Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
I suddenly looked at Jack with a different gaze.
When I first saw the dam, Jack suggested that he wanted to check out the other side. I didn’t fulfill his wish and instead went over there alone, only to find a vast world of ice and cold. It would be more accurate to say that I felt it, because I saw nothing but darkness.
I thought he was fabricating such an incredible reason just to take a look across. Frankly, I hadn’t decided whether to let him know about the situation on the other side of the dam. That side gave me a strange feeling, not because of its coldness, but for another reason—a sense of unfamiliarity that made me feel it was another world.
I looked at Jack. “Do you want to go see the other side?”
Jack replied expressionlessly, “Yes.”
“Unfortunately, I can’t satisfy your curiosity. Our priority is to find a way out and locate the Lao People, not to explore. Besides, I can tell you there’s nothing over there—only darkness.”
With that, I picked up my shoes and held them over the fire to warm them. I felt justified; I wasn’t lying to him—I hadn’t seen anything. He certainly couldn’t act on his own without my help; moving around was quite inconvenient for him, especially in the icy water.
“Is it far?” Jack pointed again in that direction. “Over by the sound of water.”
I shook my head without looking at him or in the direction he pointed, focusing instead on warming my shoes. “You can’t get there on your own.”
That’s how people interact; as long as you present yourself as strong and assertive, your opinions will dominate. Of course, your views must be convincing and not nonsensical. Jack was in this situation—not because his injuries made his opinions less valued, but because his suggestions lacked persuasiveness. Moreover, I immediately discerned his true intentions.
“You’ll regret this decision,” Jack said as he lowered his hands and picked up his shoes to warm them by the fire.
Seeing him compromise so quickly relieved me. Jack was a person with strong opinions and a spirit of adventure, evident from his two solo actions in the valley. The fact that he compromised so quickly indicated that my attitude played a significant role. Sometimes, putting on a show of strength is crucial.
After a moment of silence, I suddenly remembered what had happened in the Valley. He had panicked and run away alone in front of the orange light. At first, I didn't have time to ask about it as we walked down, and later, there were so many other things that were far more shocking than that orange light that I became numb and overlooked it. Now, this topic served as a good excuse to ease the tension between us; I didn't want things to become too awkward in this situation.
This time, we were sitting quite close together. I nudged his knee and asked, "What happened when you went to find Buasong? We only saw an orange light, and then you led us away. What was that?"
Jack's eyes lit up for a moment. This topic seemed to spark his excitement. However, the excitement was fleeting; he quickly shook his head and let out a barely noticeable sigh.
"Yes, I saw a group of Monsters there. They were strange and terrifying."
I didn't see fear on Jack's face; instead, he wore a mischievous smile, as if recalling something amusing.
"They emitted an orange light like fireflies, of course. Super fireflies, about this big." He dropped one of his shoes and spread his hand to demonstrate. I looked at it and thought it was inaccurate.
"About two-thirds the size of this hand. I described them as fireflies just to clarify that their light-emitting mechanism is similar; you understand, right?"
Jack looked at me until I nodded in confirmation before continuing.
"They're not fireflies; they're too ugly. Too evil."
At this point, Jack's emotional shift was significant; his tone went from excitement to suddenly somber, as if he recalled something unpleasant.
"Fortunately, they are afraid of water; otherwise... I escaped underwater. But it seems my luck has run out." Jack concluded the conversation in this manner.
The atmosphere grew heavy again, so I teased him, "Not even getting one as a specimen? That's not your style."
Jack didn't laugh. He just grinned slightly. "I'm ready, let's go." He began putting on his shoes.
Jack's change in attitude was so quick that I struggled to keep up with his pace. More importantly, while he could set off as soon as he put on his shoes, I still had to deal with everything else, like organizing the backpack and managing the campfire.
I didn't extinguish the campfire; instead, I used the AK-47's bayonet to hold it as a torch. The fish oil was quite hard in the low temperature, so I shaped it into a large candle and stuck it on the bayonet without any issues. The only problem was that sometimes it dripped oil, which was annoying as I had to be careful not to burn myself.
The light from the fish oil torch was much brighter than a glow stick, allowing us to turn off the flashlight. Our batteries were limited, so we needed to conserve them.
"Which way should we go?" Jack asked casually, resting his left hand on my shoulder.
As long as we weren't heading to the other side of the dam, Jack didn't seem to care which direction we took. I understood that he meant for me to choose a direction—whether to move upstream against the current or check out the cave wall first. The space here seemed limited, and we should reach the cave wall quickly.
I pointed in the opposite direction of the underground river. "Let's go over there. I want to see how wide it is."
The space really wasn't large; Jack and I quickly reached the edge of the cave. The dark gray rock wall loomed like a wall into the darkness, and even with the One-Eyed Beast flashlight set to high beam, it couldn't reach the ceiling. The humidity here was higher and it felt colder, making my torch not only a source of light but also providing some warmth.
I shone the flashlight towards the underground river and vaguely saw its banks, which were likely over a hundred meters away.
The stock of my AK-47 pressed against my stomach, with the barrel angled upward; the torch on the bayonet illuminated this section of rock brightly. I glanced around; the distance was just right. Walking in the middle allowed me to see both sides—the banks of the underground river and the edges of the cave. If any Lao people or Vietnamese had come this way, I would definitely notice them.
"Let's move upstream; it should get warmer. It's too cold here, and there’s nothing to start a fire with—they wouldn't come this way. I hope they find food."
With that, I turned off the flashlight, placed one hand on Jack's shoulder, and began moving upstream.
Something felt off. The width of the riverbank was too much—it was significantly wider than before. On the other side, both the width of the river and its banks expanded simultaneously. By the underground river, not only could we not see where the cave ended, but even reaching its edge seemed risky. The width of the bank before we crossed was already wider than what we faced now. This was too strange.
As I walked, I pondered the question but couldn't find an answer.
"Did the ground shake?" I suddenly heard Jack's voice.
I stopped and felt around. "No, don't be so jumpy."
The cave was as silent as hell, with no signs of movement whatsoever.
"Then why is the ground moving?"
"Moving? I don't feel anything," I shouted in frustration. "Aren't you standing still?"
"I don't feel it either. But I saw it."
(To Be Continued...)
Comment 0 Comment Count