Harvest of The Fallen

Chapter 05

The Stoneback Wolf suddenly collapsed, convulsing violently before finally drawing its last breath.

Blood gushed from its body, soaking the floor of the bus and filling the air with the metallic stench of blood.

The stones on its back stopped pulsing.

Laga and the other passengers froze.

“Was that a gunshot?” Laga muttered, glancing at the middle-aged man.

“You bastard! Get that damn dog away from me!”

The bald man crawled away from the wolf’s carcass. He tried to stand but collapsed again. His face and clothes were stained with blood and urine.

“This is all your fault, you damn kid! You shouldn’t have beaten me up!”

The bald man slapped Laga.

Laga kicked him, sending him tumbling across the floor.

“You snatched my metal bar just to save your own skin!”

“You damn brat!”

The bald man rolled around, grimacing in pain.

He suddenly fell silent when he noticed the severed head of the woman with shoulder-length hair nearby.

“Ah!”

The bald man’s eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness.

The other passengers stared silently at the carcass of the Stoneback Wolf. They slowly gathered toward the center of the bus, glancing at the severed head nearby and shuddering in horror as they struggled to suppress their nausea.

The overweight man finally regained consciousness.

He grimaced in pain before screaming when he saw the carcass of the Stoneback Wolf lying near him.

“Shut up, you damn pig!” snapped the long-haired man as he slapped the overweight man.

The middle-aged man remained silent.

When the Stoneback Wolf had lunged at him, his vision had suddenly gone black. His entire body had grown hot, and his neck had felt as though it were on fire.

“Old Man, what’s going on? Do you have a gun?” the muscular man asked.

The red-haired woman appeared behind him.

“Since when have you been carrying a gun? Why did you hide it? You should’ve shot that wolf from the start instead of blocking the window with a chair!”

The muscular man snapped. “Shut up, Tomato-Head! If I had a gun, I’d have shot you first! You weren’t any help at all when that stupid wolf attacked!”

The red-haired woman rolled her eyes.

The middle-aged man rubbed his neck.

“I... wasn’t carrying a gun. But for some reason, just as that wolf was about to pounce on me, something appeared from my fingers.”

He held out both hands. His fingers had transformed into gun barrels.

“You... you have powers?” The muscular man stared at him in shock. “Who are you, really? Are you an alien, a demon, or something?”

“I...”

Before the middle-aged man could finish speaking, he suddenly fired at another Stoneback Wolf charging through the window.

BANG!

The bullets struck the stones on the wolf’s back and immediately ricocheted off the window, walls, and ceiling.

The Stoneback Wolf landed at the front of the bus and let out a deafening howl.

The stones on its back suddenly pulsed and glowed red.

Dozens of stones shot toward Laga and the other passengers.

Laga immediately dove beneath a seat, peeking through the gap between the seats.

“What kind of wolf is that?”

The screams of the red-haired woman and the middle-aged woman rang through the bus as the windows and walls cracked under the barrage.

“That old man’s shots didn’t work, even though the first Stoneback Wolf died instantly when he shot it. The second one is only slightly larger.”

Laga narrowed his eyes.

There has to be a reason.

The Stoneback Wolf suddenly lunged toward the unconscious bald man.

It clamped its jaws around his neck and dragged him outside at incredible speed.

Two seconds later, the bald man was thrown back into the bus through the wide-open window.

Only his head.

...

No body.

The middle-aged woman screamed hysterically when the bald man’s head landed on the seat beside her.

Terrified, she hurriedly grabbed it and threw it away. As she stood up from her seat, the Stoneback Wolf suddenly lunged through the window and dragged her outside.

The middle-aged man fired again, but the bullet ricocheted harmlessly off the stones on the wolf’s back.

Laga’s heart skipped a beat when the bald man’s head rolled across the floor and stopped near his feet.

A moment later, the middle-aged woman’s severed head came rolling through the window as well.

His legs trembled so violently that he could barely stand.

Laga felt a twinge of guilt over what had happened to the bald man. But this wasn’t the time to grieve.

He couldn’t afford to worry about anyone else’s life.

I have to save myself.

Four black shadows suddenly burst into the bus.

They transformed into four Stoneback Wolves that surrounded Laga and the remaining passengers from both the front and rear.

These Stoneback Wolves were slightly larger than the two that had already died.

Their eyes glowed red.

The stones on their backs pulsed faster.

A stronger sulfuric stench filled the bus.

Even their saliva released thin wisps of smoke as it dripped onto the floor.

Laga and the remaining passengers backed away until their arms, legs, and backs were pressed against one another.

“I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!” The red-haired woman screamed as she unconsciously hid behind the muscular man.

“Get away from me, you damn woman!” The muscular man tried to push her away.

Laga felt his entire body trembling violently.

His face turned deathly pale as the Stoneback Wolf that had killed the bald man stood directly in front of him.

It was so close that he could feel its hot breath against his skin.

The Stoneback Wolf that killed the bald man has grown larger than when it first entered the bus.

It became stronger after killing its prey.

Laga gripped the metal bar tightly. It had nearly slipped from his grasp several times because his palms were drenched in sweat.

His shoulders rose and fell with every labored breath.

Images from his past flashed through his mind.

Damn it. How did I end up in this situation?

Laga gritted his teeth.

“I-I... can’t die here. I have to... stay alive!”

His voice trembled.

“I-I... have to... stay calm and find a way out.”

His eyes shifted toward the stones covering the wolf’s back.

Those stones are so hard that even bullets can’t penetrate them.

But why was the first wolf able to die?

Laga turned toward the carcass of the first Stoneback Wolf.

Something hard usually exists to protect something soft.

That wolf’s carcass is bleeding heavily from its stomach.

That means...

Before Laga could finish his thought, one of the Stoneback Wolves suddenly lunged toward the carcass. It opened its enormous jaws and devoured the dead wolf in a single gulp.

The stones on its back suddenly glowed.

Its body began to expand.

The stones grew longer and sharper.

Laga and the other passengers who witnessed the scene were stunned.

It can eat its own kind to become stronger?

Just as Laga realized what was happening, the largest Stoneback Wolf suddenly raised its head and let out a deafening howl.

The other wolves immediately began their attack.

One of the Stoneback Wolves lunged at Laga and clamped its jaws onto his shoulder, trying to bite through his neck.

Laga desperately held it back with the metal bar, putting every ounce of strength into his arms.

But the monster only tightened its grip. Its teeth dug deeper into his shoulder.

Laga nearly collapsed from the pain. Blood began to seep through his clothes.

He gritted his teeth and glared into the wolf’s blood-red eyes.

“Don’t think I’m going to die because of a stupid creature like you!”