Chapter 24: Looking For Hints!
Awaiting the group was another long journey to look for chests in the hope of finding information that would help them survive the incoming danger.
They were now facing danger from the front that Zen, who was leading them, helped them avoid, and from the back was the maze walker, who was awakened by the dumb decision of a dead former teammate.
The first chest they came across after they found the scroll had nothing but food and water, both of which they had an abundance of. The group was forced to leave empty handed, hoping for a second chest that would get them out of hell quickly.
The second, however, was the same as the first; only a dagger was added to the regular loot of food and water.
The third and fourth chests were traps, simultaneously.
"Fuck! What do we do? Can't we just find a damned scroll already!" Pablo, who had enough, shouted with his full force. The group couldn't say anything as their expression mirrored the anger and sadness Pablo felt on the inside.
"We just have to keep moving forward; sooner or later, we will find it." Yu, replied.
"Of course, we will find it sooner or later, Yu. Of course we would, but how many of us would be alive by then? 7? 6? 4? Or even 1 of us? What's the fucking point if we all fucking die." He shouted once again, and tears of pain and sadness seeped out of his eyes without stopping.
"What did I do to deserve this, oh god? What did I do? Send me back, just for a second, I will pray, I will help the poor, I will give charity, just once, please send me back, Please!" Pablo couldn't take it any more as he fell to his knees, tears and snot falling down his nose.
The group's face's got red; Dali, Max, and Yu had tears fall down their faces as even the strong minded Alex had a hard time controlling himself.
Lisa was sniffling behind Sabrina, who looked annoyed but was truly in a similar situation to Alex.
Zen, however, was calmly gazing as all of this played out.
"Pablo, I understand your anguish, but there's no turning back; it's all about moving forward now, This might be called hell but I like to think of it as the lst chance we have to redeem ourselves; who knows where we will end up if we die once again?" Zen said, but within his mind.
'Ah, I'm getting tired of acting like this.' Zen was definitely not the kind boy his outward image wanted to show, but he had to do what had to be done.
"Get up, let's move; a way out is waiting for us; why stop here." While helping Pablo get up, Zen noticed the cries of the men and women behind him lessen before he turned.
"The maze walker might be coming at us from behind; he might even be some kind of entity with enhanced senses, so we cannot afford to waste any more time." Zen announced.
Dali, Max, Yu, and Alex wiped their tears as their faces showed their resolution.
Sabrina was the one who held herself back the most, as she was used to life screwing her over from the moment her daughter died in front of her eyes, and Lisa was having the hardest time calming down.
"Let's move." Zen waved back as he turned his back and led the group once more.
"Hey... Pablo." Yu, who was behind Pablo, called.
"What is it, Yu?" Pablo, without turning back, knew who was calling him, as he asked.
"Uhm, you see, I just wanted to apologize for that time. I felt like I had to do so since then but I couldn't, but seeing you like this makes me feel that I'm responsible." Yu stated.
"Responsible for what? Don't get me wrong, Yu. My life is enough of a mess; if anything, I should be thanking you for making me realize how much of an asshole I am to end up in this fucked up place." Pablo almost laughed as he replied, but his anguish didn't allow him to.
This is what happened to the sinners, this is what happened to the sick minds of society, he knew this, he deserved this. What right did he have to beg for forgiveness? When he had the chance he didn't so why now?
This was what was running on Pablo's mind as his heart, soul, and spirit were crying from the inside, every part of his being was hurting without him being as much as scratched physically.
'Please... Please put an end to this.' And there, he met the end point. Realizing that there was no escaping, Pablo couldn't take it anymore; he just couldn't continue. He collapsed, and this time it was without return.
Black fog appeared out of nowhere, filling the corridor with its stench of death.
Zen saw this and moved out of the way. The group looked around, lost, as they unconsciously put distance between themselves aside from Pablo, who was too lost to realize what was going on.
"ENEMY!" Alex shouted as high as he could, but anybody could guess that by now.
"Kikikiki, KikYAAAAA!" The echoes and screams of the entity from hell reverberated through the corridor, pulling the strings of the group's souls like a reaper from hell.
They could feel death, they could smell death, they could see death, every sense of theirs told them that their time has come.
The group shivered in fear as they looked around for any signs of the enemy, not knowing where it would come from aside from Pablo... Pablo who was already dead from the inside.
And there, right behind the poor soul, walking absentmindedly and going way past Zen, the horrific entity appeared.
*Slash* *Fwshhh*
"PABLOOO!" Yu shouted with all his might, horrified at the scene of his friend being decapitated in half.
-----End-----