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墨書 Inktalez
I felt a sense of suffocation; the scene before me was too bizarre. It was too far away to see clearly, and if I didn't want to scare myself, I had to keep moving forward to observe the orange-red light up close. I glanced at the Lao Person beside me; his vacant gaze and nervous expression left me with no hope for him. Turning my head again, I looked at Jack. He seemed curious, showing no fear at all, instead appearing eager to explore.
This reminded me of the ghost fire he had just shouted about. What does an American know about ghost fire? However, given the current situation, the possibility of it being ghost fire was quite high.
After standing there for a while, Jack couldn't hold back any longer and said, "We can't see anything from here; let's get closer."
I shot him a look towards the Lao Person and replied, "In his state, we shouldn't move forward. Without us to bolster his courage, he's already on the verge of breaking down. I think Buasong is probably in the same situation; something must have scared him off."
"What should we do then? We can't just stand here staring; we need to figure out what's going on. How about this: you and the Lao Person wait here while I go take a look."
Actually, that was what I was thinking too, but since Jack spoke up first, I couldn't oppose him. Plus, I was worried about Jack's lack of experience communicating with this Lao Person; I didn't want him to scare him away due to miscommunication.
I patted the Lao Person on the shoulder and watched as Jack walked toward the distant orange-red light. At that moment, I realized that this Lao Person wasn't just scared; his body was trembling uncontrollably. The fact that he could stand there without collapsing or running away took all his strength. Having dealt with Liu Squad Leader before, I gently reassured the Lao Person while keeping one hand on his backpack to prevent him from panicking.
The orange-red light was farther away than I had imagined. Jack walked for nearly twenty minutes, and from my vantage point, he was getting very close to that orange-red glow—almost enveloped by it. At that moment, Jack stopped and waved dramatically against the orange backdrop. His gesture was so exaggerated that it took me a moment to understand; from that position, he probably couldn’t see us anymore. I could see him because the intensity of the orange background pierced through the thick fog, but he had walked far enough that our glow stick's light was no longer visible to him.
Seeing Jack's gesture reassured me that at least it was safe over there. I made a safe gesture towards the Lao Person and said a word in English he could understand: "Go."
The Lao Person clearly disagreed with my assessment; instead of following my lead, he anxiously blocked my path and shouted, "Guman Tong. Not good."
I couldn't be sure of the true meaning behind his words but could sense his fear. I knew how to dispel his fear and encourage his courage. Pointing toward the orange light ahead, I said, "Buasong. By Puen." Meaning Buasong is right up ahead.
This seemed to brighten his eyes; a flush appeared on his face as he fell into step behind me. These two Lao People were relatives; I hadn't figured out their exact relationship or hierarchy yet—he had gestured and told me while communicating with Buasong. All I understood was a rough idea. I estimated that news about Buasong would bolster this Lao Person's courage, and it turned out I wasn't wrong.
Jack seemed to be very excited. As I walked towards him with the Lao person, I could clearly see Jack's exaggerated gestures, as if urging us to hurry up, as if there was something interesting over there. However, the Lao person remained as cautious as a startled bird, refusing to quicken his pace no matter how much I urged him. I was reluctant to leave him behind, so I had no choice but to walk slowly towards Jack.
Suddenly, I saw Jack jump up and then make a very clear gesture for us to stop moving forward. After making this gesture, Jack paused for four or five seconds, seemingly observing something. I noticed that the orange glow behind him suddenly brightened, resembling a fire that had been doused in oil, instantly becoming uncontrollable and engulfing Jack in flames.
At the same time, Jack jumped again as if he had stepped on a snake. This time he did not pause or signal us; instead, he turned and ran in a specific direction. He was fleeing from that orange sea of fire, but he was not running back the way we came; he was heading towards another direction. I didn't know if he had misjudged the way or if there was another reason, but I knew that once he ran out of the orange background, it would be impossible for me to find him. In the thick fog, our light source couldn't reach that far, making it impossible to connect with each other.
As the orange light suddenly brightened, the Lao person beside me became even more panicked, shouting incoherently and turning to run back. Fortunately, I had anticipated this and quickly grabbed the strap of his backpack, lifting him up and throwing him to the side. At the same time, I pointed in the direction Jack had run and shouted a phrase in Lao that I had just learned: "Yau Puen." This meant "run that way."
The Lao person completely lost his composure; he didn't care which direction he ran as long as it was away from that orange light. Seeing that I had pointed out a direction for him, he took off running in that direction. I couldn't afford to be slow either; regardless of why Jack was running, my primary concern was not to get separated. The Lao person seemed to have boundless energy; running through knee-deep marshland like an antelope, he almost left me behind. I had no choice but to sprint after him with all my might. Thankfully, he strictly followed the direction I indicated; otherwise, it would have been difficult to catch up with Jack.
The glow stick in the Lao person's hand never left my sight. To keep up with him, I pushed myself to the limit; my strength lay in endurance rather than short sprints. After nearly half an hour of running, the Lao person's speed finally slowed down enough for me to catch up and make him stop.
At this point, the orange glow had disappeared from our view, and darkness returned around us. The Lao person and I stood back-to-back in the marshland to rest; this intense exertion had drained all our energy. I could feel the rapid beating of his heart behind me; if it weren't for my fear of leeches in the marshland, we would have collapsed like dogs into the water for a rest.
I pulled two chocolate bars from my backpack and handed one to the Lao person so we could quickly replenish our energy while resting and think of ways to find Jack. This was troublesome; without the orange glow as a backdrop, it was pitch black here. The path we took intersected with where I saw Jack escape; if he changed direction midway, we would have no chance of catching him. Moreover, there were discrepancies in speed and directional judgment; I felt that finding Jack was just as likely as finding Buasong.
I truly wish I could write more for everyone; unfortunately, there's just no time or energy!
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