Sunny was the one that led them through the tunnels, holding out his torch in front of him to illuminate their path, he walked without hesitation. From the looks of it, he was obviously the one who was most used to these corridors.
Yuu, a few steps behind, carried the limp form of Iwa in his arms. Her blood trickled down his own clothes and onto the floor, but he didn't seem to care all that much, humming a small tune under his breath.
Shin closed the march, silently observing the form of the girl in Yuu's arm. She had already lost consciousness when the three of them found her on the cold ground, the weak movement of her bloodied chest being the only indication that she was still alive, something Shin still had trouble believing.
The rat had ripped her neck open up to the internal jugular, tearing most of the veins there, leaving her to bleed to death. And yet, the hemorrhage had somehow stopped, she was still breathing. With obvious difficulty, given that her exhales sounded more like throaty hisses than anything else, not quite alive and kickin', but alive still.
"...She'll really heal from that ?" Shin asked again with budding fascination, was it those engravings on their backs ? How ? Why ?
Yuu nodded, the blond had been patient so far with the boy's (often repetitive) questions, the same couldn't be said about Sunny, but it seemed to be his natural temperament, so Shin tried his best not to take it to heart.
"Yeah. It'll definitely take a while, but she'll be.. Fine ? The only deaths we've had so far in the camp happened when heads were fully separated from the body." He explained with a pensive look, glancing over his shoulder to look at the darkness behind Shin. "...The monsters seem to realize that too, that's why they attack the neck." He looked back at the girl in his arms, sighing.
"If you ever get attacked again, protect that at all cost, m'kay ?"
He sent Shin that weird grimace-smile of his, an odd grin he offered when trying to offer some reassuring words while fully knowing it wouldn't quite be.
"...I'll keep that in mind."
And they kept on walking, falling silent, the painful breathing of Iwa and their quiet footsteps on the stones, along with the subtle crackle of Sunny's torch being the only sounds that accompanied them.
...
What Yuu had called a 'camp' was, in fact, a city. An underground city, of dark buildings, tightly packed together like a shapeless mass of shadows, crammed in the limited space of the underground chamber it was built in.
After what seemed like hours of walking, the increasingly sinuous tunnels lead them to an opening, the rudimentary wooden pillars that supported the corridors became arches, high and might. They were adorned with what looked like paper talismans and curved over their heads as they emerged in a large area. Stalactites reached the ground from the rock ceiling meters above their head, stalagmite climbed from between the uneven stone slabs at their feet.
Shin blinked.
"That's.."
"Impressive ?" Yuu guessed, a proud smile on his face.
"Gloomy." Shin finished, watching the high pagodas1
looming over their figures like malevolent spirits.
"You'll get used to it." Sunny muttered, hurrying ahead of them, "Come on, let's get moving, this place gives me the creep."
He guided them through the buildings, into the heart of the underground city. The terrain was extremely uneven, Shin almost tripped in the darkness, multiple times.
"People live here ?"
"Well, we do." Yuu said, walking next to him, still holding Iwa in his arms, "But if you're talking about whoever built this place ? No idea where they went."
"Who would blame them for leaving, honestly." Sunny commented in a flat voice, his hold around the torch was tight.
"We are trying to do the same thing after all." The blond boy agreed with a sigh that reverberated in the silent place.
...
They were greeted by an influx of children, from approximately thirteen to fifteen years olds, smiles on their faces as they greeted back Yuu and Sunny. They were all dirty, bruised, some --scratch that, almost all of them had scars on visible places. Arms, legs, face.
Shin observed them as they freed Yuu from the weight in his arms, carrying her away. They were undisturbed by her bloodied face, where most of the lower skin had been teared apart, revealing the muscles of her jaw underneath. If anything, they looked used to such gore, only a vague worry tainted their features as they brought the girl into one of the opened buildings around them, leaving the molded sliding doors open behind them.
None of them paid attention to Shin just yet, a few glances, they appeared sympathetic towards his blood-covered and wounded figure, but wary.
"Yuu, Su'." A clear voice greeted them.
It was a girl, no, a young woman. She looked the oldest here, around sixteen, maybe seventeen if Shin considered how malnutrition might've slowed her growth.
She had a large scar that ran across her face, from the inner corner of her brow to her lips, splitting them and disfiguring her, her skin was pale, she looked sick. They all did. But there was something about her voice, smooth but firm, clear but decisive, that broke this first impression of weakness.
She had a soft smile on her face, and stepped forward, there was a slight limp to her walk, Shin noted. She hugged Yuu and patted Sunny's back.
"Thank you for bringing back Iwa alive." She tilted her head forward in a small, bow-like gesture. She had shoulder-length hair, dark and a bit dirty, but well taken care of compared to some of the other children. She wore a sort of hanfu made with old fabric, clearly sewn with the meager means available, but still better than the rough shirt he himself had on at the moment.
She raised her head and her gaze fell on Shin, he didn't miss the calculating glint that flashed behind.
Ok, got it. She was the one in charge around here.
"Minha ?" He guessed.
A girl name Minha with a scar on her face that leads children in a dark underground city. Something briefly itched in Shin's brain, a feeling of familiarity that was gone as soon as he tried to grasp it.
"Herself," she nodded with a smirk, which brought him back to reality, "I take that you're the newest escapee, congrats. Are you hungry ?"
Now that sounded like an invitation he wouldn't have the luxury to refuse. Sunny and Yuu had taken a step back. When Shin looked at them, the taller boy sent him a smile and waved before walking away, toward the building where Iwa had been taken earlier, while Sunny simply nodded at him before disappearing at the turn of a path with his torch.
So this seemed to be the standard procedure.
He turned back to Minha, she was still waiting, her smile hadn't budged, in a way that Shin felt wasn't completely genuine.
"...You have food ?"
"Just because we don't need it doesn't mean it's not something we still enjoy." She chuckled.
He followed her.
...
He chewed the meat out of the old porcelain bowl, a weird luxury in such a decrepit place. The food, while definitely tasting bland by normal standards, felt like heaven for him right now. He hadn't realized just how hungry he was until a little girl, undoubtedly one of the youngest, not older than ten, placed the fuming plate in front of him.
She looked at him funny as he gulped down the unknown meat, but didn't comment.
Minha, seated across Shin at the small table, patted her hand with a smile.
"Thank you, Ying, you can go."
The little girl blushed, delighted at the slightest bit of attention from the older girl, nodded, and walked away with a light skip in her steps.
Shin watched scene the scene with a blink, chewing pensively.
"They admire you." He spoke with a mouthful, spitting out a bone back in the bowl. It was a statement and not a question. It wasn't just respect that shone in the children's eyes when they passed by, they looked up to her, and, in return, Minha seemed fond of every single one of them.
"I guess they do." She conceded, smoothing over the wrinkles of her muted green robes. "Do you remember your name ?"
"Shin."
She nodded, "Anything beyond that ?"
He shook his head.
She sighed but didn't look surprised. "None of us do. You'll fit right in." She offered him a weak smile, leaning her chin on the palm of her hand. "You must have a few questions then, ask away."
Shin blinked, setting the bowl of food down and wiping the corner of his mouth.
"Any question ?"
"As long as I know the answer, of course."
"What's that ?" He asked, pointing to the leftovers.
"Rat. And other small creatures you may come across in the tunnels during your future stay here."
Mh. Yum.
"How many people live here ?"
"A hundred, maybe less, maybe more. I've lost count."
"But you lead them." Shin tilted his head at her.
Minha leaned away, turning her gaze to the open doors of the entrance, looking at the children passing by.
"Not all of them. There's thirty of us here, others are scattered through the city in smaller groups... Or went on their own."
Shin raised an eyebrow at that. Alone ? In this hellhole ? Minha caught his expression and chuckled.
"Do yourself a favor, if you meet a boy with white hair, stay as far away as you can."
"An enemy ?"
"I wouldn't go as far as calling him that, but he certainly isn't a friend either."
Minha's gaze hardened for a second. "He's one of the oldest here with me, it's been maybe three years... We're still learning how to survive, but him... Well, he's thriving."
"It's almost scary," she continued, chuckling a bit, her almost fond tone contradicting her words, "he's a really strong guy for his size. The best way to show him we want peace is to let him be. He's not all that bad either, he helps us to deal with the larger monsters that sometimes appear."
Shin stared at her for a moment, trying to imagine what a teenager that could survive all alone in this place would be like.
"What's his name ?"
"Jianyu."
