Chapter Text
April 29th, 2045. Fourteen children escape from Gracefield House. After months of planning, sacrifices, and deception, they won.
Gracefield Farm Headquarters
Smoke still rose from the ruins of Plant Three. By dawn most of the House had already been burned, leaving only a skeleton of what had once been a loving home. Or, to those who knew better, a dolled up execution block.
Headquarters had never been more frantic. Staff rushed around with cleaning carts and other supplies, heads kept down. Sisters, Brothers, and trainees alike hurried through the halls. Some of them dared to share whispers of what they knew, of what exactly had happened in the past few hours. Of course, things were much more dire outside the building. The search was still going on, and it had been going on for hours, ever since the guards began to realize no one was going to the gate. All the while, updates from said search blared over the speakers throughout the building.
“The products have not been found. It is most likely that they’ve already left the farm.”
The voice echoed throughout the gate to Plant Three, sounding off the impossibly high ceiling and sturdy walls. The scratch of the speakers was amplified along with it, sharp crackles scraping the eardrums of those nearby.
Mori, however, still dressed in the farm’s black night clothes, hair unkempt, with smears of ash on his face, couldn’t find it in himself to be bothered by it.
After all, he had more pressing matters to deal with. Grandfather was standing in front of him, more enraged than Mori had ever seen him.
“Do you know just what the farm lost today?” The older man’s grinding teeth seemed to almost rival the speakers in volume. “Three low grade, two average, three good, two fine, and four highest grade? Fourteen pieces of merchandise, gone, within a single night. Perhaps I should’ve tried harder to get 34215 to stay in this position, after this failure, 43215!”
But despite everything, Mori stood with his chin high.
“What happened? How did this happen? What could’ve-“
Because-
“The blame rests solely on me, Grandfather.”
——————————
“We have a lead.”
A demon shrouded in black cloth addressed the others gathered in the room, paper held between its long spindly claws.
“Footsteps have been found along the northeastern bank. Send a search party that way immediately.”
The demon lowered its hand, letting the paper fall limp.
“Send out a notice too. ‘The highest quality of merchandise from Gracefield farm has escaped. Alive or dead, the reward will be worth more than you can measure.’”
——————————
Atsushi stood towards the front of the group, a compass held out in one hand. Here they were, gone from the comforts of the House. It wasn’t a desert, but it was still the wilderness. They’d prepared for this, to travel the forest for however long they’d needed to.
And yet, this place was like nothing they’d ever seen.
Dazai stepped up onto a root, far too large to be anything short of a whole tree trunk. Of course, compared to the actual trees of the forest, that reached up to the sky just far enough to have the brunette believe that they could actually touch it, the roots were nothing. Needless to say, this environment was far removed from the forest they’d grown up surrounded by. Everything was larger, the plants stranger, than anything Dazai had seen in the House’s books. It felt primitive, like something that existed centuries before any of them had ever walked the Earth.
The younger children seemed to be enjoying it just fine. They looked up at the leafy canopy in awe, gaping at what must’ve been a fantastical sight to them.
Dazai, however, saw a problem.
If this is what they had to work with, determining their location would be much more difficult than he thought. Using the terrain and climate should’ve been enough, but now, he had no idea where they could possibly be.
Besides, he was on edge. The forest was too open. They were somewhere completely unknown. They had no map in front of them, no knowledge of what could be in there with them. There could be something nearby right now. Watching. Waiting.
“There you go.” Yosano helped Yuu over the root, lowering him down to the other side on the forest floor.
Kunikida stood next to her, waiting as Katsumi stepped up. The boy yawned as Kunikida helped him over. He wasn’t the only tired one. Shinji gripped the straps of his backpack as a bead of sweat tracked down his face. Sakura rubbed her eyes, a small frown on her face. They’d been up since before midnight, all of them, and they’d been traveling over this rough terrain for hours.
“Kunikida.” Junichirou shot him a concerned look. “I think we should-“
“Already on it.” The blond nodded, eyes catching on a large hollow in a nearby tree.
He cleared his throat, turning to the rest of the group.
“We’ll take a break for breakfast now!” He motioned to the hollow in the tree. “You can all rest for a bit!”
The others cheered, a feeling of relief washing over the group.
“Remember to only eat and drink small bits at a time!” Naomi reminded the others as they made their way over to the tree hollow. “We need to make all of this last!”
Atsushi stuck to the back of the group, letting the others go ahead into the small shelter. Sakura noticed, frowning and turning back.
“Aren’t you gonna come eat, Atsushi?”
He kneeled in front of her, giving a kind smile.
“Not now. I’m going to keep watch. You go on and eat with the others.”
The girl nodded, returning Atsushi’s expression with a small smile of her own, before running off to join the others. The older boy rose again, watching his family over in the tree hollow. They sat in a circle, each with a roll of bread in front of them. Their hands were clasped in prayer, eyes closed. It didn’t look like much.
But it was a meal. A meal outside of Gracefield House.
One day, it would be something much more. One day, they’d be eating inside, in a new home. One day, they’d have more than enough food to keep them full. One day, Kyouka, Kenji, and all the others would be with them too.
He’d make sure it’d happen. It had to.
But to do that, he had to keep them safe. He had to do his part. Atsushi hadn’t noticed anyone following them yet, but that wouldn’t be the case for much longer. They’d planted fake footprints, but that’s only be able to fool the demons for so long. And pursuers from the farm weren’t the only threat. Wild animals had to prowl this forest. Dangerous ones that could tear them apart. And they still didn’t know what demons were out there. They could be-
“Boo.”
A pair of hands clapped on his shoulders. Atsushi was almost proud of himself for not screaming, looking back on it, but he nearly fell to the ground when he whipped around to look at the source of the noise. And he refused to acknowledge the high pitched squeak that came out of his mouth instead of a scream. But it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. He could already hear Dazai laughing before he got a good look at him.
“Dazai!” Atsushi felt himself go red with embarrassment. “What are you doing?”
“I’m just saying hello.” The older boy looked at him innocently, edges of his mouth still twitching up into a grin.
Atsushi tried his best to give him a stern look, but gave up, settling for a long sigh. Dazai moved to stand next to him.
“You’re too on edge.”
Atsushi glanced to the other.
“Huh?”
“There’s no footprints, claw marks, or whatever. There isn’t any signs of some beast nearby.” Dazai passed him a jar of water Atsushi hadn’t noticed he’d been holding. “You’ve done a lot. You should rest too.”
Atsushi took it, giving him a grateful smile.
“Thank you, Dazai.”
They stood in silence for a moment as the younger boy drank. Dazai was the one too break it, tone much more serious than before.
“I’m sorry, Atsushi.”
The boy frowned slightly, trying to peak at Dazai’s face.
“...What for?”
“Your ear. You had to cut it off because of me. And your hand got burnt too. Because I didn’t want to go with your plan.”
“It’s fine.” Atsushi answered immediately, smile returning as he put the lid back on the jar. “Because of that, you’re here with us now. So I don’t regret it at all.”
Dazai blinked at him, silent for another moment. He looked away, hands raising to rest on the bandages on both of his arms.
“I talked to Kohi too. To apologize for her having to cut off her hair. And instead of getting mad or anything, she said she didn’t mind either. Then, she just wished me a happy birthday, and told me to not do it again. She can be scary when she wants to be.” Dazai gave a small laugh, a strange look on his face. “And...and the funny thing is, I was ready to just let her die instead. I was ready to leave her there to be a meal for the demons. All of them. I don’t deserve it. I don’t deserve any of the nice things they say to me. What they did for me. But they won’t stop either. So I’m going to live. I’m going to live, and make sure they can live too. This time, Atsushi, I promise.”
Atsushi didn’t have words, staring at his older brother with a warm feeling in his chest. There was more he wanted to say, to tell Dazai that he did deserve to be cared for, that he understood, that they all understood, but he knew that opening that issue would have to wait for another time. Flashes of the previous night played in his mind, of Dazai’s grief when he talked about Oda and Ango, about what he’d said about the pain he’d caused himself, what he’d hidden for so long under his bandages.
One day. One day, maybe things would get better. Even if it was just by a little bit. But for now, this was more than enough. If he would live.
“You’re not alone.” Dazai turned over to watch as Kunikida, Yosano, and the Tanizaki siblings led the rest of the children over to them. “We’re all here too. Don’t forget that.”
Atsushi nodded.
“Don’t worry. I won’t.”
——————————
“What’s the plan from here?” Dazai looked between Kunikida and Atsushi as they walked, moving with the group. “Where are we headed? What are we going to do?”
“A water source is important.” Kunikida started. “Earlier, when we were on that cliff, I saw a river. That’ll be priority number one. We have water, but that’s limited. And if there’s a river, we could probably find fish or other animals we could use for food. The only problem with that is that the pursuers are probably expecting us to do that. And if they’re able to predict us...”
The blond didn’t need to finish the sentence.
“There has to be something else though.” Dazai continued. “What do we do after that? Is there a plan?”
“Oh, I almost forgot that we didn’t tell you yet.” Atsushi let out a small gasp. “We’re going South.”
“Why South?”
Dazai peered over at Kunikida as he took Atsushi’s cue to dig into his bag. The brunette wasn’t sure what he expected, but it wasn’t a black and white checkered pen.
“We’re going to meet with Mr. Takutou at point B06-32.” Kunikida held the pen out to him.
Dazai gave him a blank look.
“I’m sorry, but what do Mr. Takutou, a pen, and ‘B06-32’ have to do with each other?”
Kunikida pushed the pen into the other’s palm, rolling his eyes.
“Just take a look first.”
Dazai frowned for a moment, until the initials “S.T.” caught his eye. Sano Takutou.
“It’s from Ranpo. According to him, Brother Ace left it behind.” Kunikida’s voice slightly softened at the mention of the other boy.
“Try to open it.” Atsushi leaned over Dazai’s shoulder, tapping the pen cap. “Ranpo said when he first found it it wouldn’t write. But then he took it apart, and he found something.”
Dazai pulled the pen apart, revealing a small segment of the pen with ‘B06-32’ engraved into it.
“Pull it further.” Kunikida nodded to the pen.
Dazai did so, pulling out the pen until it clicked into place. He almost dropped it as it buzzed to life, projecting a screen right up in front of him. The same calico cat they’d seen on the book plates was there. On top of it, there were more letters and numbers.
B
01-14
“...What is this?” Dazai looked at the screen in shock.
“Katai?”
They were interrupted by a shout from the group. All three of the older boys turned, rushing over to the source of the noise.
“Rokuzo?” Kunikida reached the boy first, a serious expression on his face. “Are you alright? What happened?”
“He’s gone!” Rokuzo pointed at the empty space next to him. “Katai’s gone!”
“What do you mean?” Atsushi looked at the boy in shock. “Where did he go?”
“He didn’t go anywhere.” Rokuzo shook his head, worry evident on his face. “I was walking with him, and he just- he just disappeared! I-I turned to talk to him, and he was gone!”
Kunikida put a hand on the younger’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort him, calling out himself.
“Katai? Are you okay? Yell back if you can here me!”
The other three waited in anticipation. But they were greeted by dead silence. It felt to quiet for the forest. Far too quiet.
Kunikida’s grip on Rokuzo’s shoulder tightened. He moved to stand closer to the boy, unease visible on his face. Atsushi could feel his heartbeat pounding in his ears.
Katai has disappeared? How?
What where they supposed to do?
“I’m going to look around.” Atsushi started, turning to step back in the direction they’d been traveling from. “Maybe he fell, or-“
“Wait.”
Dazai suddenly cut him off, putting an arm out to block him.
“Katai didn’t respond. But the others should’ve been able to hear us. So why, just now, why was it completely quiet?”
Atsushi’s heart dropped.
“...Where are they?”
His voice was barely a whisper.
They didn’t need anymore encouragement before all four of them were rushing back, back to where everyone else should’ve been, together, traveling, okay.
But the area was empty. Only the pattern of large, gnarled, overlapping roots on the forest floor remained.
It felt like a horrible, horrible nightmare. They couldn’t have just disappeared. Yosano, Junichirou, Naomi, Katai, Kohi, everyone else, there was no way.
Rokuzo gripped Kunikida’s arm, barely contained panic leaking through his expression. The blond himself was deep in thought, as was Dazai, scanning through every possibility in his head, for anything that could explain what was going on. Atsushi looked over the scenery. They had to be somewhere. They couldn’t just vanish.
The only warning they got was a small creak, and one small dip, right under Atsushi’s foot. Then, the whole floor dropped out from under them.
And suddenly, Atsushi was falling, falling down, down, down. It was pitch black. He couldn’t see a thing. The boy tumbled to the ground, making a small noise of surprise upon colliding with the new surface. The only signs he had of the others were a short yell from Kunikida, a sharp hiss from Dazai, and a loud shout from Rokuzo.
But he couldn’t see them. He was down here, and he couldn’t see them, and they weren’t saying-
“Dazai! Atsushi! Are you both alright? Where are you?”
Kunikida. Atsushi let out a breath of relief, before calling back.
“I am!”
“Same here.”
The younger was startled at how close Dazai’s voice was, turning around to try and face him, which only resulted into him smacking into his brother.
“Ow, Atsushi.” Dazai whined. “Watch where you’re going.”
“Sorry.” Atsushi nodded, even if the other couldn’t see it, and even if he knew Dazai had been joking.
He just needed to think right now. What had just happened?
“They’re alright. It’s okay.”
Atsushi could hear Kunikida again, speaking in a softer tone, accompanied by two pairs of footsteps. As the boy’s eyes began adjusting to the dark, he was able to make out the two figures approaching them. Kunikida had a reassuring arm around Rokuzo’s shoulders. The younger boy seemed alright, but a little shaken.
“We fell underground, right?” Dazai mused, kicking at the new, root covered floor they stood on. “Do you think this is what happened to the others?”
“It could be.” Atsushi answered. “That means they should be down here. Let’s look around.”
Before they could plan any further, they were interrupted by Rokuzo, pointing off into the darkness.
“Look!”
Atsushi followed the boy’s finger, only to see a light in the distance. A small, slightly flickering light, like a flame. And then, a distant voice.
“Kunikida! Dazai! Atsushi! Rokuzo!”
Atsushi would know that voice from anywhere.
“Yosano!”
He called back, another wave of relief washing over him.
“Atsushi! Are the others with you?”
They’d already begun to move towards the light, slowly being able to make out their sister and the group gathered around her.
“We are!” Kunikida answered next, although it was pretty redundant, as they’d already reached the others at that point.
They were there. Yosano, Junichirou, Naomi, Katai, everyone. One look at Yosano’s face told Atsushi that the relief he’d felt was very much mutual. The Tanizaki siblings came to greet him, trailed by Haruno. Katai rushed up to greet Kunikida and Rokuzo, hands he’d been fiddling with anxiously falling to his sides. The younger children swarmed all of them, Katsumi and Shinji nearly toppling Dazai over.
Atsushi took a moment to let himself be grateful, grateful that they were all here, alive and well. But as he pulled back from a hug from Naomi, he took in the scenery around them, finally visible by the lamplight.
“Where...are we?” He wondered allowed, looking around.
Everything, the floor, the walls, the ceiling, seemed to be woven out of roots. Strange plants peppered the edges of the area. Winged insect-like creatures seemed to float through the air. Atsushi couldn’t even have imagined that anything like this could have been real.
“We don’t know.” Yuu grinned, standing next to Atsushi. “Isn’t it cool though?”
Dazai took in the scenery. Roots hung from the ceiling. A group of small, finned creatures ran along one of the roots at the side of the tunnel, rolling over each other. Nothing was recognizable. Everything he saw in front of him was far beyond anything he’d read about at the House. Had he just not heard about these things? Or had the environment in the world changed due to the demons?
How much did they actually know about the world they were left in?
“That’s weird.”
“What is?” Dazai turned to Atsushi after the boy spoke.
“The ceiling.” The other pointed up at the woven roots above them. “We fell through a hole, but it’s gone. I guess it must’ve closed already.”
“Guess that goes to show how dangerous the outside world is.” Yosano added in, approaching the two of them. “And how...different.”
Dazai nodded.
“If that’s how it is, then we should get to B06-32 as soon as possible, right?”
Atsushi hummed in confirmation.
“Right.”
A safe home, with resources. A place they could live without the threat of pursuers, where humans could survive. They’d reach it.
Kunikida grabbed on one of the roots hanging from the ceiling. He gave it a slight tug, only for it to snap. He sighed.
“Looks like we can’t use these to climb up. We’ll have to find some other way out of here.”
“Maybe we should keep walking.” Junichirou suggested. “We could find some other exit further down the tunnels.”
With not much of a choice, that seemed to be the plan of action they went with. The younger children seemed to have no problem with it at all, marveling at the new set of wonders before them. Katsumi and Yuu chased some of the bugs, grabbing after them as they flew out of reach. Sakura stopped occasionally to look at some of the plants, Shinji right beside her.
“Looks like at least one good thing came from this.” Naomi smiled, watching the others. “It’s like they’ve been completely reenergized. It’s so much warmer down here too. I was thinking, what if we travelled like this, underground? It’ll be easier to keep the pursuers from finding us-“
“No, we shouldn’t.” Dazai interrupted her, shaking his head. “We have no idea where these tunnels go. And if we run into anything, predator or pursuer, we have nowhere to go.”
Dazai’s gaze shifted, looking at the walls of the tunnel.
“On top of that, this doesn’t feel right. A tunnel of roots underground. Why would something like that exist? What purpose would it have as a natural part of the environment?”
Atsushi frowned, playing Dazai’s question over in his head. Their conversation was cut off by gasps of awe and surprise from the group up ahead. Catching up to them, it wasn’t hard to see why.
Before them the tunnel opened up into a giant chamber. A column of roots twined together in the center of the room, intricately woven up of the roots running along the floor and walls of the chamber. The roots seemed thicker here, much more than the slim ones that hung from the ceiling of the tunnel. The strange insects and plants remained, decorating the chamber nicely. Most noticeably, however, were a new kind of plant, holding a luminous, gem-like flower. The plants formed a ring around the large trunk in the center of the chamber, bathing it in a soft blue light.
“It’s like a meadow!” Sakura gasped, rubbing over to peer at the flowers.
“What are these?” Shinji followed her, kneeling down to get a better look. “They’re like diamonds, and they smell so good!”
“There’s something else to keep them busy.” Yosano scanned the chamber. “Unfortunately, there’s nowhere else we can go from here. Looks like we’ll have to head back.”
“We don’t have to.” Kunikida approached the trunk, putting a hand against the roots. “These ones look solid. We might be able to climb up them to try and get out through the ceiling.”
“You think so?” Junichirou leaned around Naomi to look at the roots. “If we can get a few people up there, maybe we can have some of you go back to the areas in the tunnel with lower ceilings and lift the others up that way.”
“Just be careful.” Haruno stepped forward, gaze slowly lifting towards the chamber’s ceiling. “It’s a long...”
Her words suddenly trailed off, her eyes widening.
“Haruno, what’s-“ Naomi frowned, looking at her friend before following her gaze up.
The dark haired girl froze, same as Haruno. She pointed up.
“...Look.” Naomi barely managed to wrench out the word.
Atsushi didn’t hesitate to look to the ceiling. There, right above them, hung...creatures from the ceiling. Limp bodies were strung up by thin roots, wrapped tightly around limbs and flesh. They looked like animals, but something was wrong. Their skin was so tight, Atsushi could see every bone. What was left under the skin didn’t appear to be much either. The carcass’ eyes were gone, disappeared from their sockets. It was as if the life had been dried out of them.
”Why would something like that exist? What purpose would it have as a natural part of the environment?”
“...It makes sense now.” Dazai muttered, just loud enough for them to hear. His eyes widened. “These tunnels, the roots, we need to get out of here, now.”
The realization settled over the rest of them. However, Kunikida realized something else. His head whipped over to face Sakura and Shinji, who were still looking at the flowers.
“Sakura! Shinji! Get away from there!” The older sprinted forwards, trying to get to them as fast as he could.
The two children gave him twin looks of confusion, barely having time to process his words before they were scooped up and dragged out of the way. What they did see was a root, swiping just over their heads, where they had been seconds before. The roots reached out, creaking as they moved. Sakura and Shinji screamed, both running towards the rest of the older children. The others watched in shock, dread falling over all of them.
“Hey!” Rokuzo pointed to a seemingly normal wall of the roots. “The entrance disappeared!”
Atsushi looked over. He was right. That’s where they’d entered from. Between the small cracks of the roots, the empty space of the tunnel was still visible. But the roots that had reached out to Sakura and Shinji weren’t the only ones moving. Suddenly, as all the children stampeded to the center of the chamber, its walls came alive, writhing roots slowly reaching towards them on all sides.
“They’re closing in on us!” Katai looked frantically around the room.
Yuu held onto Naomi’s knees. Sakura and Shinji were still crowded close to Kunikida. The rest of the children were in a similar state of panic.
“...What are they?” Kohi almost sounded breathless.
“This isn’t a cave. It’s a feeding crowd.” Dazai spoke seriously, eyebrows furrowed. “This whole thing, it’s been a trap. Prey drops down through the roots above. The straight tunnels, animals, and other plants lead the prey here. The glowing flowers keep their attention. And then...it eats them.”
“It eats them?” said Junichirou, in disbelief. “A plant?”
“That’s why.” Dazai bit the inside of his cheek as the other thought came to him. “That’s why there weren’t any beasts around. They were avoiding this.”
“Everyone, stay as close together you can!” Kunikida called, as the roots edged further towards them.
It wasn’t just demons or wild beasts. It seemed like everything in this world was aiming to work against them. As if the world itself was fighting for their deaths.
Dazai’s nails curled into his palm. They’d prepared. He had, to tell the others about what to look out for. And he knew the others had too. They had to have. No doubt many of them had spent hours memorizing edible plants and signs of dangerous animals. But now, in this world, it was like they knew nothing at all.
“Maybe we should burn it.” Junichirou suggested, swear rubbing down his brow. “It’s alive, right? And it’s a plant. Would burning stop it?”
“The fire would eat up our oxygen.” Yosano shook her head. “We’re in an inclosed space. The smoke would be visible to anyone coming after us too. We need to think of anything else!”
“What could we do against this!” Katai threw his hands out to gesture at the roots.
Kunikida let out a breath of frustration. He had nothing. Naomi looked between him, Dazai, and Yosano. Not one of them said a word. Anxiety gripping her mind, she turned to her other older brother.
“Atsushi, what-“
“I know what to do.” Atsushi said suddenly. “I’ve seen this before.”
As some sort of idea seemed to solidify in Atsushi’s head, his voice got louder. He turned to Dazai.
“Dazai! This is just like that thing!” He waved his arms frantically. “The...uh, the snakes of adenine or whatever!”
“What?” Dazai looked at him in confusion.
“It’s in one of those two books! The ones with the morse code we didn’t understand.” Atsushi kneeled down, quickly reaching into his bag to pull out one of the said books. “I read them, it is what I thought it is!”
Atsushi proudly displayed the book to the others.
“The mythology adventure novel from Mr. Takutou!”
——————————
The demon’s foot stamped on the ground. Its gnarled face and horned mask stuck low as it got a scent, looking over the vast forest before the search party. Its mouth parted, sharp, thin teeth drawing away from each over as it spoke.
“We didn’t get here in time. They’ve already entered the forest.”
A tall hooded demon looked over the other. The other demon spoke.
“Vampiric trees grow down there. According to reports, inferior species have been sighted there as well.” The hooded demon turned to face the other. It wore a similar horned mask, but stood out with the “x” shape carved across its top eyehole. “We won’t allow them to consume the merchandise.”
It turned, looking across the several other quadrupedal demons waiting, perched on the edge of the cliff.
“Which direction are they in?”
“Southeast, sir.” The same demon from before answered.
They would find them. No mistakes would be made.
——————————
Out of all of Mr. Takutou’s books, their were two they couldn’t understand. Even in the months he’d been on bed rest, Atsushi hadn’t been able to decipher what either of their messages were.
The book with the morse code for “promise” was titled “The Adventures of Ugo”. The story followed an explorer named Ugo and his partner Mii-chan, a calico cat. They travelled all over the world, places no one else had ever been.
Atsushi flipped through the pages as quickly as he could.
“It’s in here, I read about it.” Atsushi scanned over the words on the pages, flipping between different sections. “Was it before this? No, no, definitely after...”
Kunikida looked at him with exasperation.
“Atsushi, what are you-“
“Found it!”
The boy pointed to the page in front of him triumphantly.
“The snakes of Alvapinera!”
The cave in the ocean, Alvapinera, was a nest of terrifying poisonous snakes. Countless snakes that looked like a bundle of intertwined bundle of roots acted as if they were one creature spread across the walls. The brilliance of the jewels by my feet were frighteningly beautiful. Were the snakes protecting the treasures? Or was it bait to lure prey like us here?
“Isn’t it similar?” Atsushi showed the book to the others. “The cage is just like the tunnels. Those glowing flowers look like jewels. And the snakes are like the roots. He even describes it like that. The book was really talking about this. I couldn’t figure it out back at the House, but I thought it could be something like this. This book is a survival guide from Mr. Takutou on the outside!”
“Do you really think that’s enough to base this on?” Kunikida frowned. “It’s similar, yeah, but can you say that-“
“No, I think Atsushi’s right.” Dazai interrupted him. “It’s worth testing.”
The brunette reached into his bag, pulling out his mug.
“You’ve read it too, right, Dazai?” Atsushi waited until the other nodded in confirmation. “In the book, it says that the roots-“
“Yeah.” Dazai motioned to the others. “Step back a little, okay?”
Even if the plants were carnivorous, and were able to trap them down here, they were still plants. Plants didn’t have eyes or ears, and Dazai certainly couldn’t see any on the roots. But if they didn’t, there had to be someway for the roots to know where they were.
Dazai threw his mug at one if the roots suspended in the air, reaching out towards them. The mug touched one of the roots, momentarily slowed by it. Suddenly, several other roots surged forward, stabbing at the mug and shattering it into dozens of porcelain shards. The others stepped back further, alarmed. Atsushi, however, grinned.
“It is by contact!”
The tree could only learn their locations if they touched the tips of the roots. That’s how the tree would know where they were. Looking at the other animals strung up around the room, they could determine how they were caught. And with that, the pieces were coming together. An escape was forming. Dazai let out a breath. He just needed to keep a level head. They may not know much, but they can change that. They can learn. Observe, and figure out how to deal with the dangers and the conditions of the outside world.
“They’re getting closer!” Junichirou called, scurrying away from the creeping roots approaching him. “If we don’t do something, we’ll be surrounded without any way to move!”
The panic was clear in his voice. The others didn’t feel much different. Dazai gave a small nod to Atsushi, and the two of them walked forwards, towards the roots.
“Hey!” Katai yelled after them. “What are you-“
“It’s fine.” Dazai smiled, standing right in front of the roots with Atsushi, his arms spread out. “See? Nothing’s happening.”
Sure enough, nothing did happen. No roots lashed out at them to tear them apart. Kunikida and Yosano gave twin expressions of realization, getting the point before they even had to explain it.
“They’ll only attack if we touch them.” Atsushi continued. “So as long as we don’t touch these ones, it’ll be alright.”
“He’s right.” Kunikida nodded. “We’ll be okay. We don’t need to panic. We can still just climb the tree, like we said we were. This one’s a bit taller, but you’ve done that before.”
“We’ll be able to get up before the roots close in on us.” Yosano have a reassuring pat to Katsumi and Yuu’s shoulders.
“But what about the ceiling?” Junichirou frowned. “Will we able to get through it?”
“We will.” Atsushi smiled. “Don’t worry.”
“Then lets get started!” Kunikida gestured the others over to the tree.
With renewed confidence, the children approached the tree, latching on to the grooves in its trunk and beginning to pull themselves up. Dazai looked to the ceiling. Everything had lined up to the book so far. If it held true, then they knew exactly how to get out.
”The walls are getting thin. Let’s go, Mii-chan!”
“Be careful, make sure you grab on tightly!” Kunikida instructed the small group of Rokuzo, Atsushi, and Katsumi climbing next to him.
On the count of three, all of them leaped up to the ceiling, grabbing one of the roots it was made up of. The roots sagged under their weight, drooping down.
In order to escape from the snakes of Alvapinera, you need to make a hole in the ceiling of the cave. It doesn’t matter how. It’s not difficult.
The roots creaked. The roots from the walls reached from below. They just needed one hole.
Luckily for them, it didn’t take long. The roots have way, snapping apart to expose the chamber to the outside. The children tumbled back to the floor. The wind blew in, frigid and crisp.
The freezing northern ocean is outside. The snakes will fall asleep from the cold.
Atsushi flopped to the floor, relatively unharmed. He jumped to his feet, looking around the chamber.
“‘Freezing northern ocean’ was right, it’s so cold now.” Rokuzo wrapped his arms together.
“Never mind that, did it work?” Kunikida looked anxiously to the roots.
They were stock still.
Atsushi couldn’t help but let out a cry of celebration. Katsumi joined him, putting his hands up in the air. The others watched from below, trying to keep their eyes on their celebrating siblings even as Yosano and Dazai reached the surface, sending down ropes to help them up.
Don’t be afraid. If you can courageously reach for the sky, you will not be eaten by them.
Atsushi watched Katsumi getting helped up by the others, now standing next to Dazai on the surface. The fresh air never felt better on his face.
They owed it to Mr. Takutou. They really did.
Something caught the boy’s attention out of the corner of his eye. He snapped his head over to look, but he couldn’t see anything. Had he imagined it? Or had something moved there just now? He ran over, just to be sure, but only the hollow sound of the breeze echoing off the trees greeted him.
Shinji and Katsumi peered over the hole of torn roots.
“It was the cold, right? That made them stop?” Katsumi tilted his head.
“That’s what it said in the book.” Shinji pulled his scarf out of his bag. “It’s so cold here.”
“Too cold.” Yuu agreed, already wrapped in his scarf.
“It’s so much colder than where we were before.” Haruno commented, looking around. “We’re still in the same forest. You’d hardly believe it’s April.”
“It could be because of the sun.” Kohi suggested, pointing to the canopy above. “Look. It’s blocking most of the light out.”
“But it’s important to know then- as long as it’s cold like this, we won’t fall into the roots.” Yosano added. “At least, that’s what we think from what we’ve seen so far.”
“Wow were we lucky!” Junichirou gaped. “At least in April, it’s still a bit colder. Any later and we might not have been able to stop them!”
Dazai patted his head.
“According to Mr. Takutou’s book, the cave can’t be entered unless it’s cold out.” He gave a slight smirk. “In other words, if it was warmer, we wouldn’t have fallen in at all.”
Junichirou groaned.
“At least we learned something from this.” Kunikida shook his head. “The outside world is unpredictable. But we have a guidebook with us.”
“I wonder what else it’ll tell us.” Naomi rapped a finger to her chin.
“Oh, over there!” Dazai gasped suddenly, pointing to the base of a tree.
He rushed over. The others followed behind him curiously. At the base of the tree were some bulb-like plants, each a bit larger than Atsushi’s fist.
“Um.” Atsushi looked at them. “That’s great. But...what exactly are they?”
“It’s our new water source.” Dazai grinned. “In Ugo’s adventures, he uses these anemones that store water to drink from.”
“But those aren’t real anemones, are they?” Rokuzo peered from behind his older siblings’ shoulders.
“Let’s test it out.”
Dazai pulled a scalpel, as well as one of the empty water jars from their meal earlier, from his bag. He held the open jar up the plant, making a slice with the scalpel just above it. To the others’ surprise, water gushed out of it only a second after, pouring into the jar.
“These are what Mr. Takutou was talking about when he mentioned anemones.” Dazai screwed the cap back on to the jar. “And, it also says we can drink this water. With this, we won’t need to head to the river.”
“If the book talks about things like that, then that’s something else that’ll be easier.” Yosano smiled. “Since we don’t know this environment, getting food and water is probably going to be our biggest issue. Running into dangers like the roots may seem scarier, but we won’t be able to survive without knowing what’s edible and what’s okay to drink.”
Naomi looked at the anemones with wide eyes.
“Mr. Takutou and his book, they’re amazing!”
“All that’s to say, we have a chance.” Kunikida addressed the group. “This place is scary. And it’s dangerous. But we’re all here together, and we have Mr. Takutou to guide us too. Our first step is going to be getting to him. We’ll be able to do it.”
The others cheered excitedly. It was nice to have something to hope for. Something that seemed like they could grasp it. When they were traveling again, each of their steps felt more assured, steadier. Time passed like nothing.
“Hey, Atsushi.” Junichirou walked over to the older boy. “Are we back in the right direction yet?”
“The underground tunnels did mess us up.” Atsushi nodded, pulling the checkered pen out of his pocket, opening it up. “But we’re going the right way again.”
Like before, the screen projected up in front of them. The numbers were different now, though.
B
00-15
“I get it now. That pen shows us where we are now.” Dazai snapped his fingers. “B06-23 and B00-15 are coordinates. The left number says how far north or south we are, while the right one tells us how far east or west we are. It’s like a coordinate plane. Which means the letter represents the quadrant. When we were leaving the House, we came from the northeast, and we’re heading south now...so B represents the second quadrant. Right?”
Atsushi blinked at him.
“R-right.” He put a hand to the back of his head sheepishly. It’d taken him a whole day to figure out how the pen worked, and even then he didn’t fully understand what it meant. “Anyways, back when we were at the House, it just said 00-00. No letters.”
“So the House represents the origin point.” Dazai hummed. “But how did you figure out that we should go to B06-23? Even if you knew how it worked, how did you know to go to that coordinate specifically?”
Atsushi was silent for a moment, looking away from Dazai. As the silence went on, a grin stretched across the brunette’s face.
“You didn’t figure it out, did you?”
“N-No, but still!” Atsushi shoved the pen to him. “I figured out a good amount on my own. Ranpo said that I’d understand if I looked at the pen, and that if I didn’t I should show you.”
Dazai laughed a little, before focusing on the pen. The first thing his eye was drawn to was the calico cat, specifically the morse code around it.
TOUCH ME
He raised a finger to the circle, tapping at the screen lightly. It changed immediately, display a whole knew screen. The calico cat emblem was still at the top, but the ring around it was completely solid. In the center of the screen was an empty rectangle, like a search bar. Above it read 13-18-02. Below it where the numbers zero through nine listed, presumably like a keyboard. In the bottom right corner, an “A” was placed, with an “x” next to it.
“This is as far as I got.” Atsushi looked at the screen intently, almost nervous.
Dazai gave a small gasp, eyes lighting up a bit.
“Atsushi, you have the other book, right? The other one we weren’t able to figure out?”
“Mhm!” The boy began digging into his bag immediately. “Do you know what we’re supposed to do?”
“Ugo’s Adventures is a survival guide. That mythology book, however, is a guide for this code.”
“Code?” Atsushi tilted his head.
“It’s got that same ring as the bookplate.” Dazai flipped the book open to point to it. “We need to enter something else to move on. 13-18-02 is our hint. So, if we go to page thirteen of this book, go to line eighteen, and look for the second word, we should find what we need.”
Dazai flipped through the book, tracing over the words with his finger as he spoke.
“And our answer is: ‘human’.”
The older boy tapped on the “A”, prompting a copy of the alphabet to take the place of the numbers. Typing out the word “human”, a new screen appeared again, words that looked to be handwritten flooding over the screen.
“If you’re seeking assistance, come and find me.” Atsushi read aloud. “I’ll be at B06-32. From...Sano Takutou! It’s really a message from him!”
“This is probably what Ranpo saw.” Dazai nodded, clicking off the screen to return back to a similar screen with a search bar. “Now there’s a new code too-“
The older suddenly snapped the pen shut, closing the book too. Both of them looked around, alert.
“Dazai-“
“I know.” He shoved the pen and book back into Atsushi’s bag, closing it tightly. “There’s something coming.”
The others were alert too, Kunikida, Yosano, and the Tanizaki siblings all paused, frozen where they stood. The other children noticed quickly enough, as a rumbling overtook the ground.
“Wait, is it the roots again?” Rokuzo whipped his head around.
But then came the splintering crack of a tree trunk, snapping over. They barely had time to scream. Because it wasn’t the roots. It was something else entirely. Coming after them. Crawling, bounding, raging towards them.
Something that could only be described as a beast burst through the tree line. It was huge, hulking with impossibly large limbs, and a head more than three times the size of Atsushi. It’s flesh was pale and warped, veins lining just under its skin. Uneven hairs poked out of its skin at random. What seemed like dozens of beady eyes covered its face. Each of its six legs were equipped with long, thin claws. A long tail lashed behind it. Worst of all was its mouth, lined with rows of incisors and canines. They were uneven, some missing, with saliva dripping from them. Its gaping mouth disappeared into a shadowy darkness in its throat.
”Run!”
Kunikida only voiced the sentiment they all felt. They were off in half a second. Fear, fear far worse than when they’d been in the caves fell over them. That thing behind them, they’d never seen anything like it. And it was coming after them. Some of them dared to sneak a peek. Others knew they wouldn’t be able to look at it again.
It roared, a horrible guttural sound bellowing against the trees as it stomped after them.
“Was this in the guide book!?” Katai screamed over the chaos.
“No! We already know about it!” Dazai picked up his pace as the beasts’ jaws closed around a log of wood. “It’s a demon!”
“That’s what they look like!” Naomi glances back at it.
“I think so too.” Kunikida agreed. “Between its claws, skin, and face, it shares so many similarities! But it’s not the same as the one from the farm!”
“They were more like humans! They talked, and stood on two legs! Plus, they wore clothes, and masks too!” Atsushi agreed, nearly tripping on the uneven ground below as sweat dropped down his brow.
Kunikida pulled him forward, the younger not needing much else of a push to keep him going. Atsushi muttered out a thanks before he began thinking again. How could both this thing and the ones at the gate both be demons? There had to be different types then. Even the demons at the gate looked distinctly different from each other. But how did the demons work then?
“Did the farm send it after us?” Sakura called, panicked. “Since it’s a demon?”
“Its trying to eat us!” Rokuzo shook his head. “They wouldn’t do something like this if they wanted to sell us as food!”
“So its not with the farm.” Yosano noted.
There wouldn’t be reasoning with it. There wouldn’t be a chance to escape later. Once they were caught, it would be over. Those claws would tear into them. Those teeth would rip them apart limb from limb.
Kunikida could feel the weight of his notebook in his bag. He exchanged a look with Yosano, before raising his arm. The others looked to him with a note of recognition. He pointed it out to his side. Approaching the tree, the group split in two, Yosano leading a smaller group in one direction while Kunikida continued with the rest of the children. The demon slowed for a moment, head flicking between the two groups in confusion. Kunikida clenched his teeth. Perfect. It didn’t hesitate forever though, as it continued chasing down Kunikida’s group.
“It’s after us!” Rokuzo called.
“That’s what we needed!” Kunikida responded with a nod. “Just keep running!”
The group passed between two trees, the demon ramming its head into them as it tried to fit through the gap. Dazai took in all of it, what the others were doing, how they were doing it, everything. He hadn’t seen them train in two months. They’d improved greatly. Not only that, with the maneuver they’d done earlier, Yosano led a smaller group of the slower, younger kids, leaving the demon to follow the larger group, Kunikida’s.
“Just keep going through these trees! The more there are, the narrower the pathway’s gonna be!” Junichirou called to the others, from closer to the front of the group.
Despite everything, despite the panic they must’ve been feeling, they were keeping level heads. They were thinking about their advantages and disadvantages. About strategies and tactics.
Dazai wasn’t the only one experiencing this for the first time in a while. For all those months, Atsushi had been confined to crutches. The most he got to see was the children returning from their tag game later and later as they improved. This was the first time he got to see everything in action.
The demon they were facing now wasn’t intelligent. To Kunikida that was clear. It was bigger, stronger than anything they’d faced. But with that first fact alone, the demon was almost nothing compared to what they’d faced before. Brother Ace. Ranpo. They were far worse opponents when it came to this game of tag.
The others were determined. Calmer. They’d been prepared for demons. This wasn’t anything outside of their expectations. They’d escape it.
“We should find a way to deal with it!” Atsushi called to Dazai.
“We need a plan. It still hasn’t given up, and we can’t run forever. We also need to be prepared for pursuers from the farm.”
Dazai nodded, flipping through his options in his head. Suddenly, his eyes caught on rays of sunlight filtering down onto the forest floor.
“I have an idea.” Dazai gestured to the light.
Atsushi’s eyes lit up in recognition.
“Oh! The light’s back...which means that the demon would be able to fall through the roots, right? We could trap it like that. So, how should we do this?”
Dazai shook his head.
“This isn’t a ‘we’ thing. I’ll do it.”
Atsushi stopped, grabbing Dazai’s forearm tightly. A look of horror creeped onto his face.
The canisters of oil.
The red bandages.
What he’d said.
They were all far too close in the boy’s memory. Not again. He couldn’t do it again. Dazai had said that he-
“Atsushi. It’s not like that. I’m not going to sacrifice myself.” The brunette’s voice was steady. “Kunikida would be the best one to lead the kids right now, and I’ve always been great at tag, remember? We don’t want everyone in that area with the roots again, it could be dangerous. I’ll be able to do it, then I’ll come back to the rest of you. Okay?”
Atsushi took a deep breath, then nodded. If he’d been watching, he could’ve seen a small wince of guilt on Dazai’s face.
“Okay.”
And like that, they split off, Atsushi going with the rest of the group while Dazai went to face the demon. He stopped, waving his arms wide over his head.
“Hey, over here! Come on, I want to show you something!”
He hadn’t protected them before. But he could start now. He’d come back, come back to see all of them safe and sound.
The demon turned to face him, before it let out a deep cry, bounding after him. Dazai started running. The area with the light was just up ahead. He only had to lead it that far. Even if the demon’s breath was hot on his back, it’d be over one he could trap it. It wouldn’t know to avoid the tips of the roots. It’d be game over. He was so close, he just needed-
The only warning he got was the sound of ripping flesh and metal.
Dazai turned around, only to see the demon’s head flying off. Its body was frozen in place for a small moment, hand still stretched out to him. It fell over, crashing heavily against the forest floor.
What was that?
What had just happened?
It didn’t take long for him to find the source. His heart dropped, dread pooling in his stomach. He dashed behind a nearby tree
“Just in time.”
Heavy footsteps made their way over to the severed head. A tall, cloaked figure stood there, a demon, something Dazai hadn’t seen since his old memories. Its proportions were wrong, too wrong to be paired with its humanoid shape, with a bulging rib cage, lanky frame, and long, clawed arms, reaching to the floor. It wore a horned mask, with an “x” carved into its top eye. A hulking four-legged demon stood next to it. A long, serrated saber was imbedded into the beast-like demon’s neck, or of what little remained after it was sliced off. The cloaked demon held a radio up to its face.
“We’ve located the merchandise. We’ll recover them as soon as possible.”
It approached the decapitated head, shoving a foot into its neck as it grabbed the handle of the saber.
“Disgusting. You are far from worthy of this merchandise.”
The cloaked demon tore the saber out, bringing it back down in the center of the other demon’s face, right through one of its eyes. Its jaw went limp.
Pursuers. Of course they were here now, of all times. Could it have been the beast-like demon that’d drawn them here? He glanced back at the remaining body, which was sinking through the roots. He’d been so close. So damn close.
If only they weren’t here. If only he’d gotten a bit further. Then he could go back to them, to his family, and they’d be safe. Were they safe now? They should be fairly far away from here, but was it enough? He needed to see them. He needed to run.
Dazai bit down on his tongue. He needed to think. There were only two demons in the clearing, but there had to be more. Where were they? Not to mention the strength of just one of the demons, who’d taken down the far larger beast in one blow. One blow. That was it, that’s all it would take-
He bit down harder. Think. He needed to think. Atsushi, Kunikida, Yosano, everyone else, we’re they okay?
“This one hasn’t eaten any of them. There’s no scent of human from its mouth.”
Part of Dazai’s clarity snapped back, he’d barely even noticed the four-legged demon inspecting the other’s head. He shrugged his bag off of his shoulders. If what he thought was true-
“You, behind the tree. Come out.”
Dazai froze, scissors clutched in his hand. It was the cloaked demon.
“We got rid of that monster. It’s okay now. You’re alright, right? That’s good, I’m relieved. Why don’t you come out?”
Dazai took a breath, flicking the scissors open.
“Sir, I can drag him out.”
The four-legged demon spoke again.
“No need.” Dazai could hear the other one step forward. “Where are the rest of your siblings? Is it just you back there?”
There was no response.
“The House is much safer. It’s all so dangerous out here. You realize now that you’d never be able to live outside, right? So let’s go back now, 41425.”
Dazai only grinned, quiet breaths of laughs escaping from his throat.
They were okay. Atsushi, Kunikida, Yosano, all of them were okay. The pursuers hadn’t found them yet. If they had, they wouldn’t be trying to figure out what had happened to them. They were trying to see his reaction, trying to use him as a source of information. He leaned his back against the tree. There was a way.
He could limit their attention to him alone.
He couldn’t return to the group, not now. If he led the pursuers back to them, they’d kill them. He had to lead them away, in the opposite direction. This was his only option. He’d protect them.
But he wouldn’t die either.
He couldn’t leave Atsushi thinking that he’d betrayed him, that he’d lied to him. Despite the plan the younger had to save him from the fire, he really was worried. Even now, the boy was still scared. Because of him. He wouldn’t let any of them feel like that again, not now.
He looked back at the message he’d carved into the tree, shoving the scissors back into his bag.
GO 06-23
PURSUER
All he had to do was meet them there.
Dazai stepped out from behind the tree, facing the two demons.
“Sorry to disappoint you, but you’re a bit late. They’re all dead. I’m the only one left.” The boy made a point of loosening his scarf and tugging down his bandages to make sure the number printed on his neck was on full display.
“It is 41425, one of the highest grades.” The cloaked demon’s eyes were trained intently on him.
They couldn’t afford to let him go. Not with what they’d already lost.
“But I’m not going back there.” Dazai’s gaze hardened. “I think I prefer this to being eaten.”
“Your preference doesn’t matter.” The demon cast a hand out to him. “Seize him.”
The four-legged demon bounded after him immediately. The other stayed behind for a breath moment, bringing his fingers up to his mask, letting out a loud, high-pitched whistle that echoed through the trees.
——————————
The group froze as the sound washed over them.
“What was that?” Katai whipped his head around.
“Is it another demon?” Haruno almost whispered, rubbing the sweat off her face with her scarf.
They all stood together, tense and silent for a moment. But nothing came. No rumbling ground, no shattering wood, nothing at all
“Maybe it was...something else?” Junichirou suggested weakly.
The others seemed apprehensive, some shrugging. It could be anything. They wouldn’t know.
“Hey.” Naomi looked to Atsushi, a bit uneasy. “I don’t mean to be paranoid or anything...but hasn’t it been a while since Dazai left?”
Atsushi didn’t answer, biting the inside of his cheek. She was right. But he had to be okay. Dazai was smart. And he wouldn’t reassure Atsushi just to...just to...
He couldn’t finish the thought. But what else could’ve held him up?
“Did something happen, do you think?” Rokuzo frowned, looking at his shoes.
“But what?” Kohi’s eyebrows furrowed.
The children stood in silence for a moment, all of them following their own chains of thought.
“What if...what if he ran into the things coming after us?” Sakura was the one to break the silence, looking up at Atsushi with a face full of worry. “What if the pursuers found him?”
It felt like the air had been sucked out of Atsushi’s lungs.
——————————
Dazai felt like the air was getting harder and harder to breath in. There had been other demons, four-legged, like the other one, called by the cloaked demon’s whistle. There were at least four, but it wasn’t as if he had time to count. They moved quicker than the beast-like demon, more organized, more agile. His scarf was now clutched in his hand, the boy having a death grip on it after it’s slid off. He needed to escape. He needed to live.
——————————
“Hey, Atsushi?” Katsumi frowned, looking up at the older boy. “Are you okay? You look...pale.”
Atsushi felt like his mind was attached back to his body, doing his best to put a comforting smile on his face.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” He turned to the rest of the group. “I’m going to go see what’s going on. You all keep heading downwind.”
“Alright.” Kunikida nodded. “Be careful.”
Atsushi gave a short hum to let the other know he’d heard him, before running off in the other direction. He knew Dazai could handle a demon like the one that’d been chasing them. But the pursuers from the farm could be a different story. He’d be okay though, he had-
Junichirou turned his head at the small thud, investigating its source. He gasped, eyes widening.
“Atsushi!”
The others turned too, drawn by the worry in Junichirou’s voice. There Atsushi was, slumped over on the ground, only a few feet from the group. Yosano rushed over, kneeling next to him.
“Atsushi? Can you hear me?” She inspected him, carefully turning his head as she turned him to lay on his back.
It came away wet with blood.
Atsushi was breathing hard, sweat dripping down his face as he wheezed. He looked awful.
“Is he alright?” Kunikida kneeled next to her, an undertone of panic to his voice.
“Did he get hurt somehow?” Yuu gasped, spying the blood on Yosano’s hand.
“It’s his ear.” She took a sharp breath. “The wound opened. He has a high fever too.”
Yosano gritted her teeth. How long had Atsushi been in this condition? How long had he been running like this?
“W-What do we do now?” Shinji asked shakily. “A-Atsushi’s hurt, and we still don’t know where Dazai-“
The words died on the boy’s tongue as the sound reached their ears. Something was coming. Something was behind them, and it was getting closer. Yosano’s head snapped in the direction of the noise, only to be greeted by one of the last things she was expecting.
“Follow me.”
There was a taller boy, dressed in a long alabaster cloak. One of his hands was outstretched, pointing off in another direction. A hood covered most of his face, leaving only his pale skin and a few strands of long, dark hair visible.
“Follow me, this way.”