Wandering Gone

"Vacant School" Chapter 5 Part 1/2

As the first rays of dawn painted the sky, the girl ventured out into the world, accompanied by her loyal companion, Rin. Their path crossed with a towering oddity, a creature unlike any other, yet it remained silent, refusing to utter a single word. The monster steps a few forward while the girl, wondering if it expected them to follow. Uncertain of their next move, she sought guidance from Ren, who, without hesitation, pursued the enigmatic being. Left with no alternative, the girl reluctantly trailed behind, compelled by circumstances beyond her control. Together, they departed from the safety of the yellow house, bidding farewell to the dawn.

Ascending through the steep neighborhood, they encountered an abandoned road that snaked its way up the hill. The journey proved surprisingly effortless, as the incline gradually lessened with each step. Maintaining a cautious distance of 30 meters from the peculiar creature, the girl and Ren remained prepared to retreat should the need arise. "You don't have to be so tense," Ren interjected, attempting to ease the girl's apprehension. "Promise," she added hastily. Frustration welled up within her, causing her to retort, "You've become incomprehensible." A perplexed expression crossed Ren's face as she replied, "Well, do you really have any other choice? Can you even explain where we are right now?" The girl shot her a piercing glare, her mistrust evident. Suddenly, the enigmatic creature halted in its tracks, causing the girl to hesitate, reluctant to draw any closer. Sensing her hesitation, Ren urged the creature forward, urging them all to continue. As they took a collective step forward, an inexplicable change occurred in the atmosphere. The air grew heavy, their vision dimmed, and a persistent buzzing filled their ears. One by one, they succumbed to the overwhelming sensation, collapsing to the ground as their consciousness faded away.

The earth trembles, its vibrations echoing through the air. A mighty bolt of lightning splits the sky, illuminating the scene below. In the midst of the chaos, the girl awakens, finding herself nestled among a heap of wood chips. Standing beside her is Ren, a figure of mystery and familiarity. "Once again," Ren whispers, discarding a wood chip with a nonchalant flick. The girl rises, her surroundings revealing an elementary school playground. "Just in time, I was just about to wake you," Ren remarks. With nimble fingers, the girl plucks the wood chips from her tangled hair and disheveled clothes. As she completes this task, her gaze falls upon a boy who appears bewildered by his own existence. A surge of excitement courses through him, prompting a boisterous exclamation. "Oh my goodness!" he cries out, clad in a crimson t-shirt and denim jeans, his dirty blonde hair framing his face. The boy's eyes shift towards the girl, his voice filled with curiosity. "How did you know my name?" he inquired. Perplexed, she responds, "Huh?" He persists, "You mentioned my name." "Aden?" she questions. "Yes, that's my name," he confirms. "So, you recognized me, even in this form, right?" The girl shakes her head, denying any prior knowledge. "I don't know you," she admits. Confusion etches itself onto Aden's features. "Then how did you?" he trails off. "Ren told me," she reveals. “Who?” Aden's gaze drifts upwards, fixating on the intricate spider web adorning the playground, leaving him with a sense of wonder and intrigue.

"If my memory serves me right, this realm is either embodied by the ethereal blue-haired girl or that towering behemoth," Aden muses to himself. "Wait, what?" the girl inquires, but her question falls on deaf ears. A torrential downpour ensues, drenching the surroundings. The playground they stand upon lacks the elevation of the one they ascended. The elementary school's cafeteria windows offer a panoramic view of the entire playground. "Shall we seek refuge inside the school?" the girl proposes. " We must find a way of escape," Aden declares. They scour the side of the colossal windowed structure, eventually discovering a narrow alley leading to doors that presumably grant entry to the school. Judging by their positioning, the girl deduces that the playground they awakened in lies at the rear of the school, and the entrances they are about to traverse are not the front entrances either. The trio ventures into the school. "Were you the freak in our previous encounter?" the girl abruptly asks, the atmosphere shifting. "Yea, that was me," Aden confesses. "Why would you do that to me?" she demands. "At that moment, I believed I had no alternative," Aden explains. "Just like you, I ventured into that cavern, discovered the door, and unraveled the secret of that door. I presume, much like you, you remained in the company of the elderly women." The girl interjects, "Anna and Dan also claimed to have stumbled upon this cavern." "No, I fabricated their existence," Aden reveals. The girl falls silent, Ren trailing behind her as they encounter a lengthy corridor with a library nestled midway.

As they step into the vast expanse of the library, a sense of curiosity fills the air. The girl, her eyes filled with wonder, breaks the silence with a probing question, "Why have you transformed into a monstrous being, like the grandma and the cave dweller?"

A flicker of remorse dances in Aden's eyes as he begins to unravel his tale. "It all started with that accursed deity. After escaping the clutches of the old woman, she reappeared, leading me to a mystical tree encased in a shimmering bubble, a portal to a realm that transcended time itself. We embarked on an endless journey, traversing unfathomable distances. The deity, in all its power, offered me servitude, a chance to eliminate any who dared to challenge its dominion. I couldn't fathom its true intentions, it seemed as if it had grown weary and had nothing else to occupy its existence."

A wave of melancholy washes over Aden's voice as he continues, "Before I knew it, I found myself standing in a place that had haunted my dreams. The reflection in the water revealed the grotesque form I had become, prompting me to fragment myself into other human vessels. I filled the city with these replicas, a desperate attempt to escape the torment that plagued me."

The girl, her voice laced with uncertainty, questions Aden's loyalty, "By joining forces with me, are you betraying this deity?"

A moment of contemplation passes before Aden responds, his words tinged with a newfound resolve, "If I didn't seize this opportunity to join you now, I fear I would never find a more opportune moment to break free from this nightmarish existence.

They exit the library, their footsteps echoing through the corridors as they make their way towards the gymnasium. The gym, a bridge between the realms of knowledge and nourishment, is separated from the cafeteria by a formidable divider. A solitary entrance beckons them forward, its threshold promising an escape from the confines of academia.

Ren, ever vigilant, warns the girl to be cautious of her right side. Undeterred, they press on, venturing deeper into the labyrinthine halls of the school. Curiously, the temperature begins to climb, defying the raging storm outside. As if in response to this unnatural heat, droplets of mucus descend from the ceiling, prompting the trio to hasten their descent towards the sanctuary of the cafeteria.

The staircase, once familiar, now stretches out before them, elongated and foreboding. Just as they begin their descent, tentacles emerge from the entrances they had entered through, reaching out with an eerie determination. With no time to spare, they abandon the stairs, leaping off the railing to the right. Gravity pulls them downward, their bodies slipping and sliding upon the mucus-covered floor, a testament to the grotesque accumulation from above. The girl, now drenched in mucus, finds solace in the presence of Ren and Aden, who share in her sticky fate.

They dash into the bustling cafeteria, where colossal windows frame a view of the playground where their journey began. But instead of the pristine scene they remember, their eyes are met with a grotesque sight: a colossal goat head, adorned with horns longer than its own skull, and a trunk resembling that of an elephant, from which sprout numerous writhing tentacles. The eyes of this abomination are deep voids, punctuated only by eerie white dots. "Why are these creatures just heads?" the girl queries, her voice trembling. “Their sole purpose is always to eliminate their target," Aden adds. The girl's thoughts acknowledging Aden's deceptive appearance as a mere vagabond, but recognizing his ability to point out the obvious. Suddenly, the goat head smashes through the cafeteria windows with one of its many tentacles, showering them with a cascade of glass shards. "We must leave!" Ren urgently implores the girl. Aden sprints towards the cafeteria entrance, beckoning the girl to follow suit. However, as she attempts to make her escape, the ground betrays her, her footing lost in the slimy mucus beneath her. Desperately, Ren reaches out for the girl's right arm, but a tentacle swiftly intercepts, seizing it before she can. Aden hesitates, torn between abandoning her or risking his own safety to save her. The tentacles coil around the girl's forearm, cruelly twisting it until it separates from her body. A piercing scream of agony escapes her lips. Aden decides to run back and seizes her left side, while Ren grasps her right shoulder, and together they flee, leaving behind the severed limb in the cafeteria.

They sprint down the corridor, their hearts pounding with fear, and barricade themselves in a sanctuary of creativity, an art room nestled not too far from the cafeteria. A piercing scream of agony escapes the girl's lips as her right forearm is cruelly torn away, leaving a crimson river cascading onto the cold floor. Ren's horrified eyes widened, paralyzed by the overwhelming uncertainty of how to confront this nightmarish situation. Meanwhile, Aden frantically scours the art room, desperately seeking any semblance of salvation, any fabric that could be fashioned into a makeshift bandage for the girl's severed limb. But his efforts prove fruitless, as the girl's face grows increasingly pallid, succumbing to the darkness of unconsciousness. In a cruel twist of fate, the room itself seems to conspire against them, as mucus oozes through the ceiling, and grotesque tentacles sprout from the head of a goat, relentlessly probing at the door, eager to invade their sanctuary. With a sudden, violent lurch, the door gives way, allowing the tentacle to split into two sinewy appendages, slithering their way into the room. Ren, fueled by a surge of adrenaline, seizes the girl and retreats to the farthest reaches of the art room, desperately seeking refuge. From Aden’s point of view, the girl's lifeless body levitates, seemingly guided by an unseen force, and glides towards the back of the room. The tentacles, undeterred, trail along the room's walls, hungrily searching for any signs of movement to ensnare. Aden, driven by sheer desperation, sprints past the writhing tentacles, risking everything in a desperate bid for escape, unwittingly luring one of the split tentacles in pursuit. Crawling up the treacherous stairs, Aden's heart sinks as he realizes that more tentacles lie in wait at the top, ready to ensnare him in their suffocating grip. The mucus, now thick and viscous, becomes an insurmountable obstacle, impeding his every move. Meanwhile, Ren, her eyes darting frantically, cries out in desperation, desperately searching the art room for a lifeline, an object that could turn the tide in their favor. The tentacles, relentless in their pursuit, continue their sinister crawl along the walls, displaying no signs of relenting.