After a while, the brothers ventured to the other side of the forest. They didn't recognize the forest. They gazed around and realized that they were lost.
A small monster crawled to a tree and climbed it. It hid from the brothers.
Matteo thought about what kind of monster it was.
At the borders of the forest, the brothers found themselves on a hill. As they stood on top of the hill, they stared at a large field of grass.
The wind blew across the land, and the grass moved with the breeze. The brothers' hair blew with the breeze, too. The horizon seemed endless. Small ruins were scattered across the land. There were abandoned vehicles, such as tanks and cars. The clear, blue sky was above them.
Glistened by the sun, Matteo, Stark, and Hafen were awed by the landscape.
Stark wondered if it was the outside world.
Matteo shrugged and looked at Hafen.
Hafen assumed that it was, and he stepped forward.
The three brothers entered the field and walked down the hill. They had made their first steps out of a forest.
Stark admired how large and open the outside world was. He remarked that it was nothing like The Sacred Forest.
Hafen observed that there were no trees in the field. He was confounded. He noticed a nearby dirt path. It was empty.
Matteo asked how they would find their way back home. He pointed out that he was hungry.
Stark reassured his brothers and proclaimed that it was their first day in the outside world. He insisted that they had to explore it and learn about it. He, excited, ran down the hill.
His brothers followed and urged him to wait. They raced down the hill and laughed.
After a few minutes, Hafen, Stark, and Matteo were deep in the field of grass. They walked on the dirt path.
Matteo retorted that they should have not escaped but cooperated with the military. He asserted that they would have been fed. His stomach growled.
Hafen refuted that the military had no right to imprison and test them.
Stark agreed that the military could not be trusted. He patted Matteo's head and reminded that they have starved worst. He reassured that they would be fine.
In the distance, a train passed by.
The three brothers stared at it with confusion.
Stark pondered whether the train was a monster.
Hafen wondered if it would attack them.
Matteo was intrigued that it headed to a large wall.
Stark asked him what he was looking at.
Matteo pointed at the wall and questioned what it was.
They looked ahead.
A large city was surrounded by the wall.
The brothers were stunned by the view. They wondered what was going on over there.
Stark walked forward and pointed to the city. He suggested that they should head there.
The brothers were interested, and they nodded. They followed the path to the city.
Along the way, the brothers saw a sign that was damaged. Stark wondered what it read.
It read that deadly monsters were seen in the area.
Hafen read it and inquired if there really were dangerous monsters in the outside world. He pointed out that they had only encountered that small monster back at the forest.
Matteo wondered how many monsters there were.
As they were deep in the field, they found an old car. The car's windows were broken.
Matteo asked where the driver was.
Hafen speculated that a monster could have killed them.
Stark thought of the train and suggested that the train ate them.
In an instant, a snake came out of the ground and lunged at them.
The three brothers, startled, jumped away.
Stark asserted that it was a monster.
The snake landed and looked at the brothers.
The brothers stared at the snake.
The snake was filled with scars. It was also missing an eye. It hissed, and its tongue flicked.
Stark, Hafen, and Matteo readied their weapons.
Hafen frowned and declared that they would end it.
The snake charged and opened its mouth.
The three brothers evaded its bite. They were about to shoot it, but the snake retreated underground.
The brothers looked around and pondered where the snake went.
Instantly, the snake burst out of the ground and launched the three brothers into the air.
The brothers screamed and flew. They crashed into the ground and rolled.
Stark got up and groaned. He pointed his laser gun at the snake and shot a laser.
The snake was burned, and it rushed at him.
Stark blocked it with his sword. The impact launched him, and he stumbled on the grass.
Hafen and Matteo stood up. Matteo ran around the snake. He lunged and stabbed the snake in the head with his rapier. Flames burst out, and the snake roared.
The snake slammed its head and Matteo onto the ground.
Hafen fired bubbles of water at it with his gun. They exploded on the snake.
Stark joined in and shot his gun. As the snake was about to lunge at him, he dodged to the side and chopped the snake's head off.
As its head was sliced off, the snake collapsed.
Stark asked if everyone was fine.
Hafen and Matteo were relieved. Hafen affirmed that they were.
Stark looked at the snake's corpse and muttered that he was hungry, too.
Hafen, surprised, stared at him.
Matteo smiled.
Later, they rested beside the path and cooked the snake.
Stark cut the snake and carved out some meat.
As the meat cooked over a fire, the three brothers discussed their newfound freedom.
Stark was eager to fight more monsters. He declared that he would become stronger than any monster.
Hafen mentioned that the outside world was not all that bad.
Matteo agreed. He wondered if their deceased parents had been there.
Hafen stared at the night sky and the lights. He commented that the outside world was not the same as the forest, but the sky was the same.
All of a sudden, the three brothers heard a noise. Alarmed, they quickly got up and braced themselves.
A vehicle approached them on the path. It stopped and honked.
The brothers were cautious.
The driver questioned what they were doing outside the city.
Matteo remarked that they were lost.
The driver explained that he was heading to the city. He sternly offered if they needed a ride over there. He pointed.
Stark, Hafen, and Matteo exchanged glances. Excited, they accepted his offer.
Throughout the drive, the brothers were intrigued by the insides of the vehicle.
The driver seemed to be a collector of fruits. He was a short, chubby, bald man. He wore a tattered, white shirt and dirty jeans.
Matteo asked if he could eat a fruit.
The driver asserted that it would cost money.
Matteo and Stark questioned what money was.
Hafen remembered that their father told them stories about it. He recalled that it was used to exchange and purchase items.
Then, the city, seen in the distance, caught their attention. It was closer and seemed bigger than before.
Matteo pointed it out.
Stark asked about the large wall as a train exited the city.
The driver explained that the city was called Little Tree City. He continued that it was built around the smallest tree said to be the grave of a fallen hero, giving it its name.
With some of the questions, he pondered if the brothers had ever been to a city. He asked the brothers why they were stranded in the grassland and their motives.
Hafen replied that they were on the run from bad guys.
Matteo added that they were searching for their home. He questioned if he had ever heard of Fisher.
The driver had never heard of the name.
Matteo sighed and slumped his shoulders.
As they entered the city, the three brothers were in awe of the city. Many buildings and cars were present, and there was a crowd of people.
The driver drove deeper into the city. He stopped by an alley and explained that it was where they would go their separate ways.
Hafen, Stark, and Matteo stepped out of the vehicle.
The driver ordered them to stop and pay for their ride before they leave.
Hafen apologized that they were poor.
The driver was angry, and he rambled on about how he made a dangerous drive for them. He insisted that the brothers pay for the ride.
Hafen frowned and refused to pay. He walked away.
Stark and Matteo followed Hafen into the alley.
Frustrated, the driver opened the door and got out. He pulled out his pistol and aimed it at them. He chuckled and demanded that they hand over their possessions.
Stark, Hafen, and Matteo stared at him. Stark narrowed his eyes. He grasped his elemental great sword and challenged him.
The driver, startled, apologized. He stopped himself and wondered why he was apologizing. He narrowed his eyes. However, there was something peculiar about the boys. They were not scared.
In an instant, it frightened him. He nervously laughed and returned to the car. He sped off.
The brothers watched.
The driver, breathing heavily and sweating profusely, made a call and ordered his thugs to beat up and rob the three brothers. He wiped his face with a towel and drove away with a smirk.
At the same time, Stark questioned what happened. He muttered that he ran away.
Matteo shrugged.
Hafen asserted that there were stairs to the top of the building for a better view of the city.
However, five thugs confronted the brothers in the alleyway. The one in front smacked his fists together and demanded them to drop their weapons.
Stark accepted the challenge and dropped them.
The thugs chuckled and charged at him.
Stark punched one of them with an uppercut.
The thug was sent flying into the air. He crashed into the ground on the street.
Dumbfounded by the uppercut, the rest of the thugs backed off and ran away.
Stark commented that he didn't expect them to be so weak.
Multiple civilians surrounded the body and contacted the emergency hotline.
Matteo looked back and hoped that the thug would be alright.
Hafen urged his brothers to follow him.
They went up the stairs and reached the top.
As sirens could be heard, the three brothers were alarmed, and they scouted for the military from above a small building.
The small building was located in an intersection of the main street in the city. It also had a sign that reminded the people to be kind.
Both sides of the main street were flooded with heavy traffic and pedestrians.
The brothers were amazed and fascinated by the amount of activity and the sheer number of vehicles. They witnessed a lady walking a dog, multiple couples, businesspeople rushing to work, etcetera.
Suddenly, hundreds of civilians rushed in from one side, screaming and panicking. Their faces were full of fear.
One of them cried out that the zombies breached past the military and invaded the city.
The brothers jumped down the building. They watched as people stepped out of their vehicle, stuck in traffic, and ran past them.
Just then, dozens of zombies could be seen lunging at people. They leaped through windows, smashed doors, and crawled underneath vehicles.
A zombie tackled an elderly person and ripped him apart.
Another zombie grabbed a woman and tore her limb from limb.
A zombie dragged a child by the leg.
A mother hugged her child. She was torn apart and killed.
Screams filled the streets.
Behind the dozens of zombies, Baby Zombie Princess crawled and ate any humans nearby. She grinned with widely opened eyes.
The brothers were astonished. They drew their weapons and ran towards her. As the chaos ensued, they were determined to defeat the zombies.