Chapter 5: Reason. Part 2

Los Canes Town

Minutes before.

“Please pour me more. I'm not a squirrel.”

“Is it just me, or is the day finally getting colder?”

“Wash your hands before eating...”

“Don't start!”

“Ha ha ha...”

“(How much must they have gone through to get to this...?)” Gitta thought quietly, watching them eat.

“(...Why are you acting like nothing's happening?)” Haeri thought stubbornly.

“Hey, you two. It's the colossal pot of meat. Doon’t u lifke itt?” The boy with the messy hair shifted his gaze to the two of them as he continued eating.

It was 4:45 in the afternoon.

The young Americans watched the jovial and lively scene around the table inside the humble inn, confused. They hadn't even touched the dishes in front of them yet.

The girl hesitated out of the moment's anxiety, while her companion simply distrusted the ingredients used.

Outside, dusk was approaching, and a silence mixed with uncertainty isolated the group as if they were in another world.

"Doger, keep your mouth shut while eating. Truthfully, what you're doing is rude," Miruno chided him.

"Hmm?!"

"...And if our guests wish to refuse the portions we generously offer them, why mediate?"

"But as a cook, I'm offended that you don't even want to try it... At least try it!" He turned to Haeri, who flinched slightly.

"A-Actually, it's very good," Sein declared, trying to appease him.

"Your opinions are worthless if you've already sampled my cooking for so long. As judges, you practically count as bought referees now.”

"Cut it out, Doger. It's completely normal to distrust people you've just met. Though I hope that changes soon, heh." The robust Garwin intervened, placing his plate on the table.

Haeri looked away for a moment.

Doger was startled, unlike the others, who quickly regained their composure.

"Calm down. I think it'll take time to get used to each other..." Garwin raised his hands, changing his own opinion.

"(On that much we can agree...)

"...Although having already done it with Chase and Vines shows that anything is possible. In any case, you should eat something. We don't know when the next time we'll have a moment of peace like this will be.”

"I'm not hungry..."

"And you...? Uh... Gis... Gi... Gitta, right?" Doger asked. The beret-wearing boy shook his head slowly.

"...We ate on the plane, but thanks."

"It's never good to skip meals. 'At least three times a day, even if you're not hungry,' is what the Coach said. By the way, I wonder how he's doing..."

"Listen, it's not a matter of perspective, but of reality. You should take this more seriously than you're letting on," Miruno chimed in.

The two young foreigners looked at each other, without comment.

Who was taking what seriously, exactly?

Haeri casually lifted the old-fashioned earphones hanging around her neck and turned on the music on her cell phone before leaning back on the table.

"Mm! Not bad, Doger," Garwin expressed his pleasure, eating.

"Hey, what can I say? I didn't find any ingredients like potatoes or carrots, but with sweet potatoes and corn, it's still a pot of meat, right?" Doger replied, scratching his head.

"But what about drinks?"

"Uh... You know, in this country the water is as pure as river water. Go pour yourself some tap water, because there's no way to make soda. But I was more worried about the meat not being tender enough. Izzy said we'd be leaving soon, so... Uh, well, is she still in there?"

"I think so."

"To think she pressured me for nothing..." Doger complained as he served two more plates. Xiomara offered to help him, though her face showed clear uncertainty.

"(Why are they taking so long?)...”

“U-Uh, well, better... I'll go see them myself,” Doger said, strangely suspicious. “Besides, maybe Mrs. Quinto would also like something to eat, don't you think?”

Seeing him walk away with both plates in each hand like a restaurant waiter, the others resumed their dinners normally, although the foreigners still refused to touch theirs.

“Guys... Now that I notice...” The young blonde woman with a white wool cap broke the silence “We've only heard the barking of dogs since we arrived in the neighborhood... It worries me, how about you?”

“You're right, Xiomara... I live in the next district, but I've always heard that Los Canes tends to be more boisterous... It's not like it bothered me before. But... all that silence is eerie.” Sein commented.

Garwin shared their concern. He picked up his plate and sped up the meal.

He passed by as he spoke.

"Hm... Something's up, that's for sure, but we don't know what. We've been visiting everyone's house collecting supplies, and only this one someone was found... When I'm done eating, I'll talk to Nisha's mother..."

"GAH! Ssss... Ah."

The conversation was interrupted by a slight commotion behind everyone.

The cook boy had been trying to listen through the door where he was supposed to deliver dinner, and now he was paying the consequences for his snooping.

He was on the floor, dazed by the slam against the door that had unexpectedly opened in front of him. He massaged his reddened forehead and stirred the food soaked from his chest to his feet.

"S-Sorry, Doger! I didn't see you!"

The brown-haired boy who was letting go of the door handle knelt down to help amidst his own anxiety.

The young woman behind him approached them both, leaving the room with a heavy bag in her hand.

"... What were you doing standing there anyway, Doger?"

"Guh... I was just bringing you your food, Iz. That's all."

Disinterested, she turned her back on them and headed into the small living room where the rest of the group lay.

"That's not important now. It's time to leave this place."

"D-Did something happen, Izzy?" Sein asked, immediately standing up, which shook the table.

"We're clear about where to start our journey."

"Huh? Where...?" Doger questioned, getting back to his feet. Nisha retorted, though his face was anything but patient about it.

"My mother isn't in her room."

"She's not in either? It can't be... Where the hell is everyone?"

"But she left this on her bed..."

From the pocket of his baggy pants, he pulled out a crumpled piece of paper with barely any writing visible. His friend Doger came over to read it.

"Let me see... In Homen? She wants us to go to Homen? That town is almost as crowded as Matria, so why are we avoiding the capital?"

"..."

Sighing heavily and moving her black hair over her ear, Izzy looked out the window that allowed her to see the sky in the distance.

Scattered clouds like mist obscured the bright full moon in the east, and were receding with the sun in the west.

"...It's getting late, and the journey won't be pleasant. The last thing we need right now is to get into unnecessary trouble because of ridiculous oversights," Izzy thought, before looking back at the group. "We'll confirm our 'stupid assumptions' once and for all. And besides, I know someone in that city who will definitely help us. Two birds with one stone."

“(What time is it? I need to take a shower... Hm... How tiring…).” Haeri thought, paying little attention to the situation, turning off the music player on her cell phone.

Unlike Gitta, who stood up.

“What do you mean, the road is dangerous?”

“Haven't I been clear enough? It means it's risky to travel, and even worse in the dark... If you'll follow us, of course.”

The American boy was a little annoyed by the attitude conveyed by those words, but didn't reply further. Therefore, Izzy continued, addressing the rest of the group.

“Sein, drive this time.” She clarified as she hoisted her bag onto her shoulders and headed for the exit.

“O-Okay.”

“All the dishes on the table, and let's go.” Garwin added, stretching the collar of his T-shirt. “Then I'll have to find something to drink on the minibus…"

Somewhat uneasy, the entire group stood up after hearing this. Those who were wearing one put on their coats and carried the items they had collected for the trip.

"Damn, I hate wasting food. People shouldn't do that," Doger replied through gritted teeth, hastily gathering the half-eaten food on the table and even the food scattered on the wooden floor into a clear container.

"(Uhm... I think the 5-second rule doesn't apply to that...)" His friend offered to help him just to speed things up.

"Doger, Nisha! Hurry up or we'll leave without you!"

The horn and the running engine of the silver minibus parked in front of the humble abode could be heard. It was the only thing that could be heard for miles around.

"We're on our way!" A new route had been drawn on their map without any prior planning.

The city of Homen, largely part of the forested province of Acracia, had always been known for its isolation and danger, animals in captivity, with notable differences depending on the sector traveled.

Many who ventured too far into the wrong area were easily never seen again.

They hoped not to suffer the same fate.

-[Ø]-

Only the wind brushing against the windows and the bushes could be perceived. Among these same bushes walked the light-eyed lady, followed by the tall, hesitant young man who wanted to accompany her through the increasingly visible darkness.

It was an entrance of a completely black sky. They couldn't see any further through it, but it also happened to be the beginning of a slope, so studying the path ahead was their real objective.

"Can you see anything?"

Izzy asked, straining her eyes and standing on tiptoe.

"(Should I put her on my shoulders?)" Sein thought for a moment. "...Izzy, I can only see more trees until the next peak. Wouldn't it be better to wait until tomorrow to continue?"

"...Would that be best?"

"...?"

"We're beyond Second Avenue in Los Canes... Without streetlights or sunlight, we can't go back, nor can we go forward. Perhaps it would be the best choice, considering we're stuck."

Searching in one of the pockets of her long cargo pants, Izzy pulled out a piece of paper. The same one she'd found in the small room of the humble house in Los Canes.

"Is that...?"

"The letter Nisha's mother left on her bed, or so it seems," she clarified. "Nisha confirmed it was indeed from her based on the handwriting. I don't doubt it, but as you can see, it's a very orthodox style," she concluded as she handed the letter to the boy.

"Yes, you're right... but then, wasn't the door to her house being open an accident?"

"There are several possibilities... I'll reveal you something I decided to hide. Actually, the message was written on a whole piece of paper. I was the one who took a piece because... the rest of the letter was stained."

Rummaging through her pockets again, she pulled out a larger piece of paper than the previous one—its complement—and unrolled it to show it.

"I-Izzy?"

"That's right... It's blood."

Most of it had several dark, slightly reddish stains, similar to the shape of fingerprints.

"...If her dominant hand was bleeding before, the writing would have been directly affected by the pain and the spilling blood, but it's clean and without deviations in the handwriting. With the stain from her right thumb on the right side of the letter, it means the woman held the letter with her right hand and wrote with her left. There wouldn't be any stains in the letters this way, but it's certain the letter would have been completed before a possible altercation," Izzy concluded, crossing her arms. "If I'm correct, this message was written deliberately, and something happened afterward to prevent her from being present. I couldn't clarify what became of her."

The boy didn't understand everything she was saying, but he did understand the central idea she was trying to convey.

"W-What if she was kidnapped or something?"

"...In any case, Sein, it means she was planning to go to Homen beforehand with Nisha. If someone attacked her, the questions are 'who' and 'why'... Also, what exactly is in the Homen City?" …

“Hm…”

“…Sein, don't mention this to the others. Much less Nisha, understood? I hid this piece of the letter from him for a reason.”

She clarified before crumpling the stained piece of paper into a ball and throwing it into the darkness among the bushes.

“Yes… You can trust me with anything, Izzy…” the tall boy replied as he handed the letter back to her.

“I wouldn't have told you this if it were otherwise… Well, now you have an idea about the cause of our predicament… I'll ask you the same question as a little while ago. Should we wait until tomorrow?”

“I-I… Well… Uhm…”

She continued to wait for his answer. Sein massaged the back of his neck and looked to the side.

“If it's for our sake… I think waiting is best. If it's for hers…”

“Let me put it another way. What would you decide in my place?”

She didn't offer him time to think.

He swallowed a bit and replied, even though he knew that.

"I think I'd wait. I think so..."

"I see... Let's go back to the minibus. We'll settle in for the night."

Izzy put the letter away, turned around, and headed back to the car. The boy followed her silently.

"...”

"...And by the way, you forgot to turn off the engine."

"Oh, I must have gotten distracted. I'll turn it off."

Once they approached the grayish vehicle, they could hear a commotion coming from inside. An argument out of place for an isolated place in the middle of nowhere like the one they were in.

“Explain yourself, Nisha!”

“The signal was lost right after. I-I don't know what he meant...”

“It could have been animals, right? I'm just saying, given the mountainous route they took.”

“That’s waaaay worse than something else.”

They both got in, confused. Sein closed the front door and sat in the driver's seat to turn off the engine. Izzy held onto his shoulder and looked back, wondering what was going on.

"Sein, you have to listen to this..." Garwin placed his hand on his chin as he exchanged glances with the young woman who had just returned. "And Izzy, it would be good if you could enlighten us a little on the subject."

"Hmm?"

"Earlene's call."

"...That was it," she replied indifferently, sitting down.

Doger stood up impatiently from his own seat.

"What do you mean 'that was it'? What are we waiting for here then? Hell, we're going to Matria! Is it so hard to decide?!"

"If you're looking for a decision, that is to wait for tonight and continue our journey to Homen, just as the rays...

"How do you think I'll sleep knowing something could have happened?”

"...of the Sun appear. Not a minute later."

She finished her sentence, ignoring him.

"Doger, calm down. It's better if we don't argue among ourselves..." Xiomara said.

"YOU, SHUT UP!"

"W-What...? W-What's wrong with you?!"

"Hey, Doger, you were feeling fine just a few moments ago..." They were close to causing a scene until Garwin intervened.

"But don't you see that?"

"Have you forgotten why we met before leaving? Chase and the others made their decision, and we made ours. Each one with their own problems to deal with... I understand what you mean, but even leaving aside this trip, it would take us several hours to reach the capital, and we wouldn't know where to start looking.”

The robust, dark-skinned young man paused for a moment and looked at him closely before continuing.

"Tsk..."

Speaking so confidently... Garwin was too convincing.

"Come on, don't stress yourself..." He tried to calm him down, proceeding to speak even more calmly. "The best thing we can do for them is to be on the lookout for a signal again. Don't forget they have Chase. You know him well; he's not as reckless as he seems."

"Man... Still, I don't like this at all..."

Time later.

The minutes passed until an hour.

And these felt like an eternity to him, the young man who had ignored the recent argument and was now suffering from a kind of insomnia, unlike the others.

Even Doger, who had initially refused, ended up being the first to fall asleep.

But this foreign boy, Gitta Vintana, thought differently.

An uncertainty weighed on him and kept him from the fullness of sleep. In fact, his concentration was fixed on the girl clinging to his shoulder.

"My shoulder will go numb if this continues..."

He thought, slightly curling his lips.

He watched Haeri sleeping peacefully against him, her breathing barely noticeable.

Gitta stretched out her right hand, trying not to wake her, and gently removed the cell phone from her hand. With a couple of sliding movements of his thumb, he turned it off and placed it on his thighs. Then he subtly removed both earphones from her ears and, using a blanket at his side, covered himself and her. This last bit nearly woke her up, but fortunately she was only shifting.

He then returned to the restlessness that occupied his nighttime time; to the heaviness in his chest that held that note.

He took it and looked at it for a while, turning it over from every angle.

“(...Mr. Eldan, Brawell, Ketsy, Alon... If something happened with that Earlene girl, they must have been affected too... Will we ever be reunited? Perhaps... Perhaps that's why Mr. Eldan mentioned the East. The place we'll be going tomorrow will be in that direction; maybe they'll be waiting for us there. I just hope it's not on the coast...)”

He pondered as he put the note back and stared out the window.

“(Was I right to force us to separate? Really... I don't know. I don't know what he meant by this message or why he entrusted it to me... And thinking back, he didn't specify a name I could use to ask these people... Where exactly are we going...?)”

Normally, there would be some visibility in the air, either thanks to the moonlight or the reflection of electric light on the low clouds. However, neither was present that night, as he saw through the minibus window. The outside was in total "black and white."

"(Such silence...)”

The darkness was such that the shadows of branches, bushes, and trees would give false impressions of "something" hidden within them.

Even the blowing of the wind had ceased.

Nor the insects or birds of a few hours ago...

Looking through the forest, he thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye. When he looked back at the same spot, there was nothing.

"...”

Or so he thought at first.

Then he moved his head a little closer and squinted.

It was difficult to distinguish, but it seemed there was something there, watching.

Something inert, static, waiting, moving and yet not.

And that something... approached him in the blink of an eye.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAH GHAAAAAAAAAAH!”

“Guh!”

A high-pitched, thunderous screech left him breathless.

Just as he recoiled in fright, that 'something' was no longer there. Instead, violent impacts began to be felt against the minibus in unknown directions, so strong that they sometimes separated it from the ground.

The young man known for his calm nature was now showing signs of panic.

And he wasn't the only one.

“W-WHAT IS...!?”

“GYAAAAH!!”

The others were similarly disturbed. There wasn't a single one who wasn't fully awake at that moment.

“AAAAH!! CRAP!”

“FOR GOD'S SAKE!!”

“S-SEIN! GO!”

Miruno shouted desperately, trying his best to steady himself by holding onto the seats.

The car's movement didn't allow them to stay still, which was a problem for the tall boy as he tried in vain to insert the minibus key.

"I-I-I CAN'T!"

When he finally managed to do so and start it, the minibus was hit once more; noticeably harder than the previous times.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!”

The car rolled over twice on the side of the road. Objects flew inside, and several saw their lights go out.

Once it stopped on its wheels, calm returned.

The young people slowly got back to their feet.

"W-What the fuck...!? What the heck was that!!???"

Haeri questioned, shocked.

She held her head, still dizzy from the recent commotion.

She looked around, seeing that the others were barely recovering. She realized then that there was 'something' behind the minibus.

It wasn't just one.

"G-Gah... ah..."

She watched them, perplexed.

"G-G-GET US OUTTA HERE!!

"He had heard those words in English language, but it was almost by instinct that Sein, horrified, understood what she said. He pressed the accelerator with all his might.

The black silhouettes were chasing them. Unrecognizable except for giving the impression of moving on two feet.

They were waving their arms and legs in an anomalous manner and at an unprecedented speed. In human terms, that would be 'defying the laws of physics'.

“FASTER! THEY'RE CATCHING US UP!”

“NOOO!”

They were no longer on the asphalt road or at the entrance to the forest; they had made their way through the trees and mud, unsure whether they were going backward or forward. Panic was inevitable, and confusion followed close behind.

"Sein, watch out!" Izzy said, but it was too late.

They found themselves facing a prominent tree in front of them.

The sound of the windows shattering was the last thing they heard.