People worked hard to transport stones to and from the caves. Even if they made it outside, there was no assurance they'd get out of Sasan. An escape path would be difficult to find, as it would be guarded by numerous soldiers.
Bam!
Two individuals were kneeling in front of Gadaric, dragged in by troopers. They were bound with chains and had their mouths gagged. Gadaric sighed as he slammed down the papers on the table.
"260 of them were freed. Care to explain this for me, Thomas?"
Gadaric quietly waits for a response after signaling the soldiers to remove the soiled rags from their mouths. Both men coughed furiously, and debris sprayed from their mouths. There was a mix of dirt, blood, and tooth fragments. The two were thoroughly battered.
"Sir! It's dangerous! Everything was fine when we first came-I-. There is no explanation for the bizarre behavior of those people! There were no cursed but as soon as we crossed the border, something happened!" The man spat out erratically.
Gadaric rises from his seat and strides over to Thomas' side. From the brim, his gaze was bewildered. The paper in his hand was crushed and tossed away. Losing all of those people that were sent here by the uppers was unexpected.
"There was blood everywhere! And-And! Those people went crazy! It's not safe here anymore! If they reach here-we are not safe!" Thomas stated.
Gadaric, sighed and cracked his fingers. Gripping the man's chin tightly, he began to interrogate Thomas. He was in a state of disarray and what was needed wasn't chaos.
Thomas was well known for being a good navigator but something seemed to have changed that. Especially since he has been showing signs of fear and disorientation. What really happened during the trip back to Sasan?
"What do you mean crazy?" He said.
"I-!"
Crash!
Their focus shifts to the sounds outside the tent. Gadaric steps out of the tent to see what is going on. But nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Behind the crates of food and water crouched both Aziel and Eagle. With unease, the bottles of water had toppled over due to Eagle's nervousness. Luckily, Aziel had caught the bottles and prevented them from rolling out of the crates.
Aziel waited for Gadaric to return inside the tent, holding her breath the entire while. It looked like they had ruined the first step in their desperation to get out of here. Perhaps the decision to assist Eagle was not correct.
Eagle's arm started to burn again; it seemed like he wouldn't be feeling well tonight.
Gadaric moved slowly towards where the two were hiding. Their position was completely obscured by the massive boxes, but if Gadaric took a few steps around them, he could see where they were.
Making his way towards them, Gadaric takes a hold of the giant cloth covering the boxes and slowly begins to lift them up. Aziel grabs a handful of dirt to prepare to attack the man. Whatever happens next, they need to get out of here, fast. She needs to hurry before anything happens.
"Sir!"
An unexpected scream from the tent diverts Gadaric's attention, allowing Aziel and Eagle to avoid detection. He hurriedly re-entered the tent, which was now in disarray. The other chained up man had started to foam around his mouth. Thomas fell to the ground, shrieking in terror. Something provoked his reaction. Gadaric directed the men to hold the man in place.
"It's this! He's gotten it!" Thomas screamed out.
Whatever made Thomas act like this must have been traumatic. The man had stopped foaming, but his entire body started shaking. Everyone watched in horror as his skin ripped open.
A rope-like thing began to wrap around the man's flesh and muscles, squeezing it so hard that blood started to drip to the ground. The man's expression was one of horror as he attempted to scream. His throat swelled and split open, resulting in blood on both Gadaric's and Thomas' faces.
"Heurgh- He-me!" He managed to sound out to them.
Whatever was winding around his flesh became longer and wrapped around the man's neck. Before anything could happen, the soldiers took out their taser and taser the man. He falls to the floor, and smoke erupts from his body.
Everyone in the room maintained silence. Gadaric stops to study what is in front of them and flips the man's body over. A puddle of what appeared to be pee emerged from Thomas' direction, mixing with the pool of blood from the dead man. The two soldiers gripped their tasers hard, still stunned by what they had just witnessed.
"What is this?"
Gadaric questioned Thomas. This was not a disease, rather it looked like those people that he had seen. Those people that went down the tree.
"That's what I said! They're crazy cursed people! Please untie me! I beg you!" Thomas shouted at the top of his lungs.
Gadaric turns to tell the men to unlock the chains. But before his eyes, the snake-like creature had pierced the two soldiers' bodies. From one's stomach to another's heart. It quickly struck Gadaric, penetrating his right eye.
Gadaric grunts in pain as he takes a hold of the rope-like thing, pulling it from his eyes and swinging it away. The man who was lying on the ground started to stand up. He started screaming at the two of them and ran forward to attack. Gadaric flips him over and twists his arm. He quickly grabbed the tasers on the ground and aimed them at its neck.
The snake-like creature began to smoke after being tased directly. With one throw, the body flew across the floor, knocking the tent down. Aziel and Eagle are unveiled as the two examine the scenario in front of them. With one hand shielding his bleeding eye, he takes the lighter from his pocket and ignites the body in flames. Aziel rapidly moves away from the body, with Eagle following behind. The tent began to catch fire and burn quickly.
Gadaric takes Thomas out of the tent without looking back at the burning body. He wasn't concerned about the two persons who had been sneaking up on them. Rather, he was scared of whatever that was.
He takes a nearby shovel and begins to hack at the chains that wrapped around Thomas's body. He needed an explanation for whatever was happening to the man. He slaps Thomas awake from the ground.
"Wake up!" He shouted.
Aziel grabbed a shovel for herself and hurled another at Eagle. Everything was happening too quickly, and they required protection. People began to gather around the fire, some shouting as the smoke worsened. Gadaric stayed focused on Thomas as he attempted to awaken him. With a couple slaps, he jerks awake.
"AGH!"
His mouth erupted, spraying Gadaric's face with spittle. Thomas was so scared by Gadaric's bloodied visage and empty eye socket that he thrashed his arms. Gadaric's grasp on Thomas' arm remained tight as he dragged him to a safer location.
"Tell me what happened to those people!" He shook Thomas nonstop.
Thomas stuttered as he tried to explain. The fire began to get bigger and bigger, spreading over to the other tents. Wary of what could happen, Gadaric screams at the others to not get close to the fire.
"It's nothing like I've ever seen before. They just started doing crazy things like him! It was all different. But we were the only two that made it out. I don't know if I have whatever they have there either!" Thomas sheepishly screamed.
Gadaric rips his cloth and quickly wraps it around his eye. He takes hold of Thomas's shirt and drags him as they turn to observe the fire in front of them.
"Then tell me. Does fire kill it?" He asked.
Thomas nods furiously and without hesitation. Gadaric grumbled as he looked at the burning body, which appeared to practically stand up from the fire.
Aziel looked over to the crowds gathering to surround the entire fire. Many of the soldiers tried to stop it with water. Taking advantage of this, Aziel races along the route that leads to the gates. With fewer guards, there would be no one to follow her.