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墨書 Inktalez
I had always envied Jack's fully automatic watch. The dial was made of specially treated high-pressure reinforced glass, with a high fluorescence that allowed it to function as a glow stick in the dark. The diving depth was far beyond what my shattered watch could compare to.
But now, the compass above the dial was not moving as it should. I turned the dial, and the compass rotated with it instead of pointing in a specific direction. For whatever reason, Jack's compass had malfunctioned. If he had relied on it to navigate during our journey, we were now lost.
Jack sensed something was wrong from my expression and words. He snatched the watch from me and examined the dial, his face suddenly showing signs of frustration. He cursed under his breath and raised the watch as if to throw it down. However, he didn’t let it go; instead, he angrily strapped it back onto his wrist. It seemed he valued this watch as much as I did.
"I'm sorry, it looks like we're lost," Jack said, his expression downcast but lacking genuine remorse. "What should we do? We need to determine our direction."
What should we do? Every time we reached a dead end, he would turn to me for answers as if I were some oracle.
The only thing that could help us find our way was the Underground River. I wasn't sure how vast this space was, but I didn't think it would be so large that we couldn't find its edges in a short time. The problem was that both of us were too mentally and physically drained to explore.
Then there was the issue of which direction to explore. If we chose to head toward the Underground River or in the opposite direction, we would quickly reach a dead end—either at the river's edge or at the boundary of this underground cavern. But if we chose to follow or go against the river's flow, we would have to walk all the way to its source or end to figure things out. Right now, choosing a direction felt like rolling dice.
Reluctantly, I adjusted the beam of my One-Eyed Beast Flashlight to its maximum range for better visibility. I slowly turned my body, hoping that by some stroke of luck we would stumble upon either the Underground River or the edge of the cavern; otherwise, determining our next steps would be a significant challenge.
In this suffocating darkness, the light from my One-Eyed Beast Flashlight illuminated far ahead, revealing a spectacular yet eerily similar landscape that felt oddly familiar. But I knew we hadn’t been here before; that sense of familiarity stemmed from the stalactites in the cavern being quite alike. Even their colors showed little variation.
After spinning around three hundred sixty degrees, I turned off the bright flashlight and leaned back against Jack.
"Yes, we're lost. We need to find the Underground River quickly; otherwise, we'll die of thirst. Rather than leaving our direction up to chance, I'd prefer to trust my instincts," I said as I patted Jack on the shoulder to draw his attention and pointed in a direction. "I feel like the Underground River is over there."
I sensed Jack looking in that direction but received no response from him. Straining my neck back, I caught a glimpse of Jack’s blurred face, which bore deep guilt and despair. At this moment, complaining wouldn’t solve anything; even the most sincere apology wouldn’t help us escape this situation. Negative emotions would only deepen our hopelessness. I didn’t want him carrying such feelings into our struggle for survival, nor did I want that negativity to spread and affect me.
We maintained our back-to-back sitting position, and I turned my head to look at him with great effort. My neck was almost twisted one hundred eighty degrees. I couldn't hold this position for too long, so I had to turn back. I nudged him with my elbow. "We can't have any disagreements right now; we need to unify our opinions before taking action."
I heard Jack let out a soft sigh. "Your instincts should be more accurate; let's go with what you think."
Jack's tone was quite dejected, and I had never seen him this uncertain before.
"However, in this state, I probably can't accompany you to scout ahead. I'll stay here while you go."
Upon hearing Jack say this, I stood up. I walked around to face him and said, "No splitting up; we move together. I don't have the strength to turn back and find you either. Even if the direction I've chosen is wrong, we'll be wrong together."
Then I pointed to my nose. "I'm the boss; this decision is mine."
Jack looked up at me in surprise, his eyes filled with confusion. Perhaps he didn't understand why I wanted to bring him along as a burden.
In this situation, it would be easier for me to scout alone. However, if I left on my own, whether or not I found the Underground River, the necessity of returning to find Jack would be very low. As we reached this point in the Underground Cavern, the hidden dangers were gradually surfacing on the Pavement. I didn't believe Jack was in a condition to handle any imminent threats. Leaving him here alone would be equivalent to abandoning him.
Maybe Jack could do something like that; after all, when he was fleeing from the Giant Bat and felt powerless to save me, he had chosen to give up on me. I had never blamed him for that; in fact, I thought his decision was normal and rational. But I couldn't do it—I couldn't leave knowing that doing so meant abandoning a life. Was it personal values or instinct? I couldn't explain it.
I stood across from Jack, looking down at him from above until he nodded in agreement with my viewpoint before sitting down opposite him. I placed my dimly glowing Flashlight on the Ground, casting a faint beam into the air. Then I took out the magazine pouch and clips for the Micro Submachine Gun from my backpack, and we silently faced each other as we loaded bullets into the clips.
The Micro Submachine Gun had a high rate of fire, which naturally led to high ammunition consumption. After filling these three clips, there weren't many bullets left in the pouch. I checked the ammo count for the AK-47; fortunately, we hadn't used it much along the way, so its ammunition was still plentiful enough for us to launch an assault or fend off an attack.
Without food or water and no fire for warmth, resting lost its true meaning. We needed to set off while we still had the strength to scout ahead; even without a campfire for warmth, low temperatures also drained our stamina. After loading bullets into both guns' magazines, we set off in the direction of what I felt was the Underground River.
Both backpacks were on me while Jack only carried a Micro Submachine Gun across his chest, his left arm draped over my neck—most of his weight resting on me. However, this was less tiring than carrying him outright; I had no objections to it. We moved forward like two refugees stumbling through a cave filled with jagged rocks and deep crevices.
I cannot guarantee that we will always move in the initially determined direction. We have to constantly navigate around stalactites, stone columns, and the cracks that stretch across the ground, continuously adjusting our course. I can only assure you that we are not deviating significantly from our path. As for how much we have deviated, we will only know once we reach our destination.
Gradually, I began to feel less confident in myself.
When I felt as if Jack weighed a thousand pounds, I asked him, "How long have we been walking?"
Jack bent his left arm slightly, and his left hand resting on my neck conveniently came into view. The fluorescent dial was exceptionally clear. I glanced at it and saw that we had already been walking for six hours.
At our current speed, six hours wouldn't take us very far, nor could it help us determine if our direction was incorrect. However, those six hours had nearly exhausted both of us, and we needed to stop and rest for a while.
At that moment, Jack suddenly said, "I've triggered a landmine."
What the hell. I felt my hair stand on end. This was even more absurd than encountering a ghost.
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