Artifacts

Chapter 0.03

///Azra's POV///

"Anthony? You're here early," I said, not realizing that my glare had disappeared. "I see. You've already moved on. I hope he treats you well," said Jacob.

Before we could respond, he ran off. There was an awkward silence as we watched him run.

"So who was he? What did he want?" Asked Anthony. "He's my ex. He wanted to get back together," I explained.

"Ah, so you lied about not being gay. Or is he a she? Haha," Anthony said happily. We both entered, sitting on the couch.

"I don't remember saying I'm not gay," I said honestly. He looked amused. "Dad made a big deal of it," he said.

My head hurts again, but I won't show it. I don't want to worry him. Ah, I remember. I overheard a conversation about dad being homophobic. He later questioned us on if we liked boys.

"Ah. I remember now. Were you lying too? Just curious," I said. "I'm Pan. So I technically didn't lie when I said I like girls," he said with a mischievous smile.

He's so different from when we were growing up. "What's that look for?" He asked. "Ah, you've changed a lot," I said.

"That's because I finally got away from mother. You remember how she treated us right?" He asked.

This time, my head didn't hurt as the memory came back. That woman was terrifying. She was obsessed with having Anthony take over the family business. She even tried to sabotage me many times.

"Yes. I'm glad you can speak your mind now. Speaking of, I wanted to give you something," I said as I pulled out my phone. I transferred most of the money over to him. His PayPal was easy to find thanks to lord.

"This is... why are you giving me this? It's yours. We already decided that," said Anthony. "I think you should have it. Especially since you're free now," I said.

We were going to continue arguing, but everything went dark. "Oh right. Today's the eclipse," said Anthony.

[Something feels wrong]

"Why's the power out too," I wondered out loud. Then, the screams started. I grabbed Anthony, ignoring his protests as I took him into the safest place I could think of.

"Why did you take us to the bathroom?" Anthony whispered. "Something isn't right. Do you hear those screams? Somethings going on," I said.

"But why the bathroom?" He asked. "No windows," I said. We then heard a crash in the room outside. There were strange clicking and chittering sounds. There was a shadow that passed by the door.

I gently cracked the door, seeing a familiar image. It's an Eleract! One of those spider monsters! This one looks like the earth attribute kind. I glanced towards the kitchen.

I put the knives back into the house. I'll have to grab them to kill it. "Don't move," I whispered before moving quietly to the kitchen. Apparently not quiet enough though.

It was now a race to see which would reach their target first. That's what I thought at least. There was a bang down the hall, attracting the Eleract's attention for a split second. I managed to reach the knives.

When I turned around, I saw that the Eleracts target had changed to target Anthony who created the distraction.

"Hey! Get away from him!" I shouted as I threw a spoon at the spider to catch its attention. It turned towards me before charging. It's fast!

I moved to the left, but it followed and tackled me. I took the chance to slash at its eyes. It screeched in pain before kicking me away. Anthony ran over and jumped onto its back.

The Eleract smashed him against the wall, knocking him out. As it was about to bite him, I stabbed it in the nape of the neck, pulling the knife across.

Its legs tried to swat me away, but I kept my grip even while being hit. I pulled the knife out before stabbing it in the eyes, pushing it in a deep as I could. Since it was still trying to hit me, I twisted the blade. It collapsed on top of Anthony who groaned. I jumped down, ignoring the cuts and bruises as I tried to help Anthony get out from under it.

"What the hell was that?" Anthony mumbled, clutching his head in pain. "Here, let's get the first aid kit and patch you up," I said, ignoring my throbbing arms and back.

"Speak for yourself. You look worse off than me," said Anthony. I sighed before retrieving the kit, hoping that nothing else breaks in. I bandaged his head, but I was surprised when he took the kit and turned me around.

"Take off your shirt," Anthony demanded. "Wha- why?" I asked with a light blush. "You're hurt. I'm returning the favor," he said.

I nodded before taking it off. He quickly got to work, treating my injuries. There was still lots of noise outside.

[Good job. I think you leveled up a couple of times]

Eventually, everything went quiet outside. "You seemed to recognize that thing. Why?" Anthony asked in a low whisper. "I read a fantasy book about monsters recently. That thing was in it. It's called a Eleract," I explained.

"What the hell is an Eleract?" He asked as he and I moved the couch to block the window. "It's a spider monster. That one was an earth attribute. That means it's skin is really tough," I recalled.

"So. Is this the end of the world now?" He asked. "Probably," I said as I shrugged. "And you're not even surprised?" He asked. "Honestly, not really. It feels more like this was how I expected it to be? I don't know how to explain, nor do I think it's a good time to do so," I rationed.

I put my shirt back on and we sat in silence together, not daring to take a look outside in case there were more out there. "So what now?" He asked.

"We could wait for help or for sunrise. Most of the dangerous monsters don't come out at day," I explained. "Then for now?" He asked. "We could take turns sleeping with one of us constantly keeping watch?" I offered.

"Then I'll take first watch," Anthony offered. "Nope. I know far more about these guys than you do. Until you learn, I will be taking night watch," I said, saying goodbye to my precious sleep.

"Wouldn't it be better if the more skilled person rested more so when something shows up they can help in good condition?" Anthony asked.

[He's got you there kid]

"Fine," I grumbled as I went into the closet to sleep, leaving Anthony with a knife to keep watch.