Story Translation Chapter Continuation
Ethan pushed the man's hand away from him and began looking at him with confused glances while slowly backing away from him. The man raised his hand toward Ethan with worried expressions on his face.
"Wait! It's not safe to walk outside at night."
Expressions of tension and confusion appeared on Ethan's face. Then the man continued speaking in a terrified tone.
"The place isn't safe at night, my friend. If you stay alone, you'll likely disappear like the others."
The man approached Ethan and grabbed his hand while saying in the same tone.
"Come with me to my house. It's safer than staying outside."
The man began walking through the streets while Ethan followed beside him, glancing at him sideways with confusion due to his strange nervousness. After a period of walking, they stopped in front of one of the huts. The hut looked old with a basket full of trash in front of it, and on its walls was drawn a red X mark. The man stepped toward the door, opened it, and turned to Ethan while saying in a tone filled with tension.
"Get in quickly!"
Ethan looked at him with confusion for a few seconds, then stepped toward the door and entered, with the man locking the door behind him.
Scene Transition to Marcus
Marcus was walking through the hospital corridors crowded with patients, searching for the exit to go to the gatekeeper. He continued walking for several minutes until he reached the place where they had entered at the beginning. Unlike last time, the place was empty of patients and nurses except for the sleeping receptionist at his desk. Marcus took a deep breath and then headed toward the door to exit the hospital. But before leaving, he heard someone calling him from behind. He turned around to find Nicholas and Jenny heading toward him with tired expressions on their faces.
Nicholas reached Marcus and said to him in an annoyed tone.
"Finally, we found you. We've been looking for you everywhere, man."
Marcus replied in an indifferent tone.
"Well, you found me. Importantly, you came at the right time. I have work for you."
Nicholas replied in a confused tone.
"What do you want now?"
After that, Marcus began explaining to them about the disappearance incidents and what needed to be done. After Marcus finished speaking, Nicholas replied.
"Why all this? Can't it just be a beast?"
Marcus replied.
"If it were a beast, it would most likely have been discovered. They're not smart to that degree. Additionally, even if it were smart and somehow managed to hide among them or had the ability to change its shape, it's most likely disguised as one of them. And even if they weren't them, we haven't lost anything. We can search for whoever is behind these disappearances, whatever it may be."
Nicholas replied.
"Alright... so what do you want from us?"
Marcus replied.
"I want you to search for Daniel Hayden and interrogate him. He lives in a small hut with a red X mark on its walls, so it will be easy to find him."
Nicholas hesitated a little but agreed to do that since there was nothing else to do anyway. Marcus and the others left the hospital to face the village's pitch darkness in front of them. The place was so dark that nothing could be seen beyond the hospital lights. Nicholas looked at Marcus with a tense face and said to him in a worried tone.
"Man, how can we distinguish between the huts in this darkness? I doubt I could even see myself if I went there."
Marcus looked toward him and put his hand inside his shirt searching for something. After a period of searching, Marcus pulled out a small flashlight and gave it to Nicholas while saying.
"No need to worry, take this."
Nicholas caught the flashlight with confused expressions on his face. He looked at the flashlight then looked at Marcus and said to him in a tone of sarcasm and tension.
"Are you kidding me, man? You give me a piece of plastic and ask me to use it. What is this thing anyway?"
Marcus stopped for several seconds while looking at Nicholas as if surprised by his words, then said to him in a confused tone.
"Seriously, don't you know what a flashlight is?"
Both Nicholas and Jenny shook their heads in denial. Marcus took a deep breath and then said.
"Press the black button in the middle of it."
Nicholas looked at the flashlight and pressed the button, causing a bright light to emerge from the flashlight, illuminating part of the darkness present in the village. Expressions of shock and amazement appeared on Nicholas and Jenny's features as if they were seeing a magical tool. Nicholas looked at the flashlight and said in an amazed tone.
"What is this thing? How can it shine with such power when I don't see any fire inside it?"
Jenny replied to him with expressions of fascination on her face.
"It's like a small moon!"
Marcus interrupted their amazement and said to them in a stern tone.
"You can be surprised later. Now go search for that Daniel."
After that, Marcus pulled another flashlight from his shirt and then began heading toward the gatekeeper's location while Jenny and Nicholas headed to the village searching for Daniel. The two entered the village and began searching for any hut with a red mark. Jenny looked at the flashlight then at Nicholas and said to him in a soft tone.
"Can I hold this flashlight for a while?"
Nicholas looked at her for some time then handed her the flashlight. Jenny grabbed the flashlight with expressions of happiness on her face. Then she began moving the flashlight in all directions randomly while feeling a sense of euphoria and happiness.
"Hahahahaha, it's like I'm holding moonlight in my hand. This is amazing."
The two continued walking and playing with the flashlight throughout the way until suddenly, while Jenny was playing with the flashlight, Nicholas noticed something. He quickly snatched the flashlight from Jenny's hand and directed it toward a wooden hut with a red X mark on its door, then said in a tone of calm and accomplishment.
"Excellent, girl. We found the place."
Nicholas headed toward the hut with Jenny. Nicholas stood in front of the door and then gave the flashlight to Jenny. Before he could do anything, Nicholas began hearing conversation sounds from inside. Nicholas took a deep breath and then knocked on the door, causing the talking sound to stop. After some time passed, the door slowly opened by Daniel. Daniel looked at Nicholas with tense looks and said to him.
"Who are you? And what are you doing here at this time?"
Nicholas replied in a serious tone.
"Daniel Hayden, you are suspected in the current disappearance cases, and we are here to investigate with you."
Jenny looked at Nicholas with a mixture of confusion and sarcasm, then said to Nicholas in a low voice.
"What are you doing? At least make him feel some safety before telling him this."
Nicholas replied to her.
"No need to worry, I know what I'm doing."
During their conversation, Daniel kept looking left and right with a worried face as if afraid of something, then said in a tone of fear and tension.
"Alright, I have no problem, but let's go inside. Outside isn't safe."
Nicholas and Jenny agreed to enter, then Daniel locked the door behind them. The place inside was simple, just a small room with a table, bed, and a group of other things getting their light from a group of lamps distributed everywhere. Nicholas looked toward the table for expressions of shock to appear on his features, then said in a surprised tone.
"Ethan! What are you doing here?"
Ethan was sitting at the table while eating something resembling meat. Ethan looked at Nicholas for expressions of joy to appear on his features. He got up from the chair and then headed to Nicholas quickly. Jenny was surprised that Ethan was here and said in a confused tone.
"What brought you here?"
Daniel stepped toward them and said.
"He was walking alone at night, so I brought him to my hut so nothing would happen to him."
The man headed toward the table and then sat on one of the chairs, then invited Nicholas and Jenny to sit. Nicholas and Jenny sat, then Nicholas began speaking.
"Daniel, you know about the current disappearance incidents, right?"
Daniel replied to him.
"Everyone knows about them."
Nicholas replied.
"Do you know the last disappearance case that was recorded?"
Daniel replied.
"Yes, it was yesterday, and I think the person who disappeared is Lucas, as far as I remember."
Marcus replied to him.
"Can you tell me where you were yesterday?"
Daniel stopped talking for several seconds and expressions of worry appeared on his features, which raised Nicholas's suspicions, then he replied in a tense tone.
"You don't need all this. I saw it... I saw the thing that kidnaps the citizens."
Expressions of confusion and curiosity appeared on Nicholas's features, then he replied in an astonished tone.
"What did you see?"
Daniel remained silent for a while, then said in a tense tone.
"Last night, I had just left the hospital heading toward my hut. Darkness was everywhere, so I used a lamp of mine to light the way to my hut. The situation was normal, but that didn't last long. I saw a faint light between one of the alleys. It was clear it was lamp light like mine. I continued walking normally until I passed by the place of the light. Some curiosity came over me, so I took a quick look at that place, and I wish I hadn't seen it. I saw a person's corpse thrown on the ground, his head completely disfigured with blood everywhere, and in front of him was someone holding a sharp tool in his hand while carrying the lamp in his other hand. I vomited immediately from the horror of the scene, which made the killer turn to me, and quickly he began chasing me. But I managed to escape. I kept running randomly through the village while that person kept following me. After a while, I realized he wouldn't be able to see me in this darkness, so I threw my lamp and hid somewhere between one of the huts. While the killer continued running away from me until he disappeared from my sight, I seized the opportunity and ran to my hut and didn't come out until morning came."
Nicholas replied enthusiastically.
"Who is the killer? What does he look like?"
Daniel looked at the ground and said in a tone of sadness and tension.
"I'm sorry. He was hiding his face using a mask. I couldn't see his face."
Nicholas hit the table hard, shocking everyone in the hut, then said with expressions of annoyance on his face.
"Damn it! We were close."
Daniel replied.
"I'm really sorry for not helping you that much."
Jenny replied to him in a shy tone.
"N-no, on the contrary, your words will be useful to us. I'm sure of that."
Nicholas looked at Daniel and said to him in a questioning and excited tone.
"Do you remember anything about his appearance? His clothes? Anything, or even where you found him?"
Daniel replied.
"Oh... yes, he was wearing medical clothes stained with blood like those of doctors, with white skin color, and I found him in one of the alleys called Drawings Alley. You can distinguish it from the drawings spread on its walls. You can ask anyone about its location and they'll direct you to it. This is all I remember."
Nicholas remained silent while thinking.
I don't think this information might help us with anything, but maybe it could be useful for that damn Marcus.
Nicholas looked at Daniel and said to him.
"Alright, I think this is enough. Thank you. Jenny, Ethan, let's get up. We're going."
Expressions of worry appeared on Daniel, then he said to him in a worried tone.
"Why are you leaving? The situation is dangerous outside at this time. You can stay until morning in my hut. It's not a problem."
Nicholas replied.
"No need to worry. We're 3 people. That killer won't be able to do anything to us."
Then he headed toward the door and left with the others. Daniel headed toward the door and said to them, warning them.
"Try to reach your huts as quickly as you can. No one can guarantee your safety."
Nicholas replied with a slight smile on his face.
"No need to worry. We'll be fine."
Then he turned on the flashlight and began moving forward through the pitch darkness of the night while Daniel kept looking at them as they moved away with worried looks before locking the door of his small safe hut.
Scene Transition to Marcus
Marcus reached the gatekeeper's location after a while and headed toward the small room where the gatekeeper usually stays. He grabbed the flashlight and then entered the room to be surprised that the gatekeeper wasn't there. He placed the flashlight on one of the tables and then began searching for anything useful in the place. The place was a small room containing a blanket for sleeping, a small table, and small cabinets attached to the walls. Marcus headed toward the bed and began searching it hoping to find something, but found nothing, so he headed toward the cabinets and opened them. There wasn't anything special, just canned food boxes and a group of cold water bottles. He closed the first cabinet and headed toward the second one, where he found a group of hanging clothes. He began searching through the clothes one by one until finally he found a paper in the pockets of one of the clothes and closed the cabinet.
"Let's see what this thing is."
Marcus opened the paper to see its contents to find it was just a picture of the gatekeeper with some child. Marcus quickly refolded the paper and returned it to its place, then quickly left the place. Marcus remained standing in front of the room not knowing what he should do. Just alone in the village's darkness with the sounds of tree breezes and the sounds of his thoughts.
"What should I do now? Should I go examine the hospital? Or should I go search for the others to see what they got from investigating Daniel?"
Marcus remained in the same position for several minutes until suddenly he began hearing a rustling sound from outside the village walls. He quickly directed his gaze toward the sound to glimpse a strange light from the forest.
"What is this thing? What madman goes out to the forest at this time?"
The light began slowly disappearing into the forest's darkness. Marcus quickly rushed toward the gate and opened it, going out to the forest. He looked toward the light source to find it penetrating deep into the forest. He rushed quickly toward the light while trying to muffle the sound of his steps. He entered the forest and began reducing his speed while thinking.
"What is someone doing at this late time in the forest? Could it be the killer?"
Marcus didn't use his flashlight to avoid being discovered and instead just relied on the light he was following. Marcus continued walking for a long time, which made Marcus wonder where following this light would lead him. But suddenly the light stopped moving, allowing Marcus to approach it. Marcus kept approaching the light slowly, trying not to make noise. After Marcus got close enough, he hid behind one of the trees and began looking from the corner of his eye toward the light to be surprised by the gatekeeper sitting on his knees on the ground with his lantern in front of him.
"What is this madman doing here?"
The gatekeeper grabbed a small bag that was in front of him and pulled out a group of white roses from it, then placed them in front of him, which aroused Marcus's curiosity and confusion about what he was doing. After Marcus ensured his safety, he moved away from the tree and headed toward the gatekeeper. Despite standing behind him, the gatekeeper didn't show any reaction as if he didn't sense his presence at all. Marcus raised his hand and placed it on his shoulder. In a moment of panic, the gatekeeper jumped from his place and began hitting in random directions. After several seconds, the gatekeeper stopped doing that and opened his eyes for expressions of shock and panic to appear when he found Marcus in front of him, then said to him in a soft, tired tone.
"You scared me, you fool. (sighs heavily) What brought you here?"
Marcus replied in a low voice.
"Rather, what brought you here?"
The gatekeeper remained sitting on the ground while breathing with difficulty due to the shock.
"It seems I was going to give him a heart attack. I should be careful next time."
After the gatekeeper regained his composure, he got up from the ground and then dusted off his clothes from the dirt. Marcus approached him and then said.
"Let me repeat my question: what brought you here?"
The gatekeeper remained silent for some time, then picked up his lantern and directed it forward to reveal from behind the darkness a group of graves placed in front of each other. Marcus felt confused and then said in a questioning tone.
"What brought you to a cemetery at this time of night?"
The gatekeeper took a deep breath and then said as if trying to suppress his sadness.
"I came to visit my dead daughter's grave. Do you have a problem with that?"
Marcus replied.
"I don't have a problem, but why at night?"
The gatekeeper replied.
"Because I can't come during the day. The cemetery holds painful memories for me, and I don't want anyone to see me in this state..."
Then he took a deep breath and continued.
"How sad it is. I'm supposed to die before her since I'm just an old man with time against him, but unexpectedly, she took her life before me."
Marcus replied in a calm tone.
"At least she managed to escape from this harsh world. Now she's at rest. She won't have to suffer."
The gatekeeper got angry, then turned to Marcus and said to him in an angry tone.
"What are you saying? Are you saying that a small child's death is a good thing?"
Marcus replied in an indifferent tone.
"And are you satisfied with a small girl's suffering in her life?"
The gatekeeper remained silent for a while as if his words were unable to come out of his mouth, then finally sighed and said in a low tone.
"No, I'm not satisfied with her suffering... but I wanted her by my side. I wanted to see her grow up... see her happy... see her smile that removes all the sadness inside me."
Marcus looked at him through the mask that hides his features and said to him in a softer tone.
"We don't have the ability to control the fates of those we love. Sometimes their departure is better than living with suffering throughout their lives."
The gatekeeper looked toward his daughter's grave and then replied in a broken tone.
"B-but she was happy with me. We were happy with each other..."
Marcus replied.
"Think a little. If you were her only source of happiness, what would happen to her if she lost you? Especially since you're considered old, so you'll most likely die early. Would you accept your little daughter living struggling alone in this harsh world? Especially since the grief of your death would also affect her? Is this what you want for her?"
He looked toward her grave and then said in a low voice as if talking to himself.
"Maybe your words are right... maybe her death was better than her staying..."
Marcus placed his hand on the gatekeeper's shoulder and said to him in a calm tone.
"Alright, we can grieve later. Now I have some questions for you."
The gatekeeper turned toward Marcus, then Marcus began speaking.
"Alright, without prolonging the talk, where were you last night?"
The gatekeeper replied in a confused tone.
"I was sleeping in my room. Why this sudden question?"
Marcus replied.
"Did you hear anything strange while sleeping?"
The gatekeeper replied.
"Yes, I heard the sound of someone walking nearby, but I didn't see anyone when I came out."
Marcus continued.
"Alright, since you're the gatekeeper, you spend most of your time in the village. Haven't you seen anything strange lately?"
He replied.
"Except for that beast's sudden attack, no, I haven't seen anything that really catches attention."
Marcus remained silent for some time while looking at the gatekeeper, trying to search for any signs of tension.
His body movements are normal, his heartbeat is normal, his voice tone features don't seem like he's lying.
Marcus took a deep breath and then said to the gatekeeper.
"If you're finished visiting your daughter, let's go back to the village."
The gatekeeper looked toward his daughter's grave with subtle looks of sadness and longing, then picked up his lamp and said in a low voice.
"Alright, let's go."
Then they went toward the village. After their return, the gatekeeper bid farewell to Marcus and then entered the place where he lives to sleep after this day, leaving Marcus alone again in the village's darkness. Marcus scratched his head and then said while talking to himself.
"I think this is enough for today. I'll continue tomorrow. Now I'll go search for those kids."
Marcus directed his flashlight toward the village huts and headed toward them searching for them. After a not-too-long period, Marcus met with Nicholas and the others in front of one of the huts. After Nicholas saw Marcus immediately, he said to him in a serious tone.
"I investigated Andrew and I have some somewhat good news."
Marcus replied in a confused tone.
"What is the good news?"
Nicholas replied.
"Andrew saw the killer."
Marcus replied with interest.
"So who is he?"
Marcus replied in a more annoyed tone.
"Unfortunately, he didn't see his face because he was wearing a mask, but he said his skin color is white and he found him in an alley called Drawings Alley. That's all he said."
Marcus scratched his head, then took a deep breath and said in a medium voice.
"This is good. Now let's rest. We can go there tomorrow."
Nicholas replied.
"Alright, but where will we sleep here?"
Marcus pointed to Nicholas to follow him and then began walking forward. Nicholas and the others were confused but followed him anyway. After a period of walking, Marcus stopped in front of one of the ordinary huts among the other huts. Then he pulled a key from his pocket, opened the door, entered, and then the others entered after him. Marcus locked the door behind him and then turned on a small lamp on one of the tables. The place was a small space consisting of 3 beds and another small room in the corner of the place. Marcus headed toward Jenny and said to her.
"Go to that small room there. You'll sleep in that place."
Jenny kept looking at him with a somewhat tense face for some time, then headed toward the room and locked the door on herself. Marcus looked at Ethan and Nicholas to find they had gone to their beds and fallen asleep. Marcus remained standing for a while looking at the door calmly, then went to his bed and turned off the lamp, letting darkness enter the hut to fall asleep with everyone.
Five Hours Later
Ethan slowly opened his eyes to the thirst burning in his throat. He slowly got up from the bed to drink water. He slowly headed toward the door with his eyes closed from sleepiness. He raised his hand and then extended it expecting to pour water from the pitcher, but he remembered there was no water pitcher in this hut. He opened his eyes with difficulty to find his eyes had adapted to the darkness and he could see a little. He began walking around the place searching for any water but found nothing. He tried to sleep again, but thirst bothered him and didn't allow him to sleep comfortably. So he headed toward the door, opened it, and left the hut searching for any water.
The place outside was cold and darkness dominated as usual, but he could see a little this time. Ethan looked right then looked left to find a bucket of water in front of one of the huts. He headed toward it slowly. After arriving, Ethan grabbed the bucket, then picked it up and began drinking. After finishing, he decided to return to the hut to complete his sleep. But suddenly and without warning, Ethan received a strong blow to the back of his head, causing him to fall to the ground unable to move his body, making him feel terror and confusion. Before he completely fainted, the last thing he felt was being dragged by someone...
(To be continued)
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