it to the girl “This is the key for the bus, you can drive it and open the trunk for class 11-E one. Leave me here and quickly get away, more of those monster might be coming. Don’t worry about me. I’m still as strong as a bull ha-ha” he coughed.

“What’s your name?” Raven asked. “You can call me Brendan the bus driver, now go, you don’t have much time to waste”. The girl nodded, saying thank you to him and ran away. Looking up at the sky, he thought in his heart “Look at how cool I am ha-ha, I hope you are proud of me mum, dad; I’m coming to see you soon” closing his eyes for the last time, Brendan drift into eternal darkness, leaving behind an expression that was not one bit afraid of death.

Raven tear up after she left. She doesn’t cry easily, but she has nothing but gratitude for the man who saved her life. During her most emotional state, her party sense skill activated, and she could feel Kip walking closer to their base. “I’ll be back for you. Please hold on a bit longer” Raven told herself, before wiping her tears and running off into the distance.