17. Nightmare
Huh, how strange.
I don't understand why I suddenly have this feeling, like the peace and affection that Grandma Claire brings to me, it seems that something not far away is very attractive to me, this kind of joy from the heart… What is it?
My little head couldn't react for a while, and suddenly my feet moved, and a slight dizziness came.
The next moment, with a "boom", the sky broke and the earth shook, and the dust rose high into the sky.
What? What?! An earthquake!!
The ground shook very violently, I tried to stand up straight, and I saw the ground not far away, suddenly a crack opened, the crack kept expanding, and with a "rumbling" loud noise, it turned into a familiar huge gulf in a very short time, extending to the foot of the village.
Boiling black mud surged up from the gulf.
In such a terrible scene like a natural disaster, no one is more familiar than me.
A strong unease surged in my heart, and my breathing became disordered.
It's bad! It's bad!! It's bad!!!
The Abyss, it's the Abyss!! Why, why does it appear here!
Quick, we must go back to the village immediately and tell everyone to run!
I threw away the bamboo basket, regardless of the still trembling ground under my feet, and ran at full speed. The wind roared in my ears, and the cloth shoes on my feet were of poor quality, and soon became tattered under my explosive force. I took it off and threw it away, running barefoot towards the direction of the village without stopping for a moment.
The gulf just extended to the foot of the village, fortunately, it has stopped expanding at this moment, and has not caused irreparable damage to the village. Nevertheless, under the tremor of the disaster, the village is no longer as pleasant as before, with houses collapsing in large areas, leaving only broken walls, and cries of panic everywhere. The once flat village road has suddenly changed its appearance. A large number of stones were shaken out of the ground by an irresistible force and scattered everywhere. The weak people struggling under the houses, with the help of relatives and friends, tried to find a glimmer of life. There are scattered villagers, standing on the side of the road in despair and praying.
"Punishment from heaven, it's punishment from heaven… Goddess of Sin, bless, Goddess of Sin, bless…"
A scene of desolation.
I stood dumbfounded at the entrance of the village, looking at the child about three or four years old not far away, with a dusty little face full of fear and helplessness, crying loudly.
"Mommy——!! Mommy——!! Ah——! Ah——!"
Under the child's feet was a woman whose head was crushed by a stone, and now she was breathless, and the red and white things spread out from under the stone.
What to do, what should I do…
How can I save them…
The sadness in my heart is indescribable. I turned my head to look behind me at the gulf, and from the black abyssal mud, an arm like a sharp knife struggled to stretch out, followed by a second, a third, a fourth, a fifth… The densely packed arms kept popping out of the mud, like countless demons from hell.
I took a deep breath and used the greatest strength of my life to shout to the confused people.
"Run!! There are monsters, run——! Fast——!"
Then I picked up the crying child and ran away from the hell behind me as fast as I could.
"Mommy! I want mommy——!!"
The child kept slapping me with his little hands, his face was dirty with tears and dust, and he couldn't see his face clearly.
I bit my lip, not knowing what to say or wanting to say anything, just running with all my strength.
Aria… Barry… I have to find them first…
Buddha, God, and the gods of this world.
Please bless them, don't let anything happen to them…
My heart was filled with strong unease.
How fast can I run at full speed? I can't estimate the specific data, I can only say it's very fast, a speed that a normal healthy human can't reach, the horned beasts of this world can't catch up with me.
So getting home is just a matter of breath.
The simple stone and wood house had already collapsed by half, and the other half of the wall that was barely standing also looked like it was about to fall, and the cow at the door was agitated trying to break free from the rope.
"Aria! Barry!"
I put the child down outside the door and called out anxiously.
The child next to me suddenly lay on the ground and vomited non-stop. Maybe because I ran too fast, or because I carried him too roughly. It's probably similar to motion sickness; it shouldn't be serious.
I couldn't afford to check on the child, I hurriedly ran into the ruined house.
"Aria! Barry!"
No one was to be found. The wood and stones had fallen very scattered, if anyone was pressed underneath, they would be visible at a glance, it seems they should still be at Allen's house and haven't come back.
I turned to leave, but suddenly, as if remembering something, I rummaged through the rubble and pulled out the large sickle called a scythe.
Looking up, I saw the tattered cloak still hanging intact on the half-remaining wall. I hesitated for a moment, then grabbed the cloak and draped it over myself.
This cloak, in case of an emergency, should provide some protection.
After coming out, I found that the child was gone, probably ran off somewhere while I was looking for things.
I hope he didn't run back to look for his mother, I prayed in my heart.
I untied the rope that was tying the cow and slapped its behind, and the cow immediately took off running into the distance.
You better run for your life too.
I took one last look back at the broken little house I called home, then lifted my feet and ran towards the west side of the village.
"Run! You all, run! The monsters, they're coming!"
"Run! Uncle, run fast! There are monsters, coming soon!"
I kept shouting to the people around, but few responded to me.
The entire village was immersed in a sense of desolation.
"Oh Lord——!!"
"Ah——! My leg is broken, my leg——!!"
"Someone help me! My son, my son is still inside! My son is trapped underneath!"
"Little Sil, are you alright?"
Someone called out to me, also covered in dust, unrecognizable.
"I'm fine, you all, run, monsters…"
Gradually, my throat became hoarse from shouting. But I realized that most people couldn't leave this place.
I saw a mother with two children, continuously digging through the rubble, trying to rescue the husband buried underneath, blood dripping down her arm onto the ground without care.
I saw an old woman with a broken leg, painfully crawling on the ground, leaving a long trail of blood.
I saw the girl who sang beautiful songs at the evening party not long ago, now covered in blood, lying motionless on the ground with her eyes closed. The old tailor knelt beside her, crying like a child.
I saw Uncle Doyle's house.
From the collapsed ruins, a strong, bloodied arm was exposed.
"Uncle Doyle…"
I approached shakily, struggling to move several large stones to the side.
Underneath were still countless beams and broken stones.
"Uncle Doyle!……. Can you hear me?"
No answer.
I took a deep breath, lifted a thick log, and heaved it up.
The log was still pressing down on numerous stones, but I forcibly lifted it. The broken stones "rattled" down, my face turned an abnormal red from the strain, and I shuffled my feet, moving the log along with the large stones on top to the side, then cleared away the broken stones and sawdust below, finally seeing Uncle Doyle's face.
That face was covered in dust and blood, pale as paper, with lifeless eyes wide open.
"Uncle Doyle… wake up…"
I held Uncle Doyle's hand, which still retained some warmth, my weak voice trembling.
"Wake up…"
"Please, wake up…"
I really hoped Uncle Doyle would open his eyes and laugh out loud as he always did.
"Ha ha ha ha, little Sil, got scared, didn't you?"
But he didn't answer me.
He would never wake up again.
Life at this moment was as fragile as paper.
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