Long Way Home

Suddenly, the mist that was spreading out mysteriously from the red-eyed monster touched the slimy body of the green-eyed predator that was still as a rock, eating my only friend's arm.

As soon as it touched, a sizzling sound and smoke came from that spot on the monster's body. The slime… was burning, and the stench from smoke that wafted from that 'wound' was so awful that it made us feel like not breathing at all was a better choice than inhaling even a fraction of that.

I would've fainted after a few sniffs if I hadn't stopped myself from breathing forcefully but I knew that I couldn't continue that for long.

I either had to leave Sister Hin behind or face the unknown with an unlikely chance ever to escape.

As I was planning to make a difficult decision, the smoke sizzling out of the green-eyes gluttonous monster increased. Soon, it acted as if it finally couldn't bear it anymore. And so, in another chaotic twist of fate, it opened its mouth, releasing the mangled mess of Sister Hin's arm that remained, and turned around to 'glare' at the red-eyed 'misty' monster that seemed to be hungry for our flesh as well.

In the dimly lit surroundings, with the acidic mist reaching out to us and a nasty mind-numbing smoke sizzling around us, I wasn't able to get a clear view of the mangled and twisted remains of Sister Hin's arm, but it was still able to give me the sensation of experiencing a nightmare in real life.

Her elbow was still attached to her shoulder but everything below her forearm was… gone. It was dissolved into the maw of that monster and probably digested by that time as well.

Even the remaining forearm that was still attached to her elbow was completely dark and dripping with blood.

I quickly turned my head away from the sight and grabbed her shoulders to drag her away from those weird slimy abominations.

I could sense the shudders that she was feeling inside her from pain, blood loss, and the trauma of the overall harrowing experience since she was stuck close to me.

The vigorous, active, and adventurous Sister Hin who was giving me ideas and kicking open jammed antique doors with a smile was gone now.

Replacing her was a fearful and traumatized little girl with no strength left in her body and no words in her mouth other than painful whines and muffled sobs.

Such was the pitiful state of the injured girl that I was dragging across the cobblestone passage with all my strength.

When the pathway ended, I turned to tow her towards the entrance. Occasionally, she would let out a giggle, which would stop abruptly. Her mind was clearly in a very fragile state.

But I didn't have time to worry about any of that. Just like how she was focused on the ground in front of her when we had entered, I did the same to put an end to any distracting thoughts inside my mind.

I didn't turn my head back again. Checking or assessing if those slimy ba*tards were still following me wasn't worth giving up the sight of the way in front of me.

I was already regretting my earlier choice of doing so at the crucial time but I didn't have the time for that as well.

I didn't notice when those monsters stopped chasing me, perhaps at the end of the cobblestone pathway, or perhaps, they had never chased after us since the beginning, I didn't know.

The dim and quiet surroundings, the mild stench, the uneven ground, everything lost its appeal to me as numb and senseless, I did the only task I assigned myself… and carried Sister Hin along with me.

Before I knew it, I had already reached the area where we weren't able to let the words out of our mouths in fear.

Sis Hin was still quite… broken. She would try to bite my wrists frequently, giggle, and mock-cry at quick irregular intervals.

The fear that I felt there was still the same, overwhelming, more so when I had already caught a glimpse of the gruesome possibilities that lay slumbering in the darkness.

Weirdly enough, Sister Hin didn't do anything unusual during that time, as if she was sound asleep. Instead of calming me, it only creeped me out even more.

There was also a thick mist present in the surroundings. It was so thick that I wasn't even able to see the face of Sister Hin who was being carried by me. I was afraid to know where it came from.

Again, I don't remember how long I walked when the mild rays of the sun entered the corner of my eyes. It made me enter a state of trance where those bright white rays made me stop in place. I took a few steps forward, keeping Sister Hin close, and allowed those sparks to dispel the tumultuous waves of darkness within me. That gave me a moment of respite.

Suddenly, Sister Hin giggled like a little girl while some drool came out from the corners of her mouth. It would've given anyone else a creepy feeling, witnessing a 13-year-old girl behave like an infant. I, on the other hand, was only grateful that she was still alive after what she had just gone through.

At the same time, her creepy giggle made me realize that I was able to walk out of that cursed place alive, somehow.

Slowly, I limped out of the cave, almost falling to the ground a few times. When I was finally out, I felt like I had entered a whole new world, a world that belonged to me, one that I knew of, one that would try to kill me. It took my eyes some time to get adjusted to the light outside.

I realized that it was soon going to be time for sunset. I put my broken Sister Hin down and fell flat on the ground from exhaustion.

I neither had the strength nor the courage to turn back even once and do a follow-up check on the unnerving pathway. All the crevices, all the entrances that led one inside that ominous research facility, the Crimson Lake, subconsciously began to resemble the gloomy black mouth of the fetid beast that swallowed Sister Hin's arm. How was I supposed to look back? How would I dare look back?

Yet, I felt this morbid urge to reach the mouth of the facility again and let out all my fear and pent-up emotions in the form of a shout. Going against that strange urge, I quickly stood up again. I couldn't afford to spend another second in the creepy, weird, gloomy, and despairing area.

The bright red rays of the setting sun falling upon the desolate cave entrance of Crimson Lake was the last thing I remember witnessing there.

There was still a long distance I had to tread. I still had to carry my weary and exhausted body forward while carrying Sister Hin. Not far away, there was still a home waiting for us.

When we were coming to Crimson Lake, cheerfully skipping and hopping, I didn't dare to think that the way back would appear to be thrice as long but despite how late it was or how long it felt, it was a journey I had to make, simply because...

our home was still far away.