#1#
The wind continued to blow gently and softly from the north as Chris pushed his way against it with labored breaths. It reminded him of the time he had left New York with his family on a trip to the cold, majestic mountains of Europe when his father came to visit. His throat was dry, and thirst weighed down his body. Despite the humid air here, the roots buried in the ground helped him inhale refreshing breezes in this surreal expanse of the world.
The ground here resembled a realm suspended between the sky and an ancient stone ceiling, marked by worn protrusions that told stories of a bygone era, glinting faintly in the somber solitude of the lofty height.
Rodri was drowning in a tangle of heavy, intertwining thoughts that he couldn't shake from his exhausted chest, damp with cold sweat ever since they left the shattered elevator that had brought them here. At that moment, he hadn't realized that the thing could be dangerous, and neither had Chris expected it. But Joey had warned them. Perhaps if they had listened to him, Chris wouldn't have recklessly pulled the lever.
Rodri felt only a seething anger burning between his ribs, like a fire fueled by his sense of helplessness.
"What do you think we'll find near those lights? Isn't it strange how the buildings' lights look from this angle? Odd, isn't it? I don't know… but I feel like I've seen something similar in the news magazines two weeks ago," Chris said hesitantly as he followed Rodri. Ever since their eyes had fallen upon the six stone pillars scattered around the vast cavern, they had felt a sense of awe. Those pillars, despite their beauty, lifted the faraway ceiling so high it almost seemed to brush the clouds.
Rodri silently wondered: Are they inside a cavern? Or had he died the moment the elevator fell and found himself in another world? This cavern seemed vast enough to swallow all seven Kaiju monsters if they were stacked on top of one another.
Either way, the overwhelming sense of emptiness and isolation pervaded the place.
Chris stopped at a massive boulder amidst other rocks scattered haphazardly across the meadow of lush, blue grass. Upon closer inspection, one could see the faintest glimmer emanating from the grass, barely perceptible.
"This rock is the largest so far… It's number nineteen in the count."
Chris muttered in a low voice, his eyes fixed on the buildings that appeared on the horizon after half an hour of silence, with no exchange of words between him and Rodri.
Those buildings, though distant, radiated a unique charm—a harmonious blend of ancient walls and modern stone. From their arrangement and locations, one could easily discern that they reflected clear human activity.
Rodri spotted a nearby port overlooking the river formed by the fertile plains stretching out behind them.
"Chris, we better stay alert. I haven't felt at ease since we set foot in this place."
It was the first time Chris had heard such a tense tone from Rodri, prompting him to raise his eyebrows in surprise.
Though he shared the same uneasy feeling, Chris said as he stepped closer to Rodri amidst the intersection covered with vibrant grass beneath the black expanse of the night sky surrounding them, "What do you think? Should we keep going until we reach those beautiful buildings?"
Rodri pulled his hand away from the massive rock, wiping the dust off his dark green fabric shirt sleeve. He spoke with a hesitant tone: "I don't know… We've found ourselves stranded here, and it's worse than I imagined. Moving further into the unknown makes my skin crawl, but in any case…" He paused briefly before looking ahead, where the road seemed to lead to a passage flanked by walls of buildings without any clear barrier. "If I must, man, I'll keep walking just to get out of here."
"Our situation would've been better if Joey were here with that old notebook… Let's go, we've got nothing else to do here."
Chris replied with a bitter smile, his voice tinged with sadness and indifference: "You're right. We're in a pretty miserable state now… What a strange symphony this night is! From the middle of Brooklyn Street, where that guy—Stevie, or something like that—used to sell hot dogs."
Chris gave a short, despair-laden laugh before adding, "I was hoping to have dinner with my elderly mother and my two chatty sisters… But no, I chose to chase after everything strange and bizarre with Joey, and now I don't know where he is or where the others are."
Rodri stepped closer to Chris, gently patting his shoulder to calm him down from his strange, hysterical outburst. Once Chris's breathing steadied, Rodri lowered his hand from his shoulder and gave him a soft tap on the chest, saying, "Let's get out of here. Staying in this desolate place won't do us any good."
Despite his words, Rodri couldn't stop himself from recalling memories of last summer when he spent time with his relatives at their home, with its backyard filled with the scent of mango leaves under the scorching heat. That now felt like an eternity ago.
Amid this strange atmosphere, the two heard the rustling of grass around them. Chris assumed it was nothing more than a field mouse, a hedgehog, or perhaps a harmless creature dwelling in the caves. Nevertheless, he wasn't entirely at ease and took a step back.
Rodri, in turn, didn't hesitate to retreat slightly; caution was essential in such an unfamiliar environment. As the sound of snapping grass grew louder under the weight of mysterious footsteps, the tension between them intensified. The sound morphed into violent chewing, followed by a steady rhythm, as though someone—or something—was approaching them.
Suddenly, a strange creature leapt in front of them, landing with an unsettling grace. It was chewing on decayed grass with a jaw full of tiny sharp teeth. A storm of thoughts flooded Rodri's mind as he stared at the creature: its thick orange fur formed two stripes along its sides, glowing faintly. Two long tails extended from its body, shimmering in a pale silver hue amidst the orange patterns.
The creature, with its flexible body and pointed teeth, made a gurgling noise as it moved its mouth. Its body resembled that of an ordinary cat, but it was far stranger, more agile, and slightly smaller in size.
Chris stepped back in fear before deciding to attack. However, the creature ambushed him, leaping at him with its sharp little teeth. In that instant, Rodri grabbed a baseball bat and swung it, sending the creature flying into the middle of the blue grass. But the creature didn't disappear for long; it reemerged with a clear intent to attack again.
Terrified, Chris jumped and began running without thinking, with Rodri following close behind as they descended the lush cliffside toward the river junction, which seemed to cut through the city.
The two-tailed creature chased after them, incredibly fast despite its small, rabbit-like legs. Rodri could feel its presence drawing closer and closer until, suddenly, it leapt ahead of him and sprang with remarkable agility, landing directly on Chris's head.
Chris stumbled in panic, rolling down the hill until he came to a stop near the dark river, which mirrored the night sky above. The creature continued scratching Chris's face as he desperately raised his arms to defend himself.
Rodri intervened swiftly, grabbing the creature and hurling it away from the terrified Chris, hoping to end the ordeal before it worsened. Yet, before Chris could catch his breath, the two-tailed creature returned once more.
Out of the corner of his eye, Chris spotted a small black fishing boat with rounded edges, covered by a tattered piece of cloth. Without hesitation, Chris ran toward the boat and leapt aboard in a desperate bid to escape the menacing creature. Rodri quickly followed, realizing Chris was determined to save himself.
Looking at Rodri, Chris said in a trembling voice, "I was going to scream for you, but you acted for me." Rodri didn't respond, remaining silent as the boat drifted further away from the edges of the hills.
Despite the distance, the two-tailed creature did not give up. Using the powerful muscles in its legs, it leapt from the ground toward the water, its long tail acting as a rudder to propel its body through the air. With remarkable precision, it landed once again, this time on Rodri's back, before springing toward Chris to resume biting and scratching him.
The two-tailed creature relentlessly repeated its attacks, focusing solely on Chris, while Rodri remained rooted in place, calm, and observing the situation. The boat continued to cut through the flowing river, and by now, they had reached the halfway point.
Rodri began to notice something peculiar: despite the creature's apparent aggressiveness, its actions weren't as destructive as they initially seemed. Perhaps—just perhaps—the creature wasn't trying to harm them as much as it was trying to deliver some sort of message.
Rodri now realized that Chris was capable of subduing the creature without any intervention. Watching Chris restrain it with both hands and lift it high above his head, Rodri heard him shout, "What do you want from me, you savage beast?"
#2#
Chris managed to tame the wild beast, calming it down and stopping it from scratching. It was an accomplishment he took pride in.
At last, he could clearly see its features. At first glance, you might think it was a monster or some type of bat, but its silvery fur mixed with dark orange gave it a somewhat endearing appearance.
Chris joked lightly "What are you? A dog? A cat? Maybe a rodent? Your fur is so soft and beautiful… I wonder, why were you attacking me?"
He couldn't determine its species; he had never seen a creature like it before. It wasn't a dog, nor a cat, but it somehow combined traits of both. The most peculiar feature was the extra set of eyes beneath its purple ones, shaped like the pupils of cattle.
Chris petted the creature one last time, studying the scratches he had received during their encounter. He muttered to himself:
"I'll have to ask Rodri if he's ever seen anything like this before. It even has four tiny eyes!"
Grabbing the creature by its thick back fur, Chris headed toward Rodri, who appeared calm as the boat swayed peacefully atop the waves, rocking gently with the bumps. Rodri felt a sense of reassurance watching Chris handle the creature, though he also wondered about its origins.
Rodri said, "Maybe it's a Minio. I've heard about these small creatures that live in the forests. My cousins told me stories about them when they tried to scare me and the others, but I never believed them."
Rodri offered the creature small blades of grass, their colors ranging from blue to deep red. One of the blades stuck to Chris's foot as he moved. Without hesitation, the two-tailed creature devoured the grass Rodri had handed it, as if it were its favorite food. These grasses seemed to be extremely rare, and This was the reason the creature had followed Chris earlier.
Chris couldn't resist the aroma of the grass, a mix of the sharp freshness of mint and the fragrant intensity of basil. For a few moments, he felt a deep sense of peace before turning his attention back to the peculiar creature.
The boat carried them into the city's meadows, and for the first time, Chris felt a sense of inner tranquility as they entered the cavern. It was as if he had stepped into a wonderland. He hadn't experienced such a strange feeling since the time he hit a girl in preschool, mistaking her for a boy. And that wasn't the first incident of its kind.
Lights adorned the edges of the river canyon, giving it the appearance of something man-made, crafted from polished porcelain and concrete.
The two-tailed creature nestled quietly into Chris's jacket, seeking sleep.
Suddenly, they saw it—an unnervingly long head with pale, dry, desolate skin and teeth hinting at something sinister. It wasn't natural for such a being to have a human-like body, yet it bore some resemblance, though its four bizarre arms betrayed its otherworldliness. Three of those arms hung in a welcoming pose as the creature passed by in its own boat, its frail body leaning to one side, before gliding away from where Rodri and Chris had come.
Neither of them could speak a word. They simply exchanged glances, like two children in dire need of a bath. Rodri felt an odd sensation stirring within him, recalling what his friend Jeremiah had told him a few days ago—how Salim had seen something near the "Mimi Manz" restaurant. At the time, Rodri had dismissed Jeremiah's words as nothing more than mockery, but now fate itself seemed determined to bring that mockery to life.
Over the past few days, Rodri and Jeremiah had been teasing poor Salim, though Jeremiah had always been crueler. Yet, Chris couldn't deny what his own eyes, inherited from his parents, had just witnessed. The truth stood before him, undeniable and haunting.
And it wasn't just one creature like the one they had first spotted on the river. Another boat passed them, carrying different beings who exchanged brief glances with Chris and Rodri before drifting away, disappearing into the outskirts of the city.
"If this isn't the result of whatever garbage they served us in the cafeteria this morning," Chris muttered, his voice tinged with disbelief, "then I'd bet you anything, Rodri, that we died when that elevator crashed. Otherwise, I'll eat crap right here in front of you."
Their boat crashed into the dock of a nearby port, and they could no longer move forward. They had no choice but to disembark, whether they wanted to or not.
Rodri, his voice low and laden with exhaustion, said, "I'll just pass through here unnoticed."
He took the sheet that had previously covered the wooden boat and draped it over his face and body before stepping off. In front of them lay a series of stairs and boats, most of them fishing vessels—or so Rodri assumed. He began climbing the stairs that led upward.
"Are you serious with this calm demeanor? You're just going to keep going as if you don't care? Don't you feel as uneasy as I do?" Chris said, pulling the hood of his jacket over his head. His gaze followed Rodri as he slowly ascended the concrete steps.
When they reached the top, they found strange creatures scattered across the streets, going about their lives as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
Chris corrected his earlier statement, saying, "We're the outsiders here, if that's the right term."
Rodri replied in a calm tone, filled with thought, "I think so too.".