“No…” Franklin gasped in horror.

  Chloe immediately stepped forward with her armour skin already covering her limbs. “What is it? Imminent threats?”

  “No, it’s worse.”

  “What could be worse?”

  Franklin didn’t answer. He stumbled forward and pced his hand on the wall in front of him. “This cannot be. This is impossible.”

  They had been making great time. The path to the exit was cleared of any dangers and threats. Franklin remembered the way, as it was his responsibility in the team. Even without a map or any of the sort, he was able to navigate the confusing terrain swiftly. Everything was going smoothly, or so he thought. The unthinkable and unexpected happened.

  “It’s a dead end… This is impossible.”

  “What’s impossible?” Alex questioned.

  “This!” Franklin gestured at the wall in front of them. “This shouldn’t be here!”

  Alex rolled his eyes. “We’re lost, aren’t we? Just say we’re lost. I know you take pride in your role as the scout and navigator, but this just too—”

  “We are not lost. At least, we’re not supposed to be lost. This is the way out, but… why is this wall here?”

  “Did you take a wrong turn somewhere?” Barry asked.

  “I didn’t,” Franklin responded firmly.

  “Are you sure? You know, it won’t cost you anything to admit that you fucked up. We are all in the same bind here.”

  “Damn it, Alex! Listen to me! This is supposed to be the way out. And no, I’m not misremembering things.”

  “How can you be sure?”

  Franklin pointed furiously at a strange marking on the wall beside him. “Because of this!” He smmed on it to emphasise his point.

  “What’s that?”

  “It’s a marking I made. I left this mark at intervals of the paths we took when we were entering this cave. This mark here means that I have not made the wrong turn. Somehow… this cave had changed its interior.”

  Alex’s face lost its light, and he stumbled in his steps. “...Oh, you have gotta be shitting me.” He leaned against the wall beside him as he struggled to keep his mind intact. “So… we’re trapped here?”

  “...I don’t know. I have to check just how much the paths have changed first.”

  “And how will you do that?”

  Franklin swallowed a lump in his throat. “We will have to backtrack and wander for a bit, just so I can get some sense of the changes.”

  “Oh, you really are shitting me.”

  “It’s the only way, Alex.”

  “No!” Alex roared. “We barely made it out of the depths alive, and now you want us to turn back? Hell fucking no! What if those lizard wolves are on our tail and we simply walk into them when we backtrack?”

  “What do you suggest, then?” Franklin asked.

  “What about that path?”Alex pointed at a path that deviated to the left from their intended path. “It’s going the same direction, isn't it? Why can’t we just take that path?”

  “We don’t know what’s ahead, but we do know what’s behind us. At least—”

  “No, no, no, no! I am not heading back! You guys can backtrack all you want. I’m gonna keep heading forward. You know, where the exit is.”

  “You want to split up?”

  “I want to escape this pce.”

  Franklin sighed and buried his face in his palm. “You fucking idiot…”

  “What did you say, you m—”

  “Alright, that’s enough.” Chloe came in between the two. “Franklin, how long will it take for you to assess the changes if we backtrack?”

  “That’s… I don’t have an estimate. It all depends on how much has changed.”

  “What about if we keep moving forward?”

  “Then, we will be heading into uncharted territory. I hope you all recalled just what happened when we tread into areas that we have no knowledge of.” Franklin gestured at everyone and himself. “This is what happened. There’s no telling what’s down that path.”

  “I see.” Chloe nodded. “Both options have their risks…” she mused.

  “May I be heard?” Ani asked with her hand raised.

  “Yes, of course,” Chloe answered with a hidden delight. She barely knew the girl, but Ani looked composed and seasoned. She showed little to no fear, even when they were surrounded and cornered by those monsters.

  “I proposed that we keep moving forward,” said Ani.

  “May I know your reason?”

  “If we go back the way we came, we may run into those monsters. Now, between running into traps or those monsters, I will choose the former. I can take care of myself if it’s the tter, but what about the three of them? I am more confident at keeping them safe from traps than those monsters. Therefore, I think we should keep moving forward.”

  “There, you heard the girl!” Alex cheered. “So, come on. Let’s get going before those things actually catch on to us.”

  “Wait,” Chloe called out.

  “What now!?” Alex groaned.

  “I’ll take the lead. Ani will cover our six. The rest of you, stay between us. Whatever happens, don’t panic and simply run whenever and wherever. If you do, don’t bme us for not coming to your rescue.”

  “I know, I know. Can we go now?”

  Chloe gred at Alex for a short moment before nodding.

  With careful steps and vigint gaze, the group of five wandered into the path that was filled with unknown threats and untold dangers.

  ****

  “Wait. Stop!” Jane called out.

  Henry stopped and turned around. “What?”

  “I need to rest,” she said in between her ragged breaths. She was drenched in sweat and her hair was sticking to her face like a net cast onto her.

  Henry pondered for a moment. They had been moving consistently without stopping for nearly an hour. That was an impressive feat for someone like Jane, who was not in top shape. He gnced behind him and then behind Jane. He didn’t sense any threats in the vicinity. After making sure no threat was near, he nodded.

  Jane sighed and plopped herself down on the ground. “How much further?”

  “Not far now. We are near.”

  “Near the exit or—”

  “We’re near the others. The exit’s still another half an hour away.”

  “Half an hour… well, I don’t even know how long I have been down here.”

  “How’s the radio?”

  “It’s completely dead now. Well, I say it’s a good thing. If it suddenly turned back on, then we would have exposed ourselves.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Yeah, maybe.” Jane smiled. “Then again, maybe it won’t be that bad. I have you.”

  Henry raised an eyebrow at her remark.

  “I don’t believe we have been discovered yet by those monsters. I think they are aware but they are too afraid to get near us. Or rather, they are too afraid to get near you.”

  “A beast’s nature is erratic and inconsistent at times. I won’t be so sure that it’s because of the fear towards me that they are keeping a distance from us.”

  “I beg to differ. When I entered this cave with my team… the tension and apprehension were palpable. With you, it’s the complete opposite. Everything just feels so… safe and secure.”

  “You were shaking like a shitting dog when we were passing through that literal bloody pce.”

  “The sights were upsetting and unsettling. But with those things behind us, everything just feels so normal again.”

  “Yeah, well, don’t get used to it.”

  “Say, have you honestly never considered joining the PIC?”

  Henry frowned in confusion. “Why would I join the PIC?”

  “...To help people? To make the world safer?”

  Henry chuckled wryly. “Sorry, but I don’t have that kind of altruistic ambition.”

  “Shame. The world would be so much safer with someone like you in the PIC.”

  “Is the PIC that desperate for recruits?”

  “We have plenty of recruits. There’s no shortage of people who want to join the PIC. It’s quite literally a dream come true for a lot of people, including me. However, it’s an entirely different story when it comes to these recruits’ competency. Not to mention, they are just normal humans… we are just normal humans.”

  “Is this how it always is?”

  “What’s how it always is?”

  “Does every mission end up like this?”

  “Interestingly enough, no. Extensive probing and assessment are done before a field team is deployed into these kinds of pces. If something went wrong, it was always a technical issue or an issue with the agents. It was never for this kind of reason that a mission went sideways, or at least to my knowledge. If there are dungeons out there that could trick our devices like this one, future expeditions would require more study, and that would result in higher spending… The suits ain’t gonna like this. Just my luck?”

  “Is that something to be so disheartened about?”

  “If the expenditure increases, it would mean more work for the working people. Higher pay is not guaranteed. It would be a miracle if our sary increases proportionally to the increase in workload and expenditure.”

  “Ah, I hear you.”

  “Any way that I can change your mind?”

  “Nothing you can offer,” Henry responded with a gentle smile, but it morphed into a frown a second after. He gnced behind him.

  “What now? I don’t like that face and I don’t like how you’re staring behind us.”

  “The lizard wolves. They're coming.”

  “They found us?”

  “They never lost track of us. But for some reason, they are rushing towards us now.”

  “What do we do? Run?”

  Henry grabbed Jane and tossed her onto his back.

  Jane was used to this at this point. She didn’t compin when she was manhandled.

  Without another word, Henry took off into a sprint at the fastest speed he could manage without causing harm to his passenger.

  Hisses and roars reverberated down the tunnel. The air even seemed to quiver in response to the cries of the lizard wolves. They sounded far, but there were a lot of sounds. It was as if a nest of them was approaching them.

  Jane felt a chill down her spine. “Faster! Faster!” she jostled, spping Henry’s shoulder as if whipping a horse to go faster.

  “I’m running as fast as I can. Any faster and you will get whipsh.”

  “Better than getting mauled by those things! Just go faster!”

  “As you wish. Keep your head down and close. Do not raise your head until I give the all clear! Do you understand?”

  “I understand! Just run!”

  Henry sped up. The ground underneath him began to crack with every step. He ran as fast as the terrain would allow. This was nowhere near his top speed, but any faster and he would cause a cave-in. Going at such a speed, he caught up to Chloe and the others in no time at all.

  Alex screamed, “Fuck! They caught up to us!!”

  Chloe immediately spun around with her armour donned, but she rexed when she saw it was only Henry and Jane. “Henry, you made it!”

  “Of course, he made it,” Ani said with her head held high. “Never doubted him.”

  Henry smiled wryly. “I’m back,” he said and crouched down.

  “Huh? Henry?” Alex, who was already cowering on the ground with his arms crossed in front of him, lowered his arms and peeked out of it. “What? It’s just you. Oh, thank god…”

  “Jane, you’re alright!” Franklin beamed.

  “Gd to see that you all too,” Jane smiled as she climbed off of Henry.

  “It’s really good to see you,” said Barry.

  “Likewise, Barry.”

  “Thank god, you two made it. I can breathe easy now,” Chloe sighed in relief.

  “Don’t breathe easy just yet. We got a huge incoming.”

  “How many?” Chloe asked, her eyes on Henry.

  “All of them,” Henry answered.

  “All of them? Why? What happened?”

  “I do not know, but you all should run.”

  “...Why do you put it like that? Don’t tell me that you intend to stay behind and hold them back.”

  “Chloe, no time to argue. You have to go, now. You cannot outrun those things, not without someone slowing them down. There’s no one else more suitable than me and Ani.”

  “Wait, I’m staying behind too?”

  “Yes.” Henry nodded.

  “I understand.” Ani nodded back.

  Henry turned to Chloe. “Go, now.”

  With a heavy heart, Chloe gave a nod and turned to leave. “See you on the other side?”

  “Like always. We will meet again.”