Stella stood behind the tree, still in shock, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face. The sound of approaching footsteps suddenly pulled her back to reality.
A figure wearing a mask appeared, but with a different design than the others.
As soon as the group saw him, they bowed their heads respectfully.
Stella guessed he was their leader.
The men's masks were rather ornate, old fashioned, covering only the upper half of their faces.
One of the men spoke to the leader, saying, "Master, we have eliminated all the intruders. What are your next orders?"
Though the language was familiar, the accent was different from what Stella knew at home.
The man responded calmly but firmly, "You did well. These enemies must not enter our land, protecting it is the duty of us all."
He continued, "Remember this clearly, if one day they do manage to enter, it will be the end of us. Ruin will befall us as it did before. We must never allow that to happen again."
His words were heavy with hostility.
Stella watched silently, her hand covering her mouth to avoid making any noise that would reveal her presence, but unfortunately, as she moved slightly closer to observe, she accidentally snapped a small branch.
Immediately, one of the men heard the noise and whispered to the other. Stella knew they were now alert and heading toward her. Fear froze her blood, and her first thought was that she was about to die.
But then, she noticed a flock of sparrows perched on the branches above her. Without hesitation, she decided to use them as a distraction.
Calmly, she picked up a small pebble and threw it upward to hit a twig.
As the two men approached, readying their weapons, the sparrows suddenly took flight.
"Oh, it was just sparrows," one said, lowering his guard.
Holding her breath, Stella hoped her trick had worked. She wasn't sure it would fool such keen men who knew every inch of the forest.
Suddenly, an angry voice called out to the two men, "What are you doing here? Stop wasting time! We have other tasks to complete."
They immediately followed the voice, responding, "Yes, Master."
This man was the one who walked just behind the leader.
After they left, Stella remained still for a while, afraid to move.
"What if this was a trap to catch anyone left hiding?"
She went to check on the expedition members, hoping to find a survivor.
Sadly, they were all dead. She looked at them with a broken heart, tears flowing freely.
"Why did this happen? Everything was fine… so why this tragedy?"
She felt utterly devastated.
"What am I going to do now? I'm alone here, can't go back, those men are probably lurking near the beach. And then there are those deadly jellyfish."
Sitting beside the bodies of her companions, her whole body trembling with fear and despair, Stella wondered what fate awaited her in this terrifying place.
She realized she couldn't return to the ship, the masked men had reached her territory. Yet, staying in the forest unprotected was no safer.
She searched desperately for any clue or means of survival amid her growing panic.
Thoughts of her parents and brother flooded her mind. Would she ever see them again? She blamed herself for coming here.
"Damn me. I should have thought this through. If I had, I wouldn't be in this mess. I survived by sheer luck this time. That girl, Emma, she took advantage of me. She knew all along and refused to go herself, throwing me into this nightmare," she thought bitterly.
"If this continent is just a nature reserve, how come people are here? Do the authorities know about this? If they do and still sent this mission, they're dirty ."
After calming herself, she considered her next move.
"I need to find a hiding place first. If they find me, I'll end up like the others."
She gathered the remaining food and water, packing them into a backpack.
"I'm sorry, everyone. I couldn't save you. But I swear, once I get out of here, I'll bring those bastards to justice."
Suddenly, she noticed thick smoke rising into the sky.
"They must have blown up the ship. Well, that's good, they'll be distracted by that. I have to use this chance to find a safe place to hide, at least for a few days, until I figure out a way."