Cole ended up hiding beneath the long bridge outside the city.
He sat by the cold, hard pillars under the concrete that sheltered him from the blazing sun. Cole kept the book in front of him unopened.
He wasn't in the mood to start reading.
Because of that one reason, he glared at the book like a scientist making observations. It was as though he treated the book like a sort of extraterrestrial object that piqued his interest, but was too scared to touch.
The sun's rays weakened, the concrete floors turned warm, and the bright atmosphere slowly dimmed to a weak orange. Before it got any darker, Cole finally steeled himself and opened the book.
Cole battled sleep to get through the first line. With a fierce heart, he surpassed his limitations and read the first sentence.
"The world is a false concept of purity," he read out.
'Ohhh...'
"Just as there are two sides of a coin, there are two sides of reality."
'Snider didn't mention any of these.'
"Those two sides are at odds in the plain of existence. However, lest there be a single soul to hinder the two, for would they be seen as a devil? Or an angel?"
Cole became intrigued.
"The first earth, the early world, and the true reality are but a single concept. Whilst the false world, Gosita's accomplishment, mocks thou concept with a bitter scorn."
Cole flipped the page.
"To what extent will thy shadow of the past resentment harken unto the hearts of the people? Or will thine efforts result in lack? Or deliver wants."
'This is why I hate reading.'
Cole shut the book and tossed it to the side.
"I took this book to help further my knowledge, not confuse me more. It seems I'll have to rely on Snider's words."
Cole crossed his arms and speculated, "Should I carry weapons for when I meet that boss tomorrow? If they happen to let their guard down once, then common weapons should work. Given they're still human, of course."
Disregarding Snider completely, Cole devised a little scheme of his own. In that moment, a strange sensation bothered him. His right palm felt a bit discomforting.
When Cole checked it, he was befuddled.
A large cut appeared on his arm, and judging from the blood that leaked from it, he determined the injury wasn't recent.
"How am I just noticing this now?"
Not just that, there was a trail of blood droplets. Cole's eyes followed the trail and ended up stopping at the book.
From a glance, the chronicles was covered in Cole's blood from the hard cover down to some pages. Cole witnessed this and shifted a wide margin back.
'OK, that's scary.' His eyes shrunk in their sockets.
That was the moment Cole decided...
"It's best I keep a safe distance for now," he gripped his right palm.
Cole was used to pain in his line of work, but this was different. The pain was intense, like the blood was being sucked out with a straw.
The blood loss wasn't significant, but the feeling became more distressing. Cole couldn't risk going to a hospital, and the only thing he could do was buy a bandage and alcohol.
But would that truly subdue the pain?
He wasn't sure, but it was worth the risk.
Using his hoodie, Cole covered his face with the front side. "I'll buy a nose mask while I'm there as well."
The closest pharmacy was a bit far from where he was, at least a 1-hour journey by foot. Cole left the book where it was and left the bridge for the city.
He tried to be as inconspicuous as possible. Cole shoved the injured hand inside his pocket and rushed towards the city.
The path to the city border was a luscious field of rice and grass. It was generally peaceful, especially during this time of the year.
"Psssss... Human! Human!"
"Huh?!" Cole shrieked. "Did I hear something?"
'Please let it be something normal.'
"Human!"
"Gaaah!" Cole was startled.
"It's me again. Can you see me this time?"
Cole answered, "I can't. Why are you here?"
"I noticed you had some trouble, so I decided to renew my offer."
Cole returned to walking, trying to brush off her presence. 'This chick is sooo annoying!'
"May I ask how you injured your arm?"
"I cut myself."
The girl switched to a serious tone, "The more time you waste, the more your life is in danger. Your death will benefit neither you nor me."
Cole scowled, "My life and my death are none of your business."
'I don't know why, but I can't stand this girl's voice.'
"Have it your way. When you come crying to me, I'll make you eat your words."
"I won't be hungry for a long time, then," Cole smiled.
The girl's voice faded, and Hyosung became overcome by a sense of relief.
'I hope this night doesn't get any worse.'
After a while of passing through the grassy terrains, Cole entered the city through the gate.
In the world he lived in, cities were protected by invisible domes known as "sets." Each set has small entrances for human and vehicle passage. The people responsible for maintaining the order within those gates are a special policing branch called "Red Caps."
Cole was inspected by a Red Cap with a dark blue uniform, dark boots, and a bandana wrapped around his head.
They exchanged a few odd gestures, nothing out of the ordinary than simple greetings. Once Cole entered, he took a brief glimpse of the sky.
The crystalline display and fresh, calming air were a deceitful mirage of the truth. Especially since, as time passed, fewer and fewer people left their cities. Cole would have been among them if it weren't for his job.
Within the city, it was still daytime. The "sun" still glimmered brightly over the buildings and streets.
Cole didn't head to any pharmacy; instead, he went into a shady apartment. From the broken windows, worn-out structure, and faulty materials, it seemed abandoned.
But not to Cole, he knew there was more to it.
He didn't pass through the door; rather, he followed the back, opened a dumpster, and jumped in. After completing the basic steps, he shut the dumpster and knocked 4 times.
Naturally, the putrid smell of rotten food, decaying matter, and who knows what else were overpowering. But not to Cole, he wasn't bothered in the slightest.
Steadily, he sunk into the dumpster until the trash bags replaced the spot where his body was. Arriving at a certain depth, Cole fell inside a tunnel, crossing his arms with an unfazed expression. The tunnel was rather deep, the amount of force trying to push him upward implied so.
Cole twirled and landed on his feet.
Within the room, a man tinkering with a stethoscope sat on a wheelchair. The room was partly lit by green lamps on his table and a few shimmering orange bulbs.
"You should start spending money on your office. You won't get customers this way," Cole spoke with a happy grin.
"And you should work on your attitude, or I'll stop treating you. Also, this is a hospital!" He screamed like a maniac. "By the way, what brings you here, my loyal customer?"
"The usual, just need some treatment."
Cole showed the man his injured hand.
"Oh? You came here for such a small wound? That's very unlike you?"
'I originally planned to treat it myself, but... I don't think basic patching will be effective,' Cole thought. 'Either way, I'm taking a huge risk being here.'
The man swiftly pulled out a scalpel and placed it on Cole's throat, his movements a mere haze as he pressed the sharp edge further into Cole's skin.
"One wrong move, and your head rolls," he spoke in a threatening voice.
"Who really are you? From what I heard, the real Cole was killed. Not to mention, you brought such a small wound for me to treat. Also, your reflexes are far too slow," he dragged his voice in a terrifying way.
"Tell me, imposter, who sent you..."
"I told you to stop watching movies past 12; it's rotting your brain at this point."
The man jolted back. "Cole? Is that really you? You're not dead?"
"It's kind of a long story... first, get me treated," Cole explained.
'I should have expected this,' Cole regretted.
The man stretched an awkward grin and grabbed a platter with some instruments on the table. Cole sat down on a plastic chair by his side and showed his hand.
The man wore a face mask and treated it like a normal wound. Cole twitched and gritted his teeth from pain but pulled through.
"What's this?" The man blurted, popeyed as he gazed at Cole's wound. "The wound keeps reopening despite the fact I keep stitching it..."
"All the thread I used has disappeared, the ethanol has no effect, and it looks like it's getting worse."
HUSSSSSH
An ominous whistle flashed the room.
The presence was beginning to feel chilly, and the walls looked like they were closing in. Cole was the only one who noticed the latter, but the first was mutual.
"Cole, my friend..." The man's voice shook as he spoke. "Just what did you do?"
"Umm... I..."
"Aaaaaaaaaah!"
A high-pitched shrieking blew the room and everything in it to the opposing wall.
CRASH!
"Shit!" Cole exclaimed.
"Mortimer! Mortimer!" Cole searched through the rubble for the doctor.
From the distance, he saw a hand sticking out the pile of desks and broken ventilators a few meters away from him. Impulsively, he darted toward the scene and dug through the pile.
The screeching reduced, but it was still prevalent. It sounded like warning cries this time.
In the end, what Cole dug out was a badly wounded Mortimer. His arm was fractured, his legs broken, and his face battered, yet he was still breathing.
Cole panicked and dragged him out, leaned him closer to his body, and carried him to the secret exit, a small escape the size of a pet door.
Cole pushed Mortimer in first, then followed shortly. Given his condition, Mortimer was barely able to move on his own, and since the space was too small for both to move together...
...Cole pushed him from behind, like he were moving a shelf. Though Mortimer was breathing, he was still half-conscious.
To make matters worse, the screeching was getting louder and closer, as if it were death itself.
At that stage, Cole couldn't abandon Mortimer even if he wanted to. Not because of some moral obligation, but purely because the space was too small to overtake him at the front, and the creature was probably behind.
Cole pushed like his life were dependent on it!
BANG! BANG!
The wall within a chimney kept making loud, breaking noises.
Once the bricks within shattered, a small gap made way. That gap ended up crumbling further into a wide, dark space.
Firstly, a hand popped out, then an entire arm, then a butt, and finally...
"Gaaah!"
Both men escaped through the chimney wall!
Cole wasted no time getting on his feet; he darted around the room for the main building exit, but it was gone. All that remained were remnants of a worn-out and abandoned apartment.
"Why does this keep happening?!"
"Hehehehehe..."
Soft chuckling reverberated through the walls. The chuckles turned to cackles, and the cackles turned to mad laughter.
Something was mocking him...
"Damn it! I'm tired of all this!! Show yourself, damnit!!"
Cole burst out in a fit of rage, his body seething with anger.
"Face me if you have the courage!"
It stopped.
The entire room drowned in an unforgiving silence.
In front of Cole, small glitters of white light formed like dancing fireflies. He couldn't help but step back a bit.
The glitters mended and shaped, resulting in a depiction of a long spinal cord stretching from the wall, its hands transparent bones with an exposed rib cage, wounded face, and dark hollow eyes.
Cole was frozen.
"He... l..."
Before he could complete his sentence, the creature pressed its bony finger in the middle of his parting lips.
"Shhhhh..."