I'm in pain. I can't speak; my vocal cords are broken. Every bone in my body is twisted, yet I'm here, alive. In a room... I want to cry. Why am I still alive? What did I do? I can't seem to remember what it was.

"What are you looking at?" Kieth asked as he walked through the streets with his younger brother.

"Nnn... I want that puppy," the little kid said, pointing toward a French bulldog.

"That is not a puppy. It's a grown dog, and it has an owner. We can't take it," Kieth replied, looking at the dog, which was on a leash held by a man twice his size.

"Also, we gotta go to Mom and Dad. They might be waiting." Kieth had come out for a walk since his cousin was visiting, so he had brought him to the local park.

"Please... I beg youuuu! It looks cute," Anton said, his eyes mirroring the dog's expression.

"Nope. It's getting late, and it's your 10th birthday in a week. Ask your parents. I don't get it—how is that thing cute? It barely has fur. Well, could be his preference. Looks ugly to me."Let's go home."

"You always say this! All you're gonna do is go home and sit on your phone all day! I don't care. I'm not going home!" Anton yelled and ran away from Kieth.

"HEY! WAIT! STOP RUNNING! What is wrong with him? I don't even use my ph..." Kieth trailed off. "Never mind, I guess I do use it too much."

Kieth ran behind Anton, who surprisingly ran fast. He caught up to him.

"Heh..." Kieth panted. "Anton, you little shit. I run faster. I'll tell this to Uncle, and he'll whoop your ass. Wait and wat—"

Gunshots were heard. Both were startled as they looked across the street. There were cops running after a criminal with a gun, who was firing back in an attempt to escape.

"ANTON! WE GOTTA—" Kieth started, but Anton was nowhere to be seen.

"WHERE THE FUCK—" Kieth looked around frantically. Then, he glanced back at the chase scene, but only for a second before everything went blank.

Did I die? Ah, yeah, the guy shot me. Why?

Still, he had good aim. Pretty sure I was shot in the head since I didn't even have a second to react.

I CAN'T FUCKING MOVE. WHAT IS THIS? THE AFTERLIFE?

He heard whispers through the darkness. Is someone speaking something—

He jolted upright, looking around, his eyes adjusting to his surroundings. He was in a room with a wooden floor.

"He is awake," a girl's voice said, sounding as beautiful as a bird's song.

His vision adjusted to the dim light in the room. He was surrounded by a girl who looked East Asian with dark brown hair and a tall, well-built boy with smooth skin and messy, jet-black hair. The two seemed a bit concerned about him.

"Hey... where am I?" Kieth asked, his throat dry and his voice coarse.

"Uh, hey... well, we don't know much either, but... you died, right?" the boy responded, speaking with an accent.

"Maybe we should give him some water." The girl went to get some water.

Kieth tried standing up, but his legs felt weak. The boy supported him.

"How did you know I died?"

"Well, even we did. It's been a couple of days since I've been here, but you were lying on the floor when we woke up."

The boy helped Kieth sit on a nearby chair as the girl returned with a glass of water and handed it to him. Kieth gulped it down; it felt heavenly, the same feeling as drinking water at 3 a.m. on a hot summer night.

"Oh... much better. Can I have another?"

The girl smiled and went to fetch another glass.

"So, you all died, huh?" Kieth asked the boy.

"Yes. It was pleasant, though. I went away surrounded by my loved ones."

"How did you die?"

"Cancer."

"Damn," Kieth responded instantly without thinking.

Silence.

Fuck, I must have sounded so fucking rude. Why is he silent? It's making this a lot more awkward. Besides, cancer hurts, right?

"So... like... uhhh... it didn't hurt?" Kieth asked, thinking it might break the silence.

"It did."

Silence again.

Just as Kieth was drowning in his thoughts, the girl appeared with the glass of water. For the first time, Kieth, who didn't believe in anything like a angel, thought to himself: An angel in disguise. Thank you so much. Please help me.

"Ah, yeah. Thanks," Kieth said as he drank in silence, then cleared his throat.

"Anyways, what is your name? I didn't quite ask that yet," the girl asked.

The boy said, "Ah, I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself, My name is Vasil," extending his arm for a handshake. Kieth shook it.

"And mine is Yoshinaga Akane," the girl said cheerfully.

"Mine is Kieth Vitus. Pleasure."

"Well, for starters, can you tell me what you know about this place?"

Kieth asked. Even though they'd had a peaceful conversation, he still didn't know where he was or how he had ended up there.

Akane responded, "We don't know much either. I came here around a week ago, and Vasil came four days ago. On the other hand, Rita has been here the longest. She didn't tell me how long ago she came, but she was there when I woke up here."

"Rita? There's another?" Kieth asked, surprised since he hadn't seen another girl.

"Yeah, she's sleeping currently. We didn't want to wake her up since she barely sleeps," Vasil responded. "But yeah, apparently, we've been stuck here. Rita said we need four people to leave this place. Now that we have four, I suppose we can leave."

"Should we wake her up?" Akane asked.

"No need. I heard everything, so no need to explain it to me either," a girl said as she walked out. She looked like a tomboy with a pixie cut and a cold expression as she glanced at Kieth.

Wow, she sure is bold wearing that thin shirt. Then again, not like she has anything to cover.

"Nice to meet you, Rita," Kieth said but was met with a cold glare, as if she had heard his thoughts.

"We will leave within half an hour. Pack anything you might need," Rita commanded the two.

"So soon? Let Kieth rest first," Vasil protested.

"He will get plenty of rest when we figure out how to get out of this place," Rita snapped at Vasil. Vasil didn't argue further, and the three left the room. Before leaving, Akane turned to Kieth.

"Get as much rest as possible."

"Will do," Kieth smiled at Akane as she left. He stood up and looked outside the window.

There was nothing—he couldn't see the sky. Not because it wasn't there, but because it seemed like they were in a cave.

A cabin in a cave?!? And it seems like we're the only ones here.

Within the next 30 minutes, Kieth had figured out a couple of things:

First, they couldn't leave because the cabin's door wouldn't open unless there were four different hands pushing it. It seemed like some kind of magical mechanism that unlocked only if four people were present. The windows also had an invisible barrier preventing them from getting out.

Second, the food and water were limited but sufficient to last a couple more weeks. The group had been packing everything they could find in the cabin to prepare for leaving.

Third, Kieth theorized they might not be that deep in the cave. If they were, there wouldn't be enough oxygen, and they would have perished long before he arrived.

Despite the circumstances, Kieth was surprised to find himself a bit excited. Previously, he had been stuck in a society where competition was at its peak, and the world seemed unjust to him. Now, he was in a completely different place, away from all that. He felt free.

One by one, the others came into the room and added to their supplies. When everything was packed, there were five bags in total.

"So many?" Kieth asked, finding the number excessive.

"Well, it's mainly food," Vasil replied, picking up two bags. "Besides, who knows when we'll get food again? Better to take as much as possible."

"Well, yeah, but I think you should leave some, just in case someone else shows up and starves," Kieth responded. "Also, we're not that deep in the cave. We'll get out soon."

"And what if we don't find food after we get out?" Rita asked coldly.

"Then—"

"Shut your damn mouth!" Rita interrupted. "I don't want to hear your useless opinions. Worry about yourself. If you care so much, we'll leave a bag and not give you any food. Sounds good to you?"

Kieth couldn't argue. She was right—they needed to look out for themselves. Still, he felt annoyed at how she acted like a jerk.

"Don't screw with him. He's being considerate," Akane said, patting Kieth's head.

"Let's just leave," Vasil said, trying to calm things down.

All four picked up a bag each, except Vasil, who carried two. They approached the door and pushed it together. The door clicked and swung open. For some reason, it felt refreshing.

They walked along the only path available, which seemed to slowly elevate as they went. The air grew colder.

"Think we're getting closer to the exit!" Akane said excitedly, looking at Kieth, who smiled back.

Suddenly, Rita made a hand gesture, signaling them to stop. They fell silent and listened. Faint sounds of people talking reached their ears, along with chilling screams and laughter.

In normal circumstances, hearing other people in a cave might feel like a blessing. But here, the combination of eerie screams and laughter made their blood run cold.

"Clearly, they're psychopaths," Vasil whispered to Rita. "We don't have a choice. Either they'll reach us, or we'll reach them. There's only one path."

"I know that, genius," Rita replied, glaring at him. "Stay sharp and quiet."

They crept toward the sounds and spotted a group of seven people. Five were talking and laughing, while the other two looked terrified. One of them, a middle-aged man, was screaming in pain.

Vasil covered Akane's eyes as she began to shiver, shutting her ears. The man's arm had been torn off, blood spilling onto the cave floor, while the others mocked him mercilessly.

Kieth's gaze fell on the corpse of a strange creature. It resembled a wolf but had no eyes. They killed that thing and are letting one of their own die, he thought.

It was clear stepping in wasn't a good idea—they were outnumbered, and these people had already killed a monster.

"HEY! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? LEAVE THOSE TWO ALONE!"

The last person Kieth expected to step in and reveal their location was Rita.

"What in the actual fuck is she doing?"

The group turned to Rita, their chatter silenced as they glared at her. Vasil told Akane to stay put and stepped forward to stand beside Rita.

"Boss, it seems like they've got food in the bags," a short man whispered to a taller one, clearly the leader.

The leader was silent for a moment before saying, "Kill them."

"FUCK?! DID HE JUST SAY KILL? C'MON, WE CAN SHARE, CAN'T WE? NO, I THINK I'LL JUST GO BACK TO THE CABIN—"

"Kieth, come here and help us!" Rita shouted.

No response.

"KIETH, GET OVER HERE, YOU MISERABLE CUNT!"

Kieth slowly stepped forward, a grin on his face.

"Fellas," he said to the group, "why don't we talk a bit and share the food? No need for bloodshed."

"Kieth, they're psychopaths! You wanna side with them?!?" Vasil asked, surprised.

Kieth leaned toward him and whispered aggressively, "Listen here, they killed a animal which we clearly have never seen and outnumber us. How do you expect us to win? Huh? Don't act like heroes. We aren't heroes."

"What are you three whispering about?" the leader demanded.

Kieth turned back with a forced smile. "Nothing, sir. Just telling them the benefits of your help."

Rita shoved his hand away and shouted, "HE CALLED YOU A BITCH!"

"I NEVER—"

"KILL THEM!" the leader ordered.

Kieth froze as the group advanced on them. He turned to Rita, who was smiling.

"WHAT THE FUCK."

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