Chapter 6

"DIE!!!!!"

A group of people dressed in what seemed like brown sacks charged in our direction.

Aidan quickly lunged forward, taking down one of them with a swift move and pushing him to the ground. Then he tackled another with his strong arm, effortlessly avoiding their attacks. He never failed to impress me. This pretty boy.

"Nad, take cover!" I yelled as I pushed her toward the automobile.

One of the attackers swung a long steel pipe at me. I grabbed the pipe and pulled it, disorienting its holder. He lost his balance and staggered, giving me an opportunity to strike him on the head with the pipe. I then charged ahead, sliding the pipe on the ground, sending more attackers falling off their feet.

One of them managed to avoid my attack and ran sideways, attempting to catch me from my blind spot. But I quickly turned around and dodged his metal stick. However, his comrade got up and locked his arms around my neck. I folded my knees and stomped hard on the ground, using the momentum to rise and leave the man dangling off my neck.

Someone else took that opportunity to grab my wrist, but I grabbed their wrist in return and quickly spun around. Once they fell down, I twisted their arm behind them and immobilized them with my knee. "What the hell?!" I exclaimed.

"What are we being attacked for?"

Nadia emerged from hiding. "We didn't bring any supplies with us, and it's clear we're not from around here. We couldn't possibly have any hidden rations."

"Yeah, what's going on?" Aidan asked, his dark eyebrows furrowed.

"You and your temper," I said, earning a glare from Aidan.

"You're not one to talk," he retorted.

I turned to the guys and asked, "Do you have any idea who he is?" I pointed to a certain symbol on the side of Aidan's cloak, which featured a big letter A embroidered with thorny shrubs and the word 'ACTS' written under it.

The Alpha Corps Training School had given these signature cloaks to its students upon admission, but most of them wouldn't wear them outside of school. Aidan was the only one who did. He liked the way the cloak wrapped around his body.

"I don't know if you're brave or just plain idiotic," I continued. "Can't you see this?"

Among the Top 10 Monsters of Genesis, Aidan was ranked number one. He was feared throughout the country for his unmatched combat skills, swift feet, cooperation between his brain and brawn, and his brute strength.

Despite his familial background and privilege, Aidan had made a name for himself. Even the Prime Minister acknowledged his genius, awarding him the Badge of Honor for his contribution to 'keeping the peace' around Genesis, although it was all just political maneuvering. Prime Minister Pachis wanted to keep Aidan under her wings to ensure that he wouldn't deviate.

After all, imagine a superhuman like him leading a pack of monsters - who could defeat him?

Only those with enough strength or cunning tricks would dare to approach him. Yet, these measly creatures had attacked him as if they were trying to kill themselves.

"What choice do we have now? If we don't kill you, you will kill us," the man below my knee squealed.

"What in the world are you talking about?" Aidan pulled the hair of the man in his grip as if he were reining a horse.

Both parties wore the same confused expressions.

"We know that the government is kidnapping people!" A man who had been sitting still on the ground rose and walked aggressively toward me.

I lifted my leg to put a safe distance between us. "Stay there!"

"What are you trying to say?" Aidan snapped, grabbing the man by the neck. I was anxious that he might accidentally pull off the valve if he didn't control his strength.

The man coughed and wheezed. "You are a Monster, who else could possibly do it? We have intel that says the Alpha Corps is connected to the kidnappings. You have the Badge of Honor for 'keeping the peace' around Genesis, but all we see is a bloodthirsty beast."

I stepped forward and put my hand on Aidan's arm. "Don't let their words get to you. You know who you are."

Aidan let go of the man and stood up straight, towering over him. "I don't know anything about the kidnappings. But if what you're saying is true, I'll find out and put a stop to it. You have my word."

Nadia came forward and asked, "It's a justifiable assumption considering the situation. May I know your name?"

"It's Moose," the man replied. He studied Nadia and muttered, "Are you perhaps his twin sister?"

Nadia nodded, and her empathetic smile could be seen through the transparent full-face gas mask that she wore. "Is it because of the missing people?" There was something about Nadia that made it easy to trust and open up to her. It could be her humming voice or her willingness to listen, or perhaps because she genuinely cared about others.

Moose diverted his gaze from her.

"We won't hurt you. We just want to know what's going on," she explained.

Then he spoke with a hint of guilt and distress, "As you said, people are missing. One of my neighbors is nowhere to be found. Then another acquaintance disappeared. And then another one. And another one. We don't know what's happening. Rumors say that they are kidnapped by the government for disobeying rules."

"I've never heard of this before." Aidan brushed his dark hair with his fingers.

"We don't even know what rules they violated. We began to think that it was just a ruse. The main goal is to curb the population. The government is having supplies shortage, right? The perfect solution is to cut down stomachs to fill."

"Are you from Zone D?"

"No. I'm from C. He's from D. And he's lost his wife and daughter already." Moose pointed at a man sitting on the ground with his head down.

"I understand that you're tense, especially with the daily struggles you're facing. Whatever is happening in this country is completely separate from us. We're here to investigate, but perhaps this matter is bigger than we can handle," Nadia said, releasing the attackers and giving Aidan and me a serious look.

Aidan spoke first before she could. "People from Zone C are missing."

"Let's go home for now and come up with a better plan," Nadia suggested, eyeing her giant brother and sensing something ominous.

"Wait here. I'll go inside and look around," he said.

And her worst fear came true.

To be continued...