Chapter 2: The clues
The queer sound persisted. Faye was horrified and dumbfounded when she heard the screams fade away in the darkness, mixed together with the roaring and howling of the wind. Something lurked in the shadows, and something accompanied the windstorm. And the sound grew fainter and fainter as she listened. The wind died away, and everything fell silent again. Something terrifying was absolutely going on here. Fear gripped Faye, and she began to comprehend that the continuous disappearances of the past few days could have been due to something far more sinister than Bristol said. But her eyes were heavy, and the exhaustion of the trek had displaced her fear. And she dozed off in terror, sweat trickling down the back of her shirt and her face pale from the cold.
The sun had already begun to turn brighter than ever, and heat was rising from the earth when she reopened her eyes. Cynthia was getting ready for the journey later today. Estelle sat next to her, chewing on the hard raisins. Colin merely sat there, his eyes fixed on the symbol on the stone, as if he were a researcher or a scientist. Faye sat up slowly, gripping her head as the events of the previous night began to resurface in her mind. 'You seem as if you're having a nightmare or something, Faye. You slept with a grimace on your face and even sweated profusely. Are you feeling better now? Here, take some water. They just gave us some new ones from the stock'. Faye then stared in horror at the bottle of water Cynthia handed her. Was this from the person last night? Did this thing belong to the uncontrollable scream last night? What happened to him? Was he caught by any kind of wild beast out here?
'What's the matter, Faye?' Is there something wrong with the water?' Cynthia asked worriedly, placing a hand on her shoulder.
'Did you hear anything last night?' Faye blurted out, her gaze fixed on the water bottle in her palm.
'What do you mean by hearing something? I fell asleep as fast as I could. The journey did me good. I sleep more since I don't have any energy left at the end of the day.' She paused, looked perplexed at Faye: 'Faye, maybe it was just the wind. The wuthering sound over the vast and bare dried land at nights might seem like some horrible, and not soothing sounds to all'. Then she lightened up her face a bit: 'C'mon Faye, let's pack up things and better get going now. Bristol can't wait for long'.
Bristol! Bristol, yes! He was their leader, and he would have known exactly what was going on right now. She needed to inform him of the problem from the night before and ask if there was anything they could do about it. She couldn't stand being surrounded and haunted by terror any longer.
Faye then moved to the front of the group and for the first time began a proper conversation with her leader. Bristol was taken aback when she unexpectedly approached him. 'What's the matter, Miss Faye?' he asked, turning his head to her as he continued walking. He must have known about her when he was with Cynthia. Perhaps she has told him something. Cynthia appeared to be pleasant to everyone, and whereas Bristol looked after the males, Cynthia looked after the females and children. They appeared to be a solid pair of group companions, and she couldn't deny that they had been managing everything pretty well from the start. Although queer things happened everyday and the number kept decrease, they still managed to confront the remained ones. There were some unwelcome conflicts and panic, but things were swiftly resolved.
' I have something important to tell you' Faye looked him in the eyes. He had extremely gray eyes, like a moor from Wuthering Heights she'd read about in the book, but they had this sturdy and warm look carried in them so that made him seem less unlively. 'I was awakened from my sleep by something last night. There's definitely something going on, Bristol. And I'm afraid it's not something good'. Bristol looked at her right quickly, but his eyes were stunned for a moment before returning to their regular dullness. 'Maybe it was just the wind wuthering. You know what it is in the middle of the desert at night right? Them wind is just as wild as animals. You shouldn't worry yourself much, Faye'
'No, Bristol,' Faye insists once again. 'Something was there. And it is related to the missing members since the beginning. They didn't simply vanish against their will. They scream piteously for help. I have no idea what in the world is this creature. But it appears to me that it is every bit the wild, massive, and deadly beast you could imagine. In the sound of the wind, I heard it cowl. And, as far as I know, no normal beast could make such a horrible sound. I'm telling you, I heard it, loud and clear. It was for sure not the sound of the wuthering wind you said'.
She didn't let him finish his sentence, as if she was afraid he'd just walk away: 'Now, Bristol. I can't bear the thought of us taking things from other members without knowing whether or not they are still alive. I'm not sure, and I don't have the heart of Theresa, but I'm concerned about our situation right now. We are not in a stable state, and you know that. We keep following these stupid queer stones, unsure if they are guiding us to your fantasy island or if they are really a fatal trap. How can you know for sure there will be an island in the middle of the desert? What gives you that confidence that we can reach it all alive? People keep missing every night and so we have more supplements. But that's wrong. It torments me and haunts me with the fear of being caught and disappearing in the middle of the night. Who knows when it will come to you, me, Cynthia and the others? Now tell me Bristol, tell me the truth. I'm sure you know a lot more than you just told me, and I have the very full right to know why you keep it all to yourself'. She took a deep breath as she ended her long and stern speech.
There were a few moments of silence between them before Bristol finally spoke, 'You didn't say much from the start. I thought you were the quiet and gentle one who likes to observe things more.' She gave no comment about his perception of her. ' But something about the way you bear through the storm and the determination in your eyes tells me something different. I know you want to live. Everyone else here does. And it won't get any better if you think of the insignificant and unimportant negative fear. As the leader, it is my responsibility to keep everyone in their comfort zone and free mind. What would happen if we told everyone the truth? They'd crawl and fight, forlorn and scare themselves to death. We must maintain this current stable state. Do you get what I'm trying to say, Faye?'
She knew.
'The food and supplements that others have left behind will be enough to get us through the trek. At least, we won't die of hunger. So when we get to the island, I'm certain there will be, because it appears that we aren't the only ones here'. Faye gasps: 'What do you mean?' There are others?' Bristol nodded acknowledgedly: 'Yes , and they left the stones here to guide their direction or the stones just a part of their system. They remained still. I know this because when Jacob and his team found and brought the stones to us, they were replaced with new ones in the exact location'. Faye was stunned: 'So it does appear like sort of a weird experiment as I suspected earlier! The clothes, the rucksacks and everything! Who on earth possibly thought of such a heinous act? This is illegal and when I get out of here I would sue them for sure. Taking another person's life without their consent! Kidnap them, then throw them to this insane place, and observe somewhere in amusement like sicko! Urgh! I can't bear this shit any longer!' She clenched her teeth and her face wrenched hard.
Bristol was taken aback by her attitude. Were they actually being used as lab mice for this crap? He despised it so much that it was no longer his ideas that made him miserable and angry, but rather what this strange girl said out loud. He didn't know what to do sometimes. There were piles of thoughts in his head yet being restrained as he was limited to his job as the leader. No one could guarantee what would happen to the rest if he showed signs of becoming anxious, panicked, and angry and lost his temper. They had been in a large group, and now only 50 of them remained. He wasn't sure when exactly they reached the spot but if this was an experiment, there would certainly be one. But it appeared to him now that, aside from Jacob's team, Cynthia, there was finally someone who knew what was going on and didn't hesitate but dared to speak up about it.
When Faye wanted to tell him about the promised destination, someone ran to them from the front. He was tall and bare-skinned as he removed his jacket and swung his arms over his torso. His brown eyes glowed with excitement, and he flashed a broad grin from his wide mouth. Faye noticed a tight rope was knotted around his waist. The other tip was held by the man on her left. How could she haven't noticed him earlier? She left Bristol and walked by him. The man had this crooked face and seemed sour with gray hair and a beard growing messy on his face. He seemed older than Bristol, maybe around 60. Despite his age, he still looked rough and healthy enough that Bristol trusted him as a member of the front crew. And he was clutching the rope of the young man who was running towards them in his hand. This could be a good approach to make sure they're constantly heading in the proper direction.
'Bristol! Caster! I found something that would definitely blow your mind!' He gave him a broader grin of his.
'You should save up some of your energy, kid. There will be a long way to go. Don't die dried and drained here' said the old sour man raising his voice. Faye reasoned that he had to be Caster.
'There's something queer miles ahead. I and Marcus came close to the soil and examined the stones there. Then we matched them in different order this time. We heard a loud and clear thunk right after. Something lurking underground. And can you believe it? There, in the middle of nowhere, an insane elevator came up from the sand underneath. We were so shocked. We don't know exactly what that steel elevator came from and where it will take us to. But it is a good thing to have something apart from cracked soil and sand. I think you should come and see for yourself. Maybe this queer thing can help our group situation'.
The others are staring at him. Their minds are brimming with possibilities. How was that possible? An elevator in the middle of the dried desert. And it appeared to have come from the ground. Were there any sort of shelters beneath them? Faye turned to Bristol, terrified but exhilarated by the prospect: 'Bristol, you heard that? This fairy tail island of yours seems to come from the abyss!' Bristol remained motionless and silent. The young man now looked at her in amazement: 'Well, who is this young girl here who has some nerve in her talk!' Chuckle himself: ' Bristol, I didn't realize you had that charm in you around the ladies. First Cynthia and now this young lady?'
Bristol came to a halt and turned to face them, finally spoke, 'We don't know who built that elevator you mentioned. But we do know that this is all part of a larger experiment, and that some persons or organizations will be operating behind the scenes, controlling everything that occurs. They may have thrown us here for whatever reason or intention, and they may be sitting in the comfortable chairs, watching us via their stern screen. As sick as it sounds, we have to survive and get rid of it'. He paused, clenching his fist: 'And beat the shit out of those crazed psychopaths'.
'So you mean we may not know this elevator will take us to, but if there is one in this experiment, this means that this is like a door or entrance for the experiment object to get out of their trap place. And this is the sign of our first escape?' Faye asked.
Bristol gave a casual nod and spoke nonchalantly, 'You can put it that way. We need to gather the people and inform them about the elevator. This could be able to help them regain some hope. It's midday now, we only have several miles to go, if we hurry, we'll be there before sunset.'
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