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Chapter 41: Friend or foe?

Uriel rubbed his eyes, having his short rest interrupted made him feel dizzy and confounded. "What\'s going on?"

"I don\'t know, I can\'t see anything but Lightbringer says there\'s someone out there fighting against the cryptids." Luna replied as she was trying to pull Sam back who was still waving his arms out from the window.

"Hey, are you absolutely certain that it\'s not a cryptid?" Uriel asked with distrust, so far nothing had gone their way and he highly doubted things would change so easily.

"I know a person when I see one, besides, he\'s fighting against the other cryptids, it must be a person!" Sam scoffed. No one but him could see what was going on and they had no reason to doubt his words, but Uriel wasn\'t convinced yet.

"Something doesn\'t add up." Uriel lingered for a few seconds trying to gather his thoughts. "Luna says she can\'t see him which means he doesn\'t have a lightsource. How come he\'s fighting against cryptids without a lightsource? can you describe him?" He asked Sam who couldn\'t hold his excitement thinking they were going to be rescued soon.

"Uhm... He\'s a man, probably on his fourties, he\'s dressed in a fancy suit and has a hat. I think his trait is similar to Miss Dragonfang\'s." Sam replied.

"Wait, did you just say a man dressed in a fancy suit? Does he have really long limbs? Answer!" Luna asked without caring about being loud.

"Uhm... kind of... I think he can make his hands, no, his nails grow bigger... No... It can\'t be!" Sam shook his head, finally realizing the oddity of his own statement. "It\'s not it, not it! It was just a story!"

"You\'re an idiot." Luna gasped in exasperation. "Did it see you?"

Sam turned around, silent as a grave, his face was pale and grim. His eyes were devoid of expression and his face was twisted in a creepy way.

"It took his hat off and... waved it in a salute."

"Sam, for crying out loud! What made you think it was a good idea to call for its attention? What led you to believe that something like that could possibly be human!? We need to pack up and move upstairs!" Uriel started packing the little belongings they had at hand.

"Isn\'t it better to move to the next building through the hole in the wall?" Luna asked.

"I don\'t think the table is going to fit through." Was all Uriel said in reply as he tore off some wire from the wall to strap Medusa onto the table she was lying on to create something like a makeshift stretcher.

"I didn\'t think you had that kind of kink, but I can dig it." Joked Medusa with what little air she could muster. Instead of laughing, Uriel took a glance at her pitiful condition with a wry smile as he kept tying the knots. He thought back at the time when they had a picnic together and how cute she looked back then. Now she was a mess, her clothes were ragged and she was covered in dirt and dry blood, knowing how much she cared about appearances made him feel bitter inside, but there was no time to care about such matters.

"Is it coming?" Luna asked Sam who was still peeking through the window.

"Not yet, the other cryptids won\'t let it pass. Guys this is amazing, he\'s actually killing the cryptids!" Sam replied crossing his fingers in hopes that the strange creatures was on their side.

Once Uriel made sure Medusa was tightly secured to the table he asked Sam to help him move the table outside the room, but It was heavy and he couldn\'t avoid making sudden movements or bumping the table on the door frame causing Medusa to yelp in pain.

\'Maybe I should have picked strength after all.\' He thought regretting choosing to increase his speed over strength.

"Let me do it." Luna said. Contrary to Uriel\'s expectations, the tiny girl had no trouble lifting the heavy table with their wounded companion. It was nothing if obvious though, Luna was an ascended which made her incredibly strong compared to an evolved like Uriel.

They swiftly traversed the shopping mall halls until they reached the stairs where they had to be especially cautious not to accidentally drop Medusa from that height. Then, without so much as a warning, the commercial building door was busted open by the tall, slim creature. It wasn\'t a bash, it simply came inside hunching its back to fit through the narrow entrance only to stand tall after stepping inside.

Uriel, who was now lighting the way with his newly acquired smartphone pointed it out towards the entrance and he was able to see the shadow of the creature in the distance. It moved with the elegance of a cat and, even though it seemed to be walking slowly, it was actually striding across the building without any difficulties. "Hurry up!" He shouted.

"If we move any faster we\'ll risk Medusa\'s condition getting worse." Luna replied, not knowing what the source of the bustling sound was. Despite his companion\'s best efforts, they were moving too slowly and the creature was drawing near. Soon, he would be trapped in between them and the horrid cryptid without even the chance to run away.

Making up his mind, Uriel stopped following them and took a distance from the group. "Go on, I\'ll keep him busy!" Uriel said with the confidence provided to him by the silvery revolver on his hand.

"Don\'t do it! Please come with us!" Medusa begged with a jagged breath, the pain was almost insufferable, after all the surgery performed on her didn\'t involve any anesthetics or even basic medical equipment.

"Go play hero if you want, but we\'re near the rooftop already." Luna said mockingly, effectively dissolving the drama. A bit embarrassed by Luna\'s remark, Uriel quickly changed his mind and followed after them. The door to the rooftop was blocked, but all it took to break the lock apart was a small kick from Luna who didn\'t even bother slowing her pace.

"You shouldn\'t have done that, now we can\'t block the door!" Sam scolded Luna for destroying their only way of keeping the incoming enemy from following them.

"Do you really think a door that broke with a single kick would stand a chance against a cryptid that size?" Uriel\'s words fell on deaf ears because at that very moment the most beautiful sight they\'ve ever encountered came to life in front of their eyes, the sun was finally starting to appear on the sky.

The slender creature that was still nipping at their heels stopped in its tracks and the young students gasped in horror, fearing their imminent death, but the creature didn\'t dare cross the threshold, taking care not to step into the light as the sun bathed the rooftop.

The group watched in disbelief as the tall shadowy creature bowed down fashionly and turned on its heels leaving them alone.

"Whew! You can say whatever you want about that creature, but he sure is respectful." Uriel sighed in relief after a full minute passed.

"What was that!? What kind of creature was that!? It\'s face was... It\'s face..." Sam, who was still unsettled by the unspeakable visage of the creature only he was able to see in full, pulled his own hair and crouched.

"It was the Slenderman, I told you about it... Apparently, it does have good manners. Do you guys think it\'s scared of the light?" Luna wondered.

"We can\'t be certain, but I vote we bring extra lanterns next time." Uriel replied.

"What do you mean next time!? Huh!? Are you out of your mind!?" Sam was crying his eyes out.

"I don\'t want to be that person but... I hear something from below." Medusa said.

"Cursed! This whole hunting party is cursed! There\'s no other explanation." Sam\'s mind had drifted away from sanity and he wasn\'t responding, he only muttered how the whole incursion was cursed over and over.

Uriel and Luna were now the only ones able to check out the source of the noise. Fearing the worst, they hesitantly drew near the corner of the building, only to find out the source of the sounds was a strange creature fighting against the cryptids.

"It\'s just like with the tall guy." Uriel said pointing his gun at the creature.

"No, I think this time is even worse. The Slenderman kept his distance from daylight, but that one doesn\'t seem troubled by the sunlight at all." Luna said doing her best to see over the tall ledge of the building, but she was too short and had to jump over and over. Because of that she only caught a glimpse of the creature and couldn\'t properly identify it.

"Then... Do you guys think I should shoot it down?" Uriel scratched the back of his head, then Medusa who was still strapped onto the table replied.

"You heard Miss Dragonfang before, in the army they shoot first ask questions later."