"I, I, Ir..." Rera stuttered her words.
'What was his name again?' the boy who came inside seemed just so similar to that newcomer.
But because of the prison cell's darkness and the contrast of the light coming from outside, especially that lantern being just behind the boy made her unable to see the boy's figure completely.
From the short stature and the short hair though, Rera knew it was a boy around her age that came in.
And then... somehow her gaze was instantly attracted to the boy.
He seemed to be shrouded in a veil of mystery.
However, that feeling soon disappeared as the boy stepped towards her.
'Ah right! I remember his name now!'
"Irziw!" she uttered incredulously.
"It's Irwiz" Irwiz shook his head as he answered.
"What are you doing here?" Rera's eyes that had reddened due to crying didn't seem to sob a lot anymore.
"We don't have time. Let's quickly find a hiding place!" Irwiz immediately grabbed her by the arm and lifted the girl upwards.
"Ah- It hurts!" Rera's reddened eyes almost produced new tears.
She didn't understand what was happening. Why was this boy here? What happened to the scary cult followers that should've came and took her?
"Do you hear that? The chanting and that madness?" Irwiz pointed towards the source of the sound as he completely lifted Rera up from her sitting position.
"If we don't hurry they are going to come and find us!" Irwiz's voice was grim.
"Cult members!" Rera's face showed that she was incredibly afraid at the moment.
Immediately, she picked up her pace as she exited the prison cell.
She saw the stone walls and the basement and suggested going the opposite direction of the sound.
However, Irwiz shook his head at her words.
"I already checked there, it's a dead end."
Soon, they picked up their pace and no longer walked anymore. Although they were still cautious while running, they inevitably made much more noise.
But trusting that the mad chants would keep them distracted, Irwiz didn't stop.
Instead he even rushed more.
He could feel that time was going to be up soon. As time passed, he could even imagine an invisible guillotine hanging above his head.
'Damn it, damn it! Why are there only prison cells and nothing?!' he was incredibly frustrated. When some turns came, he would just turn randomly.
Was his luck that bad?!
After all, he couldn't go to the direction of the sound even if he wanted to. The sound's direction was way too general. He could only figure out that he was getting closer to the source.
"It's over"
Those sounds of mad chants and reverent worships had stopped. Everything had become very quiet now, so much so that if a fly were to be here, it would instantly be heard.
Irwiz's body shuddered and a cold chill ran down his spine.
It was too risky to go that direction anymore. He couldn't feel which direction was good or bad for him anymore at this moment.
Seemingly, the miracle he had by using the fate points was over.
"Let's head back, quiet but quick" Irwiz whispered to Rera.
He had decided.
He would go back and find someplace to hide; even if that place was a prison cell.
Just as Irwiz had turned around and tugged at Rera to follow, Rera tugged him back.
Not willing to slow down even a bit, he immediately tugged harder.
But in reverse, Rera didn't budge at all.
'Hmm? What's up with her?' Irwiz thought as he looked back.
What greeted his view however, was Rera quietly pointing at something.
She was pointing at a corner.
Because of the low visibility, there seemed to be nothing there at first glance. But once Irwiz looked harder, he was able to distinguish a hole in the wall.
A hole not very big, but just enough for a child their size to fit if they bent their body several ways.
Not to mention, corners that looked just like this were everywhere, corners with low visibility.
Although there probably wasn't another hole like this, no one would check these corners and just pass a quick glance at them; resulting in an overlook, just like what Irwiz did.
'She is useful' Irwiz thought internally before having Rera go in first.
As he stood watch while Rera went in, he discovered that the sound of footsteps was getting more and more.
Startled, he looked in the direction and could faintly feel the trembling from many footsteps overlapping together.
'They're coming!' Irwiz couldn't help but feel panic rising inside his heart.
Then, he looked at Rera's legs as it just managed to get inside.
Seeing that it was time for him to enter now, he wasted no time and immediately forced himself inside. He didn't care if it was causing him pain or that one of his fingers even seemed to get jammed and twisted nastily.
Within a matter of seconds, he was inside.
Fortunately, the inside of the tunnel seemed to be more spacious, albeit still claustrophobic.
It was now barely enough for two kids to be side by side lying down.
Not caring about the sharp pain in his left pinky, Irwiz talked to Rera, who was lying next to him.
Together, they were twisting their heads and looking back.
"Keep quiet" he put a finger on his lips.
Rera somehow seemed puzzled as she had a confused expression. However, she still nodded her head and whispered.
"It looks like the c- cult worshippers have finished their sacrifice..." even now, the fearful expression was evident on both her face and her voice.
Especially when she talked about anything cult related, her words would stutter as if her throat constricted and she couldn't utter the words.
Irwiz couldn't help but think, did she have such fear of the cult? Or did it originate from a traumatic experience?
But now was not the time to ponder.
Soon, they were finally able to see the supposed 'cult worshippers'.
Unfortunately, all of them were dressed in black robe and had their hoods covering their face, making the two unable to distinguish their features.
However, they both couldn't help but feel a chill up their spines.
There was just something really... really wrong with them.
Thinking about something, Irwiz moved his hands to cover Rera's eyes, while he also stopped looking at the people.
Recognizing what he was trying to say, Rera also quietly moved her gaze elsewhere.
'Huh' Irwiz thought in surprise.
Earlier, due to it being too dark and him being panicky, he didn't pay attention to what the hole was. Now that he concentrated, and his eyes have adapted to the dark, he can see that this wasn't just any random hole.
It seemed to continue forward.