Kieth looked into his eyes as the man was dying. He wanted to ask Why did he push him out of harm's way, they barely knew each other.
"Kieth... thank you," the man whispered weakly.
"Why? Thank me?" Kieth asked, confused and pained.
Before he could get an answer, the scene shifted. Kieth blinked and realized he had teleported again. The man was gone. A pang of sadness struck him, but there was no time to grieve.
Not after seeing the monsters he had encountered. He had to keep going, had to find the others.
"Thank you too, doctor," he murmured, clenching his fists. "I won't let this life you gave me be wasted."
Kieth wandered forward, scanning the environment.
He saw a pool of water ahead but wasn't thirsty, so he prepared to leave. Just then, a faint banging noise caught his attention, followed by a desperate cry for help.
Without hesitation, he ran toward the noise, hoping it wouldn't attract anything dangerous.
When he arrived, he found a narrow gap in the rock.
Placing his ear against it, he listened carefully but heard nothing.
Taking a deep breath, he shouted into the opening, "ANYONE THERE?"
It took a few seconds, but a desperate scream responded.
"YES! PLEASE, PLEASE HELP ME! I'M STUCK!" The voice sounded restless, filled with fear.
Kieth shouted back,
"ALRIGHT, DON'T SCREAM AGAIN! JUST KEEP HITTING THE ROCKS FROM TIME TO TIME—I'M COMING!"
The gap was painfully tight, but Kieth didn't hesitate. He squeezed through, pushing himself inch by inch.
Normally, he'd be more cautious—it could easily be a trap. But this time, he trusted his instincts. The doctor had told him he'd try to place Kieth as close to his friends as possible. He wanted to believe in that promise.
"Fuck... I'm stuck," Kieth groaned, hitting the rock blocking his path. He tried to shift his waist, but it wouldn't budge. For ten grueling minutes, he pounded against the stone, his hands bleeding from the effort. Finally, the rock began to move.
Then, suddenly, the clanging noise on the other side stopped.
"Hey? You alright?" he called out, his voice trembling.
There was no response.
"HEY! ARE YOU FINE?" he shouted again, panic seeping into his tone.
Still nothing.
No way... they couldn't have died, his heart sinking. He screamed in frustration, unable to do anything.
For eight agonizing hours, he pushed himself through the narrow space, his body aching, his mind filled with worry.
Finally, he emerged into a slightly larger but still cramped area. Lying on the ground was a girl.
Kieth moved closer and turned her over. His lips were dry, his body drenched in sweat.
"Akane..." he whispered, barely audible.
He checked her pulse—it was steady. She was only sleeping.
Relief washed over him, but there was no time to rest. Beside her was a backpack, the same one from the cabin. She must have carried it when she ran away.
Opening the bag, he found some water and food. Taking a small amount for himself, he shook her awake.
"Akane, hey. Wake up."
She stirred, her eyes fluttering open. The moment she recognized him, she burst into tears and hugged him tightly. He hugged her back, feeling her trembling against him.
"It's alright... I'm here," he reassured her softly.
She didn't let go for a full minute. When she finally released him, he handed her some food. She ate slowly, her energy still low.
"Kieth... I'm so sorry I ran away from you guys," she said, guilt evident in her voice.
"I can't handle blood or fighting. I always start having a panic attack. I don't wanna die"
Kieth took her hand gently.
"Don't worry. This time, I'll be there to calm you down."
She managed a weak smile, a glimmer of hope returning to her face.
Getting out was another challenge. The original hole was too narrow for both of them to pass through safely. Kieth decided on a plan.
"Akane, listen up. I'll go feet first this time, alright? I've never actually done this before, but I'll figure it out."
She nodded. "Oh, I'll trust you. Since you came to help me, you must have some experience, right?" She smiled faintly.
"Ah... yeah, totally," Kieth replied nervously. If I tell her the only reason I know anything about caves is from watching documentaries about people dying in them, she'll freak out.
"Just trust my judgment, Akane. You'll go headfirst after I go feet first, so I can pull you through if you get stuck. Alright?"
"Okay," she agreed.
Kieth went first, his earlier efforts making the path slightly easier to navigate.
Akane followed, but she got stuck multiple times, each time growing more scared and begging Kieth for help.
Each time, he managed to pull her free.
After nearly five exhausting hours, Kieth finally emerged from the hole.
Reaching back, he extended his hand as far as he could, pulling Akane out with a final, desperate effort.
She tumbled onto him, both of them collapsing into a heap. Neither of them moved for a long moment, too tired to care.
Once they recovered, they prepared to move.
Using a rope, they retrieved the backpack Akane had tied to her leg. With food and water secured, they started their journey again.
"Hey, you hungry?" Kieth asked Akane as she seemed down."
"No, I don't need it now."
"Oh, alright."
He walked next to her, their hands brushing for a brief moment.
HOLY... our hands touched. I cannot instantly pull my hand away. No way, that's too cliché.
All right, calm down. Breathe in and out. It just accidentally touched.
She grabbed his hand and didn't say a word.
He didn't show any reaction outwardly, but his mind was a different case. He heard wedding bells.
No, no, no, no, no! I can't think that already. Only our hands touched. Only a loser would think something like that.
"Heh, you are a loser though. It's normal holding hands. Don't forget she slept on top of you a couple minutes ago", his own voice in a flirtatious manner responded in his head to himself.
That's a different thing. The two of us were tired and didn't think much, the voice of a realist snapped back.
Guys, calm down. Right now, we gotta stay normal and rational. Besides, wouldn't she feel weird if we forced our feelings on her? a heroic voice interjected.
"Hey... Kieth," she said sadly.
All his internal panic vanished as he heard her sad voice.
"What is it?"
"Are Vasil and Rita alive?"
"I'm sure they are. Doctor said they escaped saf—"
Kieth froze mid-sentence. Wait a second. Doctor never knew about Akane. She never came to Makar; no way she could have met him. And he said he'd teleport me to my friends. He couldn't have possibly known Akane is my friend. That means...
He stopped in his tracks, trying to listen for any sound from any direction. Nothing. Taking a risk of exposing his location, he shouted at the top of his lungs
"RITTAAAAA! VASSSSIIIILLLLLLL!"
Akane flinched, startled, and looked at him in confusion.
They waited, and then they heard a scream in response
"KIETHHHH! WHEREE ARE YOUUUUU?"
"Is that Vasil's voice?" Akane asked.
"Yep, that's him."
They ran toward the noise, circling around and shouting multiple times until they finally found each other.
Rita and Vasil got emotional, hugging Akane tightly. Rita looked like she was about to burst into tears.
Kieth smiled and decided to join the group hug.
A hand stopped him. Rita's eyes popped out, her nerves visibly twitching.
"What do you think you are doing? she snapped."
"Joining the group hug."
"It's girls only!"
Vasil looked at Rita. "I'm not a girl."
Rita turned to him. "Then what the fuck are you doing? Who do you think you are, dipshit?"
Kieth walked over and patted Vasil on the back.
"She was kinda harsh," Kieth said.
"Oh yeah, but she was really worried," Vasil replied.
"I can see that," Kieth said, watching Rita and Akane holding hands and smiling through their tears.
"No, she was worried about you too. She even tried looking for you. But a man named Cleo said he'd go get you, so I took her and ran."
"Oh... Was Makar in chaos?"
"Yeah... I don't know exactly, but people were killing each other and running. Screaming that the queen is dead. There are people hunting each other now." Vasil responded
"I see..." Kieth glanced back at Rita and Akane, now touching foreheads and smiling with tears in their eyes.
"Hey... you sure she was just worried as friends, right?"
"Yeah... I think...Dude, I think they're gonna kiss"
Kieth interrupted them. "Alright, that was a great reunion, let's get moving"
They started walking, with Vasil and Kieth taking the lead while the two behind were chatting.
"We will have to go back to Makar," Kieth said.
"Yeah, I know. That's the only way out of this place, but how do we find it?" Vasil questioned.
"I dunno, let's just look for people first," Rita suggested.
"What if they aren't friendly?" Akane asked, a hint of worry in her voice.
"Well, we will fight back then, not like we would have a option then" Kieth answered
Kieth stopped dead in his tracks. He looked ahead and saw a tiger with goat horns and legs that looked as if they belonged to a demon.
"Anyone hunted animals?" Vasil asked, sounding a bit nervous.
Rita said, "Well, I was craving meat."
Akane looked at her, unsure if Rita was being serious or not.
Vasil asked, "You... want to eat that?"
"Yeah," Rita answered, her tone casual.
Vasil whispered quickly to Kieth in desperation, "Tell her to stop. She got us in trouble last time!"
"Heh," Kieth shook his head. "Telling a woman to stop is like Jesus killing people."
...
"...Not possible."
"Nice conversation we were having. She's fighting that thing!" Vasil muttered.
He looked over at Rita. That psycho seriously doesn't want to eat it, does she?
Rita was reacting a lot faster than the monster, dodging its attacks and wielding a hammer, which she used to knock the creature out. It didn't take long for Kieth to join her as the two engaged in combat.
But the result was clear—they weren't going to win. Kieth only realized this when he stabbed the monster, and the blade barely went in.
"Oh well, isn't that fucking surprising," he said with a smile before getting knocked away by its tail.
He stood up and screamed while wiping himself off the dirt. "RITA... THAT THING'S SKIN IS TOO TOUGH!"
He looked around, but Akane was gone.
"Wait... Vasil, where is Akane?" Kieth asked urgently.
"Oh, right here... Nevermind, she ran."
"Go look for her! I'll help Rita."
"Alright," Vasil said, then ran in the direction where Akane could have gone, seeing that she was nowhere to be found.
Rita jumped back. "Got a plan?" she asked Kieth.
"I dunno, you jumped headfirst. I assumed you had a plan," Kieth replied.
"Oh..." Rita said, her confidence slipping.
"You didn't think it through, did you?"
"I did," she shot back, defensive.
"Then what's the plan?"
"Win?"
"Oh please, fuck off. We're going to die now because of your hungry ass!"
The monster charged at the two, but then an arrow pierced its head on the first hit. It was still alive and looked around to see where the arrow had come from.
Before the monster could react, kieth grabbed Rita's hammer and was about to swing it down with full force.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Rita yelled, holding the hammer tight and not letting go.
"Dude, give it! I was about to give a decisive blow!" Kieth tried snatching it, but she wouldn't let go.
"IT'S MINE!" Rita shouted.
"Oh yeah? Where's your name written on it?" Kieth asked sarcastically.
She pointed to the corner, where her name had been written in wet mud, which had since dried.
"Oh shit, my bad—" Kieth responded in sarcasm, but just then, the monster slammed down at full force, aiming for them. But a small body dashed quickly and kicked it on the jaw.
"Who?" Kieth glanced back.
Then another arrow went into the monster's mouth and exploded, killing it on the spot.
The two looked at the archer and the one who had kicked the monster.
It was a small girl with dark blue hair and pink eyes. She had a cheerful expression but didn't say a word.
As Kieth looked behind, he saw the archer too— a man around 6 feet tall with a slender build, wearing a mask and a cloak. Akane and Vasil were next to him, and behind them, a lot of people were gathered.
"Reinforcements," Vasil smiled, telling Kieth.
Kieth looked at them, his expression unreadable. "That so?"
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