章節 5: Strange Meetings
Once day hours left the skies, the youth sleeping in a soft and warm bed, bolted in an upright position wheezing a heavy breath. Shifting left and right to comprehend his location, he spotted the bright light stationed near.
Outside the room, the sound of footsteps rapidly approached the room's door. If listening well, one could tell the person was also short of oxygen as pants stopped adjacent to the entrance.
Knock! Knock! "Young Brigan?" The speaker paused to wait for a response before calling another time. "Are you awake Young Brigan? I heard noises, did something happen?"
As a person who possessed some sense of dignity, he was declined to mention the cause was from a nightmare. "Yeah, everything is fine." He calmly spoke, hoping the answer would suffice and cease the questioning.
Sadly, the response didn't seem to bring any reassurance to the speaker. "Is there really no problem inside? In this village, people rarely make a sound like that for no reason." From the disbelief heard in the tone of voice, uttering no for a retort would lead to further suspicion.
Brigan glared at the entry that faced the left side of his bed before sighing how easily he was going to shatter the small pride he treasured just to rid himself of Elber's disturbance.
"I just remembered the past, nothing major," he said firmly — this time with the belief that it was expressed strongly enough, really ending the doubt.
"Yes, Yes... I see I see..." Elber said, admitting to being the party in the wrong. "In any case, the village sights are well lit at this time. Now would be an excellent chance to explore our village. It should get you more familiar to how we live." The patriotism vibe emitting from his mouth signified how heartfelt the village genuinely meant to him.
"You really are kind Mr. Elber. I can tell you love this village greatly. Give me a minute, and we can go tour it!" Brigan excitedly replied. To him, Elber's mood was contagious. It had thoroughly washed away his previous ordeal.
"It is troubling to say, but I will have to displease you." Although Elber said the words with amusement, Brigan felt Elber should also be disappointed. If the door that was separating them opened, he could further decipher whether his thoughts were correct.
"Isn't it nighttime? I didn't think you worked at these hours," he asked in confusion. Now mentioned, he became curious whether the jobs done here would differ much in differences from earth.
"Well...," as Elber begun to talk, Brigan sled from the bed's comfort to don his clothes. "...I can't elaborate on my work, but it is something only I can do that will help the village immensely," he said evasively.
In Brigan's mind, an image formed. Of its figure, it was the first time he compared Elber resembling a turtle recoiling into its shell, even when counting their original meeting. Was the information classified? He failed to understand why there was a cause for secrecy unless the job was shady.
Striding across the small space, he made sure to place the chair back in place near the desk supporting the lamp before going to grab the door handle. To get to the heart of a controversy, one needed to address each either face to face for a better discussion.
Click, click! Both, unlocking and opening the door, produced deafening tingles to ring along the inner eardrums as the atmosphere was now quiet. Greeting him on the opposite of its frame was the same slouched middle-age man in his standard black wear.
The messy reddish hair lobed to one side emphasized his image, portraying the idea of an easy-going slacker. It didn't mesh well with his up and tidy personality at all. Nor did it show the kindness he was known to possess.
"Since you are ready, I also need to leave. I'll barely make it if I delay anymore," Elber said neutrally with his head shifting to an angle that avoided eye contact. This response could only mean that he was aware of his own evasive actions, and probably creating a guiltier conscious also.
Brigan let out a tired sigh. The enthusiasm was gone, and he had yet to depart from the house. Provided that the two of them were still strangers and Elber had been sympathy enough to render a dwelling place and free food, making him awkward in return was just terrible etiquette.
"Alright, I'll trust your word about the good sights and spend the night outside. I also need to pay that loan off." This was the other reason he accepted the invitation at night seeing.
Usually preferring daylight, if the circumstances were normal, he would choose to earn money during those hours. However, in life, not everything would go the way it was wanted. "Make sure to return before daybreak. This village still has its fair share of troublesome affairs."
Promising to comply, the two separated for the night as Brigan went the route that centered toward shopping. In his step, taking relaxed strides, Brigan had a clear objective in mind for his outing.
One was to familiarize himself with the layout, and the other was to pay the loan off before his ownership expired. When he had a discussion the first night, Elber had explained there was an ownership time before the item then became the money for payment.
Surprisingly with Elber's kind nature, he didn't offer to pay the entrance fee and wait to be paid later. Brigan also didn't mention these queries since he had been helpful beyond what others would do in contrast.
As the buildings changed, he could see the different kinds of structures the village fancied. Regarding the housings, most favored the silvery color that resembled mercury metal while casing off a rainbowish tint. Even the few that had sprinkles of moisture, the liquid was the same shades.
The minorities leftover was copper but still with its metal-like shimmer. For the spectacles ahead, it was more similar to the Information Age than his Space Age. And given the night hour plus its brilliant lights hovering over the village, an Asian style festival seemed underway.
"Such a carefree village in the middle of nowhere is amazing." He mumbled.
"Ho..."
"Now where should I start searching first?" Pondering deeply, the noise in the surrounding became unintelligible.
"Hon...!"
"That looks like a good area!" He exclaimed, seeing a shop with the name The Works & Exotic Goods in grand display.
"Oh Honey!!! It really is you! You look the same as the day we married. Have you come back to me from the other side?" Screamed a short senior woman that appeared older than eighty.
Feeling the pull on his sleeve and the shout coursing through his ears, Brigan redirected his head, placing his attention on the rude distraction. However, the old woman's mood had already shifted.
Her gaze was now facing the direction his eyes were at moments prior. "You haven't changed at all Honey. You're still interested in those fake items. I brought a lot of money with me to properly honor your death so let's use it here," she declared eagerly.
The old woman had total control of their pace as she then dragged him inside despite lacking the strength to do so normally. 'This woman's strength is insane,' thought Brigan, helplessly following.
The inside was purple, dark purple. It was so dark that it was creepy. The shelves lining was like a regular grocery store. However, most of the products displayed glass jars or glass tubes housing liquids of unknown origins.
"Welcome! Surprise me again I say. If it isn't Madam Melody. How goes your singing? It's been years since we last communicated." The store owner spoke stunned.
"Can I buy another one of your God Gene Formulas? Honey would like one of those fake things."
創作者的想法 
Reading0Books
Reading0Books I changed my writing style a little so tell me what you all think. Should I go back to before?
章節 6: Sunrise in Sunless Village
The shop owner's face scrunched up before showing his displeasure at the accusation. "Slander! Slander! What is this talk about fake goods? You come all the time to buy fake goods? Where is our friendship and trust Madam Melody?" He rebuked greatly.
Despite expressing his thoughts, the shop owner still wrapped up a tube containing violet liquid about the size of an adult's finger length with twice the width.
"Hey! I have seen it all now, a grandma injecting her grandson with poison. Grandma, out of curiosity, why you hate him so much?" After hearing the amused voice, Brigan saw a man reading through a magazine while shifting through items on the shelves.
On closer inspection, the cover had a woman looking innocent and a hand raised in an attempt to lift her shirt. Brigan's face grew hot before he started questioning why the man carried a magazine. It was an unusual sight considering he'd yet to see any electronic devices present.
"Honey is Honey! What I buy is what I buy! Honey, ignore them both. This time, the God Gene Formula will succeed." She said, clenching one of her hands nervously.
The magazine guy just laughed while leaving the shop. But before he stepped out entirely, he gave a last remark of entertainment. "Hehehe! That boy is a dead kid walking."
Brigan who remained quiet didn't know how he should go about leaving unnoticed. Out of politeness, he didn't want to break it to the woman that he wasn't her dead lover, but he also didn't want the woman wasting her money on a misunderstanding.
In the end, his morals won. "Excuse me, Mrs. Melody, you don't need to buy anything. This is all a misunderstanding." He said as polite as possible.
However, his plans went downhill as the shop owner refused to lose an easy sale. "Here Madam Melody. Your honey will greatly appreciate this one. I guarantee this is the best God Gene Formula my shop can offer." He said quickly, shooting a glared in Brigan's direction.
Don't mess this up for me little punk!
Brigan could feel black lines forming. What was wrong with these people?
Soon after, the item got thrust into his hands as Melody, and the shop owner entered a heated debate on what was fake and what was real. Determining the duo was crazy, he speedily left the shop and his morals along with it.
Anything to get out of there!
"Wait up kid!" The magazine guy yelled. He stopped in front with his eyes roaming around in search of something. Spotting the God Gene Formula, he shook his head before shrugging his shoulders. "You're hopeless."
At this point, Brigan was fed up with the recurring intrusions. "Who are you? Are you stalking me?"
The magazine guy waved his hand in the negative before speaking again. "Just some advice to a kid from an adult here." He said boastfully, pointing a thumb to his chest with a wide smirk.
"What do you want?" Brigan said annoyed. He could only guess that some people couldn't read the mood and tell when they weren't wanted.
"You don't look to know that grandma right? My advice is to discard that thing she gave you. In the past, she used to give the same thing to her husband all the time. With time, every dose cost the man exceedingly. First, the man lost his ability to speak, then his sight, legs, hearing, and it just kept going. Take my word kid; her nickname here is Crazy Music because she sang songs as he died slowly." The magazine guy giggled a few seconds further and then left after tearing a page from the magazine and stuffing it inside his pants pocket.
From everything he saw, Brigan had learned one truth, everybody except for Elber was insane.
Wanting to end the night early, he began searching for job opportunities. The faster he got his debt money, the quicker he could retire from the insanity known as Sunless Village.
With hours going by, he failed to find anything. The employers all wanted a citizen or a long term employee. Neither were good options for him to choose.
And as those hours continued to progress, the time for daybreak was fast approaching. Before long, he observed people rushing home. There wasn't just the typical pace of walking fast or easy strides. Instead, some were full blown sprints. Even shop owners were closing their stall or store.
The villagers were leaving as if their lives were in jeopardy. Amidst the small panic, two men were being glared at by the remaining people. Accusing and resentment faces spread across the crowd.
The tens of lightly armored men stood in close proximity, showing the two men were extraordinary people. Of the two, one covered his upper face while the other covered the lower section.
And during this time, the one that wore a white robe and mouth mask begun shouting to the villagers. "Leave quickly!!! I repeat!!! Leave quickly!!! Sunrise is coming!!!" A strong concern and great weight of anguish were in his shout.
One could tell from his desperation that he had lost innumerable to whatever crisis occurring. The man with a regal air then turned, addressing the man wearing brunt-red clothes and an upper face mask. "Protect the inside like usual. This time, I won't allow any to slip pass."
Nodding, the brunt-red clothed man's right arm trembled before he stopped it with his left. "Don't let your habit hinder the villagers' safety." The regal man continued saying after catching the twitch.
Once seeing another affirmative, the regal man took the scattered armored men and departed toward the village's gate.
Seeing the scene, Brigan also noticed people whispering words of criticism. They blamed the man for failing to completely stop the monster intrusions despite him being a False Demi.
Learning more, he was able to grasp that the regal man was the village leader. Furthermore, every sunrise a monster invasion would occur. While fighting with all his might, there were always a few to slip pass and enter through the gate.
When this happened, those still roaming around the village during daylight hours would be found dead. Brigan didn't agree with their view of blaming. If the monsters were as strong as the one he met, it was already a miracle that the village leader could hold an invasion back.
Once more, the one protecting the inside was the other man, further making their accuses redundant. Now knowing the reason why Elber asked him to return before daybreak, Brigan could no longer keep that kind of promise.
Possessing his level of strength, he should have some measures of killing or stalling any monster that came until help arrived.
Having decided, he took the next few hours searching for monsters or any trailing villager in sight. If a monster appeared, he was determined to slay it. If a villager was spotted, he was obliged to help them home.
As he followed this course, he heard shouting. "Honey!!! Honey, where are you!!!" The voice appeared to be the old woman Melody. Failing to see him after he left, she began searching the area.
Now at the light of day shine brilliantly, she was still looking in vain. This was the scene Brigan saw upon arriving near the shout.
"Honey, I find you!!!" Brigan sweatdropped at her claim. The truth was that he had found her instead.
"Mrs. Melody..." he said, trailing off with a forced smile. But before she could respond, a swift shadow closed in on her, faltering any words produced. Next, oxygen finally entered Melody's lungs before she let it out just as fast as it came. "Ahhhh!!!" She screamed shrilly.
The monster had swiped down.
創作者的想法
Reading0Books
Reading0Books
This chapter is unedited (editor being me ofc) I will fix it later (not that I'm good at that lol) Pce readers!
每周推薦票狀態
200+ 推薦票
榜單 
0 推薦票 
段落評論