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墨書 Inktalez
Jack's words were like a tongue twister, but I didn't find them amusing at all. During our time together, I had come to understand him better; he occasionally made jokes, but overall he was a serious person. He certainly wouldn't throw a tantrum at a time like this just to scare me.
I glanced at Jack. His face was as tense as ice, devoid of any playful expression. We were positioned almost midway between the lake and the cave, allowing for a broader view to spot the Lao People and Vietnamese or to avoid being spotted by them. Jack faced the cave, his eyes fixed on that direction. Suddenly, I noticed his breathing quicken.
I immediately followed Jack's gaze. Although the torchlight was bright, it was insufficient for illuminating distant areas; it couldn't reach the edges of the cave or the Underground River, serving mainly to light up our immediate surroundings and make us conspicuous. To search for the Lao People and Vietnamese, we relied on the One-Eyed Beast Flashlight.
The farther we looked, the dimmer the light became. Within our visible range, I saw no movement on the ground Jack referred to.
Desperate, I shouted, "Are you seeing things? I don't see anything!"
Jack raised his useless arm and gestured toward the darkness. "It's right there; it's coming over soon. We should feel it shortly."
I quickly aimed the One-Eyed Beast Flashlight in the direction Jack indicated. Since we were positioned between the Underground River and the cave, there was no need to adjust it for long-range; we needed to illuminate a wider area instead. The One-Eyed Beast Flashlight easily lit up that section, reaching all the way to the cave's edge.
The moment the flashlight illuminated that side and revealed what lay before me, my heart seemed to stop beating. I felt we had truly encountered a disaster.
The ground rolled toward us like a wave of grain approaching from afar. It was as if hard rock had transformed into soft soil under an inexplicable force, plowed into ridges as if tilled by this power. Countless ridges surged toward us like waves.
I forgot to breathe, staring blankly at the bizarre scene of the ground. After about five seconds, I suddenly shouted, "Damn it, run!"
Then I dragged Jack forward.
Jack was clearly still in shock. He didn't react immediately and passively followed me as we ran, glancing back at the wave-like phenomenon approaching us.
This was certainly not an earthquake; an earthquake strong enough to plow up rock would have produced sounds and vibrations unbearable for us to endure. There was no way we could stand here like stunned birds watching it approach.
This was perhaps the most incredible thing I had ever seen, like a massive layer of leather spread across the surface, or thick oil flowing down the walls of the cave. Its surface emitted a dark, glossy sheen, and we were already very close to it. Under the light of the One-Eyed Beast Flashlight, I could clearly see that it was a single, cohesive entity.
It was not a mass made up of countless insects, but rather a gigantic individual. After running a few steps, I realized it was a living and intelligent being, adjusting its movement in sync with the direction Jack and I were running.
Nothing could obstruct it; it seemed to be intangible, able to flow over any surface like liquid. When encountering deep ravines, it exhibited solid characteristics and did not flow into them but instead easily crossed over. However, before the towering stone pillars reaching up to the ceiling, it split apart like water, with parts flowing around the pillars and then immediately merging back together, as if its form could be divided and recombined at will.
Jack quickly understood that it was not the ground moving but rather a large entity on the ground itself. He also noticed another issue: this thing was coming down from the ceiling of the cave along its walls. Yet it did not trap us in an encirclement; instead, it completely blocked our retreat, filling the visible space behind us as if forcing us upstream toward the Underground River.
“It’s not in a hurry to attack us. It’s driving us forward!” Jack shouted breathlessly.
I certainly saw that too; I even began to doubt whether my decision was correct. I had chosen to head upstream toward the Underground River because I believed the Lao People and Vietnamese were there, but this entity pushing us upstream couldn’t be for that reason.
Could it be out of a strong sense of territoriality? Did we intrude into its domain? This was the most optimistic scenario I could think of.
Its speed wasn’t very fast; it always trailed us about ten meters behind. While this made me anxious and created a significant sense of pressure, it also confirmed my suspicion from the side: it was driving us away.
As it turned out, I had been overly optimistic.
“Its speed is picking up.”
Hearing Jack’s exclamation, I turned back to look. The waves of black oil behind us surged suddenly with greater intensity, rapidly closing in on us and already entering the light of our torches.
I cursed under my breath, yanked my backpack to the front, pulled out all the magazines inside, and while running slowly, handed a magazine for my Micro Submachine Gun to Jack while stuffing an AK-47 magazine into my waistband. I shouted at Jack, “Keep running ahead. I’ll find a way to hold it off.”
“Can you do it?”
“Not sure; want to give it a try?”
“……”
Jack let go of me and staggered forward, running ahead. He was moving quite fast, at least faster than when I was helping him. I took one look and decided that I could never trust this guy again.
When I turned back, the dark shape behind me was already close at hand. It resembled a massive, flat worm; with each undulating wave of its body, it propelled itself forward a short distance. The greater the amplitude of its movements, the farther it advanced.
At such a close range, even without the One-Eyed Beast Flashlight, I could tell it was a single entity, its surface smooth as if coated in oil. I couldn't fathom how it had managed to slice itself open in front of the stone pillar and then instantly heal back into one piece.
I had no expectation that an AK-47 would be effective against it; its body should be impervious to being pierced or even cut in half. My hope lay in the fire from the bayonet attached to the AK-47.
I believed that any creature would fear fire, especially this thing. Although I couldn't determine what it was—forget about species; I couldn't even classify it into basic categories like phylum or kingdom—I knew that fire was my most potent weapon at the moment. If it failed to serve its purpose, my only remaining weapon would be my two legs. Of course, as tools for escape.
As I ran, I leveled the upward-angled AK-47 and suddenly thrust it backward. (To Be Continued…)
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