Thud! Thud!
The sound of footsteps could be heard as two creatures walked slowly down the tunnel. Somehow they could still hear the sound of battle above them.
"I think we're far enough now, Dylan?" Alex complained
Ever since they left the library, Dylan had been eerily silent. Yes, he had always been, but if emotions were visible, one would see dark aura circling above his head.
"That's true. Even with my night vision I can only see 10 meters," Dylan said, finally looking at Alex like he was expecting something from him.
"What?" Alex inquired with a blank face.
"Do your thing,"
Alex hissed but still stopped and closed his eyes. He focused hard and mumbled some words under his breath and soon light began to appear.
Or precisely, he began to glow. Bright lights began to radiate from his body, dispersing the darkness surrounding them. The light was so bright Dylan was momentarily blinded.
The only reason Alex had not done this was because they feared him using his godly powers might catch the attention of the monsters.
"Now let's go,"
After walking for minutes, perhaps hours, the tunnel began to get smaller and smaller that they had to bend.
Finally, they could hear the sound of flowing water.
"We're close to the exit!>" Dylan breathed out, smiling at Alex.
A couple of minutes later, they were out of the tunnel.
Spread in front of them was a lake, and if one was to look beyond, he would be able to make out outlines of houses.
"How do we cross?"
"There," Dylan pointed to a boat tied to the shore. Alex had to squint his eyes since he had cancelled the light surrounding him, making him reliant on the little light the moon could provide.
And there, he could see a man silently seated on the side of the lake. They approached him.
"Excuse me sir," Dylan greeted, "We were just wondering if you could please help us to the other side. You see …"
"I wonder what you lads are doing here this late . Wouldn't your parents be worried?" The Old man said, not even looking at them. He readjusted the position of his hook and continued staring at…nothing in particular.
"We were lost," Dylan tried again, "And we already called our parents. We were just thinking of a way back before we saw you."
"Ha…ha!" The old man's scream almost made Dylan jump into the lake behind him.
The man abruptly stood up and began to tug at the hook. His eyebrows creased, his veins popped and his muscles tensed as he tried to pull the hook up. It would seem whatever was at the other end had some weight as the hook didn't even budge.
"…"
The man let out a little squeak, before turning to Alex and Dylan.
"A little help,"
Dylan casually walked to the man, held his hands and pulled. A fat fish shot out of the water, landing on the soft sand and started to bounce up and down.
Due to how suddenly the hook was pulled, the old man landed on his butt. But when Alex looked at him, he had a wild smile on his face.
"Finally!"
He stood up and held the fish. He stared at it for a second before dumping It in a plastic box. He proceeded into his small boat before turning to the boys.
"You two coming>"
They got into the boat and Dylan started searching his bag to see if he could find any money, even though he was 100% sure there wasn't any.
On seeing this, the old man waved his hands. "No need boy, I'm only helping a fellow human. Besides, you helped me first, so consider this as a reward."
Dylan gave an appreciative smile before seating beside Alex.
They continued to ride in silence as the old man rowed the boat; the two boys seemingly lost in their own thoughts.
But in a way, their thoughts were the same.
"Do you think he'll be okay?" Asked Dylan.
It took a while for Alex to answer.
"He's strong, no doubt about that. But can he survive against a horde of monsters?"
Dylan heaved a deep sigh. "And how do you feel?"
Alex blinked a couple of times, "Feel about what?"
"Being the cause. If we weren't there, those guys would still be living fine." Dylan said.
"Alex also sighed as he stared at the expanse of water.
"I feel cursed."
They were left in silence. But of course, the silence wasn't for long as the old man who had been silent the whole journey spoke.
"Do you lads mind telling e where you live?"
Alex and Dylan could only look at each other, in truth; they didn't even have a home. Since they were always on the run, they always spent the night anywhere that could provide the slightest cover.
"It's quite far away. About 3 kilometers."
They didn't even know where they were, an asking the old man would only make them suspicious.
"Three kilometers from here, eh? What kind of person would you make me be if I let you out this late at night?" the old man blurted, "I think you should spend the night in my place and you can go back home by daylight. Is that okay by you?"
The two boys exchanged looks and came to the same conclusion. This man is suspicious.
With all their experience, they had grown to be cautious of any stranger, especially the nice ones. But they only nodded, since there was no better option.
"Welcome to my home!"
They entered the small building, the old man leading the way.
"Sorry this is a little…small. I had to relocate since I am no longer with my family. At least, the rent is affordable."
He got them a chair each, "from the looks on your faces, you have not eaten anything,"
He rushed somewhere they could only assume to be a kitchen. They soon heard the sound of metals clanging and a few curse words, but since the man didn't ask for help, they could only assume it was okay.
"Try this, it should help reduce the cold," Old ma offered when he notices Alex shivering.
Alex nodded as he watched the old man place three mugs on the table and filled them with hot chocolate. He cut a loaf of bread into four equal pieces and placed one in front of them each, including himself.
"To the gods…" They heard him say as he threw the fourth piece inside a burning hearth.
Dylan and Alex exchanged shocked looks as soon as they saw this action. There was one more person they knew that did this exact same thing – Old Man Jin.
"that's a tradition passed down in my family," The old man seemingly reading their thoughts, said, "You see, mu ancestors believe there are celestial beings around us, beings we can't see with our naked eyes."
The old man chuckled at his own words.
"you believe that? Of course not, but I do. I mean, how would I explain the tree eyed man that helped me when I almost drowned, how would I explain me waking up only to find out my mother had dies three years ago, and I even attended her burial. I swear, I could remember speaking to her the night before, but, it…the memory felt like a dream."
"I believe we're puppets controlled by these celestial beings. Like pawns on a chess piece, they pick our next move. So my ancestors decide to share a part of our every meal so we can receive favor from them, and it works." He looked up to them, "I know you think I'm crazy…"
Alex and Dylan listened carefully as the man kept talking. They were also once like him; thinking they were crazy, perhaps they are.
How would Alex explain the fact that there was no Ms. Ella in his school, after punishing him to push a car drawn on the board to the other side?
The funny thing was that everyone remembered him pushing the car, but they didn't remember any Ms. Ella.
"You just decided to make the class laugh."
Someone replied when he asked her why he would push the car.
Likewise, how would Dylan explain on his birthday, waking up only to hear his mother scold him for burning down the basement, when he didn't even leave his room? He never did.
The surprising thing was the face that even if they were 'sure' they didn't do all these, they had the memory of doing it. That's just how crazy it was.
The man wasn't done with his tale yet as he continued,
"…but wait until I tell you about the death of my family."
"I don't think…"
"It's okay. It's not every time I find someone to lament my life story to."" The old man grimaced. "We were in our car, going on a vacation. Then were attacked by…beasts. They looked like dogs, except five times bigger, and were very scary. I'm sure I even pissed my pants. I couldn't even do as much as flinch as I watched the beast eat up my two sons, they were twins.
Sadly enough, they ignored I and my wife, like we didn't even exist before them. Funny enough, while I was stuck in my seat, my wife went on a rampage, attacking the beasts and you know…" The old man choked, but still continued, "I had to watch as they also killed her. But that isn't the point. When I saw the news, I realized everything I experienced was vastly different from what I said.
In the news it said we had an accident and my twins died, and while my wife was shouting for help, she was run over by a speeding truck. Can you believe it, something I saw with my won two eyes? The truck driver that 'ran over' my wife even came to apologize to me and offered to compensate me. It's all just…crazy."
"But I think these celestial beings are getting bored and are playing a deadly game that can erase the world."
Again, Dylan and Alex looked at each other, silently conversing.
"They are starting to let more and more people glimpse into their world. I heard my neighbor saying he saw a two headed man sleeping I front of his door. And if what I'm thinking is right, then everybody on earth could just suffer from mental disorder."
The old man wanted to say more but only sighed when he noticed the two lads dosing of.
"They're only kids after all." He thoughts and covered then in blankets.
…Somewhere else
"What do you mean you can't find them?"
* * * TO BE CONTINUED * * *