Xie Ai's face paled as he stared at the scene in front of his eyes. Even though his eyes couldn't clear up, he still heard the thud as a body fell to the ground. He clearly knew what it meant, and the woman's scream into the background seemed to have cleared up his confusion.
"W-what's happening?" asked Xie Ai as he saw other people in front of him finally walking.
So he also walked. Thunder struck again, flashing a flickering light above everyone's head. But since it was still darker than the night, Xie Ai's vision was limited.
So thus, he couldn't see carefully the deadbody of the teenager on the ground that everyone ignored as he bumped into it and fell right on the ground.
"Ouch!"
A hint of pain coarsed to his chin that hit the ground headfast. He laid there and rubbed that area. Just as he turned his head to his left, his entire body froze.
There lay the same teenager right in front of him with his eyes widened in horror. Traces of absolute terror were enough to send a shiver down spines and make weak hearted faint at a single glance. Blood was splattered everywhere as even the internal organs peaked out of the slashed neck.
Xie Ai felt a bile of vomiting rising up his throat. He closed his eyes again and pressed his hand against his mouth. "Mnmnmm…."
He lay there for a few seconds, calming down the urge to puke it all out. On either side, his two friends stood, waiting patiently for him to get up. They looked as if they didn't even want to spare the dead body a single glance.
"This is why I hate novices. They can't even walk properly." Xiao Min grumbled under his breath.
"Hey, can't you talk properly? Xie Ai is listening."
"That's exactly why I'm saying those words."
"...." Xie Ai rolled his eyes at their antics as he pushed himself up on his feet, dusting off the mud on his body. "I'm still here. So please don't pretend that I'm not around."
"Hey, you guys at the back, hurry up!" The scar-faced man yelled from the front.
Only now did Xie Ai realized that he unknowingly fell to the bottom of the line because of his fall. He blinked and continued walking, not wanting to be hacked to death like that teenager.
They finally left the shade and stepped into the heavy rainfall. Everyone picked up an umbrella hanging on the side right outside the door as they trekked beneath the sky.
Thunder struck once again, creating a heavy sound that seemed to have sent forth a wave of fear in their hearts. Everyone got to look at the surroundings in the moment.
Everything was dark, wet, and scary. The entire place was surrounded by huge walls on all sides, both dark and full of fungus. Thick shrubs grew over the walls, making it look like it had not been taken care of for a long time.
There was a tall building in front of a staggering height. No one dared to count how many floors there were, especially the novices. Only the experienced folks raised their heads and looked at the building.
Thunder struck right above the building, giving it a horrific look. The building, though, didn't look modern. The edges of the ceiling looked curved up and made it look like it belonged to a dynasty of the past. Even the way guards around them dressed in an ancient fashion with swords around their respective waists.
The novice woman sobbed softly. "Where the heck are we? Let us go."
No one heeded the woman's words.
When everyone was standing right at the centre of the ground, the hooded man turned around.
Unknowingly, he had worn the hood back over his head as raindrops splattered above the umbrella. Thunder struck at the same moment, lightening up his darkened face.
"All of you got to spend a week here at the prison. So stand by, and try to survive." The man spoke in a dry and rough voice as he continued, "You're the twelfth batch of people sent to deal with this haunted place. If you can't find the reason why the prisoners have been dying, you guys might as well remain dead."
Thunder struck at the same time, giving this scene an horrific look.
A shiver sent down Xie Ai's spine as he looked upon the man in a hood. Later, the man walked onward, right toward the prison's main building. As he walked, he continued to share the information.
"Since you guys are pros, we decided to give you the most dangerous and darkest corners of the prison to live, the west wing." The man pointed toward the other end of the building on the right. "That's where the killings started back then. No one knows how and when it started. Just that, recently, all the prisoners have started dying one after another in the span of a week."
Everyone standing there shivered. What the guy meant was crystal clear. If they couldn't solve this case, they would die after a week. But even though they were afraid, no one dared to open their mouths.
The hooded guy spoke again. "The rules are simple. Lunch at noon, dinner at dusk. No roaming around at night. Are we clear?"
The newbies in the team nodded, afraid that the man would hack them to death if they dared to shake their heads.
"Good."
By this time, they had already entered the corridor of the west wing. Right side was full of windows as thunder struck for the millionth time. The ground seemed to be full of mud and something sticky. The corners of the walls were full of fungus.
The hooded man suddenly stopped and turned around, opening a prison. "Go on. Three in a room."
Xie Ai pursed his lips and followed. When it was his turn, someone below him pulled his collar and dragged him back.
Then that cold voice spoke, "Would you rather stay with strangers than your own friends?"
"Uh…." Xie Ai finally decided to shed the pretenses and said, "I'm sick of eating dog food. Can't you guys restrict yourselves?"
"Sure, tell him."
Xie Ai looked at the back, straight to a certain blond haired guy named Ah Jin.
The man shrugged as his finger touched the tip of his nose. His cheeks glowed red as he pursed his lips. "No promises."
"You guys are useless."
The three got to their prison room and when the metal doors closed, Xie Ai turned toward his roommates. At this time, a soft yellowish lamp hung over the ventilator above, giving the room a soft glow. So at least they could see what was in the room clearly.
Xie Ai crossed his arms on his chest and looked at the couple in front of him. "Alright. Speak. What the heck is going on? Where are we? And why are we here?"
Xiao Min sighed and ruffled his black hair. His hair used to be long, but after that incident, he cut his hair short with two strands hanging on either side of his face. Even when he ruffled them, his silky hair fell like threads, looking like they were combed just now.
Meanwhile, Xie Ai looked at his own, waist long hair that seemed to have scattered everywhere. He hadn't even bothered to wash them for a long time. He was sure his hair smelled a bit at this point.
No, what was he thinking at this time?
Just then, Xie Ai heard the other speaking: "We don't know either. How about you take a rest for now? We will start tomorrow, yeah?"
"Alright." Xie Ai looked around and chose a bed among three. Two to the right, and one to the left. The place he pointed was a lone lower bunk with only one bed. "I'm taking the lower bunk here."
He climbed onto the bed and covered himself with the cold, thin blanket that seemed to have torn from the bottom. It even smelled funny, but since it was cold, it was better to cover yourselves in this prison.
Before closing his eyes, he warned the couples. "If I hear a single moan, I'll kick you out."
"You think he's serious?" asked Ah Jin,
"Why don't you try?"
"...." Ah Jin thought about it seriously and shook his head. "Nah, let it be. Xie Ai has been short tempered recently. Let's not provoke him."
Night fell as all of them fell asleep. Suddenly, a noise of teeth clattering against one another echoed into the background. That noise made it seem like someone was trembling out of utter coldness as Xie Ai frowned.
He was just about to fall asleep when he heard that noise. He pursed his lips and opened his eyes, rubbing them gently.
All he could see was blurred things in front of him.
Two beds, but of course, the couple decided to sleep in one, the upper bunk, probably hugging one another to sleep. Xie Ai's face turned bitter seeing them. Just as he was glaring with envy, he heard a soft, child-like voice entering his ears.
"If you want, I can hug you too."
Xie Ai's eyes widened as he sat up. He cautiously looked around.
No one…
Did he just imagine those words? He shook his head, raising up his blanket. Just as he raised his blanket, he saw a child, not more than five years old, lying beside him. The child's eyes were emerald green, much like a certain dead ex of his.
The little guy had his pale face raised, staring deeply and emotionlessly into the other's eyes. He lifted his thin, bruised arms and hugged the other guy tightly. "Can I sleep next to you?"