Thomas was sitting at his table drinking tea, a relaxing aroma spread influencing the atmosphere around him. There were others around sitting around him doing the same, laughing while enjoying the atmosphere. You would think the setting was peacefull, but in fact Thomas was tapping his finger, which was noticed by the others.


    "Yo, why do you look like you''re not having fun?! This is a celebration of success!" Crool wrapped his arm around Thomas''s shoulder, breathing smoke into his face.


    Thomas scrunched his face and pushed him away, while thinking about something.


    "Seriously, why do you have to be a buzzkill? Can''t you let loose once? Or maybe we need to get some women, hehe." Johns said with a bit of satire on his face.


    "Will you all shut up? I can''t help shaking this feeling of foreboding." Thomas said to himself, trying to ignore the foolishness of his peers. In all honesty, he had the right to feel nervous as the forest is burning and forcing everything to the town of Ruby. If he knew, he would have abandoned it all and head towards the capital.


    " Hiccup, I just think he''shis boring hicc..." The last guy, Moore, said while obviously very intoxicated. These group of men were the one''s responsible for the murder and raze at the farm. There were two missing, Oshi, died at the farm, while Klube, was killed by Thomas after he asked for more payment. Did he think the church would allow itself to be pushed around by one insignificant guy?


    Thomas took a sip of tea when there was a knock on the door. Johns answered the door clearly annoyed, but when he saw the person in front was from the church, he shut his mouth. The church member walked in, looked straight at Thomas and said: "Come to the entrance, Sir Froeder wants to see you."


    Thomas clearly looked displeased by the man, but only replied "Okay." Thomas got up and followed behind.


    "Can you tell me what''s going on?" Thomas asked while following the church messenger.


    "I''m forbidden to say, but you''ll figure it out once we there!!" Church messenger said while clearly looking distressed.


    As Thomas got closer to the entrance he could see smoke and ash filling the skies. Heat could be felt with each step, drawing more sweat, he immediately knew what was wrong. He finally arrived next to Froeder, and asked: "Do you know what caused all this?" as he looked around seeing dead animals, such as wolves, bears, and mountain lion lying on the ground. They shot by the archers lined up at the wall separating the town and the forest.


    Froeder frowned while replying: " I don''t know, but hopefully Irschel will arrive here soon so we can find out!" He was clearly mad at Irschel''s incompetence in letting it get this far. They had one thing to do, one thing!If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    "The reason I called you was to let you know to get prepared for departure. Every church member is preparing to leave as soon as possible. This place is a lost cause." Froeder said while looking sinister. He honestly didn''t care about the people living in the town, they were just a means to an end.


    Thomas said while looking in the distance:"Alright, I''ve been wanting to go back for awhile now. I''ll just leave those bastards behind to fend for themselves." Bastards describing Crool, Johns, and Moore.


    In the middle of the conversation; Irschel came along side two men and one woman running for their lives. As you take a closer look, you could see that they did not have the net with Marissa in it.


    "hahahah, Froeder, we need to evacuate the town! Danger is coming!!!" Irschel voiced out while crouched, hands on his knees, panting heavily. Everyone one else had already been left behind and killed. He looked at Froeder and said:


    "There''s more than one Crypt! We were ambushed while chasing after the original! That''s not all, once you get bit, as long as you aren''t torn apart, you become like the original! They become these wolf-like humans and they''re going to be here very soon! Evacuation is needed!" Irschel said with fear as he remembered the events from the forest.


    Thomas and Froeder listened to the point there faces could no longer be straight anymore. They were surprised! It was surprising to hear about a Crypt that can turn others into something like itself. It was no wonder this mission failed, there''s no counter for something like that.


    Thomas couldn''t help but ask: "Did you at least kill the original? There are species out there with hive minds, where a group follows a leader. Once you kill the leader, maybe the rest will die too." Maybe he was on the right path, but it can only be learned through actually doing it.


    "That''s beside the point!! We need to get everybody and leave. Ruby is done for! Did you all notify Governor Charlize?!" Irschel had already lost his mind as it went into survival mode, as most humans do.


    "Don''t worry, Charlize has already been notified. As for the evacuation, it''s impossible to leave in such a massive group. All church members will be leaving withing thirty minutes to avoid the destruction. It''s a shame, but we can only pray for their safe passage." Froeder said self-righteously putting his hands together to pray.


    "HEY HEY, what are you saying?! There''s so many lives at stake here! DON''T YOU CARE?!" Irschel''s subordinates chimed in. before they could say anything else, Thomas drew a short sword from his sleeve and cut them repeatedly at the throat. They died while being aggrieved.


    "Small lives don''t matter." Thomas said while making his way back to prepare for departure.


    Irschel couldn''t believe it! These assholes killed right in front of him and he couldn''t do anything at all. He realized how frightening Thomas was. He made a decision to leave with his family otherwise they would''ve left behind his family and friends behind if he hadn''t come back! Family comes first, he gritted his teeth and ran towards his house.


    Froeder looked on coldly and laughed: ''''In the end, humans will be humans." He walked off into the distance, no one knowing what he was thinking.


    *************


    In a certain location of the forest, Marissa was trapped in the net, struggling to break free. The flames were rapidly spreading and unknown human like beasts were wreaking havoc. She needed to break free quickly! Using her claws to shave away the net, she was making progress when she heard heavy steps come in from behind. She looked back and muttered:


    "shit..."