Someone Else's POV
I walked alone in the dark, illuminating the tunnel with my cell phone's flashlight. The metal plates that the boys had hastily placed to cover the cracks in the walls, floor, and ceiling of the cave—miraculously—had withstood the last earthquake.
I paused for a moment to make sure the improvised bandana I was wearing on my face was still wet, and glanced back along the path I'd come from, where the caravan had gone.
'I just hope the children are fine.'
I turned around and continued on, praying silently, though I wasn't sure if it would help at all anymore.
As I moved forward, I kept close to the walls, just in case there was another earthquake. The farther I went, the more I noticed the metal plates supporting the tunnel glowing increasingly red.
It didn't help that the tunnel looked more and more damaged ahead. However, it was to be expected. Even with the metal plates and reinforcements, without Roid and Simon, it was only a matter of time before this section collapsed completely if there was another tremor.
I turned off my phone's flashlight when I reached a point where the path was completely blocked by a cave-in. Something else caught my attention.
When I looked up, the first thing I saw was a huge hole, the size of a house. I had no idea who had made it, but it was so large that I could even see the outside from there.
The second thing I saw was that the red sky was clouded with yellowish, gray, and black clouds. Then, these black clouds broke apart into thousands of tiny black dots.
'Oh, I don't think that's a cloud.'
I quickly looked away as the sun began to peek through the clouds and retreated into the darkness.
I clasped my hands, eyes closed, trying to slow my breathing, lengthening each inhale and exhale. I couldn't afford to panic and start wasting oxygen.
I put my hand back to my face and checked that the bandana I had tied around it was still damp. I reached into my handbag and took my glasses out of their case to put them on. After wiping the sweat from my face with a tissue that came with them, I put the case away, closed my handbag, and walked toward the cave-in.
[The God Who Bets on the Number Five wonders if the risk of this gamble is worth the price]
A transparent blue notification appeared before me. It was that entity again.
"It's not a gamble. I'm returning a favor." I replied, as I slowly placed my hands on the rockfall and gave it a tentative push.
[All or Nothing has activated]
Nothing happened.
I took a few fearful steps back. I still hadn't received confirmation, so I mentally prepared myself to run or jump if something happened.
Just as I took the fifth step back, the notification I was waiting for appeared.
[You have won the gamble]
[Fifty-Five Times Ninety-Nine has successfully activated]
I let the tension drop from my shoulders and smiled.
'I'm glad it worked—'
The sound of a massive explosion somewhere made me cover my ears and crouch down.
Again, the ground began to shake.
Moments later, the earth in front of me began to split open, completely cleaving in two. I quickly jumped to one side to avoid falling.
I saw magma beginning to rise from the depths, followed by what I recognized as a giant chain—ten meters or more—extending slowly beneath it.
I clung to the wall, crawling as best I could. The cave-in that had blocked the path had completely collapsed into the ravine, straight into the magma.
When I saw that part of the ground beside me was also cracking, I closed my eyes.
Thump, Hiss
Thump, Hiss, Thump, Hiss
Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump, Hiss…
I opened my eyes to the sound of several things falling and impacting what I assumed to be magma. As I did, I saw a rain of black rocks falling and spreading across the fissure in front of me.
When my vision focused, I saw that they weren't rocks at all, but winged, bat-like creatures falling, along with bones of the same color pressed against their necks.
'It can't be.'
I got back up and waited until so many falling 'things' accumulated that they formed a path through the middle of the enormous fissure, completely covering the magma.
[The God Who Bets on Number Five is advising you not to waste time]
Without thinking twice, I started running along the rocky path that had formed in the direction of the first cave-in. Glancing back, I noticed the fissure continuing to widen, but immediately more creatures of rock and bone rained down, filling the new space.
'Jesus, I knew the reward for winning the bet was good, but I didn't know it could make something like this.'
I continued onward, this time burning through more oxygen as I ran following the new path that had formed while the magma that appeared through the now completely molten iron plates was covered by pieces of rock that fell from above.
Right in the middle of one of the tunnel's forks, I found it.
There she was. Sitting with her legs outstretched, leaning against a cave wall, looking at a pendant in her hands.
Disheveled, ragged black hair obscured her face. The middle-aged nurse still wore her blue uniform. Her skin, once white, was now scarred with burns on the soles of her feet and forearms, a reddish-pink hue mixed with the grime of the cave.
"Miss Annie!"
I scrambled off the rocky path and knelt before her, taking the water bottle from my handbag.
As I moved her hair, I noticed it was stained with blood dripping from the wound on the bandage over her left eye.
"Don't worry, I'll clean that up right now. Have some water first, please."
She didn't respond, but I knew she was alive because of the faint breathing she gave, and because her gaze was fixed on the pendant she held in her hands.
[The God Who Bets on the Number Five feels pity from an already lost soul]
"She's not lost! I just need to cl—"
Before I could even give her water, a pair of heavy hands grabbed me from behind, yanking me around.
I instinctively looked up and there he was—my twin brother.
"Luke? What are you doing here?"
The same brown hair as mine, the same brown eyes, using a wet bandana to filter the air, once with a gentle gaze but now disturbed by a visible despair and dark circles under his eyes that now only made him look more intimidating.
"What am I doing? What the hell are you doing, Emilie?!"
"Do you have any idea how long I looked for you? Are you even aware of your surroundings?! What part of going to higher ground didn't you understand?! Why the hell did you wander off from the caravan—?!"
My brother stopped when he looked over my shoulder; perhaps involuntarily, unaware of the look of disgust he gave Miss Annie.
But I did.
He was just like everyone else. He saw her the same way that woman did. Everyone saw her that way because of her.
A burden.
That was exactly the reason I came here.
If you slow the group down, then you're out, got it? I won't give any water to those who don't contribute, so stop whining, be useful and keep moving!
The memory was still fresh; only a few hours had passed, after all. The caravan continued advancing through the tunnels the boys had built, and they had long since left the stragglers behind.
And they had left Miss Annie while I took care of the children in the middle of the caravan.
"You've got to be kidding me, En. How could you—"
"Let go of me."
"No, the heat is messing with your head, you can't be here. We're going—AH! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!?"
Luke let go of me when I raked his face with my nails. Unfortunately, I only made a superficial cut that didn't even bleed.
I took a couple of steps back, raising my hands, ready to gamble again if necessary. I wasn't going back without Miss Annie.
"Emilie, that woman is already dead!"
"Liar, she's still breathing. And I'm going to save her," I hissed.
My brother put his hands to his head and made an exasperated, almost incredulous face. He even opened his arms wide in exasperation as he looked around the tunnel.
"Um, you're delusional. I get it, okay? Everything's crazy, the situation is awful, and your brain is repressing it. Trust me, I know, I saw a documentary about this. It's some shit your brain does to suppress reality. And—"
"Back off!" I said as I backed away, making sure not to step on Miss Annie, keeping my hands up.
"Okay, okay. I'm not coming any closer." My brother raised his hands, showing them to me. He licked his lips before speaking again. "Emilie. Roid and Simon need a break. They've been moving sand, dirt, and gravel for hours so we don't burn up here—so we can survive." He emphasized the last word too much.
I didn't say anything.
He was right. If it weren't for Roid and Simon's ability to manipulate earth and minerals, these tunnels would have collapsed the moment the tremors started, and magma began seeping out everywhere.
Even so, I didn't change my mind. I took another step back as I stood in front of Miss Annie.
Luke took a step forward, his hands still raised.
"The exploration team has surely already found what little Vik saw in the sandstorm. We need to be there if we want to reach the skeleton-mountain range. Remember? Little Vik? The mountain range? Magma?"
Another truth.
The exploration team had not only surfaced to confirm what little Vik had seen, but they were also risking their lives to create a safe path to the sandstorm.
I lowered my arms slightly but didn't move.
My brother took another step before speaking again.
"Didn't you say you wanted to help the family who lost their father? Little Sami? Little Ron? Come on, there are many people who need your help…not everyone knows about medicine like you do."
Another truth.
I lowered my head and arms as I remembered the little ones. I had grown fond of the children; they weren't to blame for being here, much less for their father being ripped in half by a giant spider that appeared out of nowhere.
However, what came out of the mouth of that snake I call a brother reminded me of the reason why I came.
"Please, Em, don't make things hard. Don't put yourself on her bad side."
"Her bad side…" I whispered, tasting the disgusting sensation of the wet rag against my lips. "Fuck that…"
"Em—"
"Fuck her—fuck you!" I stepped forward, raising my hands and pushing Luke. "Now you're worried about me? When you chose to protect that woman instead of your own sister? Why? For a bit of water?" I pointed at Miss Annie leaning against the wall. "If it weren't for her, I'd be dead. Dead, Luke!"
"Emilie… it wasn't like that, you know I don't know—" My brother frowned, looking away for a second before meeting my eyes again. "Look, I messed up, okay? I don't know what came over me, okay? It was an impulse. I didn't think. It was just instinct—"
SLAP
"Don't you dare say that word. You know perfectly well what you did!" I slapped my brother across the face. I had never hit him before, but at that moment the words came out like poison. "You're an opportunistic and cowardly person, Luke. You abandon people when things get tough. Just like when you abandoned Mom in the psychiatric hospital, just like when you dropped out of college for that stupid business… And just like when you abandoned your best friend—my boyfriend!"
"…"
My brother silently avoided my gaze, without even readjusting the bandana that had slipped down thanks to my slap.
"He was a criminal…" he finally answered.
"So are you," I sniffed. "Leo was a good man, and I loved him. He loved you too, he was your best friend, and you betrayed him based on the word of a stranger!"
"Em, that's not fair. You don't know what happened—"
"You ruined his life! You ruined our lives!"
Once again, the tunnel began to shake.
[The God Who Bets on the Number Five warns you that the effect of your gift will soon end.]
I walked away from my brother without turning my back on him, but not before finishing saying what I still needed to say.
"And unlike you, I know he would have sacrificed himself without hesitation if it had meant helping you or me."
My brother didn't answer. He remained silent as he adjusted his bandana again.
"Go away, Luke. Go to Lysandra so she can give you more water, and then abandon her when she's no longer useful to you."
I spat out the last words, spewing venom, even more than I really meant to say.
My brother turned around, and before leaving he spoke to me one last time.
"I would never abandon you, Em. Even if you don't believe it"
Silence.
"Don't take too long with whatever it is you're going to do and come back to the caravan. I'll try not to make her too angry."
[The Effect of Fifty-Five Times Ninety-Nine has ended]
Without saying anything else, Luke walked away and returned along the path I had taken, fading from sight as he disappeared around the bend.
I let my shoulders slump and let out the breath I'd been holding. I hated fighting, but I was really angry with my brother.
'It's okay, everything's fine.'
I lied to myself as I approached Miss Annie again. I knelt down and picked up the bottle from the ground; a quarter of the water had spilled.
I licked my lips and for a moment thought about licking the dirt, but I immediately shook my head.
I lifted Miss Annie's chin and tried to trickle some water from the bottle.
"There, please take a sip, Miss Annie."
She didn't answer; her gaze was fixed on the pendant resting in her hands.
"Please, have a little sip, just a little."
I managed to get some water down her throat, doing my best to make her swallow, although when I lowered the bottle I noticed that some blood had now mixed with the water in it.
I looked into the woman's eyes—or rather the lone eye she had left; she had lost the other in the fight with the spiders. Her gaze was unfocused and glazed, and she also seemed to be suffering from the burns. The bandage covering her eye was fraying, and the blood was now black.
'I have to change it or it's going to get infected.'
I hurriedly opened my handbag and took out the last open, almost empty, package of bandages I had left. I removed the damp rag I was wearing and put it on her.
Then I began to change the soiled bandage for a fresh one. As I did so, I glanced at the pendant on her hand.
Actually, it wasn't one—it was two. They looked cheap, made of black thread holding a green plastic stone and a purple one. Miss Annie was also wearing another pendant of the same type, only this one was dark orange.
Although it didn't really matter if they were cheap or not, because they weren't. Of course not. They were the pendants her husband and son wore.
Just like little Sami and little Ron lost their father, Miss Annie had also lost her family in the ambush we suffered with the spiders.
Not only them, but Rosa and fifteen other people also did not manage to survive.
I coughed a little, just as another tremor began to ripple through the ground, and the earth seemed about to break again at any moment.
"Don't worry, I don't plan on leaving anyone else behind…"
I finished changing the bandage, threw the used one and picked up the bottle while looking for something to replace the improvised bandana in my handbag.
But I stopped when I felt a small pull in my arm.
"N-non…"
I turned around and saw Miss Annie lowering her bandana with one hand and holding my arm with the other.
"Y-you… you have to live…"
I hurried to pull up her bandana and adjust the knot.
"Please don't take it off, okay? Trust in me. I'll get us both out right now."
She released my arm and picked up the pendants again before closing her eyes. I felt a momentary pang of anguish watching the way she made that last movement, almost like resignation.
Following that, the artificial plate that had formed from the rain of monsters and black bones began to tremble as the earth began to open up again.
[The God Who Bets on the Number Five reminds you of the consequences of losing the bet.]
"I know!"
I took one of the long stockings I had and wrung it out with slightly bloody water from the bottle before tying the new makeshift bandana around my face.
I placed my hands on the ground, staring at the new fissure as the jet-black path began to sink and the sound of burning magma could be heard again.
[All or Nothing has activated]
This time the response was instantaneous.
[You have lost the gamble]
I stared in horror as I slung my handbag over my shoulder and tried my best to get Miss Annie up before the Flaw's effects kicked in.
[The God Who Bets on the Number Five feels that something isn't quite right about that last gamble]
"Ma fille… I'm telling you that—"
I ignored Miss Annie's babbling and focused on helping her to stand upright.
[One percent of one percent has successfully activated]
Just as the notification appeared, the floor beneath us began to rise, and the ceiling began to collapse.
The walls rose as if they were being ejected. We fell to the ground as the platform rose, and everything above collapsed. Shards of debris cut into me while I tried my best to cover Miss Annie.
In an instant we reached the surface, and it was when I glimpsed the black desert from far above ground level that I noticed two things.
First, we were so close to the black sandstorm that it resembled a tsunami. We were just a few meters from impact.
But the thing that really made me tremble was when I saw the fangs that became visible as the sand, dirt, and debris fell from the mouth of the sandworm we were in.
It was when the storm hit us with full force and the world shifted as the sandworm began to curve downwards that another notification appeared.
[The effect of your flaw—one percent of one percent—has been amplified by a stronger flaw]
[You are being affected by Adversity]
***