Charlie explained that the horde wouldn’t go directly to the island; however, they wanted to warn them as soon as possible. Despite the horde moving on a direct path, the monsters were still sensitive to sound and might change course if alerted.

  After they were able to get the heavy things out of the way, the conversation slowly turned lighter. Kleoff told them that they had found another gap by the north, down where some people had made settlements.

  Kiel then curiously asked what a “gap” meant.

  “You haven’t explained what the gap was to him?” asked Charlie, which Kate simply answered with a shrug.

  “A gap—”

  Charlie moved closer and pointed at one of the maps with various circles, familiar to the one Kate had drawn before.

  “Is a location that wasn’t reached by the effects of the meteorites.”

  Charlie pointed to an area on the map.

  “Just like here, on this island. This is a gap.”

  “We assumed the effects of the meteorites were carried by the wind and died out after a certain period of time, causing these circular ranges where creatures were born and wandered,” explained Kleoff.

  “Greys,” Kate corrected.

  “Greys?” asked the older brother.

  “That’s what they call them now,” Adam pointed out.

  “The name sucks.”

  “Says the guy named Charlie,” Kate spoke with a smile.

  “As if ‘Kate’ was any better,” Charlie rebuked.

  They went on like this for another hour before deciding the party should rest. The brothers explained that their trip took almost a day and a half with the horses. Thankfully, they were prepared for the road; regardless, they were still tired.

  Kleoff argued that he had warned Charlie about the tide and that their timing would be off. Charlie simply countered that their timing might have saved Althea.

  Kleoff didn’t reply to that.

  He simply mumbled about it being luck as they found rooms for themselves.

  Adam, Kate, and Kiel did the same, returning to their rooms and resting for the night.

  The night passed quietly, without any issues or dreams for that matter.

  The next morning, the brothers woke up a little late. When they got out of the building, the bright sunlight hit their eyes.

  Thankfully, the older brother was still wearing his brown cowboy hat.

  Charlie immediately smelled something the moment they opened the door.

  The outside of the building was filled with foldable tables, each containing various foods—chickens, salads, steaks, and many more dishes.

  Some people sat around each table. At the center, the brothers saw Kate, Kiel, and Althea. She looked much better now than the first time they had seen her. Her skin was no longer pale and looked smooth, as if she hadn’t been fighting for her life yesterday.

  There was another person at the table. Charlie had to squint a little to recognize him as the Captain. He looked significantly older, even though only two years had passed.

  The brothers approached the table, and the Captain shook their hands as he stood up and left to give space for them. He said that he was glad to see them back and that his crew was probably looking for him for a drink.

  They nodded as they sat down. Kleoff asked where Adam was, and Kate explained that he had woken up early to help with the cooking to celebrate Althea being healthy. After ensuring that she was completely fine, he headed out to check what was wrong with the car.

  The older brother thought that Adam should be here to celebrate as well. He figured Adam might be frustrated that the car didn’t work when they needed it. He might even blame himself if something had happened to Althea. Thankfully, they wouldn’t need to worry about that for now.

  “Do you sleep with your hat on?” asked Kate when she saw Charlie.

  “Maybe.”

  “Hey, remember—no noise,” said Kleoff to the three while sitting down.

  Althea nodded.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Yes, they told me about it. We also told the Captain.”

  She then pushed some of the empty plates with spoons and forks toward the siblings’ side of the table.

  The brothers, being hungry, obliged and took portions of the dishes on the table.

  “Thank you,” Althea said so randomly that the two didn’t expect it.

  “Adam said you carried me past the gaps.”

  “It’s no big deal. He was probably worried about you a lot,” Charlie said after taking a bite of chicken.

  “He shouldn’t. I’m fine now. Maybe I can even go with them when they go out of the gaps.”

  “No,” Kate replied while eating at the same side of the table with Kiel and Althea.

  “But—”

  “No.”

  Kate then unexpectedly stood up and left the table.

  Kiel, who was eating as well, excused himself to follow her.

  Althea looked down and placed her hand on her forehead.

  “I don’t understand,” she said after Kate had disappeared from sight.

  “She’s probably worried. It’s the first day in years that you’ve been well, and the first thing you want to talk about is being in danger,” explained Kleoff.

  “Also, Kate and Adam aren’t like us. They don’t enjoy going out and exploring danger,” Charlie paused.

  “What they do, they do because they need to.”

  Althea didn’t reply. She felt like a dead weight all this time. She wanted to be able to help Adam and Kate. Now that she could, she still felt useless. Of course, she didn’t say these things. She let the thoughts pass as the two brothers continued to eat so they could follow where Kate had gone.

  After their meal, the three started looking for Kiel and Kate. During the search, Althea had been pretty quiet.

  Finally, they found them near the plantation. Kate was aiming her bow at a plastic bottle on top of a tree stump. Kiel had already noticed them approaching, but Kate hadn’t.

  She was focused on her target alone. She breathed out and released the string. The arrow flew swiftly but missed the plastic bottle by a few inches.

  “That could be worse,” said Charlie as he approached Kate.

  Kate sneered as she handed the bow to Kiel.

  “You sure you wanna give it to the little one?” Charlie asked with genuine concern, but apparently the boy didn’t like it.

  Charlie saw a smile form at the corner of Kate’s lips but didn’t understand the meaning—not immediately, at least.

  The boy loaded the bow with another arrow and took his aim. Almost immediately after he raised the bow, he released the string.

  The arrow flew directly at the plastic bottle, puncturing it and sending it flying from the impact.

  All of them widened their eyes after seeing the boy’s accuracy—all except Kate, who had a smug look on her face.

  …

  At the shore, Adam sat on the hood of the car. He had been trying to figure out what was wrong with it, but he couldn’t seem to find the problem.

  Every time he looked at the vehicle, he couldn’t help but wonder if Nolan and Beth would still be alive if they had never met them.

  He sighed. He knew he had to stop the useless thoughts. Althea was safe now, and that’s what mattered.

  Adam took a piece of cloth lying on top of the car and used it to wipe his hands.

  After cleaning his hands, he threw the cloth through the open car door window and headed back to the island.

  Then suddenly, he saw a grey figure swiftly flying over him. Adam had mistaken it for a bird at first, but after a short moment, he realized what he had just seen.

  Without much thought, he dashed toward the island.

  …

  Captain Richard paced the deck of the USS Victor. He always cleaned it—not like they would ever use it again, assuming it even could be used.

  No, he simply liked it here. He had even placed a bench on the deck so he could admire the view.

  He often stayed here to remember the past.

  He couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought that he had left his crew saying he had drunk enough, and yet here he was with a glass of scotch, reminiscing.

  Richard always thought that humans had fought against other humans. The other side loses, and the other forgets its humanity.

  He would know—he was a soldier.

  To him, they didn’t change. They simply showed their true colors.

  The old man took another sip of scotch as he admired the sea he would never be able to sail again.

  Just then, he saw a silhouette quickly approaching his location.

  As the figure got closer, its shape and appearance grew more defined.

  The Captain’s eyes widened upon realizing what was coming straight toward him.

  He was about to leave the boat and escape back to the island, but the creature was fast.

  It landed on the deck with a loud thud.

  The monster had multiple green eyes and grey skin. It also had massive, sharp fangs on both its upper and lower jaws.

  Its overall appearance resembled that of a gargoyle, with wings far more massive than its own body—which was already larger than the Captain, even without its wings.

  The creature perched in front of him, watching, its wings folded. Richard judged that one of its wings was injured, based on its occasional flinching. He slowly took a step back as the creature watched him.

  The Grey took a step forward as well, in a manner similar to a lion stalking its prey.

  The deck creaked under its weight. It appeared to be studying the Captain’s movements.

  Richard didn’t have any weapon that would be useful on the island. He couldn’t run either. He was sure that a single sudden movement would cause the Grey to attack.

  He turned his head slightly to check the height from the ground. A direct impact would surely result in death.

  He looked back at the creature and made a decision.

  In a swift motion, the Captain turned around and leaped over the ship’s railing, the creature closely following behind.

  Water splashed from the impact of the Captain’s fall. The creature followed, generating a much larger splash, sending waves that pushed the Captain closer to the shore.

  Fortunately, the monster wasn’t built for the water, giving the Captain enough time to swim toward shore.

  When he finally arrived, he tried to run toward the island, but he felt an ache in one of his legs. He decided that he might have broken it in the fall.

  His attempt came out slower than a walk.

  He looked back and realized the Grey was quickly gaining on him.

  As he tried to escape, he saw Kate, Kiel, Althea, and the brothers running toward him. The two brothers headed straight for him. Kleoff helped him walk, and Charlie stepped forward, pulling a revolver from his holster.

  He knew he couldn’t fire—it would cause too much sound—but if the monster came too close, he wouldn’t have a choice.

  The monster reached the shore and screeched at them before charging straight at Charlie.

  Kate did something different.

  She had moved away from the group and picked up a rock earlier. She threw it at the creature with all her might. Her aim was true, hitting it in the head.

  It screeched at Charlie once more before turning its attention to Kate.

  This time, it didn’t charge.

  It flew straight toward her and with only a few seconds the creature had already reached her, its talons gripping her shoulders. The creature was about to bite Kate’s head off.

  Kiel had already loaded his bow then.

  With one final aim, he released the string and hoped for the best.