Chapter 37: The Deadly Rank 4 Chimera

The forest air was moist. It brushed against their faces like a wet towel. Anastasia had finally started to recover. They had been walking in the open sun for nearly fifteen minutes. Her human skin had began to strip away and she even had a little blood dripping from sections of her body. They couldn't be anymore thankful they had made it into a forest with a decent canopy filtering out the sun's heat.

Slowly, Anastasia began to regain her human form healing her wounds. They healed in a very creepy way as the skin on her body just seemed to multiply and stretch over the wounds.

"I didn't know Apocrypha could heal their wounds so quickly..." stated Zane not knowing whether or not to be impressed.

Anastasia smiled, "We can only heal minor wounds like this. Losing an entire limb would be a completely different story."

Zane turned to Tyrone and Layla with a bit of concern in his eyes, "Hey, is it okay to take a break? Anastasia looks like she could use it."

"Yes, please! She needs the break to at least recover..." added Ashley.

Layla gave a slight frown, "We've only been walking for a few minutes... It's too early for a break."

"It's okay... I'll be fine." comforted Anastasia.

Tyrone turned to inspect Anastasia. He still didn't know much about her. She was an Apocrypha he had just decided to trust due to the circumstances. Her kind had slaughtered many humans with many more to come. Even his own family had gotten taken by her species. He had no real reason to trust her nor did he want to. Yet for some reason he didn't hate her. He felt sympathy towards her more than anything else.

"I don't know why you all have an Apocrypha amongst you, but if she's actually willing to help humans then we should at least take her health into consideration as well."

Elio smiled as he too came in on the conversation, "How intriguing... Are you implying we should take a break then?"

"Yeah... Lets all just take ten minutes. No more than that."

"Fine..." accepted Layla reluctantly.

Everyone else then agreed as they got themselves ready to relax. Layla, Tyrone and Hazel all sat themselves down on a broken down log on the forest floor. Elio and Nick slumped themselves next to a tree not too far from the others.

Zane went over to Anastasia to ensure she wasn't just trying to act tough. He couldn't imagine the excruciating pain she must have gone through. Ashley was also by his side thankful for his help. He had taken their health into deep consideration so many times in the past few hours that it was almost childish. Layla looked on as they talked and laughed amongst themselves. A tiny amount of jealousy creeping up on her.

"You okay..?" asked Hazel noticing the discomfort in her face.

"Yeah... I'm fine."

Hazel smiled noticing her reluctance to show how she really felt.

They then averted their gaze in search of Serenity and Deandre. They were stooped down next to a small bush talking amongst themselves. The two had seemingly become best friends in the short period of time. It was to be expected given the fact they were around the same age.

"So you don't know how to shoot a gun?" asked Deandre in surprise to Serenity.

Serenity shook her head in denial, "No, I wasn't really exposed to that kind of stuff."

"Oh, I wasn't either. I just played a lot of C.O.D before the apocalypse came about."

Serenity chuckled, "You're telling me a game thought you how to shoot a gun?"

"Of course! Who said it's not possible? I played a lot of games with guns so I came to know a lot."

"Well that's cool! It mean's you're probably better at shooting than Zane over there!"

"Bet!"

The two were then stopped mid-way in their conversation upon hearing a small rustle coming out from the bush beside them. Deandre immediately grabbed Serenity's hand and jumped back. Serenity was dragged on her butt for a short moment before Deandre released her.

"What is it?" she inquired while rubbing her bruised butt.

"Didn't you hear that rustling coming from the bush??"

"Yeah but don't you think you're overreacting a bit?"

Suddenly, the bush rattled once more as if something was trying to fight it's way out. By this time, everyone else got themselves up in worry looking at the two. It could always be a small animal but they still had to be cautious.

"Hey, you two get back over here now!" ordered Layla in worry.

Before they could move, a small cute white rabbit jumped out from the bushes. Serenity thought it was cute but Deandre didn't agree.

"It's just a rabbit!" she laughed.

"Nah, this is like one of those cliché moments when a small animal jumps out for us to let our guard down, then right after that some huge creature jumps out and attacks us!"

"You watch too many movies..."

"Movies will save your life!"

The small rabbit then jumped closer to the two in a very tame manner. It's small pink nose twitched as it placed it's head closer to the two.

"Aww! It's so adorable though..." said Serenity softly as she began patting it's head. She did however find it a little weird how tame the rabbit was.

"I guess it's okay then..." agreed Deandre as he too began patting it's head.

Suddenly Zane flew up and swung himself around towards the two. His intuition slapping him harder than Layla ever could.

"Shit! No! Get away from that thing!!"

Zane's words scared Serenity and Deandre resulting in them tumbling backwards over one another. The rabbit had bit at their fingers missing them by a mere millimeter.

"What the hell?" cursed Deandre as he scooted himself backwards alongside Serenity.

The small rabbit's fur began to to turn into a shadowy black. It's ears became as pointy as knives. It's eyes began glowing blood red. It's small paws and bodies began to grow towards the size of a fully grown adult kangaroo. Bones snapped and cracked as they shifted places in it's body. Finally it emerged into full view like nothing they had ever seen before releasing a powerful roar. It's feet pouncing on the ground like that of an elephants.

It's body and head was like that of a black kangaroo with glowing red eyes and teeth like a saber-tooth tiger. The edges of its feet were like that of a mole but obviously held a lot of power within them. Lastly was its hideous tail that resembled that of an octopus tentacle swaying behind it in the dirt.

Serenity released a blood-curdling scream ringing the eardrums of Deandre. The Chimera lashed forward with it's tail trying to grab onto her leg. Deandre quickly grabbed onto her hand pulling her out of the way.

"Get back!" screamed Layla as she got her gun out.

"No! Don't shoot at it!" warned Anastasia.

Before Layla could even ask why, the Chimera leapt forward with a huge jump landing right before her. It's leg power was frightening, obviously many times stronger than a normal kangaroo.

Layla felt her heart come up into her mouth in shock. She hurried trying to pull the trigger but the Chimera grabbed onto her arm and used it's feet to slam into her stomach. Layla flew backwards slamming into a tree with a huge 'thud'. Leaves and insects falling from the tree upon impact.

"Layla!" screamed Zane as he ran over to her.

Tyrone got his gun out ready to shoot the Chimera but again Anastasia shouted;

"Don't shoot yet! If you shoot and there are more of them, they will kill us all!"

Tyrone wasn't sure what Anastasia meant but he had a feeling he really shouldn't try shooting at the Chimera. He then turned his head back towards the Chimera but by this time it was already gone.

"What the hell..?" he muttered to himself.

"Tyrone! Above you!" screamed Ashley in terror.

Tyrone did not even get a chance to react. The Chimera's powerful feet came slamming down into his head knocking him flat on the ground. The gun released from his grasp as he laid on the ground completely unconscious.

"Serenity! Deandre! Get back!" screamed Nick.

"Damn it! We have to shoot this thing!!" cried Hazel as she got her gun forward. She began pelting bullets at the Chimera but to her horrendous surprise, the Chimera dived towards the ground and began digging like a mole with a jet engine. Due to the soft soil and it's large arms, it penetrated the ground with ease. Only a single bullet managed to catch the Chimera and it was right in it's octopus-like tale.

Everyone began to panic as the Chimera went completely out of sight. The only thing to signal them of danger was the constant sound of digging in the ground beneath them. It could pop up anywhere at anytime.

"Get into the trees!" shouted Anastasia in panic.

The Chimera wasn't about to let them, as it suddenly popped up from beneath the ground latching onto Elio's leg with it's tail ready to pull him under. The tentacle-like tail stuck itself onto Elio. It was obvious the Chimera was built for hunting prey just like this.

"Shit!"

"Elio!" screamed Nick.

Nick dived towards Elio as if he were diving into a swimming pool. He grabbed onto Elio's arms trying to keep him above the surface. Unfortunately the Chimera had monster-like strength as Nick began to be pulled underneath alongside him.

"Crap! Don't let me die!" shouted Elio.

Gunshots then began to ring through the air as bullets lodged themselves into the ground. The Chimera roared in pain as it released Elio's legs.

Nick and Elio looked up in surprise to see Deandre pointing the gun towards the ground. He had seemingly just saved them.

"See Serenity! I learned that from C.O.D!"

Serenity couldn't help but blush a little at how cool Deandre looked.

Layla finally got back onto her feet with the help of Zane. She looked around desperately hoping the Chimera was gone.

"Is it dead??"

"No, everyone stay back and let me handle this!" demanded Anastasia.

Slowly they watched Anastasia shed her human skin and go into complete Apocrypha form. Her body became as white as a cloud and her eyes were as black as tar. Her tentacle like hairs dancing above her head and her metallic like teeth revealing themselves. She began bellowing in a very soft tone as if not wanting to attract other Apocrypha.

Right on queue with her bellowing, the Chimera popped out of the ground in front of her staring her in the eyes. The rest of the group watched in horror as Anastasia communicated to the Chimera in a weird language. Layla got her gun out and placed it before her. Her finger laying stagnantly on the trigger just in case of any unexpected moves. She wasn't about to trust Anastasia with their lives so easily.

"What the hell could they be talking about..?" asked Zane shaking like an earthquake in fear. Who could blame him? This Chimera was obviously powerful. It was well designed to capture it's prey.

"Let's just hope she manages this somehow..." muttered Elio. His usual smile non-existent from his face.

Just then, the conversation that was taking place between Anastasia and the Chimera seemingly turned into an argument. Their voices became rough and aggressive. Anastasia let out a loud aggressive bellow but the Chimera just roared in her face as if it disapproved with her. Long black needle-like nails extended to Anastasia's side as she slashed them forward. The Chimera did the same by jumping and implanting it's legs into her stomach sending her flying backwards into the others. They tumbled over one another like a stack of dominos. They hurried and tried scurring to their feet ready to run.

To their surprise, the Chimera laid on the ground lifeless with blood running from it's eye sockets.

"W-What..?" stuttered Layla in confusion.

Anastasia took back her human form as she picked herself up.

"I implanted my nails into it's eyes right before it kicked me..."

Zane stepped forward helping her steady herself on her feet. She was slightly trembling as if she didn't enjoy what she had just done.

"You killed one of your own kind?" inquired Elio. His eyes filled with mystery.

Anastasia didn't answer as it obviously bothered her more than she could express.

"Are you okay??" asked Ashley in worry.

Anastasia nodded her head as she turned to look at Layla. Layla still looked at her suspiciously as if contemplating what could have made her kill one of her own kind. Just like humans, there would be some who were willing to kill other humans in cold blood. To Layla, this could be the same scenario, just involving Apocrypha. She didn't want to remove it as a possibility so soon.

"Well I'll at least say thanks for now but why did you stop me from shooting at it earlier?"

"I was unsure if there were more of them around in the area... If there were other Apocrypha or Chimera out there and we revealed our weapons, they would surely mow us down with their own weapons."

"Why don't they just do that from the start though?" inquired Hazel.

Anastasia took a deep breath soothing herself before she answered, "Pride... They value themselves superior to humans in everyway. If they have to resort to using weapons before a human does then that Apocrypha has disgraced our entire species. We should hunt on the same level as our opponents and only resort to other means if our opponents or prey do."

Zane could confirm that without a doubt. Through his journey so far, every time an Apocrypha attacked them with weapons was whenever they shot or revealed their own weapons first. It was never the other way around.

"What was that thing though??" he asked in worry.

"It was a Rank 4 Chimera..." replied Anastasia dimly.

"It transformed from a freaking rabbit!" yelled Deandre.

"Yes, Rank 4 Chimera also have that ability. They can transform into animals by rearranging their cells and DNA... You probably shouldn't trust any animals... or even insects by that. You never know which one could be a Chimera."

Nick sighed in relief grateful to still be alive. If Rank 4 Chimeras were so dangerous he really didn't need to run into anymore of them.

"My question is how did we all survive that? I'm sure it had a few chances to kill us..."

"That's true but that's only because it was a Chimera who specialized in setting traps. It's body isn't built to tear and slash at their prey but instead to capture them with its tail and bury them underground before eating..."

Everyone went silent as they realized it was more good luck that bad luck that they had met upon a Chimera like that. If it was able to rip apart its prey then at least three of them would be dead at this point inclusive of Layla.

"Okay, can we like get out of here now?? I'm sure other Apocrypha and Chimera are gonna coming running towards the sound of gunfire!" exclaimed Serenity.

They all agreed as they decided not to waste another second. They picked up the unconscious body of Tyrone and hurried themselves out of the area. A big reveal was soon to take place.