And suddenly, Jude stood up from his seat. All eyes stopped talking and turned toward him in surprise. His face carried an expression of seriousness they had never seen in him before.
He cleared his throat slightly، then said in a steady voice:
"There's something I have to tell you."
The silence deepened, as if time itself had paused for a moment. Everyone exchanged questioning glances, while Jude reached into his pocket and pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper. He held it up before their eyes, his voice carrying a mysterious weight:
"This letter… I found it last night while searching one of the houses for clothes. Its contents are strange and shocking… so much that I couldn't believe myself as I read it."
Camellia leaned forward, her eyes widening with curiosity as she said: "And why didn't you tell us about it last night?"
Jude sighed deeply, his eyes wandering over their questioning faces before he replied: "I didn't find the right time to talk about it."
Lily couldn't contain her curiosity any longer and asked, leaning her body toward him: "So what does the letter say?"
Jude unfolded the paper slowly, as if reliving the awe of those words he had read, then said: "The letter was written by someone who lived here… in this place… this island."
Karem gasped suddenly, his voice trembling: "I… I… island?!"
Jude nodded firmly: "Yes. And what's stranger… is that this person wrote in his final lines that he could smell a green gas spreading through the place, tearing at his limbs every time he inhaled it… until those were his last breaths."
A deadly silence fell for a few
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moments, as if the news had struck them all with sudden paralysis. Their breaths grew heavy, and their eyes exchanged fear and confusion.
Black With broke the silence with a sharp voice: "Do you think this has anything to do with the corpse in the storage room?"
Gasps of shock rose among everyone, and Karem turned with disbelief, saying: "Corpse?! What… what do you mean?!"
Camellia looked toward Black With in surprise: "A corpse? What's its story?"
Black With straightened in her seat, her eyes glinting with mystery as she said: "Last night, while we were looking for Linda and Jason, I went into the storage room to check if anyone was hiding there… but while searching, I found a man's skeleton. It looked like he… committed suicide."
Linda gasped, covering her mouth with her hand: "Suicide?! That's… that's shocking!"
Then she added in a hoarse voice, as if yesterday's memory was still stuck in her mind: "We also… found something important. When we lost our way, we reached a barrier… it was like an electric wall."
Ray raised his eyebrows in astonishment: "An electric barrier? Why?"
Jason nodded, speaking in a serious tone: "Yes. It was as if that barrier was telling us this is the end… there's no way out of here. On top of that, we found a black card with the logo of a research and intelligence company."
Ray extended his hand, saying: "Let me see the card."
They handed him the card, and as soon as his eyes fell upon it, shock appeared on his face, as if his past had suddenly touched him. He muttered softly: "How… how did this get here? Did someone drop it?"
Jason intervened cautiously, his voice filled with tension: "Wait… if the ghouls were originally humans who were transformed… then maybe that gas is connected… and maybe also… the research and intelligence company."
Ray paused for a few moments, as if his mind had sunk into old memories. His voice slowed as he said: "I remember a conversation I had with my friend Hiro two years ago…"
-------
He began to recall the scene, as if watching it unfold before his eyes.
Hiro stood in front of him, anger burning in his eyes, his phone in his hand:
"Ray, I'm sure my dog was kidnapped by them. I was tracking my dog with the tracker I attached to his collar, and the last location that appeared was… their research facility. I contacted them, but they denied everything."
Ray sat in shock while Hiro continued speaking, his voice trembling with fury.
A few days later:
The news broke… the research and intelligence company was involved in the disappearance of a large number of animals.
Hiro said angrily, holding his phone:
"For God's sake, see? They're the bastards! But why did they take so many?!"
Ray lowered his head and whispered bitterly: "Maybe… to experiment on them."
Hiro replied:
"But… damn it… if anything happens to my dog… I'll make them regret it."
---
The scene suddenly faded, bringing Ray back to the present. His voice grew more serious as he said: "If we connect all this together, then the ghouls were once humans who were transformed, and this place was designed specifically for them. We're here for two reasons:
either to be bait for them… or to become part of their experiment. They want to see how long we can survive under such conditions."
Karem trembled, his fist shaking on the table as he said: "Damn it! Humans… humans are the most evil creatures in existence! They didn't stop at turning the innocent, they also made us their bait!"
Camellia said nervously: "But… why us specifically? Why were we chosen?"
Jude replied in a mysterious tone: "I don't know why we were all lured here… but the presence of that company's card in this place means there are two possibilities: first, that there's a spy among us. And second… that the company's headquarters might be here."
Silence fell again, but this time it was a heavy silence that stole their breath. Everyone exchanged suspicious looks, each one staring at the others with doubt and fear, as if asking inwardly: could my friend be the spy?
Ray broke the tense atmosphere with bitter sarcasm: "Damn it… I can't believe that today's friend could be tomorrow's enemy… and yesterday's enemy today's friend."
The tension and suspicion grew sharper among the group until Dante fixed his gaze on Black With, his sharp eyes stirring unease.
Black With trembled slightly and said in a shaky voice: "W… what is it? Why are you all looking at me like that? And you, Dante, what's with those looks?"
------
Dante spoke calmly, but his tone was heavy: "It's a bit strange. When I first woke up here, I was lost in the forest… searching for any clue or person. I started shouting nonstop, calling for anyone to help me… then I looked to my right and left until I heard footsteps approaching quickly from behind the bushes… I moved forward to see who it was… but suddenly, Harman appeared in front of me. I felt relieved then, happy that I wasn't alone."
He fell silent for a moment, his voice lowering as if the memory was slowly returning to him: "We walked together through the forest until we saw something I wish I'd never seen. There was a boy, about my age… dead. His lower limbs were torn apart, his intestines scattered on the ground, and blood covered everything. I couldn't control myself and vomited violently. At that moment, I couldn't understand how this happened or why I was here…!!"
Everyone exchanged trembling looks as Dante continued: "We kept walking until we reached an abandoned city. There, I heard a girl's voice talking to someone. We got closer, and Black With appeared before us… talking to… a ghoul. I had never seen anything like it in my life… a huge, hideous ghoul, its limbs looked like they could crush everything. I was terrified, and Harman was about to faint. But what shocked me… was that you, Black With, didn't show any fear. Even when it grabbed you by the head, you stood firm… as if you knew it wouldn't hurt you."
Dante took a deep breath, then said: "I didn't hesitate for a moment. I grabbed the rifle I'd found in the forest, aimed it at it… and killed it. But your reaction was cold, as if our helping you meant nothing. After that, you were always the one complaining and sparking conflicts between us."
------
He swallowed hard, looking at her steadily: "I… don't know anymore if I should trust you or not."
Silence filled the air again, this time thick with tension. Every eye turned toward Black With, their looks mixing suspicion with fear. She stood abruptly, slamming her fist on the table: "Guys! How can you even doubt me?! I swear I know nothing! Even if I were a spy, what kind of idiot would risk their life in a forest full of ghouls? I swear I'm innocent! At first, I thought they were filming a movie, that's why I wasn't scared. I thought it was someone's prank! Dante… I know I've been rude and selfish, but I'm not trash who'd do something like that!"
Dante looked at her calmly, his voice cold: "Black With… it's not that I don't trust you, it's just… I'm used to being betrayed by the ones closest to my heart."
Black With suddenly trembled, stepping back, her eyes glistening with tears she could no longer hold back. She stared at Dante with a look no one had ever seen from her before. Then she quickly turned and ran out of the hall, her tears falling behind her.
Lily shouted as she stood up: "Black With! Come back here!"
But Black With disappeared behind the door. Lily placed her hands on her head: "We need to stop accusing each other! I can't believe one of us could be a spy!"
Elias nodded in agreement, his voice low but firm: "Yeah… who would risk their life like this? No one would willingly put themselves in this hell."
Silence fell once again… but this time, it wasn't a silence of peace. It was the heavy silence of doubt and fear, as if everyone was now afraid to look into each other's eyes.
_____'_'