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墨書 Inktalez
Jack looked a bit crazed with hunger. When he heard my words, he seemed deeply discouraged, his legs visibly weakening, causing his body to sway more noticeably.
"Please don't provoke me anymore. I could eat a whole cow right now."
He suddenly stopped, turned back to me, and said, "You can't be serious."
I glanced at him before shifting my gaze back to the ceiling.
The Muzzle and Flashlight were both directed upward, and at the end of the Flashlight's beam, I could vaguely see the gray of the Ceiling. Only the long Stalactites hanging down were occasionally clear. At this height, we were far beyond the length of the Blood-Eyed Monster's tail. An animal that relied on its tail to climb up to the Ceiling and move quickly couldn't possibly pose a threat to us at this altitude. Our danger had significantly decreased.
Similarly, our food sources had also diminished greatly. It was unlikely that these Crimson-Eyed Monsters would appear on our menu.
Perhaps it was the reduced danger that led to a sense of relaxation, but I felt it was more about Jack's breakdown from losing his chance to eat. He stared at the Ceiling for a while, swayed slightly, and then plopped down onto the ground.
I had been keeping an eye on the Ceiling, so I noticed this change early on. I hadn’t come out sooner because I feared Jack would lose his motivation and collapse. Of course, I didn’t think we had escaped danger entirely.
Jack's face told me he truly had no strength left to run. I didn't have the ability to carry him; it wasn't just my injuries but also my current stamina that wouldn't allow me to run while carrying him.
Fortunately, Jack's poisoning symptoms had mostly faded, so he wasn't completely immobilized.
I bent down and wrapped his left arm around my neck, using all my strength to help him up as we continued moving forward.
It was only because the threat from the Ceiling had dissipated that I dared to support Jack like this; otherwise, I would have preferred to rest in place rather than recklessly abandon caution and flee.
Jack leaned against me as if it were only natural; his two weak legs hardly contributed anything. As I walked, I stole glances at him—how could he be so comfortable? Did he really think I owed him something?
I carried Jack along, carefully choosing easier paths. We avoided the difficult-to-climb stalactites and stone columns, and even the wider cracks in the ground were to be circumvented. Fortunately, as we progressed, the number of fallen stalactites above us decreased significantly, and the ground began to resemble the opposite bank of the underground river.
I suspected that the broken stalactites were the work of the Blood-Eyed Monsters. I had no idea why they did this, but it gave me a hopeful indication that we were leaving their territory behind.
I didn’t share this thought with Jack, as I believed it would be a blow to his morale. He was running out of supplies completely.
I had lost track of time. It wasn’t until I felt I could walk no further that I set Jack down, and we sat back to back to rest.
Jack's flashlight had long been turned off. The moment I told him there was a possibility we wouldn’t encounter any Blood-Eyed Monsters, he switched off his One-Eyed Beast flashlight. It seemed he had sensed that the path ahead would be calm yet filled with hunger.
My flashlight was dim, casting a pitifully short beam. I figured its brightness wouldn’t last much longer, so I didn’t bother turning it off. We would likely have to rely on glow sticks for illumination from here on out.
Jack’s breathing was steady, probably because he hadn’t exerted himself much along the way. However, it was also quite weak. This made me both envious and deeply worried. With our backs against each other, I could even feel his heartbeat was faint.
I placed my flashlight beside me, directing its beam ahead. Suddenly, I noticed an increase in light around us; exhaustion made me reluctant to move at all. I realized that Jack had turned on his flashlight.
“I’m dying of thirst. Can you boil some water for me?” Jack’s weak voice reached my ears.
I swallowed hard. I was just as thirsty. If I weren’t so exhausted, I would have prioritized boiling some water for myself first. I understood how Jack felt at this moment; my stomach was empty too, and drinking some water might alleviate the severe hunger pangs we were both experiencing.
I directed my flashlight toward what I believed was the Underground River, but I saw no sign of the Wood Chip Dam. There was no shimmering light on the water.
I thought it might be due to the poor brightness of my flashlight. I tilted my head and said to Jack, "Can I borrow your flashlight? Mine's out of battery."
Jack handed me his flashlight, which emitted a blinding white light. However, when I aimed this glaring beam toward what I thought was the Underground River, it failed to reveal the features I had expected. I still couldn't see the Wood Chip Dam that always accompanied the Underground River.
I felt a bit disappointed. In fact, during our last rest, the Wood Chip Dam by the Underground River had already been sparse. It seemed that debris on the river's surface had been continuously pushed to both banks, and downstream, there was hardly any debris left on the water. Eventually, there would be no wood on the riverbanks, let alone a dam forming.
What disappointed me was that without wood, we couldn't start a fire for warmth or to boil water. But that wasn't the worst part; not having water to drink was worse. I self-deprecatingly pointed my flashlight further ahead, still hoping to catch a glimpse of some wood.
"What are you doing? Why aren't you getting water and starting a fire? What are you looking at over there?" Jack asked urgently. Perhaps due to hunger and thirst, his tone was quite anxious.
"I'm obviously looking for wood. What do you think?" I replied as I stood up and shot him a glance.
"But the Underground River is that way."
Jack raised his left arm and pointed in a direction that formed a one-hundred-twenty-degree angle with my flashlight beam. The direction he indicated seemed almost opposite to where I remembered the Underground River to be.
Since we fled from the campfire, I had always taken the lead, with only a brief moment when Jack guided us through some distance. Because of Jack's injury, we chose paths that were as flat as possible, which forced us to navigate around many obstacles. However, I felt confident about our general direction; we were consistently moving downstream toward the Underground River.
But Jack's indicated direction sent a chill down my spine. I sensed something was seriously off with one of us. In my judgment, if the Underground River lay in the direction Jack pointed, then we were heading upstream instead.
I fell silent for a moment, assessing my mental and physical state. The hunger pangs were intense, and I could still feel some pain in my back, though it was no longer as pronounced. I was clear about what I was doing and what my next goal was. I had no issues; the problem lay with Jack.
I looked down at the stubborn Jack and said calmly, "Your sense of direction is off. The Underground River isn't that way."
Jack's face had returned to normal; his eyes were no longer swollen shut. I couldn't help but wonder if hunger could actually speed up the reduction of swelling.
"Sometimes a person's instincts can be wrong, but a compass won't lie," Jack said as he took off his watch and handed it to me. "I've been checking the compass all along; it can't be wrong. It's your sense of direction that's faulty."
I took his watch and glanced at it, and my expression changed instantly. "Jack, you’ve gotten us killed."
To Be Continued.
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