//------------------------------// // The Caves // Story: In The Forest // by Darkness Moon //------------------------------// Upon entering the cave, they could not see anything. At the back of the cave, a light could be discerned, but it was very small. Sunset made few torches with a stick, a piece of cloth, and a bottle of alcohol. Aria used a lighter to light one, but it did not illuminate much. Sonata and Adagio kept their weapons ready for any approaching threat. "Don't separate, we have to be together" said Sunset. "I think this was a bad idea" Sonata said. They went through the tunnel to the origin of that light, a lamp made of a skull and sticks. Next to it was a wooden wall with another cannibal banner, a human head and a chamber inside the mouth. "Every time I am surprised at what they are capable of" said Adagio. "Shall we continue, Sunset?" Aria asked. "Yes, help me break through this" said Sunset. Together, they used their axes to break the wall of boards. Once destroyed, they continued on. They stopped when they heard noises on the roof of the cave, but it was late, as soon as they came in, three cannibals jumped down from above, grunting and crawling in front of them. The girls took their weapons and attacked. Sunset dropped her torch and got one of them with her plane axe, although it hurt him, it was not that strong, and her arms tired quickly. Aria did the same with other cannibals, but her axe was very heavy, and it was difficult to wield. Sonata watched everything, her hands trembled so that even the spear trembled as well. A cannibal approached her, and Sonata tried to attack him with her spear, but failed in all her attempts. The cannibal was about to attack her, until an arrow pierced the native's head, killing him. It was Adagio, who did the same to help Sunset and Aria. "That was... close" Aria said wearily. "Yes, I hope there are no more cannibals nearby" said Sunset, catching her breath. Adagio approached her sister, who was still in shock. "Sonata, are you okay?" she asked, worried. "I... don't... know..." she breathed. "Sonata?" Aria said, approaching. "I... I couldn't do anything... I... just-" Sonata said. "Don't worry Sonata, we were taken by surprise" said Sunset. "Do you want to go back?" Adagio asked. "No, I'm fine" Sonata said. "Sure?" Aria asked. "Yes, no problem" Sonata said, smiling. "Now where are we going?" "We have two ways, the question is where to go" said Sunset, re-lighting her torch. "Let's go to the right, that dead body hanging from the left does not make me want to go that way" said Aria, lighting her torch. "Then on the right, let's go" said Sunset, advancing. They advanced, walking by a kind of hollow without problems. A big puddle, they jumped it. They continued normally, the road was a very narrow one, but nothing complicated. After advancing for a while, they reached another part of the cave that was wider. A few lights lit the cave, and by the water the light was a blue color. "Let's go straight" said Sunset. They continued all the way straight, there were many small stones all over the floor. They reached an area with a huge pool of water, in the distance there was another crucified corpse. Sunset wanted to continue, but was stopped by Aria. "Wait, look at the ceiling" she whispered. It was dark, but the girls were able to distinguish strange formations of rocks on the ceiling. "What's wrong?" asked Adagio. "There's something strange about the ceiling. Those things... they don't look like rocks" Aria whispered. "So what are they?" asked Sunset. "C-Cannibals" whispered Sonata. "Sonata, are you sure?" Adagio asked. "Yeah, look. It looks like they're resting" Sonata whispered. "Or camouflaged, good eye Sonata" Sunset whispered. "Now we have to figure out how we will pass without being surprised." "First you have to know how many they are, maybe they outnumber us" said Aria. "They look like four, maybe five, that's all I can see" Sunset whispered. "Maybe Dagi..." Sonata whispered. "With her arrows-" "Could kill them right away!" Sunset whispered. "Good thinking Sonata!" "T-Thank you" Sonata whispered, smiling a little. "Do you think you can take them, Adagio?" Aria asked. "I hope so" Adagio whispered, preparing her bow. "Wait" said Sunset, taking a piece of cloth and moistening it with a bottle of alcohol. "Light it before you shoot it" "Arrows of fire? Honey, you shouldn't have~" Adagio said, smiling. "I know, good luck" said Sunset, smiling. Once lit, Adagio prepared the bow, pointed at the cannibal she could see the most. Loosed the arrow, and indeed the first cannibal fell. And two others jumped. "Adagio, stay here and try to shoot down the others. Girls, come with me" Sunset said, rushing to action. Aria and Sonata followed, Sunset attacking those who were on fire with Aria's help. Sonata only hurt some cannibals, but managed to get one to hit another in flames and both cannibals were burned. Finally, Adagio shot two arrows at the last cannibal, who fell while her friends finished off the rest of them. "This was harder than last time" Aria said wearily. "Yes, that's true, but we're getting better" said Sunset, catching her breath. "What do we do now?" asked Sonata. "Let's move" said Sunset. They walked until they reached the crucified corpse. The man was half-naked, he had suitcases all around, the only thing in them were pieces of cloth. "Why do they do this to people?" asked Sonata. "I don't know, it must be their way of punishing them, I guess" Aria said. Sunset looked around and saw some boards on the floor, and there were more after those. They formed a path. "Girls, this way" said Sunset. They followed with the help of some oil lanterns helping them to see the road. They continued for a long time, until they reached a room full of loot and food. They found a man, probably from Asia, with a severed arm. Two other dead in painful positions, and a head on a wooden table. "I think I'm going to vomit" said Sonata disgustedly. "Try not to Sonata, please" said Adagio, equally disgusted. "Look at all this, I think coming to this cave was not a bad idea" said Aria, looking at the booty. "I feel bad about taking these things from these people," Sunset said. "They're plane passengers" Aria said. "How do you know?" Adagio asked. "We took the passenger list from the plane. These guys were businessmen; look, they have cards with their names" said Aria. "Poor people" Sonata said. "There's nothing we can do for them, we better take what we can and get out of here" Adagio said. Sunset looked at the Asian man with the severed arm. He had some laptops, and something else on his knees. A katana! "Wow! Cool weapon Sunset!" Sonata said, surprised. "Thanks, this will definitely be helpful" said Sunset, admiring her new weapon. In addition to the katana, the room also contained a suitcase full of cash, various laptops, medical kits, wristwatches, and food trays. In the same area, Sonata found a flashlight behind some wooden boards. "Okay, now that we found some good stuff, can we leave?" asked Adagio. "Yes, let's go back the same way" said Sunset. And they did, but they found some new areas to explore. Sonata found another cassette and Aria found a strange paper. But after a few minutes they went out the same way they entered. "I thought we would never get out of there" Adagio said. "Hehe! Sorry Dagi, but look! I have another cassette to listen to" Sonata said. "Good for you, Sonata" said Aria. "The only thing I found was this stupid paper" "Can I see it?" Sunset asked. "Hold on" Aria said, handing the paper over. Sunset looked at the paper, and was surprised to see it. It was written in Latin and presented a gray image of a kind of hole. It seems to refer to the Virginia mutant babies. Also, it had the image of Christ. Apparently they were not the only ones on this island. Maybe a group of priests came here and tried to use their crosses on the mutants, perhaps even traps, with no result. Or maybe it belongs to Christian missionaries. Thousands of theories flooded her head. "This is interesting" said Sunset. "This can help me to know more about the island" After a few hours they returned by the same road before returning to the cannibal camp by the lake. Suddenly they heard noises from the natives. "God damn! Now what?" asked Adagio, preparing her bow. In the distance, Aria found an entrance to another cave. "Follow me!" she said, running to the cave. "But we just came out of a cave!" said Sonata. "There is no choice, come on!" said Sunset. They went into another cave. This one was different from the previous one. There was no light, Aria prepared a torch, Sonata used the flashlight, and Sunset and Adagio prepared their weapons. They advanced straight through the cave until they reached a wooden stick with a human skull. They continued passed. They arrived at a wider area, and they followed the right side, in the distance they saw a cannibal. Sunset took her katana, the cannibal noticed her approach and attacked. With three blows, Sunset defeated the cannibal. Near the lake, there was another cannibal, he was sleeping soundly. Sunset approached slowly and attacked him from the back, killing him instantly. "That weapon is very useful" Sonata said. "Yes, it's very efficient" said Sunset. "And what do you want to do? Shall we return or explore?" "I want to go back" said Adagio. "Me too," Sonata said. "I want to explore, I want to find a weapon like you" Aria said, walking. "We just left another cave Aria, we must return before it is night" said Adagio. "You guys go back if you want, I'll explore this cave" said Aria. "Are you coming Sunset?" "Well, in this cave there might be information about the island... okay, I'll follow you" Sunset said. "Sunset, are you serious?" said Adagio. "Please Adagio, we will only explore this cave and we will return" said Sunset. "We'll be safer in numbers" "Besides, Sunset is the only one who knows the way back" said Sonata. "True. Okay, let's get this over with" said Adagio. They continued on their way, finding some interesting things, like ropes and pieces of cloth. As they did so, Aria found a winding road to a very hidden entrance. "Let's go this way" Aria said. Without objection, they walked down the road, until they came to a climbing rope hanging down. A skull lamp hung there and illuminated the area. "After you" said Adagio to Aria. Aria was the first, followed by the others. They went down the rope, took a little time but they arrived. There was a small puddle of water with pieces of flesh floating, and a mummified body. They walked to the bottom and found a pile of boxes, some suitcases and most importantly, a good stash of loot. "You see? I told them it was a good idea to come in" said Aria. "Okay, I'll admit it, you were right" Adagio said. There were medicines, cloths, dynamite, sodas, and many interesting things. Aria found something very valuable in the background, beside an oil lamp there was an axe! It was not a stone axe, it was much better, very modern one. "You're not the only one who will have all the fun, Sunset" Aria said with her new axe. "I'm not looking for fun, but if you want to tear up cannibals, go ahead" Sunset said. As they searched, Sunset found a strange paper next to a bucket of red paint. It was a kind of report, talking about a victim dying from vertical lacerations along the spine. She did not know it was exactly, but it seemed important. She also found a box full of video cassettes, some looked truly important. A VHS tapes, it was like a collection of some kind of TV series. The title was: "Lost Children of the Peninsula". The cover images were exact zones of the island. "Videos recorded on this island?" Sunset asked, to herself. "What?" said Adagio in surprise. "These are videos that were recorded here!" Sunset said, taking one of the many videos. "On this island?" Sonata asked. "Girls, we're not stranded on an island, we're on a peninsula!" said Sunset. "And that's worse?" said Aria. "No, well, I don't know" Sunset said, looking through the videos. "An island is completely surrounded by water. But a peninsula is much larger, it is an extension of land stuck to another country." "You mean there's a way to escape?" asked Sonata in surprise. "I don't know Sonata, this island has many secrets" said Sunset. "Like in the asylum" "Well, until we find a way off this peninsula, we must survive as long as possible" Adagio said. "And we should found Onix too" said Aria. "Yeah, you right" Sunset said, smiling. "Let's continue exploring this cave" "Before we leave here, I want to say something" said Sonata. "What's wrong?" asked Sunset. "I found something, it could be useful" Sonata said. They went up to Sonata and she showed a couple of boxes, full of cans. Cans of food, to be specific. "Oh yeah! It's perfect!" Sunset said happily, checking the cans. "They're still good, we can eat them!" "Good work, Sona" Adagio said, ruffling her hair. "Yes, today you had good ideas, the arrows, and now this" said Aria, smiling. "Thank you girls, it was nothing" said Sonata, blushing. "There are like 10 boxes, take as much as we can, and at another time we can return for the others" said Sunset. "Good plan" Adagio said. They managed to raise up to five boxes, as they continued to explore the cave. There were not many surprises, a few cannibals, but nothing serious. Sonata found a magazine of cave practice in a small hole behind a wooden wall, next to a mummified body. It was a magazine that seems to discuss the pros and cons of speleology. Speleologists abandoned camps in caves often. Maybe some people came to the peninsula to have fun and enjoy their hobby, but finding this magazine in a room with a decaying corpse suggests that not all of the cave lovers had a good time. Other very important objects found by Sunset and Adagio: a compass, in the body of a dead climber, and a map of the island, next to a corpse of a speleologist that had been crushed by a large stone. Definitely useful objects. "Okay, can we go back?" Adagio asked. "Yeah, let's go back" Sunset said. "Girls?" called Aria. "What's up, Ari?" Sonata asked. "There's a cannibal camp outside, and it's big" Aria said. "Well, we have dynamite and new weapons" Sunset said, smiling. "Let us show these natives what we are capable." Taking their weapons, they left the cave. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The sun was about to set in the distance, the day was leaving to give way to the night. After five hours of confronting the cannibals, the girls made it to the cliff. The fight against so many cannibals had stained their clothes with blood and dirt. They looked like feral warriors. When they neared the giant tree, they found a kind of effigy. Two wooden circles placed vertically around a woman's head, which was attached to her by her hair tied like cobwebs. Seeing it, Aria destroyed it, making her friends smile. When they reached the tree, they set down everything they had found. And they sat on the floor. "What a day!" Adagio said wearily. "And what will we do tomorrow?" Aria asked. "I think for now, it was enough exploration" said Sunset. "Tomorrow we will only concentrate on building a shelter" "I like that idea" Sonata said. "Well, I don't know about you but I'll go take a bath" Adagio said, getting up. "Coming Sunset~?" "You know what? I don't care about anything anymore, come on" said Sunset, walking beside her girlfriend, towards the sea. "You didn't say anything, I'm proud of you Aria!" said Sonata. "Yes, I thought that after what you'd been through today, you deserved it" said Aria. "Thank you, but the truth, I was very scared" Sonata said. "But it's made you look brave" Aria said, smiling. "And you need something stronger than that weak spear" she said, handing over the stone axe. "Are you sure?" Sonata said, surprised. "Yes, take it" said Aria. Sonata accepted the weapon, with gladly and a smile. "Thank you. Now what do we do?" she asked. "Let's go to the beach to clean up" Aria said, standing up. "R-Really?" Sonata said, blushing. "Yes, let's go" said Aria, offering her hand, which her lady accepted. Holding hands, the girls went to the other side of the beach, smiling all the while.