Leaving the cannibals behind, I set out to locate the captured individuals. Following the northeast direction as instructed by the cannibal leader, I reached the metal cage where the people were imprisoned. The key to the cage had been taken from the presumed leader of the cannibals before I left.
Unlocking the cage door, I found six people inside – one man and five women.
"St-stay away from me, you monster!" One of the women inside exclaimed, retreating a few steps out of fear.
"Please, calm down. I am not affiliated with those cannibals," I reassured them, hoping to quell their apprehension.
"Ho-how can we trust you? You appear like a tattered doll, missing an arm, a leg, and even an eye."
"Well, there's actually a rather good explanation for that, though I understand if you find it hard to believe," I replied, recognizing that revealing I'd lost my eye and limb to merman-like creatures might not be immediately convincing, especially given the nightmarish circumstances we all found ourselves in.
And by the way, I can still see with my right eye but It has become very sensitive to light, so I rarely use it now even during nighttime.
"What do you mean? Just go away. Haven't you caused enough already?" The woman rejected my attempt to communicate and continued to express her anger.
"Does anyone here know Captain Alex Miller or John Smith? I came to this world with them, and we were on the yacht together," I asked, hoping for a familiar connection.
"I know John. We worked together," the surviving man replied. He was dressed similarly to John.
"Were you on the same yacht as John and me?"
"Yes, I recall seeing you. You were accompanied by a dog, which made you stand out. Frankly, the reason I couldn't recognize you initially is because, well, your appearance has changed a lot. If it hadn't been for the dog, I might've mistaken you for one of those cannibals."
I glanced at Rex, who was standing beside me, his expression a mix of confusion and curiosity. It seemed he was the more popular one between us.
"Don't worry about it; I understand where you're coming from. I'd probably have had doubts about a man missing so many body parts myself," I assured him with a casual shrug.
"Heh, thanks for understanding. I'm Lucian Nightshade, though you can call me Lucas."
Lucas, in his early twenties with blond hair and blue eyes, brought memories of John to my mind. Although their looks differed a lot, a sense of responsibility urged me to do all I could to help Lucas. The memories of leaving John behind haunted my nights. While I grappled with guilt for abandoning him, I understood that my options had been limited at the time.
"Nice to meet you, Lucas. I'm Francis Slander, but you can call me Frankie. And this is my partner, Rex. I wish our meeting could've been in better circumstances, but circumstances aren't always in our control."
*Woof*
"Well, you're spot on about that. I too wish we'd crossed paths under better circumstances. But Frankie, what happened to the cannibals? How did you manage to find us?" Lucas inquired with curiosity.
"It's quite a lengthy tale. Are you sure you're up for the whole story?"
"Well, I suppose so."
"Alright."
I then proceeded to recount the series of events that had unfolded since my arrival, sharing details about Captain Alex and John, Captain Francis and his crew, the NS Scorpion, and even the monstrous mermen.
"T-to think you survived all that. If it were me, I'd surely be dead by now," Lucas expressed, a mix of shock and admiration in his voice.
"Well, if it weren't for Rex, I definitely wouldn't have made it," I replied, glancing at my loyal companion.
*Woof*
"Is that so? You've got quite a faithful companion. But you still haven't filled me in—what happened to the cannibals?"
"I somehow managed to eliminate most of them. Only three survived, and I've currently got them tied to a tree."
Their eyes were fixed on me, a mixture of puzzlement and fear in their gaze. I get it, really—I mean, if I were in their shoes, I'd probably feel the same way. Here I stand, a guy with more than a few missing body parts, and yet I somehow took out almost fifty cannibals all by myself. Meanwhile, over thirty others couldn't even put up a fight against them. It's a bit surreal, even for me.
"I-I see, so if I'm following your story correctly, this world isn't Earth but something entirely different—a world covered 90% by water. And on top of that, you stumbled upon a fifty-year-old nuclear-powered submarine that's still functional? Honestly, it's a lot to take in."
"Yeah, I get where you're coming from," I replied to Lucas.
"So, does this mean we have a chance to leave this island? But even if we do, where could we possibly go?"
"Well, there's a port city nearby called Aurora, but I can't pinpoint the exact distance," I explained.
"Then what about the people who were taken by the cannibals?"
"All I know is that they're likely being sold as slaves in the slums of Port Aurora."
"Noooo, my poor baby girl," I heard a woman's voice—it was the same woman I'd met earlier, the one besides Lucas. Her anguish was palpable, her daughter apparently among those sold into slavery. Witnessing her pain stung my heart—could this be what it feels like if something were to happen to Rex? I know it's not the same, but Rex has been my steadfast companion for so long.
"Ma'am, please try to stay calm. We'll definitely do our best to find them," Lucas reassured her.
"What happened to her?" I inquired, turning to Lucas for more information.
"A few days ago, a group of people came and took most of the women and all the children. They boarded a ship and left. We've had no word on what actually happened to them since then."
"I see. So, is her daughter one of them?"
"Yes, if I remember correctly, she's a ten-year-old girl. Is there any way we can save them?" Lucas pleaded with an intensity in his eyes.
"Well, unfortunately, I can't make any promises, but one thing we can do is board the NS Scorpion and set sail for Port Aurora. Maybe we'll find some clues there," I suggested, realizing that, for now, this might be the best course of action.
"That sounds like a good idea, let's leave this place," a different woman spoke this time.
Her cascading blond hair flowed down her back, glistening like spun gold in the moon's gentle embrace. Her azure eyes sparkled like precious gems, reflecting the moonlight's ethereal glow. Her flawless porcelain skin exuded a delicate radiance, a canvas that any would envy, and her graceful figure boasted the enchanting curves of an hourglass.
"My name is Lorelei Veil, you can call me Lara. I was listening to your conversation and even heard about your heroic deeds, and how you managed to survive despite all the odds."
"Thank you, Lara. But as I said before, it's a combined effort, both mine and Rex's."
"Of course, it is thanks to your loyal companion that you are still alive," she gave me a smile and patted Rex's head and continued. "So, as you have mentioned, why don't we leave this place and go to that Port Aurora place you mentioned?"
"Sure, but before that, there are a few things I need to do."
I led them back to the tied-up cannibals. When we reached them, suddenly the mother of the little girl went and started beating them with a stick she found on the ground.
"You monsters! Because of you, my husband is dead. And if that's not enough, you even sold my little girl as a slave to some pervert. I will kill you all, even if that's the last thing I do," she attacked them furiously. I understood her anger—her husband was killed brutally and eaten by monsters that looked like humans. Now, her only remaining family member was kidnapped and sold as a slave. But if she killed the cannibals now, the same fate could befall us, like what happened to others who came to this world with us.
"Stop her! We need them alive to gather information," I told everyone and the other women went and dragged her back from the cannibals.
"Leave me alone! They took everything from me. I will definitely kill them as brutally as possible," she screamed at the top of her lungs.
"Mam! Please calm down we all lost someone important to us, precious friends and family. If you kill them now the same fate may befall us as well", Lara was trying to calm her down while holding her back.
The three cannibals were bleeding from their heads and their mouths from the furious attack of the mother, I approached the guy who I presume to be the leader and asked him.
"So, how do you feel?"
He spat on the ground and said, "I feel like shit, so what else do you want from me, ask what you want and let us go, if else you know who will come after you"
Just as I thought, he thinks that because we are drifters we will let him and his companions go and now he is even threatening me.
"Well, if you answer a few more of my questions I will think about it"
"What else do you want to know?", he sounded irritated now.
"How do we reach Port Aurora, what's the distance from here?"
"Well, you just have to travel east for around 2000 KM, then you can reach Port Aurora"
"What 2000 Km that's a lot of distance to cover"
"Well of course it is, do you really think people like us will stay on an island surrounded by people so that we can all sing and dance together? think for a second. Shit, this is why I hate drifters they are all very stupid"
Hmm… that's a lot to cover, I don't know how fast NS Scorpion can travel but If it's one of the modern submarines we can reach it within three to four days, but since NS Scorpion is very old I think it will take us at least a week to reach Port Aurora.
"Then this is the last question, how long does it take for you guys to reach Port Aurora?"
*sighs*
The cannibal who I presume to be the leader sighed and said," Wow you really are an idiot ha, how can I tell you something like that? It all depends on what type of ship we have as pirates we constantly change ships but to give you an approximate answer It takes us around thirty days to make a round trip."
I see so around a month, and the nearest city is also around 2000 KM away, no wonder they are so desperate for food.
"I see that's all I wanted to know", I told that and took my assault rifle and shot the other two cannibals in the head.
"Wh-what are you doing? You promised to let us go, if we answered all your questions, why are you breaking your promise?", He asked me with mixed emotions of fear and anger.
"Don't make me laugh, have you ever kept your promise to others? Do you really think that I will let you guys live if you threaten me with the big organization story? And I don't remember making any promise to you all I said was that "I will think about that", I thought about it and decided to kill you all", I told him with cold eyes, enjoying every second seeing monsters like him suffer the same fate they inflicted upon others.
"You damm drifterrrr-"
*Bang*