"Are you being vigilant, or do you also have your weakness?"
Under the full moon and cold night, questions that were hard for me to answer continued to haunt my mind.
"But I also don't know my classmate very well. All I know is that we're in the same class and we're not that close. We don't talk much and barely know him. But what's more upsetting when he didn't even know himself." she said.
Could it be that my classmate didn't even know himself or his name too? We tend to know others that are not closely related to us but not the ones we are the closest to.
"Umm... can I join you?" the modest girl with a brother twin asked us. She brought some fruit and handed it to us one by one. She wears a white blouse, green ribbon with stripes, a green skirt with stripes, and black shoes for her school uniform.
"Of course! The more the merrier!" the bubbly girl replied happily while biting the guava that the modest girl handed. Her joyful vibe gives off the unpleasant mood that we have right now.
"Pardon me. It looks like most of them have formed into groups that's why I can't interfere." And then she smiled at us. She's small and cute.
"No problem. You can never be wrong choosing us to be your group!"
We are enveloped in fear and worry about what's happening to the boys, so the talkative and bubbly girl invited the two of us into the conversation. The three of us just kept on talking and laughing as if we were forgetting that it's not the time to rejoice but somehow, this vibe made me feel at ease. I'm glad to make friends with them.
But I noticed something that was confusing. "Ah, how did you know that he is your brother, the one you're always with when you can't even remember your name?" I asked the modest girl. It got me curious.
"Well, the truth is, I don't know if he's really my twin brother or not. We just noticed in each other that we're very similar. And we both feel like we have a twin sibling, so we just considered ourselves as brother and sister."
They don't remember anything significant as well. I am also relieved because I am not alone in this crazy situation. As the conversation continued, everyone was surprised when another boy—out of breath, ran towards us.
"Oh, what happened to your patrol?" my bubbly friend asked.
"G-Get out of here. The monster is attacking us!"
"What? It was real?" my bubbly friend is in disbelief, so was I.
"Let's get out of here. Run!" the boy pushed us to run away.
"Wait, where are the others?" I asked him.
"The leaders are planning something. They'll take care of it, as long as you are all safe!"
"Come on!" my two friends called me, so I immediately ran as well. We just ran and followed the guy.
It is dark, secluded, and full of trees. After the race, we rested first. It looks like the monster couldn't catch up with us. I don't know what it looks like but it's probably scary from the looks of the boy who dragged us to run.
"Are you serious? We're staying here all night?! I mean there are bugs, and I'm starving!" complaint of the pretty girl with long light brown hair.
"Yeah, how about the others?" a girl with two hair bun asked.
My stomach is growling too. I only ate fruit a while ago so that wasn't enough.
"Let's deal with this first. We have no choice. If you don't want the monster to swallow you then shut up." the boy with spiky fern green hair answered in an ill-manner. "Besides, this is the order of the leader, we have no choice."
"Then they're nothing but nuisance leaders." The pretty girl rolled her eyes. "I'm starving to death."
"Here!" my friend threw an unripe mango at me. "Let's eat."
The three of us ate the mangoes that has fallen under a mango tree. The other girls are also forced to eat fruits. We lack the resources to have the food that we want. I'm still glad that at least we have this. The three of us just talked again and so did the others. The lone boy slept soundly. The investigation of the monster must be rough.
"Hahaha yeah! It looks fun," The modest girl laughs modestly while the talkative one cracks some jokes.
They just kept talking while I remained silent because of the weight from my eyelids.
"What are we going to call each other if we don't know our names yet?"
"Hmm, you have a point. What if…"
I fell asleep completely. I did nothing much, but I fell asleep. I may not be physically worn out, but my mental state is draining me.
Where am I? Is this a school?
The happy faces of the people. There are students, teachers, and parents everywhere. I saw my classmates. They are laughing, while I was confused. Someone pulled my hand. We went to a place filled with trees, plants, and flowers. He hugged me and said words that I don't know what they mean.
"Wake up! The monster is chasing us!" Someone is shaking my shoulder.
"Huh?" I opened my eyes even though I don't want to. I'm still dreaming about something that I need to finish.
"Let's go!" I got up and I pulled by the two of them.
"Hurry up!"
"Rawwrrr!"
"What's going on?" I asked the two as we ran, and they were still dragging me. They were looking behind them, so I turned around.
"Ah!" I shrieked out in fear.
The monster was only about ten meters away from us. This must be the monster they are referring to. I noticed the leaders and other groups of boys and girls are running as well. I can see that one and a half a human tall and three human wide is its size. Its head is a mixture of dog and cat. It uses its long four legs to run fast. It growled as if it were a monster seen in movies. From the light coming from the moon, I could see how deadly its fangs can be. If my eyesight is correct, its color is brown black. It's not just an ordinary animal, so it's really a monster. Something caught my eyes again. Its fangs are colored... red?
"Let's deal with this first. We have no choice. If you don't want the monster to swallow you then shut up. Besides, this is the order of the leader, we have no choice."
I recalled the early conversation of the boy who told us to run and the girl who complained. If what he said to 'swallow', it means the monster ate something.
"Dead end!" someone shouted.
We are hereby the river where we were placed after entering this world. And since the river is behind us, we had nowhere else to go.
"Leader, what are we going to do?!" asked someone.
"There's no other choice," the leader with eyeglasses replied glaring and staring at the monster seriously.
"We'll fight that," replied the chubby leader and he pulled out a stick with a sharp end.
"What?!" we all said in unison.
"Boys!" the leaders called them. They immediately came out from hiding behind the trees.
The men blocked us as if to protect us away from the monster. I saw my classmate. He stared at the monster while holding the stick tightly in his left hand. So, he is left-handed.
Strange, there is something wrong with our situation. Is this really what the hologram means about the tri-games? I don't know what kind of game tri-games are, but I feel like we're playing a survival game right now. 24 vs 1.
"Yuck!" a girl is disgusted by what we witnessed next.
"*buuwarlkkk*"
It also made me feel sick of what I saw. In the stomach of the monster, there are big worms moving inside its stomach. There was so much of it that it is embossed on its belly.
"Everyone, don't let your guard down!" A reminder to us by our leader with eyeglasses. "Go!" they signaled.
The boys immediately pierced the monster's whole body with sharp wood sticks, so the monster cried out in pain. It was not sharp enough to penetrate its thick skin because we do not have any knives or tools with us. But the boys forced it through to inflict its body.
"Rwaaa!"
"One more!" command of the chubby leader.
The boys gradually attack the monster using their sticks. As we continue to struggle, I'm thinking of the odds again. There is something wrong here. First, why is the river too shallow? Secondly, when the tri-games start, it's unfair to the players because we don't have a weapon against the monster regardless of fighting 24 vs 1. The monster attacks a human being so we can still lose. We weren't aware when and where specifically will the game start. Third, with the size of this forest, is it just a coincidence that we encountered the monster? If yes, why only tonight? We've been here since early morning—also, the time here runs too fast. We only spent an approximately maximum of five hours searching for food and shelter ever since, yet it already dusked. Did the monster really mean to show up at night because it targets us from the very beginning? And since it is at night, it has a better chance of winning. Or maybe because it's hiding something?
I scanned the surroundings. There are only ten boys here. If my suspicion is correct, the two missing boys are injured or worse-dead, but I'm hoping they're not. I saw something red on the monster's fang, it was probably blood. Just thinking about it makes me feel bad.
I am swallowed up in my thoughts. The monster is currently still standing. It was just groaning and doing nothing to us. Why doesn't it attack us when it's barely hurt? Often in movies, the monster attacks before its opponent can see an opportunity to attack or escape. But what does this one does? It is just moaning in pain. The boys managed to pierce once its body but there was barely blood coming out of it. It must not be a fatal attack to stop a monster like this.
"What the?!" panicked a boy as we witness the monster's power. It's unbelievable but this one has the ability to cure itself rapidly. Are we going to die?
The other girls were terrified as well and forced to run away. I will admit that I am also getting scared. I can feel the increasing speed of my heartbeat. Just so when we were able to hurt the monster even for a bit, the worst-case happened because it regenerates. Even so, I tried to be firm and use logical reasoning. I just stared the monster straight into its eyes.
Why don't you attack us? Are you being vigilant, or do you also have your weakness?
"Leader, what now?"
"Help!"
"There's nothing we can do!"
"Let's run back"
"N-No…"
The two leaders are also confused. Lying in the sand were the wood sticks and branches they used to attack didn't seem to help much. After a few minutes of deep thought… I already know the weakness of this one. I hope this will work but it's better trying out.
"Whaaa! 'Don't! Take me down!" a boy shouted as the monster lifted him gaping. It will attack him. This is bad!
*splash*
"Ahhh!" The monster wriggled and released the boy. We helped him to get up and ran away from the monster.
The monster's expression changed. Its eyes widened staring at its stomach."Urraaawwwrrr!" the monster cries of pain.
We immediately covered our ears because of the noise. I saw it moan in ache. Its body gradually decomposes until it is completely reduced to ashes that are strewn with sand and blown away by the wind.
"W-What happened?" questioned someone.
"II don't know. A while ago the monster was still standing in front of us, and it was going to eat him. Turns out, the monster transformed into ashes."
I sighed because the boy is safe. I also lost my nervousness and was thankful that the monster had finally been eradicated as well. Despite the monster's execution their eyes widened looking at me.
"W-Why?" I mumbled because their looks are frightening.
The bubbly friend held me on both shoulders. "How did you do that?"
I scratched my head. "The what?"
The two leaders approached me. "What happened? How did you kill the monster?" the leader with eyeglasses asked.
"How?!" the chubby leader added.
I calmed them all down first. "First, I wondered why we were attacked tonight. Second, the monster looked like a mixture of dog and cat. Third, it had worms in its stomach. Fourth, why didn't he attack us all when we got close to the river? The answer is that the monster is afraid of water and salt."
"Huh?!" they questioned me in harmony.
"Animals are more vigilant at night compared to humans—this secures a probable win of the monster. Its face is a combination of dog and cat. Aren't most dogs and cats afraid of water? We managed to pierce its body through its stomach. The stomach with worms on it, it dies when you pour salt on it. There's a possibility that it might not die completely but the effect is painful. The proof of that was why it didn't attack us right away when we were near the river because it was afraid of it." I gazed into the river while I continued explaining my theory to them.
"This river is an extraordinary form of water. Its water is too salty rendering it very dense that we were able to stay afloat even if it is too shallow with a depth of a little higher than our knees. And because the monster was afraid of water and salt, I splashed its wounded stomach with worms with saltwater from the river."
I hope they got my explanation. In winning this first game or challenge that the hologram gave us, the answer to this victory is not purely of strength but also a battle of wit. I made them confused earlier when I did throw water on the monster's stomach using an empty coconut shell I just got somewhere. But the mystery does not end here. I looked out at the quiet river behind us. The mystery is why the river is too shallow and why our clothes and hair have become waterproof before.
"Ugh," someone slapped my shoulder that took me back to my senses. "Kyah! You're now my idol!" It's my bubbly friend.
"Thank you for saving us," said the modest girl smiling.
The leaders tapped me on the shoulder and smiled. The others also thanked me. I don't know how to handle their compliments but what matters is we're safe.
"It's better that we go back to our huts. The monster didn't damage it too much so we can still sleep there," the chubby leader announced.
The others left immediately while some left a trace of trauma on their faces. I did not expect my classmate to approach me. Wait, am I really the one he is approaching? I checked if someone was behind me but yup, I'm alone. He held my left shoulder and brought his mouth close to my ear. "Well done," he whispered softly with a subtle smile then walked away.
That made me smile. Something took over the weight of my burden when I heard his voice of gratitude. Ever since we landed in space, we haven't said a word to each other. I wish I could talk to him more because there are so many questions bothering me. I don't think we haven't had a day here yet, so I still have a lot of time to approach him soon.
"Ayiiee," the nerve of this bubbly girl as she teases me.
"You and that guy, huh." It seems that the modest girl has been influenced. I ignored them.
"Hurry up, three of you!" the chubby leader shouted so we immediately ran.
I stopped when I was about to leave the mysterious river. I took a fairly large rock at my feet and threw it into the river.
*tchg*
I wasn't too surprised by what I heard. A sound of a rock falling into the water and a sound of a rock hitting a metal. I smirked.
"Come on!" the two of them called out to me.
***
I was so tired that I didn't realize that we had fallen asleep here in the forest. And since some of our huts got destroyed and left unfinished, we just took a banana leaf and made a sleeping mat out of it. There was a bonfire in the middle, so we weren't too cold. Boys and girls are also mixed in their sleep. It was really a challenging start for all of us.
It's now morning. Fresh air feels good. Others are still asleep from the traces of fear and fatigue we experienced last night. The only beautiful and positive thing I see now is the picturesque view of this place. My tiredness seemed to go away even for a moment. The atmosphere today is different from the tension that prevailed last night. Too much happened yesterday that I don't want to go back to. I don't have an idea what time it is because I don't have a clock. I think it's about 7:00 am - 9:00 am. I would have stood up when I felt as if someone held my body. The two hugged me tightly and made me a body pillow. I slowly removed their hands and legs from my body, but they tightened the grip even more. After a few minutes, the escape was finally over. I breathed a sigh of relief. I was about to look for a place where there was clean water to wash my dirty face when I remember the unsolved mystery of the river.
I immediately ran to the river barefoot. When I arrived, I was shocked and amazed at what I saw. My eyes widened as I looked at it. I was right. I wasn't mistaken in my suspicion last night. Mystery shrouds this river. But even so, I also can't believe that my deduction is correct. I thought I was just imagining it but here I am now, seeing with my eyes. In front of me is a castle-like infrastructure. Yes, impossible, but we are on the nth planet. It's enormous that you'll think you're in a fantasy land in an amusement park. The only difference is that unlike the colorful castles for princes and princesses we have on earth, this one is filled with terror. It is almost covered with dark metal with a triangular top and the rest is a pure gray color. It's like a haunted version of an ideal castle.
Last night, I threw a rock into the river to see if I could hear the strange sound and I'm not mistaken. Since metal-like was the sound I heard last night and not concrete nor wood material, this castle is made of unspecified type of metal. It is huge and wide in scope. It seems to be floating on the surface of the shallow river, but the truth of the matter is that this castle has long been submerged under this river and hiding. It is like an underground plant that grows underwater.
"Hey," I turned and gasped behind me when I heard a boy's voice. I turned around and my classmate called me. "What the..." Instead of looking at me, he focused his attention on the mysterious castle in front of us.