The next morning, Erin and Lin were the first to wake; they had made sandwiches the night before for everyone to eat on the trip to the other safe house, and while they escorted the group of werebeasts down to the buses with the triplets. In the main area of the house, everyone except for Nakai and Wang Bao were eating a light snack while they waited for the couple to join them. Although they had gone to bed before everyone else, Wang Bao was yet to wake up while Nakai was already dressed, and waiting patiently for Wang Bao to get ready. It was a few more minutes until Wang Bao woke up on his own, and when he rolled over half asleep, Nakai could see his eyes were swollen from crying in his sleep. Seeing this made Nakai’s heart hurt, but he couldn’t find the words to comfort Wang Bao. After saying good morning, Nakai watched as Wang Bao walked out towards the bathroom, returning with a damp hairline, meaning Wang Bao had tried to get rid of the swelling with cold water. Although the puffiness had gone down a little, it was still obvious he had been crying most of the night. 

 

When the couple finally made it out to the dining room, everyone could see the tension between Wang Bao and Nakai. After Nakai had gone to check on Wang Bao after dinner, everyone thought the couple had worked through things, but it was clear they had more problems to work through than Nakai’s jealousy. After saying a quiet good morning to everyone, Nakai and Alo walked at the front of the group, heading down the long metal stairs. By the time they made it to the tunnel, Erin and Lin were heading towards the stairs and bid everyone goodbye. The triplets were already waiting for them, with Roa driving the shuttle van while his brothers were managing a bus each. Ever since walking into the dining room, Mika and Luka had been asking Wang Bao if he was okay, but all he could muster as an answer was a light smile and nod, but on the inside he was reeling. His bad dreams had caused him to feel worse than yesterday, and it wasn’t helping that Nakai wasn’t talking to him. All Wang Bao wanted to do was reach out and hold Nakai’s hand, but didn’t know if Nakai wanted to. 

 

Alo and Nakai didn’t linger when talking to Erin or Lin, and once the quick goodbyes and thank yous were said, the group stepped into the large van with Nakai and Wang Bao seated together near the door. While everyone got comfortable for the short ride, Roa turned the key and signalled to his brothers that everyone was ready. As they started to pull forward, Roa said happily to everyone.

 

“The drive won’t take too long, an hour tops. At the next safe house, they should have a proper meal set up for everyone.”

 

Nobody replied to Roa’s statement, causing him to briefly look over his shoulder. He noticed that Wang Bao was leaning against the door window, looking at the lights with a dull expression while Nakai looked straight ahead. He didn’t need to look at anyone else to feel the thick tension in the van, and instead of saying anything, he looked forward. Slowly the van picked up speed, until the lights no longer looked motion censored, and Wang Bao closed his eyes since they were becoming sore from the fluorescent lights. Although he was still tired after not having a well rested sleep, Wang Bao’s mind was racing with things he wanted to ask Nakai but he didn’t know when the best time to ask them was.

 

Next to Wang Bao, Nakai was also struggling with a busy mind. Nakai had always prided himself on being confident and sure about everything he did, but now that he was faced with a question that Wang Bao couldn’t answer, he was beginning to feel insecure about their future. Their relationship didn’t start off great, and there were still heavy secrets between them thanks to Wang Lei, but Nakai knew he couldn’t shift all of the blame easily. He had done things to Wang Bao that were irreversible now, and his actions had the potential to cause eternal hatred from Wang Bao. By the time the van was slowing down to a stop, Wang Bao had fallen asleep, and Nakai could feel a headache coming on from the constant thinking. Before anyone else could wake Wang Bao, Nakai slowly leaned over and smoothed out the slight frown between his brows, causing Wang Bao to jolt awake. Thanks to the short nap, Wang Bao’s swelling had gone down a little more, giving him a more cute look than painfully sad. Seeing Wang Bao like this, Nakai wanted to lean closer and kiss him deeply, but he held back his affection and whispered under his breath to Wang Bao instead.

 

“We should talk later, Wang Bao.”

 

Hearing those words, Wang Bao felt his heart jump anxiously. Because everyone was wanting to get out of the van, he couldn’t ask Nakai what he was wanting to talk about, and he nodded his head slowly before grabbing his bag. Outside of the buses, four people were waiting for everyone to step out of the vehicles, waiting to lead everyone up the stairs. Because they weren’t sure if they would see Koa, Moa and Roa again, both Wang Bao and Mika stood back from their group. The triplets needed to fill the vehicles before turning back, and when they saw Mika and Wang Bao standing awkwardly, the three of them walked over with gentle smiles. The brothers had also been hoping to say goodbye to both men as well since they had secretly made more caramel necklaces for them; while Moa handed over the two lolly gifts, Roa said with a sheepish grin.

 

“Some treats for your travels. Hopefully you two can visit the safe house again when it’s summer. Lin makes caramels with fresh flowers in the centre, and they make really pretty necklaces.”

 

Wang Bao said he would be sure to visit when he could, and Mika agreed quietly as well. Although the triplets wanted to talk with Wang Bao and Mika longer, they knew they had to head back quickly so as to not worry Lin or Erin, and they gave each man a soft hug then said goodbye. When Mika and Wang Bao made it to the top of the stairs, the group of werebeasts had been taken to a separate area for lunch, while their own group was sitting at the table in the dining room; just like the other safe house, the room to the tunnel was inside the dining room. Not only was the layout the same for both houses, but the decor was the exact same as well. Looking around the room, Wang Bao felt as if he had hallucinated the ride through the tunnel, and had it not been for the woman and man he had never seen before talking to Alo, he would have thought he had actually gone crazy. Wang Bao could hear the man was called Dan, while the woman was called Dani and they were talking about Alo’s group staying for a couple nights before heading out. Nakai was against this idea though since they had been stopping too often, and he didn’t want to linger in case their presence brought unwanted attention to the safe houses. While Wang Bao took the empty space beside Nakai, Mika sat beside his brother while Dan said.

 

“If you want to travel right away, then it would be safest to use a trail that our groups use when moving guests. There are a few routes we switch between to make sure we don’t run into trouble. The safest way is through the mountain, we use an old mine that was abandoned almost three decades ago now. The only trouble with that trail, is that you won’t see the light of day for around two weeks. Whenever we take people through there, a lot of them struggle to make it without having a breakdown halfway through. Every couple of months we send a couple people ahead of time to make sure it’s still safe and the trails haven’t collapsed or anything, but you still have to be careful since there are large beasts on the mountain, and a mine is the perfect place for breeding. The second best way is by car but I wouldn’t risk having someone recognising you on the road because between here and the coast, there are no other safehouses.”

 

Through the windows in the dining room, everyone could see a wide mountain range peeking over the dark tree tops. Turning back towards Dan and Dani, Nakai asked with a serious face.

 

“What’s on the other side of the mountain?”

 

Dani nodded towards the window before answering.

 

“The ocean. The mountain is what separates this country from a coastal country. Alo has connections with people who can get your group to where you’re going once you’re out of the mines.”

 

While Dani was talking, Wang Bao noticed Dan was looking at Nakai with an awe struck gaze. The expression was making Wang Bao uncomfortable; once Dani was finished explaining, Dan turned to Alo and asked with a hopeful expression.

 

“Is he the one?”

 

As if he was expecting this reaction, Alo’s expression was quite plain as he answered with a single yes. Everyone aside from Alo and Zhang suddenly stared at Nakai, their gazes a mix of curiosity and excitement. Wang Bao, Luka and Mika were curious as to why Dan would be asking about Nakai, while Dani and Dan looked as if they were about to jump out of their seats from how excited they were, but the way Dan was looking at Nakai made Wang Bao’s fingers twitch. As if the man had a slight crush on Nakai, rather than pure adoration like Dani. Before everyone’s attention could linger, Dani suddenly said to Nakai in a brighter voice than before.

 

“I’ve heard a lot about you from Alo and Ala; at first I didn’t think there was someone out there helping people the way you are, but now that I’m seeing you in the flesh, I can see why people speak of you in such a high regard.”

 

The atmosphere in the room quickly thickened with awkwardness and tension, but before Wang Bao could boil over with bitter jealousy, Nakai put an end to Dani’s infatuation with a blunt reply.

 

“Don’t put me on a pedestal, I’m not that good of a person.”

 

Despite Nakai cutting Dan’s kindness short, Wang Bao’s jealousy wasn’t cooled and he subtly held onto Nakai’s arm, but this motion was caught by Dan. As soon as Dan noticed this, he quickly understood he was overstepping, and he leaned back in his seat while the two people who had been helping settle the new group in, walked into the dining room with large platters of food for everyone. After smaller plates were handed out to everyone, Dan said to Alo quietly while glancing at Nakai.

 

“We’ll have a meal first. then we’ll pack your group some food and water for your travels.”

 

With everyone enjoying the large meal together, light conversations quickly started up between everyone while Nakai and Wang Bao ate quietly. Whenever Wang Bao would steal a quick glance in Nakai’s direction, he could see the Giant was in deep thought about something. Seeing Nakai like this, Wang Bao’s anxiety started to grow, in turn causing his appetite to quickly fade. It didn’t help that Dan and Dani took turns talking about the great paradise Nakai had created; a place where victims and refugees were given protection. Wang Bao knew Erin had been referring to Nakai when talking about the so-called paradise, but to hear so many talking about something he had no clue existed, couldn’t help but make him feel inferior. Listening to everyone talk so highly of him, Nakai’s appetite was also lost, and when he noticed Wang Bao wasn’t eating, he held the small of Wang Bao’s back while whispering.

 

“Let’s go outside, I need to tell you something.”

 

These were words Wang Bao didn’t want to hear right now, but he knew he couldn’t let the tension between him and Nakai linger, especially if they were going to spend two weeks in the middle of a mine together. Following Nakai outside, Wang Bao felt the cold air was almost bitter compared to the other safehouse, and he swiftly zipped his jacket up to try and stay warm. Unlike the other safehouse, Wang Bao noticed the garden areas weren’t as large, and there looked to be an area with multiple picnic tables, as if meals were eaten outside when the weather was warm. This was where Nakai was headed, and without saying anything the couple sat across from one another. When Wang Bao looked up at Nakai, he found it hard to read his expression, but it was clear Nakai was wanting to talk about something serious, with how clear his eyes were. Looking into Nakai’s dark green gaze, Wang Bao could see his own reflection clearly; unlike Nakai’s stoic appearance, Wang Bao found he appeared small and scared. Just when Wang Bao started to over think the meaning of why Nakai wanted to talk in private, Nakai spoke up in a tight voice.

 

“Do you think your feelings for me are forced, Wang Bao?”

 

Hearing Nakai’s sudden question, Wang Bao felt as if he had been slapped across the face. When he tried to share his disagreement with Nakai's question, the words came out in a jumbled mess, allowing Nakai to state his own opinion on what their relationship had been up until now. 

 

“I realised today that last night, I was pushing a lot of my fears onto you, Wang Bao. When we first met, I wanted to do something that would hurt your brother, but after getting together with you, I then wanted something that would tie you to me forever. You may think I’m obsessed with having a family, but I’m fine with or without one. Being alone though...that is something I can’t live with. My whole life I only had Nera by my side, now he is gone and you’re all I have. I’m a strong minded man with not a lot of fears, but losing the person closest to me is something that haunts me...I know more than anyone that I have caused you a great deal of turmoil and stress, especially when we first met. Out of everything I’m telling you, Wang Bao; I want you to know that you don’t need to be in a relationship with me in order to see your brother. Even if you reject me now, I’ll still take you to your brother.”

 

When Nakai first started talking, tears had formed in Wang Bao’s eyes as he thought Nakai no longer wanted to be with him, but once he had everything clearly, his fear and hurt quickly turned into anger. Nakai had barely stopped talking when Wang Bao stood up from his bench chair and stormed over to where Nakai was sitting solemnly; even though his voice was congested from the tears that threatened to spill over, Wang Bao shouted angrily at Nakai while throwing punch after punch at his arm and chest.

 

“What is wrong with you?! How dare you say that you’ll still hold up your end of the bargain! What about everything else you’ve promised me?! Will you still take me to Giant country?! Protect me?! I’m just as lonely as you, Nakai and you think I’m going to throw away what I have with you just because we started off hating each other!? How dare you say such bullshit to me.”

 

By the end of Wang Bao’s rant, he was beginning to sob hysterically while his punches had lost all of their power. Nakai knew he would hurt Wang Bao by saying what had been on his mind, but he also knew it was best for them to discuss these things openly. Before Wang Bao could become too upset or angry, Nakai pulled him over to sit on his lap face to face. To make sure Wang Bao wouldn’t start hitting him again, Nakai made sure to hold Wang Bao’s hands firmly while kissing the falling tears away from his flushed face. At first Wang Bao tried to fight off Nakai’s gentle coaxing, but after a little while he was able to calm down enough to stop crying. As soon as Nakai noticed Wang Bao was a lot calmer, he tried to sneak a kiss from his lips, but Wang Bao was still reeling in some bitterness, and once his lips grazed across Wang Bao’s swollen mouth, he found his bottom lip grasped firmly between Wang Bao’s teeth. At first, Nakai chuckled from Wang Bao’s cute reaction, but he quickly felt the skin on his lip about to break, and spanked Wang Bao’s bottom firmly to show he had surrendered. Once Wang Bao released his lip, Nakai dipped forward anyway and stole a quick kiss before whispering in a dark voice.

 

“I’ll take this reaction as you agreeing to the long ride with me. Now that I know what is in store for me if I walk away, I won’t be letting you go. Do you think you can handle being stuck with me?”

 

Instead of replying to Nakai right away, Wang Bao pulled the neckline of Nakai’s shirt to reveal the tanned skin on his shoulder, then leaned forward and bit into the tender skin. Wang Bao didn’t stop tightening his jaw until he felt Nakai tap his bottom again, and when he finally pulled away, a faint purple bruise was forming in the small divots caused by his teeth. Seeing this made Wang Bao feel a sense of satisfaction, and he slapped Nakai’s shoulder lightly while speaking in a somewhat whiny voice.

 

“Of course I’m not going anywhere; I think I’m the only one that can keep you in line, and you’re always against taking care of yourself whenever you’re hurt. If it wasn’t for me, you would be dying in the palace dungeons or wreaking havoc somewhere else.”

 

Nakai was more than happy to hear Wang Bao cursing him for his stupidity, and he took the light scolding with a wide smile before planting his lips against Wang Bao’s lips again. This time Wang Bao didn’t push or bite him, instead he welcomed the kiss by opening his mouth wider. Had they been staying the night, Nakai would have had his way with Wang Bao on the table, but since they would be leaving within the hour along with the long walk ahead, Nakai only allowed Wang Bao to suck on his tongue for a few seconds before pulling away. The bitter cold air suddenly felt refreshing as both men caught their breath, while also trying to cool their burning desire. Once Wang Bao’s flushed cheeks had returned to their normal fresh appearance, Nakai helped him to stand up properly, and reached out to hold Wang Bao’s hand as they walked back to the house. However, when Nakai moved his arm out, he felt a slight pain in his bicep and stopped walking to lift his sleeve. Wang Bao stopped beside Nakai as well to wait, and heard him say in a surprised yet amused voice. 

 

“Look, I’m going to have to watch what I say from now on.”

 

Wang Bao looked at Nakai’s bicep and saw a large purple bruise the size of his own fist. Usually Wang Bao was worried whenever a small scratch inconvenienced Nakai, but since he had been the one to cause the bruise on Nakai’s arm, after many times being told he wasn’t strong enough, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of accomplishment. While Nakai lowered his sleeve, Wang Bao stepped closer to shake his fist in Nakai’s face playfully, and said with a cheeky smile.

 

“We’re about due for that rematch then.”

 

Nakai could see the boost in Wang Bao’s confidence thanks to the bruise on his arm, and he rolled his eyes at the same time as shaking his head. Instead of reaching for Wang Bao’s hand like before, Nakai reached around and pinched him on the bottom while saying in a cheerful voice.

 

“In your dreams, remember I know your weak spot.”

 

When Wang Bao felt the light pinch on his buttocks, he couldn’t stop himself from letting out a yelp, earning him a loud bout of laughter. The pride Wang Bao felt a few seconds ago quickly diminished into burning embarrassment, and he lunged forward to spar with Nakai, but his attempts were met empty handed since Nakai simply stepped aside, then walked back towards the house while laughing even louder than before. Wang Bao wasn’t one to give up easily though, and he continued to try and lunge at Nakai, but every time he moved forward, Nakai would step aside as if it was nothing. By the time Nakai was opening the door to enter the safehouse, Wang Bao was sweaty and red faced while Nakai looked refreshed and ready for the day. 

 

Everyone inside the house could hear Wang Bao and Nakai before they walked through the front door, and the sound of both men’s laughter brought relief to everyone in their own group, while everyone from the safehouse looked out the window curiously. By the time they walked through the door, Alo was trying to limit the food they were being given to one duffle bag, and Nakai’s bright expression from outside, returned to his usual stoic image as he walked over to Alo’s side. Although Alo enjoyed freebies as much as the usual person, he couldn’t help but feel bitter from the intense kind gestures from everyone, especially since he had never been given this sort of treatment before, and he knew they were only being given a few weeks worth of food since Nakai was with them. When Nakai looked inside the large overfilled duffle bag, he could see various bags of dried meat and vegetables along with flour and large quantities of dried grain and legumes. Even with a group their size, Nakai felt this was a bit overkill, but his deep gaze was confused by Dan, who asked quickly.

 

“Is it enough for you, Nakai?”

 

From the corner of his eye, Nakai could see Dani and the others try to grab more things to force inside the full bag, but before they could reach out, Nakai quickly zipped the duffle bag shut. Because of the weight of the food, Nakai knew he would be the only one to carry the bag comfortably, and he pulled the bag strap over his head while replying to Dan.

 

“It’s more than enough, don’t empty this place out for us.”

 

Dan quickly shook his head, and explained to Nakai that unlike Erin, they had connections with all of the farmers in their area, which helped them to supply things like legumes, grains and dairy to both safehouses. Just as Dan finished explaining this, Dani chimed in and asked Nakai if he wanted to stay the night then leave in the morning, but Nakai was swift to decline the offer a second time, and he briefly thanked everyone for their warm hospitality then headed back outside. With Nakai leaving the room, Wang Bao followed closely along with Luka and Mika. Alo couldn’t stop from chuckling quietly to himself, since he knew Nakai was becoming uncomfortable with all the attention, and before leaving with Zhang, he thanked everyone as well; though, no one was paying him much attention.

 

When Alo and Zhang finally joined them, Alo took the lead in walking through the dense forest with Mika beside him. Nakai and Wang Bao were in the middle, with Zhang and Luka bringing up the rear. As their group walked at a comfortable pace, Wang Bao couldn’t help but be silently grateful to Erin, since he knew he wouldn’t have been able to make the walk to the mountain, let alone through a mine if he hadn’t had any treatments; had they not been in so much of a hurry, Wang Bao would have liked to take some of the special mud with him, and bear with Nakai’s heavy handed massages, especially with all the walking that was ahead of them. One thing Wang Bao knew he couldn’t get used to, was the bone chilling winter air in Werebeast continent. The sun was still high in the sky, and there were no signs of any snow fall, but Wang Bao felt as if his blood was on the verge of freezing thanks to the icy wind. To try and combat the cold, Wang Bao pulled out another jumper to layer under his winter jacket; after slipping it on quickly and putting his jacket on, Wang Bao rummaged through his bag for the one scarf he had. As Wang Bao walked and searched through his bag, he noticed Nakai seemed completely unfazed by the burning cold winds. Once Wang Bao finally found the scarf buried at the bottom of his bag, Wang Bao asked Nakai.

 

“Aren’t you cold?”

 

Nakai shook his head before explaining how he was used to colder weather climates as long as there wasn’t snow, but Wang Bao wasn’t willing to let him carry on walking with minimal layers on, and started walking on his tippy toes in order to wrap his scarf around Nakai’s neck. Every time Wang Bao adjusted the scarf, his ice cold fingers would graze against Nakai’s warm skin, and once he was happy with how the scarf was situated, Nakai took the hand closest to him, holding it firmly in his hand to help warm it. To keep his other hand warm, Wang Bao stuffed it inside his jacket pocket as they started to walk up the rough trail on the mountain. Although the mountain could be seen over the trees clearly from the safehouse, the entrance of the mine was only a short walk up the trail. Wang Bao had never seen a mine before, but he felt the entrance looked more like an untravelled cave than anything else. 

 

Wang Bao didn’t know why, but the entrance reminded him of Kang’s den which in turn made him think of Lani. Before their group walked into the dark mine, Nakai pulled out three thick light sticks and handed one to Alo and another to Zhang. Once the light sticks were on, they created a bright warm glow, as if daylight was coming out of each stick, helping to warm the cold rock walls of the mine. On the dusty rock ground, they had to be careful so as to not fall over the wooden cart tracks that had been left behind, and while Wang Bao held onto Nakai’s arm, he asked in a whisper.

 

“When do you think Lani will visit his Father? Do you think his leg has healed yet?”

 

Because Wang Bao’s voice was so quiet, the echoes that came after sounded like eerie slithery creatures following them; the sound was enough to make Mika and Luka shiver but the eerie feeling was quickly pushed away when Nakai replied, since his voice was a little louder, helping the following echoes to sound more human.

 

“I’m sure his leg is fine. As for returning to the mountain to see his Father. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had started planning the journey as soon as the call ended. Lani is still loyal to you, and it sounded like he was telling the truth when he felt sorry towards his Father and brother.”

 

Thinking about the struggles Lani would have most likely gone through, resonated strongly with Wang Bao, and he couldn’t help but think that being the child of a monarch or someone in power, was more stressful than it was worth. Wang Bao was about to let the conversation die there as the group continued to walk along the broken wooden tracks, but the thought of Ala suddenly popped into his mind, and he asked Nakai how long it would be before they saw her again. Alo had been missing his sister ever since she separated from their group, and he looked over his shoulder in time to hear Nakai reply.

 

“There is no time limit for her mission, but we should be seeing her soon enough. When we reach the coast, a boat will be taking us to an island where she is supposed to meet us.”

 

Not only was Alo missing his sister, but he also didn’t like Rana. Ever since the first time they tried to find Lani, Alo had had bad feelings towards Rana, and the distrust was continuing to grow with every passing day. Now that they were nearing the end of their journey, Alo hoped that Ala’s side job wouldn’t take too much longer, and that she would be waiting for them once they finally made it to the island. Wang Bao hummed in response, before deciding to look around instead of chattering. For the most part the group walked in a straight line through the main tunnel of the mine, with wide openings and small tunnels cut into the walls. Although none of them were scared thanks to the warm lights from the light sticks, whenever they would pass by a tunnel, Wang Bao, Luka and Mika could help but feel a little scared as to what could be hiding in the dark. 

 

Although Mika had recovered more or less from first arriving at the safehouse, he found that he was still on edge as well as a little jumpy. They had already been walking close to an hour, but the constant tunnels they would pass every few minutes was causing Mika’s anxiety to grow. To try and soothe his growing anxiety, Mika reached beside him and held onto Alo’s hand tightly; as if Alo could sense something was wrong, Mika felt Alo give his hand a firm squeeze and it was enough for the tension he hadn’t noticed in his chest to ease. Although Alo had managed to calm Mika down a little, inside his own mind he was dealing with his own issues. Ever since their time in Mana’s den, Alo had become confused towards Mika’s behaviour. They hadn’t done anything sexual with each other since the hot pools, and Alo wasn’t sure if it was because Mika was embarrassed, scared or playing with him. Every now and then during their journey, Alo would notice Mika staring at him, but whenever their eyes would meet Mika would swiftly look elsewhere. This behaviour paired with the answered questions in his head and the fact that they were now holding hands, only made Alo’s confusion grow.

 

After a couple more hours of walking, they started to reach an incline in the mine shaft. There wasn’t much to their scenery aside from similar looking tunnels and grand openings. At first Wang Bao had enjoyed the quiet walk, but now that they had been walking in the dark for a few hours, he had grown quite bored. With the sound of their footsteps echoing around them quietly, Wang Bao had an idea on how to cure his boredom, and started whistling a bright bird-like tune. As he had expected, the loud tune echoed around them as if there were a hundred birds singing around them, causing Wang Bao to chuckle to himself before whistling out another bird song, only this time the tune was much lower. The following echoes sounded more ominous than the previous, and the low sounds made both Luka and Mika feel shivers creeping down their spines. Just when Wang Bao went to whistle a happier tune, his mouth was suddenly covered by Nakai’s hand, and he heard Nakai whisper.

 

“Shh, there’s something following us.”

 

Alo had felt something was off for a little while as well, and when their group stopped, he could smell a faint scent of rotting flesh. The scent was only obvious if you were paying attention, meaning they would be able to lose the beast following them as long as they stayed quiet. After recognising the smell, Alo guided Mika to walk behind him, while Nakai positioned Wang Bao to walk in front of him, Zhang did the same with Luka and the group quickly formed a single file line. To increase their chances of losing the beast quickly, Alo told Nakai and Zhang to turn their lights off, while he dimmed his own light stick to its lowest setting. The dull glow coming from Alo’s light stick was only enough to see the reflector squares that had been used to mark the correct path, forcing everyone to slowly adjust to the pitch black path. Had their path been a flat road, then it wouldn’t have caused any issues for walking, but because they were walking on broken wooden cart tracks, everyone was struggling to walk at a quick pace. 

 

After a few minutes it seemed as if they had lost the beast that had been tracking them since the faint odour of rotting flesh had faded, but before they could stop to catch their breath, the faint sound of slithering could be heard above them, as if the beast was hiding in the rock above them. All of a sudden the smell from earlier returned but ten times worse, causing Luka to bend over and dry retch loudly. The intense odour came on so quickly, that it made it hard for anyone to not feel the slightest bit nauseous, and everyone in the group started breathing shallow breaths while Zhang tried to help Luka. However, for Wang Bao the sound of Luka’s constant gagging paired with the growing stench made his stomach churn, and he shook both Nakai’s and Mika’s hands off before turning towards the rocky wall to vomit. Despite not eating much, Wang Bao felt as if he couldn’t stop vomiting; his retching was so bad that the only thing coming up was bile, and he felt Nakai rub his back gently until the heavy nausea became bearable. With his vomiting fit subsiding, the sound of the beast slowly went away, but the putrid stench lingered. 

 

To stop Luka from gagging and Wang Bao from vomiting, Nakai removed the scarf Wang Bao had wrapped around his neck then used his knife to cut the material into three large squares. After folding each square in half to form a triangle, Nakai swiftly tied the makeshift masks behind Luka’s, Wang Bao’s and Mika’s heads. The lingering warm smell of Nakai helped cover most of the beast's rotten scent, and after Nakai and Zhang turned their light sticks on, the group continued walking along their marked path. Wang Bao was grateful that they were able to walk with all three lights glowing, since his entire body felt weak after vomiting, and his throat felt raw from the intense gagging and bile. In front of Wang Bao, Mika and Alo were still holding hands; to try and form as big of a gap between their group and the beast, Alo picked up the pace he was walking, forcing everyone apart from Nakai to travel at a slow jog. Whenever they felt they had travelled far enough from the beast to slow down, the sound of quiet slithering could be heard through the rocks. Wang Bao knew he wouldn’t be able too long at the pace Alo had set, but he also knew they couldn’t slow down yet. 

 

Forcing his body to the absolute edge, Wang Bao was glad when they had gone half an hour with no signs of the beast, and when Alo stopped for everyone to take a break, the smell of rotting flesh was gone. To make sure he didn’t collapse to the hard ground, Wang Bao leaned against the cold rock wall then slid down with a tired sigh. His limbs felt like jelly, and the nausea from earlier was still at the back of his throat. While everyone else sat on the dusty ground too, Nakai crouched beside Wang Bao and handed over a bottle of water. While Wang Bao rinsed his mouth of the burning stomach acid and foul taste in his mouth, Nakai asked softly.

 

“Do you still feel sick, Wang Bao?”

 

To fully get the flavour of vomit out of his mouth, Wang Bao needed to rinse his mouth a few times, and once he was done, he answered Nakai in a raspy voice.

 

“No, I feel okay now. I just need a minute to rest.”

 

Nakai hummed in response as if he didn’t believe Wang Bao was feeling well, and he used the makeshift mask to wipe away the layer of sweat on Wang Bao’s face. While their group rested quietly, Alo checked his phone and saw they had been moving for almost six hours. He had also been sent a message from Dani, and when he checked the message, he found a tracking set up to show where they were in the mines currently, as well as an in depth map of the mines layout. Alo quickly looked over the map after setting up the tracking system, then sent the same things to both Zhang and Nakai before calling them over. Both men were already looking at their phone as they walked over to Alo. Zhang was busy inspecting the various layers of the mine through the map, while Nakai had zoomed out completely to see just how far they would actually need to travel. As soon as Nakai saw just how grand the mines were, he could understand how it would take them a couple of weeks to get to the other side. As Nakai zoomed back in on their location, he asked.

 

“Do you think there is a quicker way out? The map shows the entire mine, and it should be safe to assume multiple exits would have been created. Even if there is a closer exit after we pass through the border, we can then travel down the mountain the rest of the way.”

 

Both Alo and Zhang felt this would be best given the early encounter with the beast, and the three of them started searching through the maze of tunnels on the map, hoping to find an swifter exit. In the meantime, Luka and Mika took it upon themselves to nurse Wang Bao; his complexion looked rather grey despite the warm glow from the lights, and they tried their best to get him to drink water, but he only wanted to rest; his nausea was coming in waves, and when ever he tried to drink the water being offered to him, Wang Bao felt as if he was going to vomit again. After thirty minutes of sitting in silence, Zhang found a path that could be a potential choice. Before showing Nakai and Alo the selected path, Zhang made sure to triple check so as to not show them a false path, then motioned for Nakai and Alo to come closer as he explained.

 

“I found another path, It looks long but that’s only because we’d be snaking our way through the mine. The original path takes us around the perimeter of the mountain, while this will take us straight through the middle, cutting our time down by a few days.”

 

While explaining, Zhang could see Alo was doubting the idea of using another route, and he handed his phone to Alo so that he could get a better look. Even after checking the new found path multiple times, Alo couldn’t stop the feeling in his gut telling him it was a bad idea, and he gave Zhang his phone back while saying.

 

“I don’t know...For now I think we should carry on with the original path; we were warned about beasts coming into the mine to breed, and we don’t know what will be lurking in the untravelled parts of the mine.”

 

No one disagreed with Alo since his points were valid. However, after looking over at Wang Bao, Nakai could see he was covered in sweat as well as a sickly pale colour. Before Zhang could exit out of the map, Nakai told him to save the route he had found, just in case. Because they had walked for six hours and had encountered the beast earlier, Alo decided it would be best for them to camp where they were resting, and he started up a big enough fire for Wang Bao to cook on. With everyone being so close together, they didn’t need the fire or tents to keep them warm, and the small fire wouldn’t cause too much smoke since the wood from the tracks was extremely dry. When Wang Bao heard they wouldn’t be walking until the next day, he instantly regained enough strength to start prepping their early dinner, and he decided to make meat sandwiches since they were easy and quick. While Luka and Mika buttered their only loaf of fresh bread, Wang Bao started frying some preserved raw meat with onions. The task of frying the two ingredients didn’t take much effort, but it made Wang Bao realise he hadn’t cooked anything in a long time, and he had honestly missed it. 

 

It didn’t take long before the delicious scent of seared meat and onions mixed together, causing Wang Bao’s mouth to water and his stomach to grumble hungrily. As soon as the food was cooked, Wang Bao was helped by Luka and Mika again to make up the sandwiches before handing them out to the rest of their group, who had been sitting patiently but hungrily. When Wang Bao sat down beside Nakai with his sandwich, he found his hunger appetite was larger than ever, and he happily bit into the juicy meat sandwich; however to Wang Bao’s disappointment, after only a few bites, his stomach was on the verge of exploding, as if he had eaten too much. Wang Bao had been happy since he was no longer nauseous, but he was close to shedding tears since he had been so excited to eat. To get the tempting site of his sandwich out of his face, Wang Bao handed the half eaten food to Nakai, who looked at him with deep concern. Although Nakai took the sandwich, he quickly asked Wang Bao.

 

“Do you still feel sick from earlier?”

 

Wang Bao nodded his head, and he let out a sigh of relief when he felt Nakai rub his stomach gently. Before Wang Bao could feel asleep from feeling so comfortable, Nakai urged him to get into his sleeping bag in order to get an early rest.

 

. . . . . . .

 

Over the course of three long days, the group was able to walk through the marked path with no issues. Wang Bao was also grateful that his nausea had passed and he was able to walk without tiring easily; he did notice his appetite hadn’t returned though, and he could only handle eating half sized meals. Aside from Wang Bao’s small issue, the main struggle they were all having to face was the lack of natural light. Because the light sticks they had been given mimicked sunlight, they were able to make do for the first few days, but now everyone’s mood had started to fall, and everyone's patience was decreasing. By the time everyone woke up on the fourth day, the sight of the same looking tunnels and rocks made Luka and Mika feel antsy. As soon as breakfast was eaten, their group set off with the two brothers walking behind Alo; Zhang had been so focused on searching through the map on his phone that he wasn’t able to talk with Luka as much, and Luka took it upon himself to use his brother as entertainment. Mika, however, wasn't in the mood for chit chat. 

 

Everyone could feel the tension growing between both brothers as they silently walked beside each other. When they turned down yet another wide tunnel, Luka lost his foot and bumped into Mika’s shoulder. It was obvious this was done by accident, but it was enough to make Mika’s small amount of patience snap, and he turned to his brother while speaking in a sharp tone.

 

“Watch where you’re going, Luka.”

 

Hearing his brother talk to him so bitterly over something that was an accident didn’t slide with Luka, and he shoved Mika’s shoulder before replying..

 

“Don’t talk to me like that, Mika; it was only an accident.”

 

Mika lost all of his reason after Luka pushed his shoulder for a second time, and he shoved Luka to the side. Before anyone could intervene, both brothers started slapping and pushing each other as they shouted angry insults. Both of their voices echoed around the tunnels loudly, but before too much disturbance could happen, Nakai reached out and grabbed both young men around the waist to carry them under his arms, as if they were small children or dogs. The group quickly started walking again, but despite being in Nakai’s arms and separated by his wide torso, both Luka and Mika continued to throw verbal and physical attacks at one another. It wasn’t until a few minutes later that their strength died down, and the group continued to walk in silence. With Nakai carrying Mika and Luka, Alo was able to pick up his pace and they were able to cover more ground than usual in an hour. Even after an hour passed, and the mink brothers showed no signs of bickering, Nakai continued to carry them since he wanted to get out of the dark hell hole as quickly as possible. This was one of the reasons why Alo started moving so fast, but ever since Mika’s and Luka’s shouting, he also wanted to put as much distance between them and that spot, just in case any beasts in the area were lurking. Alo knew he was pushing Wang Bao physically to keep up with him, Zhang and Nakai, but he didn’t want to risk taking a break just yet. 

 

Behind Alo, Wang Bao was dying inside. His legs felt like heavy jelly, while his lungs were beginning to burn from his inability to take deep breaths. Usually Wang Bao liked to tough things out since they were bound to end eventually, but when he saw how determined Alo was to keep moving, he opened his mouth to complain but instead of words coming out, his breakfast from earlier came back up. The strong scent of sour vomit filled the air around them before the horrid stench of rotting flesh overpowered the stale air they were breathing. Mika was quick to plug his nose, but Luka couldn’t hold back his breakfast either as he vomited loudly. With the stench of rotting flesh and sour vomit mixing together, Alo couldn’t think properly, but the sudden sound of slithering echoing all around them was enough to kickstart his brain, and he shouted at Zhang and Nakai to start running while grabbing Wang Bao’s hand tightly. Wang Bao was barely able to keep his bile down as he was forced to sprint, every rugged breath he took caused his throat to feel raw, and he didn’t know how long he would be able to sprint given his tired legs. 

 

Even though everyone was running at their top speed, the slithering sound never faded, in fact the sound seemed to grow louder as if they were inside the beast itself. Along with the loud ominous slithering sound of skin against rock, the rocks beneath them started to shake, as if there was an earthquake happening in the mountain. The shaking became so bad that Alo and Wang Bao struggled to run in a straight line, while Zhang suddenly noticed cracks appearing in the walls beside Nakai, as if they were following him. Before the earth could fall apart around them, Zhang leapt forward and tackled Nakai forward in time to miss the wall on Nakai’s left exploding. The shock of the best bursting through the thick rock shook the entire ground, causing everyone to fall to the ground with weak knees. Dust covered their vision and air, but it didn’t stop the sound of hissing to sound loudly through the tunnels, along with the hissing came a sharp clicking noise. Alo didn’t waste time to try and see what the beast looked like, and he jumped to his feet while pulling Wang Bao up, then took off in a sprint. He didn’t need to look over his shoulder to check if Nakai or Zhang were following, since he knew their abilities in staying alive. 

 

While Wang Bao struggled to keep up with Alo dragging him along, he knew it was unwise to look back, but he wanted to make sure Nakai was okay since he was still carrying both Luka and Mika. When Wang Bao looked back, he could see Nakai was more than okay, but he also saw a large white snake-like creature with no face slithering out of the rubble. Its body was so large that it barely fit inside the tunnel; at the centre of the snake's faceless head was a long slit, and before turning around, Wang Bao watched as the slit opened wide to reveal a small head covered in short blood red tentacles. The tentacles seemed to have a mind of their own as they wriggled around grotesquely, and the clicking sound returned as the tentacles opened and closed quickly. Wang Bao didn’t need any more reason to push his body to the absolute limit, and he faced the front before his limbs stopped working out of fear. Alo knew they couldn’t stay on the marked path anymore, and he shouted over his shoulder to Zhang to find a new path.

 

It was hard to hear over the loud hissing and clicking, but Zhang was able to make out enough to understand what Alo was wanting, and he pulled his phone out of his bag. The screen shook all over the place thanks to his fast pace, but he still managed to find the path he had saved earlier, and pulled up the highlighted tunnels before shouting.

 

“Next exit, turn right. The passage is small but we’ll fit.”

 

Zhang wasn’t lying when he said the passage was small, since the size of the tunnel decreased by over half, but what they didn’t expect was for the path to lead down at a steep decline. The drop was so sudden, Alo had to pull Wang Bao’s arm to keep him on his feet, while Zhang lost his footing completely and rolled past the group before jumping back onto his feet once the ground evened out again. With Zhang now leading the group, Alo heard Nakai call his name, and he let go of Wang Bao’s hand in time for Nakai to scoop Wang Bao up to sit under the arm he had been holding Mika with. Before calling out to Alo, Nakai had moved Mika to the other arm where he was carrying Luka. Despite the extra weight, Nakai was able to keep up with Alo’s sprint thanks to his legs being so long. 

 

Although the tunnel had decreased in size, it didn't stop the beast from following behind them, its body contorting to elongate while also shrinking in circumference to fit inside the tunnel. Nobody bothered looking back as Zhang ran through different tunnels and wide rooms. With another skinny tunnel coming up, Zhang could see the steep decline like before and leaned back to stop himself from falling over like before. Alo wasn’t so lucky in staying upright when reaching the new tunnel, his body had been hunched over thanks to exhaustion, and as soon as he stepped down onto the new path, his knees buckled and he tumbled forward at the violent pace until his body disappeared into the dark ground. Both Nakai and Zhang shouted out Alo’s name, unsure as to why he had suddenly disappeared when Nakai saw a large hole at the end of their dimly lit path. Before Nakai could warn Zhang of the hole, Zhang ran forward until his feet landed on air, and he fell down the dark abyss. Nakai had enough time to lean back and skid to a halt, and he stared down the hole that appeared endless before looking back at the beast that was only a few ten feet away. No one knew if Zhang or Alo had survived the fall, or what would be waiting for them once they reached the bottom, but Nakai figured it couldn’t be worse than being eaten alive by an ugly albino worm. As soon as Nakai made up his mind, he heard Wang Bao scream his name since the beast was launching itself towards them. Without wasting another second, Nakai stepped into the hole that was barely large enough to allow his body to pass through. 

 

Wang Bao, Mika and Luka screamed as they felt their bodies falling with Nakai, until the intense dark around them turned into a wide open dome space. On the walls Wang Bao could see small luminescent yellow and white dots. The thousands of dots aided in lighting the room as well as black water that was awaiting their landing. Wang Bao didn’t know if Nakai was aware of the water, but he felt his body along with Luka’s and Mika’s being pulled to lay on Nakai’s chest, while Nakai’s back faced the water that was growing nearer at an alarming speed. Wang Bao felt his heart sink as he realised what Nakai was doing, but before he could think of a way to stop Nakai from taking the impact, their bodies became engulfed by ice cold water.