"It seems like the guards were expecting them," Alan muttered as he carefully sneaked behind the stacks of dust crystals, trying to eavesdrop on the guards' conversation.
"This is the third time this month, isn't it?" one of the guards grumbled.
"Yeah,"
"Man, guarding this place is so boring. I wish I could go down there myself, haha!"
"Stand firm and don't get any funny ideas," the first guard warned.
"Yeah, yeah, but there's no one here. See? Enjoying ourselves a little bit wouldn't hurt, you know."
"Sigh Can you keep your mouth shut? If the Queen finds out what you're talking about, don't blame me for not warning you."
What are these guys talking about? Alan wondered, curiosity piqued. Why do they want to go to an old mine? Well... there's only one way to find out. Sorry, Shone.
Suddenly, a loud clank echoed through the area.
"Huh? Who's there?" one of the guards called out, startled.
Step, step, step...
"Did you hear that?" the first guard asked, scanning the area.
"There's nobody here," the second guard replied after a quick inspection.
"Are you sure you checked carefully? You're not slacking off, are you?"
"Hey, what do you think I am, huh? I would never try to get us into trouble."
"Yeah, you'd better not because—"
But Alan was already inside the elevator, his heart pounding. "Okay, how does this thing work? Umm, this lever—this should be it! Come on, lever, don't let me down now, come onnnn!!!"
Kreauk!!!
"Huh? What was that sound? Someone's using the elevator! Catch him!"
"Ah, shit! Whoa, looks like the elevator's moving, haha!"
"Wait!!!"
"Hehe, later, suckers!"
As the elevator descended, the moments felt like an eternity. Finally, Alan reached the bottom of the mine. The area was filled with countless boxes of dust crystals.
"This is dangerous," Alan whispered to himself, eyeing the stacks. "Storing dust crystals in a cramped space like this—they could explode at any moment."
A foul odor suddenly hit his senses. "What is that smell? It definitely isn't the dust crystals." He gagged, the stench making him feel nauseous. "Blumekk, it's making me want to throw up."
His thoughts were interrupted by the distant sound of the elevator. "The guards must be catching up. I need to make haste and figure out what's going on here. Focus, Alan."
The mine was a mess. Even though it was a prison, it was well-maintained and had a long history. Shone had told him that the Vampire Queen's domain was originally a long-lost city, but Alan never expected it to be this eerie.
"Huh, why is the air so warm now? And that smell... it's getting stronger."
As Alan followed the smell, he found himself in a hallway lined with doors that led to different rooms. The odor was overwhelming now, and as he got closer to one particular room, he saw something that made his blood run cold.
"Is—isn't that..." Alan's voice trembled as his eyes widened in horror. Before him, Number 58 and Mr. 34 were... intimate with each other.
"But—but that's not possible," Alan stammered, his mind refusing to accept what he was seeing. "She's not like that. It—it must be a lie—no, it cannot be!!"
But deep down, he knew it was real. The strong, unmistakable smell of sex had hit him long before he reached the room. His brain had just been rationalizing, trying to convince him that it was all a giant misunderstanding. Alan had experienced pain far worse than this during his trials, but those experiences had been fake—someone else's life, with an end in sight. That's how he'd coped with the pain until now.
But this... this was different. There was no coping with this. It was harsh, unyielding reality, and he didn't want to face it.
His mind had been shrouded in fake enthusiasm. He thought he would escape this prison and continue his journey with his newfound companions. But reality was far from what he had imagined.
After all of this, maybe my life back then wasn't so bad after all...
His mind went blank. He knew the guards were closing in, but his legs wouldn't move. His body wouldn't listen to his brain.
Because deep down, he knew he couldn't run away anymore...
"We found him! He's in Section B hallway! Catch him!!" the guards shouted as they closed in.
"Caught you, you piece of shit! You thought you could get away just like that, huh?"
Normally, Alan would have done everything in his power to escape this situation, but his mind was completely blank. He didn't care about anything anymore.
As he was dragged away by the guards, Alan glanced one last time at Number 58. All his illusions were shattered. All of his dreams were nothing but the naive fantasies of a fool. He even felt he had let Mr. Albert down.
"So, it all turned out the same, huh? And you were the same," Alan murmured quietly as the guards continued to drag him away.
"Wait!"
"Huh? Who are you?"
"Wait, wait! There must be a misunderstanding—he's with me. He's my friend!"
"Who the—"
"Shone?" He had almost forgotten Shone was here. But did it even matter? He had already seen everything there was to see.
"Yes, of course. We'll be careful—it's just his first time, haha," Shone explained, trying to ease the tension.
"Well, you'd better be careful. If not, the warden will—well, never mind. You know what's at stake."
"Of course, thank you, sir," Shone replied politely.
After the guards left, an awkward silence hung between them. Alan expected Shone and Emily to be angry with him, but they didn't say a word. They simply started to walk away.
After what had happened, Alan was in a dilemma. He didn't know what to do, so he just stood there, frozen.
"What are you doing, just standing there?" Shone asked firmly.
"I—I'm sorry, Shone. I didn't heed your caution and came down here."
"It's not your fault. But we don't have much time now. Come with us, I'll explain everything to you back at our cell. Come quickly."
Shone knew what had happened, but now was not the best time to comfort Alan. More pressing matters needed to be addressed first.
"Brother, shouldn't we...?"
"Sigh I know, Emily. But it is still yet not the right time."
"..."