3. A Peculiar Place

Mihu

Joas has been captured by a peculiar girl who saved our car from sliding down the cliff. But then, we've been totally lost after trying to chase them. Into a strange place we couldn't even track, here inside a dark tunnel.

"Mhmm.. guys?" it came from Hecor's voice somewhere, I instantly turn around, but oddly can't see him around. As we wander our eyes over the place. Turning our heads left to right. But see nothing of him.

".... can someone... help me.. up here?" he spoke again, extreme suffering can be trace on his voice. I'm starting to get alarmed, feeling uneasy as we search where his voice coming from.

"Where are y— ****" I was stiffened,

I was left terribly shocked. Frightening as I cover my mouth. Eyes widen. All of us finally saw him, sharing the same response, horrified.

As we look up to him.

Dreadfully hanging by a rope...

With his body awfully stabbed with tons of sharp woods... fastening him into the wall, as the blood congested from his lesion. There's a lot of blood rushing down, all over his body, his skin was terribly teared up. My vision started to get blur as I shed heavy tears, and it aches my eyes. I was left frozen. I never imagined that I will be witnessing this kind of heart-wrenching event injust a day.

"****" Conan grunted, stepping backward.

"Or maybe... y.. you can just leave m...me" Hecor uttered with a trace of agony in his voice. His one hand supporting his neck to let himself breathe.

And I can't do anything but cry. I approach him quickly as I rummage on my backpack on what I can use to free him out. But I can't think well. My hands were shaking in fear and panic attacks.

"Stop talking, we'll leave you out that wall!" Nari fumed, as she try to look closer at the sharp woods bore down into Hecor's body.

"Oh come on Conan, look out for the root of the rope!" Yakun belted as he try to unfasten the rope gently not to hurt Hecor. We're now in complete chaos.

"It'll be fast" Nari asserted to Hecor, as she try to remove the sharp woods one by one, out of Hecor's body."... just endure the pain" she ordered.

Hecor let out a loud groan as Nari started pulling the woods out of his skin. I decided to help, removes the wood gently as possible. His whimpers echoed inside the tunnel, as he bit his lips terribly in pain, and cries out. His veins popping out tells his wholesome suffering. And I cried, cried along with him as I saw his flesh sticking along with every wood I'm pulling out.

"Do not lose your breath, inhale!" Yakun snapped. With the eagerness of him saving Hecor rising. Hopefully, the rope will be untied from him soon as possible.

"I'm... sorry... this is... all my f... fault" Hecor trembled.

"I cannot see the root! It's already too dark in here!" Conan shouted, few miles away from us.

From that moment, we're all taken aback as the tunnel's entrance got closed. Leaving us trapped inside. With an unknown destination awaits us in the darkness. And just like that, the wind suddenly screams in terror.

"What... are we going to do now?" Conan cries out.

Everyone left silent for a while. Together with a certain presence slowly approaching from the dark side of the tunnel.

As we listen to footsteps... getting heavier as it approach. I need to think of a plan.

"THAT'S WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO AN INVADERS LIKE YOU" A deep voice rang out.

Invaders? I knew it. This entity and the entity we encountered earlier are just the same. They're not after human flesh. I also notice that the entity who captured Joas is uncertainly a counterpart of the big head zombies ruining our city. I need to contact dad right away.

From that moment, another unknown entity along with us is now a few steps away.

We left frozen.

As it reveals an unusually tall man, with black and red eyes. I bit my lip in frustration. He continues to step closer. Until we can already see an unusual mark on his forehead. Indeed, freaks me out as we saw his almost skeleton body. Face almost a skull, hairless. He stopped, 6 meters away from us.

What... is this...

A new kind of zombie?

All of us were left with no words. ****. We need to escape. At this rate, sweats are all over my body. I'm feeling nauseated. We should be already with dad at this point.

But then, I've been quickly alarmed as I hear a clocking gun. It's Nari.

I quickly turn to her as I gave her a warning stare to stop. That gun wouldn't gonna work. He might just end up into something worse. Then again, from that moment, the unknown entity in front of us started cracking his neck. Which made us became more puzzled and terrified at this rate. Hell. Apart from that, a huge number of footsteps started wrapping near our spot. This is the worst. That cracking bone is his way of calling disciples. Damn.

His lips parted, and form a smile on his face, pretty horrible.

We need to go.

"Let's run" Conan whispered behind me.

"... we also have our own lives" he added.

"WHERE YOU GONNA RUN?" the entity heard us.

"... HERE?" he pointed behind him, turning to his back for a while.

"... but you have to die first before you could enter here" he added,

From that moment, footsteps are getting nearer and louder. We need to decide what to do right away.

"Bow... down..." Hecor whispered. Without any of us turning to him, we obeyed.

Just around the moment, he jumps out of the rope and lies on the ground. As it surprisingly releases a long piece of a tree trunk, swang freely up to the air. Hitting the unknown entity hilariously on his head. Instantly got beheaded. We left our minds hanging, startled. We didn't expect that to come.

My body still hasn't recovered, when the rails were lying in was caved in. Makes us hardly rolled down into something deeper.

All of us didn't waste a second as we slide down. Bringin us into an uncanny place. I roamed my eyes around the dark forest. Decaying skeletons strangely hanging on every trees. No vision of the sky can be seen at a higher distance. Surely located underground.

"Are we back in the dark ages—" Yakun spoke, when Conan interrupted him,

"Look what I found," Conan told as he approaches us, holding familiar wallet. It is Joas' wallet, that also contains his money, cards, and ids inside.

"He's just around" Nari uttered said, looking around an almost empty place. I quickly turn to approach Hecor who is currently ill. I let him lay on my lap as he struggled to stand on his feet.

"We need to take him soon to the hospital" I suggested, as I take off my scarf and ripped it all to pieces., just to cover all his wounds. I saw them also do what I did, as they contribute a piece of their cloth to Hecor. He's losing a lot of blood, he's too pale. Extreme torment hinting into his face. I gave him an assuring smile, he'll be okay. Tears flowing down again to my cheek, as he mouthed " thank you".

"Maybe we can find here," Conan said, wandering his eyes around the place, and yes, he might be right, I can see some lamp post around this woods, giving us a pang of hope that there could be someone who can help us here.

But then the terror arises when we started hearing a mass number of footsteps again, and it is louder.

"We need to go," I said, immediately stood up. Yakun approaches us and escorted Hecor on his shoulders.

"Let's part ways. And track each other by Mihu's devices" Nari said,

I answered right away, "All right, here" I reach for my bag as I distribute to them a different handy gadget I kept with me.

Then we all started to part ways.

• • •

Just as we plan, we escape and seek any home we can stop by just for Hecor. But unfortunately, we've been running for almost a half-hour with no trace of people. Or any entity. Hecor started to get weaker as he was now carried by Yakun on his back. Leaving me hopeless.

Oh God, help us. I can't imagine myself bearing Hecor's death.

We started to walk more gently, sharpening my eyes on everything we passed by. There are oddly no animals around, the air was closed. It is completely strange.

From that, I didn't expect God will be answering my prayer right away.

My eyes sparkled in surprise. As I saw a huge and beautifully grown treehouse. Yes, I am sure, It is a freaking treehouse.

"Yakun, look!" I exclaimed, pointing its direction.

"What do you think..." Yakun being skeptical.

We both think twice, thrice, and hundreds of times before we decided to finally climb up. It has narrow wooden stairs. Like a typical treehouse. The lights were not that visible. Not sure if there has. But still, we continue.

I stayed behind Yakun as we climb up. But then, amidst going up, a drip of blood anonymously shed into Yakun's face. We instantly took a step back. Panicking as we check where is it going.

"What the.." Yakun grunted, wiping it off.

To our surprise, a teen-aged boy showed up from the treehouse. Holding a bloody knife in his hand. Delivering us into an insane frustration as we step back.

"WOAH! A LIVINGS!" he shouted like an innocent child. Staring down to us.

My eyes widen as I clearly saw his familiar features few distance away. Just like the girl entity we encountered, his body is extremely pale and few parts of his body were decaying a bit. He's strangely wearing a white hospital gown, which indeed makes us more puzzled.

But at the same time, few inches away from my theories.

He called us "livings". Meaning, it is because he wasn't. They could be indeed the zombies' counterparts. As they are not coming after human flesh. This is so enchanting.

They totally look like a typical zombie. But doesn't eat humans, and the fact that they can straightly speak like a real human, makes me question my sanity.

But then, that's when I came up with an idea. The girl entity abducted Joas for some reason. And possibly a good one. This boy could provide more information about her and their entities. As far as I remember, the entity who captured Joas can't face the empty-headed zombies in our city. Uncertainly, these zombies and those zombies, are opponents.