Gantz was moving across the field within the shadow of the family home where he was born and raised. Along the way, he spotted small dots sprinting in his direction. Slowing his pace, he was suddenly struck in the neck by something heavy.
His sister Ane was hugging him, planting kisses on his cheek, her red hair brushing against his eyes and forcing them shut just as he felt three more impacts that brought him crashing to the ground.
— "Hey, that's enough! Stop, stop the tickling! HaHaHa!"
When he finally managed to untangle himself from the little rascals, he wiped off his shirt, which was covered in grass that had gotten stuck between the brown threads of the fabric.
— "Did you guys do today's exercises? I don't want to hear any excuses, mind you!"
— "Hey, was the town busy today? I heard a priest is coming!" Ane hopped around him gleefully.
— "Don't change the subject, smarty-pants!"
Ane puffed out her cheeks. She dashed with the others toward the house, though Tobias, the chubbiest of the four, tripped and lost his balance while trying to keep up with the rest.
Smiling, Gantz looked around at a landscape that any nobleman would surely love to have painted in his drawing room—verdant fields swaying to the breath of the cool morning wind, beautiful trees with sweet scents and varied colors creating a natural fence around the small farm.
I love this place, he thought, smiling as he walked toward the house, while the children in the distance, now mere shadows shifting across the green lawn, ran toward the porch.
He looked to the side and noticed dark clouds sailing in the distance. Looks like the mass will be held inside the church, he pondered, hands in his pockets.
Opening the front door, the scent of green beans greeted him. Smiling, he licked his lips, thinking of those sweet-and-sour beans he loved so much. The house was no different from many farmhouses, built of wood and coated with a sap that left them glistening. There was a shelf lined with leather-bound books of various colors, two red sofas on either side, and a beautiful dark green rug on the floor, covered in lovely flower-like patterns.
Reaching the dining room, his mother was seated at the head of the table, wearing her usual blue dress and a beautiful corset that covered only from mid-chest down, leaving her tanned shoulders bare. Her black, curly hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall, leaving only a few strands to rest on her right shoulder. Her green eyes gleamed as she served the children beside her.
His father—standing at one meter ninety, with a thick, well-trimmed black mustache, rigid features, and a square jaw—greeted him with a nod and a slight smile, wearing his typical white shirt and black trousers.
— "Visiting Melinda again, Gantz?" his mother said, a look of amusement mingled with sternness on her face.
— "My beautiful Mother, a man does not choose whom he loves!"
— "You don't love her, and she doesn't love you either! I only won't say why because of the children. Seriously, I don't hate her, but you are at the age to pair up with someone your own age. If only you spent less time with her while looking for a partner! I want a grandchild!"
— "I can do that!"
— "Not with her! She already has three, that's too much for her!"
— "I know, I was just teasing."
His father's booming voice rang out next. — "Either way, we are going to mass today, so dress well."
— "Understood. But first, I'm going to hunt something for supper. The old milkman said the wild boars are nearby."
— "A boar!" Ane shouted, smiling.
— "I'll try, little one."
After the delicious lunch filled with his favorite beans, Gantz headed toward the forest, trekking a few kilometers until he began to notice signs of wild boar herds in the vicinity. The woods were dense, and the stench of boar droppings permeated the air. Several tusk marks were carved into nearby trees; judging by the height, Gantz estimated an animal of at least two meters and half a ton.
We're going to feast well tonight! he thought, smiling.
Crouching as he walked through the brush, he finally spotted a large boar with dark hide and alert eyes. It seemed to be a protective sentinel for the herd. Gantz gripped his crossbow more firmly, loading a thick bolt with an extremely sharp tip. Aiming right where the heart should be, he squeezed the trigger slowly while releasing a deep breath.
The bolt traveled a few meters and struck something that went dragging the boar away like a sack of rags. The animal's squeals could still be heard when Gantz finally realized what had happened.
— "Shit! What the fuck was that? Should I pull back? ... No, Ane really wants to eat boar. Let's see if I can recover my prey from this scavenger!"
He followed the animal's cries, and the closer he got, the more he noticed other shrieks and grinding sounds echoing around.
— "I hope the herd caught you, whatever stole my food!"
Reaching a more open clearing, Gantz stumbled upon a slaughterhouse. Mangled boar carcasses were scattered everywhere; the once-green woods now lay crimson, with guts and heads flung onto branches all around. Gantz did not hesitate—he turned his body and ran as fast as he could before being struck in the back by something, slamming face-first into the ground with force. He rolled over, finding himself staring into two red eyes and a black snout dripping with drool, forming bubbles that soaked the creature's furry chest.
A wolf. And not just any wolf—an alpha, recognizable by the thick mane around its neck. A bolt lodged in the beast's chest showed the reason for its rage, or at least that's what Gantz thought in the fraction of a second he had before being struck by a bite that felt like a tree falling onto his arm. His bones shattered instantly. He felt his flesh being pulled and torn, his skin ripping away from his muscles. Screaming, he drove punches into the animal's chest until he hit the bolt that was embedded there. The impact drove it deeper, puncturing the creature's lung and filling it with blood. Its snout began to expel a red liquid mixed with something else as it struggled to breathe. It took a few seconds before the creature lost its strength to fight, collapsing to the ground with its four paws splayed out in four directions.heard Locke hiss as consciousness swam back. Dull pain oozed through my face.
Gantz sighed in relief before his vision blurred. While he lay unconscious, a slime originating from the beast's body began to coat him, sticking to his clothes like a spider's web, entering his pores slowly and steadily. The entity suddenly trembled and tried to escape, but something pulled it inside his body like a whirlpool. Black veins covered the wounds, regenerating them while Gantz's body grew slightly leaner. The bite closed tissue by tissue, woven as if a tailor were stitching them until the skin fused completely. In the meantime, the moon was already shining high in the firmament, surrounded by grayish clouds.