Chapter 40 – Another Human in the Veil
"Someone's coming."
Those were Alice's words, and fear gripped them instantly.
Luke extinguished the torch immediately, and they huddled close, straining their ears to listen.
The sound of footsteps splashing through the rain echoed through the darkness. The steps paused, as if assessing the situation, and then resumed, this time in a desperate sprint. While the noise could indicate a person needing help, it could also attract many creatures.
In the darkness, Alice nudged Luke, and he understood what needed to be done.
Almost crawling, he moved slowly toward the entrance of their hideout, which was covered with wolf skin. He hesitated to peek out at first but decided to listen intently. The footsteps grew closer. With no other choice, Luke peeked out.
A person!
A mixed feeling of relief and excitement washed over him. In the flashes of lightning, he saw a man running, ducking behind pillars occasionally. When crossing streets, the man looked around cautiously.
"What is it?" Alice asked.
"A person," Lucan replied.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, he's running around looking for shelter."
"Let's help him! Maybe he's an expedition soldier. We could get some assistance," Anna interjected.
"I'll go check," Alice said.
"No!" Luke grabbed her hand.
With the darkness, the wolf skin covering the entrance was almost invisible.
"Why?" she asked, annoyed.
"Why?" he mocked. "You spent more time here than I did. Did you run toward every person you saw?"
"Let me at least look."
She moved closer to the hole and lifted the edge of the skin slightly to peek out.
Alice studied the man for a moment.
"I see armor. It has the royal family's emblem," she noted.
"Guys, what do we do? We've finally found someone," Anna said, a bit agitated.
"He could be a scout checking for survivors."
"You've got a point, Alice. This scout has been living here for days and is just running around? With nothing chasing him? We had to move at a snail's pace, stopping constantly."
"You're right," she agreed.
They watched as the soldier stopped nearby and crouched against a wall, throwing a sort of blanket over himself to hide.
"Uh... I'll let you guys decide," Anna said, retreating further into the small cave and sitting down.
"Definitely human. He hid... This could be our only chance to contact another expedition member and a soldier. Should we let this pass?" Alice asked.
"I don't know... I also want to find someone," Luke admitted.
Time passed as they watched the soldier. Luke even summoned his cloak. Alice stayed at the front, observing, while Luke occasionally peeked out from the hole.
"Luke, grab your weapon. Anna, do the same. We're going to call out to that person, but be ready. Some monsters can disguise themselves, but they're rare. Still, let's not take any chances."
Anna had her bow at the ready, Luke gripped his hammer, and Alice had her sword drawn, prepared for anything. She pulled back the wolf skin covering the hole.
"Wait…" Luke whispered.
"What?"
"How on earth are we going to call that soldier? Shouting isn't exactly ideal."
She paused, contemplating, and then partially emerged from the hole.
She has her butt in my face… does she not realize that?
Alice crawled out and tried to whistle.
I can't believe she can't whistle…
"Need help?" Luke teased, whispering.
"I'm thinking," Alice replied in her usual serious tone.
After a moment, she grabbed some stones and threw them at the soldier.
The man, who was hiding and covered, jumped in surprise as the stones hit him.
"Good heavens!" he exclaimed, looking toward Alice.
The guy is literally seeing half a body emerging from the ground; even I'd be scared in that situation…
"I'm from the expedition, a student from the academy," she whispered.
"Thank God, I finally found people," the man said, relieved, and approached.
"Do you have people with you? They said you were in the sewers."
"No, I've been wandering for days. They're all gone…"
Alice nodded, looking down hopelessly.
"But I'm going to find the others."
"Others?" she asked.
"Yes, I've been following the trail of whoever's been walking here. Or was it you?"
"We haven't been here long, so I'm not sure if it was us."
"Damn!" he looked to the side, alarmed.
"Get in, quick," she said.
"Thank you, thank God," he said as he entered, completely soaked. Alice covered the hole again, ensuring everything was in place before lighting the torch.
Seeing a small red-haired girl armed with a bow pointed at him and a man in black with a hammer looking like an executioner, he was startled.
"More people? Thank God, I was going crazy in this place," the man said gratefully.
"Identify yourself!" Luke said seriously.
"Identify yourself! Who are you, and what House do you serve?" Luke demanded.
"What are you doing? Isn't it obvious he's a soldier from the royal army?" Anna said.
"Quiet!"
Luke lit his torch.
"My name is Clyde," the man said, letting out a chuckle.
The chuckle grew louder, echoing off the walls of the small cave.
"Hahaha."
"I know, I killed you…" he said, staring at the man.
Luke was looking at someone who shouldn't be there, someone who was already dead. That someone stared back, but his eyes, though moving, were lifeless.
"Anna, come closer to me," Luke called out carefully, speaking slowly, watching every move of that thing that looked like Clyde.
At that moment, both girls were staring in shock at the laughing man.
Alice drew her sword.
"Don't try to fight this thing…" Luke said, never taking his eyes off the laughing man.
"The Great is coming, The Great will come to you. Why don't you go play with him?"
Clyde started vomiting a black liquid, and then octopus-like tentacles emerged from his mouth.
"Run! Damn it, run!"
The trio jumped out of the hole as a mix of vomit and laughter echoed from the cave.
"He's coming, he's coming," the man laughed hysterically.