“Are you guys humans?” asked Uruvi, in a hushed voice.

  “Humans?” said a woman.

  The two flashlights turned towards her, flooding her eyeballs with bright white light. “Owe!” She immediately put her hands up, blocking the light.

  “Wow! Another one!” said the woman.

  “Yeah! This late into the night,” said a man.

  “Wonderful, can you guys lower the lights?” asked Uruvi, squinting her eyes.

  They immediately lowered the flashlights with an apology. As her eyes re-adjusted to the darkness, she could see the shape of the humans before her. A short, plump man with frizzy hair and a slender woman with long hair, who was slightly taller than her friend.

  “What are you guys doing here?” she asked, stepping closer to them. Their eyes darted down to the axe she was holding. She immediately took notice of it. “Oh, don’t worry! This is just for monsters.”

  “Oh, we know,” said the woman.

  “You guys are contestants too?” she asked.

  They looked at each other’s faces and back at her before the man said, “yeah. Just that our weapons aren’t as fancy as yours.” Each pulled out a silver short blade hiding in their jackets.

  “Nice…” said Uruvi, nodding.

  “Why are you traveling in the middle of the night?” asked the woman.

  “It is only eight pm. I am trying to get home,” said Uruvi.

  The man chuckled. “Man, she is brave. Isn’t she?”

  Uruvi shrugged her shoulders and said, “I will take it. What are you guys doing here?”

  They turned back and looked at the ground behind them. “Found these things lying on the ground…,” said the man.

  She leaned in and saw a weak Pisacha lying on the ground, motionless. “Whoa! A dead Pisacha? No. Can’t be.”

  “Right. It is just… at first, we thought it was sleeping. But it looks like its life was sucked out of it,” said the man. “In any case, let’s not waste our time.” He proceeded to stab the monster in the face, after which the monster turned to dust.

  ‘Clean and simple, I guess,’ thought Uruvi.

  “Are you planning on continuing in the dark?” asked the woman.

  “Hmm… yeah. I am not too far from my destination,” said Uruvi.

  “Why don’t you join us for the night? We heard explosions and all kinds of crazy things. It is safer to travel in the morning,” said the woman.

  “Hmm…” She wasn’t too sure about spending the night with others. “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah. A bunch of us have taken refuge in the pub over there. You can join us,” he said.

  ‘What do you think, Arya? Is it a good idea?’ she asked.

  “Affirmative. A hideout is safer than being in the dark.”

  ‘That has got to be the most generic response so far. Still… It is better than fighting my way in the dark.’ “Alright. I will join you guys.”

  “That is awesome. Come on!” Said the woman.

  They walked into the side of the street and into a narrow alleyway. Uruvi followed them quiet as a mouse. She was unsure of her decision, a little nervous, not of monsters, but of people. The alleyway cut through a building, leading to a small metal door plastered to the wall. The man pulled out a key and carefully opened the lock. The click echoed softly, causing her heart to skip a beat. But when the silence returned, she breathed easily once again.

  More darkness laid beyond the door. Her hosts walked in without hesitation, while she did have second thoughts but entered, nonetheless. The man closed the door behind them, making sure to secure it with multiple bolts.

  “Done?” the woman asked.

  “Yup,” he replied.

  Uruvi could hear the sound of her nails scraping against the wall, followed by a soft click. Soft white light illuminated the room, revealing the room they were standing in. Utensils of all shapes and sizes surrounded them, stacked on rows and rows of shelves.

  Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Is this a kitchen?” asked Uruvi, still speaking in a hushed tone.

  “Yup. We have been using the back door of the kitchen to enter and exit,” said the woman.

  With the lights on, she got a better look at the two hosts. More importantly, she was able to see the warm, pleasant smiles on their faces, which helped alleviate her anxiety.

  They quickly trotted through the kitchen. As they reached the other door, Uruvi stopped for a moment and began looking around. “Wait. Wait. Let me quickly grab something to eat.”

  “There is nothing here. We cleared it out. Everything is in the dining place,” said the man.

  “Smart move,” she replied.

  They switched off the lights on the way out and bolted the door. The inside of the pub was lit by dull fluorescent yellow lights. They appeared behind the bartender’s counter. Beyond it laid the seating area, which was littered with several sets of tables and chairs. There were a good number of people all across the room, looking at them with bated breath.

  On the table closest to the counter sat four people, two men and two women. One of them looked at her and asked, “Jiv… who is that?”

  The man who had accompanied her replied, “she is another one of us, Sunil. We found her just outside the building.”

  “How could you just let anyone in like that?” asked a woman from another table.

  Uruvi placed her axe on the counter with a dull clank. “No worries. I am not a monster in disguise. In fact, I kill monsters. Have been…”

  “Don’t worry, everyone. She is a contestant. We will be much safer with her around,” said the girl who sat next to Sunil. Her soft, honey-like voice would have calmed almost anyone.

  “We are safe. It was a weak monster, seemed like it was on the verge of death. We killed it. No more problems tonight,” said Jiv as they sat down at the table.

  Uruvi shifted uneasily in her seat, looking at the group of smiling faces looking at her. “Hmm… thanks, guys. For providing a shelter.”

  “Hey, chill out. We are all surviving. We need to stick together. By the way, didn’t get a chance to introduce myself. My name is Manvee,” said the woman who came with Jiv. She then proceeded to introduce everyone at the table. Jiv, Sunil, Sasi, Kavya, and at last…

  “My name is Panchami.” The woman who calmed everyone down chose to introduce herself.

  “Panchami? Quite an interesting name,” said Uruvi.

  “Why do you say that?” asked Jiv.

  “You guys are friends, right?” asked Uruvi.

  “Yeah. Of course,” replied Jiv.

  “I just found it funny. Panchami in our epics had five husbands. Here, it feels like she is protected by her five friends,” said Uruvi.

  Panchami’s cheeks flushed red as she turned her face away. She looked pretty young and was the fairest among them. Her small, chubby face was accompanied by long, flowing brown hair and beautiful brown eyes. “Don’t say it like that…”

  The gang let out giggles, trying to keep the volume low.

  “Well, she is a softy,” said Sunil. Panchami replied with an angry pout.

  “By the way, you were hungry, right?” asked Manvee.

  “Yes. I am starving.”

  “Come, let’s go get something.”

  The shelves behind the counter were stacked with food. A few other people joined them in picking a quick snack. Her options were very limited. Most of the shelves were stacked with drinks, while the only food that she could see was packaged food and raw cooking ingredients.

  “Sorry. All the fresh food was eaten hours ago,” said Manvee.

  “Hey, no problem. I just need to survive for the night,” said Uruvi, picking up whatever she could get her hands on.

  She returned to the table and dropped all she could hold onto. Sunil, who sat across from her, took a quick look at what she had gathered. “What? No alcohol?”

  “Not everyone wants to get drunk, man,” said Manvee, as she settled in her seat. She pulled out a flask of whiskey and took a sip from it.

  “Hey! Pass me some,” asked Sunil.

  The flask went around the table with only Uruvi and Panchami refusing a shot. Uruvi was an occasional drinker, but she was in no mood to drink. Meanwhile, Panchami claimed to have never drunk in her life.

  Uruvi’s eyes darted between the members of the table and found something weird. ‘Hey, Arya. Can I hide my screen?’

  “Affirmative. You can swipe it to close. I can close it for you, as well.”

  ‘Hmm… it is alright.’

  The group got down to talking about trivial stuff, occasionally involving Uruvi in the conversation. They generally strayed away from discussing anything about the apocalypse, which irked Uruvi a little.

  However, time continued to march on, and it would be midnight soon. Many of the occupants had turned the tables into beds, while others found it more comfortable on the floor.

  “I am a little surprised that you guys managed to turn a pub into a safezone,” said Uruvi.

  “Yeah. Usually, a lot of pubs have too many open spaces. Not this one,” said Jiv.

  “It does have a second floor where the dance floor is. Luckily, it does not have an exit either,” said Kavya, before letting out a big yawn.

  Uruvi let out a snort. “What kind of underground rave place is this?”

  “We barred all the doors, right? Should we check once more?” asked Sasi.

  “Relax, monsters usually don’t attack a safezone… apparently,” said Uruvi.

  The group appeared to be confused. “What do you mean?” asked Manvee.

  “Yeah. Even I don’t understand how it works. Once a place is marked as a safezone, it is less prone to monster attacks,” Uruvi explained. ‘Isn’t that right, Arya?’

  “Affirmative. However, this pub has not been marked as safezone.”

  Uruvi froze, her eyes were wide as dinner plates. The others seemed to have taken note of it.

  “Uruvi… is everything alright?” asked Manvee.

  She shook her head, reigning in her emotions. “You guys didn’t make this place as a safezone?” she asked in a hushed tone.

  “What is that?” asked Manvee.

  “No issues. We can do that now,” said Uruvi. ‘Arya…’

  “Negative. Area not clear of monsters. Cannot create a safezone,” said Arya.

  “Monsters…” Uruvi blurted out loud. She quickly got up on her feet and looked around the place. Her actions immediately drew the attention of everyone in the room. “Inside, or outside?”

  “Inside,” said Arya.

  Suddenly, the silence of the night was replaced by the loud music from the speakers. Colorful lights lit up the dark room. They turned their attention towards the Jockey’s table and found a tall, young woman fiddling with the instruments.

  Sunil rushed over to her and slammed his hand on the console. “What are you doing?”

  “Lighting up the mood, man! What do you think?” she asked.

  “Are you crazy?”

  “Warning. Enemy detected. Vetala, amongst the occupants,” said Arya.

  The woman’s lips widened into a broad smile. “We are all going to die anyway, why don’t we have a little fun before departing?”