Liam was a scavenger. A very good scavenger. He would go as far and say he was the best in the camp, even if others disagreed. They didn’t know the outside world anyway. He was no fighter, clumsy with his hands, bad at cooking, he was even too weak to be considered helpful labor, but he was perceptive.

  It was this perception, this gut feeling, that kept him alive outside of their little enclave. Surrounded by far larger groups and camps they had to stay hidden if they wanted to survive, hiding was the only proper way of living these days.

  Well of course you could also try to dominate others and try to solve your problems with numbers but that never worked. Groups came and went, but only they stand tall since the beginning, because of their way – the way of hiding.

  Some people would say they are cowards, but these people are stupid! There was no fighting against the endless stream of beasts, especially not after what… happened. Thinking about that night still caused a shudder to run down his spine.

  They were never found by beasts before, but that night was different. They streamed their camp as if possessed, slaughtering each they came across, especially their warriors. In the end, what use was their supernatural power? It’s useless! They were fools for thinking they could fight back, they should have hidden like he did.

  And now he had to scavenge for more supplies, because they were too stupid to follow the way! Well, not that it matter now, he would just have to convince them that they had to be even more careful. Some are thinking about leaving, because of what happened, to look for this Vanguard place.

  Fools, they are. Fools for trying to abandon the way! Trotting a thousand kilometers along no man’s land was nothing but a death sentence. They worked so hard to create this enclave, he worked so hard for it, and they just want to abandon it like that?!

  They lacked nothing and with Riverton not far they had an endless treasure trove to scavenge what they needed. Even after so long, it was mostly untouched and full of all kinds of useful things. Everyone that said they were only living off scraps and pieces – the trash of the old civilization – didn’t understand how dangerous it was out here!

  After all, what happened to the madman that told them about this Vanguard? Who smeared their city hall with that hateful sentence of hope! He was dead, Liam saw himself how the Redfangs dragged him away.

  He came to their little haven, spread this false hope to their people, and then just left to die in a ditch! Many times he thought about removing this hateful sentence of hope, but it did prove useful for the only thing more dangerous than the Marauders or even the Redfangs; strangers.

  Strangers were not predictable like the Redfangs or could be reasoned with like with the Marauders, they were wildcards. For their enclave to work it must stay hidden at all cost and strangers happen to wander too often into the city, looking for other people, eventually stumbling into their haven by accident.

  Of course, the only option for these people was to either stay at the camp or never leave at all. Sadly, these strangers rarely choose to stay… Which meant that he had to clean up after the warriors, and he hated nothing more than cleaning up the dead!

  Strangers always meant trouble, that was why this sentence of hope was still there. Everyone who stumbled into Riverton would eventually see it and make their way in its direction, see the maps and follow them like moths to the light, only to run right into the Redfangs.

  The madman who told them of this Vanguard place had a map with him that showed the way towards this place. The map was even half decent, of course not as good as Liam’s. He was proud of his skills in making maps and his sense of directions, he must have the most detailed map of Riverton and the surrounding area in existence!

  So he didn’t just copy the map but made some adjustments. Warning strangers about the patrolling Marauders, even being so kind as to mark a safe route forward. Well, he did withhold the tiny detail that on the way was the very camp of the Redfangs. What a blunder on his part.

  Liam hoped that with enough time, the Redfangs would be weakened enough to finally vanish like all the others. From all the camps that stayed near them, proved the Redfangs, besides their cavemen like stupidity, to be a very tenacious bunch. They were as dangerous as they were predictable.

  It was a mystery to him how they managed to survive so far. They were a sort of primal religious tribe of people, worshiping some cursed being, eating human flesh, or really anything they could get their hands on. Even the beasts were better, but he couldn’t deny their strength.

  They had the fiercest fighters in the region, and even the Marauders try to evade them like the plague. Well eventually they too would perish and for now they didn’t do anything else but clean up anyone that dared to wander into their haven and disturb their peace.

  Too Liam they were nothing more but fierce guard dogs, they were dangerous without the proper leash, but if you knew how to handle them they were quite the useful tool.

  Over time, he developed a routine where he would check up on the maps to see if anyone took them and stock them up if needed, before continuing on his run. On the way, he stopped momentarily before an epitaph before shaking his head and continuing on. Suddenly stopping when he spotted a pair of people standing before the city hall, causing him to flinch as he ducked behind a broken wall.

  Pressing his back firmly against it, he made himself as small and inconspicuous as possible, his self-made clothing helping him to blend into the ruins. Taking controlled breaths to calm himself, he moved with routine and without making a sound into a nearby ruin and peeked in a man-made hole at the newcomers.

  The ruins were his home and territory, especially the region surrounding the city hall. He had it fully mapped out, both physically and mentally, he knew the best escape route from every ruin or house. With over half a dozen hidden bases not too far away that could shelter him if needed, with enough supplies to last him a week if pushes comes to shove.

  After a quick survey, he was pretty sure that it was only a pair of two people, one male, the other female. Already an unusual site. No one sane would dare to travel in a pair. A group of six was considered to be the minimum to cover all angles, it was rare to see a group of four, not mention a pair.

  Even more strange were their masks, after first seeing the black mask on the man, that resembled a skull Lima first thought he met a high ranking member of the Redfangs, but that was impossible.

  There were no red tattoos and the girl had some strange owl mask, they were definitely from the outside – strangers. The Marauders didn’t have any business in the city. They knew of enough camps and roads they could rob.

  The longer he observed them, the stronger his gut feeling became that something was wrong. This pair was unusual to an unprecedented degree. Something was strange, and he didn’t mean the clothing. He has seen all sorts of people during his observations. People did crazy things if they thought it would protect them.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  No, something else was off, he couldn’t tell what until it finally dawned on him. Their demeanor was too lax. There was no tension in their posture, no fear or wariness. They walked casually to the maps, and grabbed one. The girl must have said something, as the man suddenly began to laugh.

  There could have been a trap for all they knew, they were too loud, and they were lax enough to make jokes. Others might think they were just stupid or had a death wish, but Liam knew better. They were strangers, which meant they came from somewhere else and traveled here as a pair, on their own, without appearing to have any battle wounds.

  The further he analyzed, the quicker his heart began to beat, until the man suddenly turned around and crossed for but a moment eyes with him. A moment that felt for an eternity as a shudder ran down his back, his body tensing as his muscles refused to budge, before the gaze continued on, surveying the rest of the ruins.

  The moment their eye contact was broken, kept Liam low to the ground. It wasn’t possible for the man to have seen him! It must have been a mere coincide or his mind playing tricks on him! He tried to reason with himself, but his heart wouldn’t stop beating until he breathed, like his father had shown him.

  Taking another peek, he saw the pair walking on without a care in the world. He knew it wasn’t possible for the man to have seen him. It was just his senses going crazy to warn him of the danger.

  His very being told him to leave and stay in one of his hide-outs until the danger moved on, but something told him to follow, some strange feeling of premonition that he needed to see what was about to happen. They took the map and were making their direct way over to the camp of the Redfangs.

  Keeping as much distance as possible, he followed them, blending into the ruins, becoming one with them as he followed. Eventually they left the city and entered the periphery of the forest. Normally he avoided the forest, too many risks with the roaming beasts, this wasn’t his domain, but his skill to hide was nonetheless more than enough to keep out of sight.

  It helped that he knew the route and the surrounding area of the Redfangs territory like the back of his hand. Following this pair took all of his bravery, as every muscle in his body protested after each step, tensing at their every hold or movement. But he still continued on, until the inevitable finally happened.

  They came across a totem adorned with many skulls, fangs and claws from a variety of beasts. It’s noteworthy that none of them were of humans, as the Redfangs only considered beasts to be worthy trophies to warn others of their territory, humans were mere sustenance, offering too little of a challenge.

  The man looked curiously at the totem, pointing at one of the skulls, and saying something, which Liam was too far to pick up on. They seemed to discuss something shortly before continuing on. This was their death sentence. He was sure that one of the hounds must have spotted them already and a hunting party would appear shortly.

  As expected, only mere minutes after passing the totem, came a party of six which confronted the pair openly. It consisted of four men and two women, all wearing their traditional attire. Even in the winter, the Redfangs were very lightly clothed, with scraps and pieces of leather and fur.

  Especially the chest were left with little clothing to show off their tattoos, which told of their past kills, one of the woman even refused to cover her breasts, walking bare chested, the tattoos picturing three fangs. The number of fangs, of which each tale spins around, shows the standing of the person in the tribe.

  Three fangs meant she was one of the elite warriors, and the leader of this hunting party. There were another four two fangs and a single one fang. This must be one of the best hunting parties the tribe had at the moment and must have been about to leave, when the hound informed them of the intruders.

  Hidden in the thicket of the foliage, Liam concentrated as he watched through his binoculars. His muscles tensing in anticipation of what would happen next. The leading woman was resting a heavy axe, carved out of the bones of some beast, on her shoulder. The others also had a variety of weapons; from makeshift machetes, made out of scraps and pieces of metal, to simple cudgels.

  The man seemed to be wary, but rose his arms in a sign to avoid conflicts and loosened the cord on his cloak. As the cloak slid away, realized Liam that the man seemed to be one-armed. This further fueled his wariness, no normal man can survive out in the wilderness with only a single arm.

  From his posture it seemed like he was talking, and in return the hunting party began to burst out laughing, they seemed to exchange a few more words before the one fang – a man who was most likely eager to get back to his first proper hunt – decided they had talked enough.

  With confidence, he went towards the front, rose his large cudgel and smashed it down towards the man who met the strike with his arm to defend himself – was what Liam thought until the wood splintered as if meeting stone, and the arm of the man continued on without losing momentum, his backhand landing on the side of the head.

  Upon impact, the head violently twisted to the side, accompanied by a cracking sound that could be heard all the way to where Liam was hiding, as it echoed through the forest. Before the head could spring back to its original position, faltered the body and dropped dead to the ground.

  As if trying to deescalate the situation was, the man shaking his head and raising his arm, but it was far too late as the party erupted in a series of screams and charged at the pair. Frightened, the girl retreated backwards raising her shield and spear defensively, one of the man was about to strike her with his makeshift hatchet, before halting midair.

  Bewildered, he took the hatchet in a double grip but failed in moving it forwards, as if stopped by an invisible barrier. With a small scream, the girl pushed the spear forward, impaling the assailant with ease. Behind the impaled man rushed a woman with a bone knife towards the girl, trying to gauge her eyes out, but in the last moment the girl moved backwards only getting a cut on the side of her temple causing her to yelp, as she retreated further.

  In the meantime, the man with the black mask had already drawn his blade and disemboweled another man, and upon hearing the scream turned to his companion and with unnatural speed dashed towards the woman and decapitated her in one swift motion before continuing on. His next target was the leading woman of the party, who was barely able to intercept the blade, before he rotated and threw a sidekick towards her chest and sent her flying.

  With a desperate scream, the last man of the hunting party brought his makeshift machete down with full force to split the head of the masked man, only for him to raise his elbow to meet it. The machete was repelled, as if struck by an invisible wall of force, meeting the head of the owner right in the center, burying deep into it.

  With wide and shocked eyes, the man collapsed like a sack of potatoes. Rushing to his companion, he knelt down and checked if she was doing okay, all the while the leading woman was barely able to stand up, her chest was visibly carved in and blood was trailing from her mouth as a savage grin formed on her face.

  Grabbing her axe she went over to the pair and with the man obstructing her vision the girl saw far too late the woman raising her axe behind them, she tried to warn the masked man but was too late in the end, as the axe sliced deep into the shoulder of the man.

  With an outraged scream, he turned around and threw an uppercut at the woman, which dislodged her spine and sent her back to the ground, this time dead for good, all the while the axe was still lodged into his shoulder.

  Kneeling beside the girl, he said something before she rose to her knees and after a little struggle pulled the axe with shaking hands free from his shoulder. Before breaking down towards the ground. In the meantime, the man was rotating his shoulder like he hadn’t just pulled an axe out of it.

  With a racing heart and haggard breath, Liam slowly placed the binoculars down, realizing that he was shaking all over. He laid low to the ground, hoping that it would swallow him, just to further increase his chances of not being found.

  After all that happened, after all that he had seen, he had gained some sort of confidence. That he knew everything. He knew the Redfangs, the Marauders, the strangers, the beasts, his own people. They were all things he knew and more importantly knew how to deal with, he understood them.

  But this masked man was different. He was so inherently different to anything he had seen so far that he was… scared. Even more so than the Redfangs or beasts, he feared that man. There was supernatural in the world, he knew that. The beast were mutating, people were doing strange things considered impossible in the old age.

  What the man did wasn’t even the strangest thing he had seen so far, but it wasn’t his action that caused this fear, it was his demeanor, his behavior – his aura. It all just didn’t seem right, it felt out of place, as if the very world didn’t want him to exist…