Day: 1072

Days Left: 4408

Lives Saved: 5

The outside light blinded Henry until his eyes adjusted, and he saw numerous other tents amidst large boulders and five water stalks.

This was likely the best place to set up camp in the desert, thought Henry, being so close to any water source. No wonder they were so protective of them, especially as Henry saw how many members their group had; he counted at least twenty. Five water stalks were not going to cut it.

Henry was glad that he had not tried to escape before foolishly; though not everyone was in their monster form, they all showed off their masks and weapons. No, escape was impossible, especially without his mask. All Henry could hope for was that their leader could be reasoned with.

"Be on your best behaviour, won't you?" the leader of the hyenas cooed, lifting Henry's chin to meet her face. "You're already in enough trouble as it is."

The others went silent as, in the distance, a group approached, led by a man in a mask, a mask matching the colour of his skin with a giant cyclops eye in the middle, the eye red and bloodshot.

"Your boss, I presume?" asked Henry.

"That's right," said the woman. "It's time to get your punishment, little thief."

The man with the cyclops mask arrived in the centre of the encampment, his peons taking his luggage off of him as he stood there, seeming to study the new prisoner knelt before him.

"We caught a little thief, darling," said the woman, glancing aside to Henry as she grinned. "He attempted to steal our water; how silly of him." She went to the man's side, touching his shoulder.

The man stared at Henry for a while longer in silence before turning to the woman, his gloved hand caressing the burnt side of her face, then brushing back her hair to reveal the scars.

"He could turn into a fire lizard," said the woman, her eyes softening from the man's comforting touch.

"Salamander," Henry corrected under his breath, receiving a harsh glare from one of the nearby hyenas.

"Here's his mask, darling," the woman presented the salamander mask to the man, who inspected it.

"Where is your mask?" the man eventually asked.

The woman hesitated, then answered quietly, "it was burnt beyond use. I can no longer transform... because of him!" She pointed accusingly at Henry. "He stole our water and burned us." She then went on to tell the tale of how Henry had trespassed and stole from their marked water stalks, how he had burned her face and mask, and how she became victorious by splashing water on him.

"What should we do with him?" the woman purred. "How she we punish him?"

The leader raised his head, staring silently at Henry. "So, this man stole our water," he began quietly.

"Yes, the little thief."

"And instead of retrieving our water back, you threw it on him, wasting our precious supplies."

The woman's smile wavered, and she shook her head. "He was going to get away. He trespassed and-"

"Would it not have been better to let him go and keep our water?" The man did not look at his subordinate; he focused on Henry. "Not only is our water gone, but you can no longer use your mask."

"No, I-" The woman went silent, her bottom lip trembling.

The man approached Henry and crouched down to be on his level. "You managed almost to win a fight against five people."

Henry glanced down, wanting to look away from the cyclops' eye on the man's mask. Though it was not a real eye, it was still unnerving, as if it was staring at Henry.

The man seemed to sense Henry's discomfort and took off his mask, revealing the face of a normal-looking human in his late thirties, his brunette hair short with his stubble making his jawline look sharper and broader.

"Where are my manners," said the man with a smile, a smile that Henry could not discern was mocking or with sincere friendliness. "My name is O' Sullivan, leader of the Evil Eyes," he chuckled. "Don't worry, that's just a silly name; we're not actually evil." He straightened himself. "What's your name?"

"Henry Best," Henry eventually replied after much hesitation, though he was no longer as afraid as before, noticing O' Sullivan's civil tone.

"Henry? Well, Henry, you have been accused of trespassing on our land and stealing our water supply. Is this true?"

"I... yes, I did take water from your water stalks," replied Henry. "I was not aware this was your land, nor did I see your markings on the water stalks until it was too late." He glanced over at the woman, hesitating before adding, "I was trying to give the water back, but-"

O' Sullivan laughed and nodded, also glancing at his subordinate. "Yes, I can imagine you did try to."

The woman shrunk away, adjusting her hair over her burn marks.

"Now, Henry..." O' Sullivan rose to his feet, looking down at the salamander mask in his hands. "You are new to this sector, yes?"

"Yes, I have never been in the Unforgiving Wastes."

"Oh, you know its name?"

"I've heard of it before coming here," Henry stuttered. "When I asked for directions."

"So, it is fair to say that you did not know that we controlled this sector? You could not know that you were trespassing?"

Henry nodded.

"And in regards to our water stalks, perhaps we should make it more obvious that they belong to us, especially with people who do not know what our symbol means."

Henry froze. Was he going to be let go? No, he shouldn't hold onto such a hope, but their leader, this O' Sullivan, was being so reasonable. Perhaps there were still prisoners in the Abyss that had yet to turn into monsters.

"It seems that you attempted to make amends for your mistake," continued O' Sullivan. "How could we possibly fault you for that?"

"I..." Henry's throat seized up, fearing that he would jeopardise his chances of freedom if he said anything.

O' Sullivan sat down on the ground before Henry. "I think I will let you off with a warning, Henry. But before I do, I just need to ensure that you are not a threat to my group." With one single movement, O' Sullivan snapped the salamander mask in half. "Did you know that they make some masks less durable than others? They say it is because they want some to lose their masks quicker than others. It appears you are not well-liked, Henry. Someone wants you to fail."

"He's in here for murder and treason," piped up the woman, her smugness recovered.

"How many?" asked O' Sullivan.

"Just one."

O' Sullivan returned to Henry. "Just one person you killed? That's pretty tame; good for you, Henry, in your case, to be released quicker." He paused. "Why are you travelling through here?"

"I am searching for a relative of mine," replied Henry.

"A relative?"

"My second cousin Corinna-"

"Karina?" The woman laughed. "My name's Karina! Do you think you could be searching for me!" She shoved her face against Henry, invading his personal space. "What do you think? Do we look related?"

Henry shrunk away as he heard the raucous laughter until it was silenced by a mere hand gesture from O' Sullivan.

"How nice, having family here," he said. "What makes you think she will be through here?"

"Just an estimate." Henry shrugged. "They tend to split up family members or friends or loved ones, to make it interesting to watch when they have lost their memories."

"I did not know that..." O' Sullivan said to himself. "How do you know that?"

"I heard it from someone else," lied Henry.

"You seem to put a lot of faith on it being true."

"Well, if it turns out to be lies, I still have plenty of time to find Corinna." Henry forced a chuckle.

Though, of course, having to spend three decades searching for her and never minding his second cousin was always a fear in his mind.

"We have his bag," said the man with a hyena mask, holding up Henry's rucksack.

"Anything of interest?" asked O' Sullivan, then added to Henry, "just to ensure you are of no threat and are not lying to us."

Henry shook his head.

O' Sullivan instructed for the bag to be searched, so all of Henry's belongings inside were tipped out, Karina being particularly eager to lead the search. But, as Henry had promised, there was nothing of any interest, only the basic survival supplies.

"What about on his person?" asked O' Sullivan. "You could not check before when he was transformed."

Karina happily volunteered again, grabbing Henry roughly by the arm, patting him down and checking the pockets of his trousers and coat.

Henry only hoped that they would not strip him down and kept his modesty, especially as there was one thing he did not wish for them to find.

"Nothing?" O' Sullivan sighed, seeming to be disappointed that Henry was clean.

Karina was also unsatisfied, continuing to double-check and shove Henry around until she paused, her hand over Henry's blazer. A smile crept on her face. "There's a hidden pocket; something is inside," she sang.

"Henry, you look pale," said O' Sullivan softly, though Henry could not see any softness in his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Henry stuttered, forcing a smile, but already his body was becoming hotter and sweaty.

"What is it that you don't want us to find out, Henry?"

"No, there isn't-" Henry bit down on his lip. But, unfortunately, it was too late as Karina yanked off his coat and then his blazer. She felt around the blazer's fabric and found the inside zip, concealed by a seam and reached inside, retrieving a thin A5 pocket notebook.

"What's this, Henry?" asked O' Sullivan as Karina handed the notebook to him.

"Maybe it's his memories," suggested Karina.

O' Sullivan flipped through the pages and handed it to one of his subordinates to read. "If so, then my has he wrote a lot. You must have been told about the curse quite early on to be able to record so much before forgetting everything." He glanced at Henry. "Is there anything you would like to say before we read?"

Henry swallowed. "It is just my memories of my family and my life before the Abyss."

"I suppose I can understand your hesitation. Our memories are personal and for strangers to read them..." O' Sullivan sighed. "However, you tried to hide this from us, Henry. If anything here shows that you are a threat to my group, then I need to know."

There was a long moment of dreaded silence as Henry waited for his notebook to be read. Fortunately, all of the pages at the front were his memories of his family and friends; however, it was the ones near the end that he was concerned about; they detailed his career and knowledge of the Abyss. If they found out...

No, they would likely be bored after the first few pages and-

"You'll want to see this, boss," said the man with the hyena mask. He was about to hand it over to O' Sullivan, but Karina snatched it, glimpsing the page with a grin before giving it to the leader herself.

"What do we have here, Henry?" O' Sullivan showed the double page to his followers. "Such a detailed map of the entire Eternal Abyss! Every single sector is here as well as estimates on where the food drop-offs and Land of the Losts are located! All the regions are named, and look... it appears that you lied about not knowing what this desert is called." O' Sullivan pointed to the area on the map. "You're a trespasser, a thief, and a liar." He tuttered.

The other followers jeered and booed, brandishing their weapons.

"That's not good, Henry. I thought that we would be honest with each other."

"I-"

"He's probably here to steal our water and food!" snarled Karina, rallying the others to join her in yelling threats.

O' Sullivan shook his head. "No, I believe him when he said he's looking for his relative, this Corinna Warren..." he read from the book, where Henry had made a detailed family tree.

"He mentions her a lot in his memories," said the hyena masked man.

"Weird for a second cousin," remarked Karina. "You sure it's not because of something else? Some cousins-"

"We were like siblings!" snapped Henry, disgusted by such a theory.

"Still weird." Karina grinned, satisfied in getting a rise from Henry.

"And it appears that you used to manage one of the sectors in the Abyss," said O' Sullivan after reading another section of the book. "Sector 38. That is quite far from here... and you are heading in the right direction if you believe that is where your cousin is located, according to your map at least..."

"I promise I mean no harm to you or your group!" Henry pleaded. "I only wanted to pass through to find Corinna, and I was so low on water, and I couldn't get much at the last drop-off and-"

"No, no, it's alright, I believe you," said O' Sullivan quietly, too focused on reading more of the notebook.

"I am sorry about omitting my previous profession."

"It would explain how you know so much and why you are dressed so well."

"It's just... the last few times other prisoners found out they tried to kill me!"

"Again, Henry, I understand."

Henry hesitated. "You do?"

O' Sullivan nodded. "I do. Those other prisoners were foolish to try to kill you, so I understand why you lied to us."

Henry sighed in relief. "Thank you."

"You are much more useful alive; it would be such a waste with what you know about the Abyss..."

"Right..." Henry mumbled.

O' Sullivan finally looked up from the notebook, finishing the last page with a satisfied smile. "I'll tell you what, Henry." He stood up, handing the notebook to Karina, who immediately began to read it. "We will forgive your trespassing, theft, and lying if you help us find more water and supplies, you know... the water that you owe us."

"I- I don't have my memories of-"

"But you still have all the knowledge; that notebook is proof. You can easily work it out where to find any, surely?"

Henry hesitated, then nodded slowly. "I can try."

"Well, you best do, Henry, if you want to see your cousin." Then, with a motion of his head, O' Sullivan instructed for Henry's binds to be untied. "Ensure that our 'guest' has everything he needs to find us water, but keep an eye on him." The leader glanced down at Henry. "We wouldn't want him to get lost, now would we?"

The ropes around Henry's wrists loosened; however, he still felt very much a prisoner with all those eyes watching his every move.

Just need to find them a better water source, Henry told himself, and then they'll release me, right?

Right?

Day: 1074

Every day without a fault, Rhea Earl checked her postbox for any letters, but this today she finally received that black card. It had been a couple of months since she received the last one, which had begun to worry her.

As she readied herself, donning her coat and scarf, her son Nathaniel asked where she was going due to her unable to hide her smile.

"Just going to the park to draw," she replied; it wasn't a lie exactly.

When she arrived at the park, Rhea sat down in her usual spot, a park bench overlooking the river and a nearby flower bed. Due to the recent rainfall, the bench was slightly damp, but Rhea did not mind in the slightest and took out her sketchbook, drawing faint lines on the page, planning out what scene she would draw today.

After a while of waiting, two people approached the bench; Queen Corinna IX and her maidservant Jane. The queen herself was disguised, having cast a spell to make her unrecognisable to the general public but not to Rhea.

With a wave of her hand, Queen Corinna dried the bench with magic and sat down, her servant Jane in between herself and Rhea.

"It has been a while, Your Majesty," said Rhea as she concentrated on sketching a duck swimming in the river. "How have you been?"

"We are faring well, thank you," replied Jane, the queen speaking through her servant.

Rhea winced, disliking having to communicate with the rather monotonous and expressionless servant Jane.

"How are you?"

Rhea went on to ramble on about how one of her nieces completed her flute grade two exam and was waiting on the results, and then on to other relatives' recent accomplishments. The queen listened contently, occasionally asking further questions through Jane.

Once Rhea was sure she had given a full update, with nothing left to add, she gained enough courage to ask, "how is Corinna, Your Majesty? We have not seen her on the broadcasts at all lately. Of course, we have seen Henry plenty, but Corinna... I know she must still be alive because of the contract, but..." Her voice trailed away.

After a moment of silence, Jane answered, "Miss Warren is faring well; there is no need for concern. That is precisely why your great-niece has not been in the broadcasts."

Rhea sighed in relief. "So she's being staying out of trouble, then?"

"She has been attempting to build an aqueduct."

Rhea shook her head, unable to contain her laughter. She thought she imagined it, but it sounded as if the queen herself also laughed too. "Oh, that is good to hear, thank you, Your Majesty."

"You must not tell anyone else what We have just disclosed, however," warned Jane.

"No, of course, Your Majesty. I have not told anyone of our meetings." Rhea paused, staring out at the river. "I apologise; I have been talking non-stop about myself. What is new with Your Majesty? With what has happened with your sister, are... would you like to talk about it?"

There was a moment of silence, and then a crackly voice said, "We wanted your advice on a certain matter."

Rhea stopped herself from turning, focusing on the river before her, fearing that the queen would not console her if she looked. "Is that why Your Majesty asked to meet today?"

The queen nodded. "We will soon want an heir and thus will require a husband."

"I see," said Rhea. "What does Your Majesty need help with?"

Queen Corinna hesitated. "How does one choose the correct husband? Unfortunately, our advisors have not been as helpful as desired."

Rhea attempted to hide her smile. "Well, choosing who you wish to be with for the rest of your life is difficult."

"Yes, of course."

"I would advise, Your Majesty, to choose someone who makes you happy."

"We only require them to give Us an heir, nothing else."

Rhea's smile faded, and she looked down at her sketchbook. "If that is Your Majesty's wish, then focus on the qualities you wish for your heir and your future husband to hold."

The queen nodded. "That makes sense, thank you."

"Though I still suggest Your Majesty finds someone you will also be happy with. You do not have to love them romantically, but having a dear friend by your side, raise your heir, and aid in running the country..."

The queen rose to her feet, along with her servant.

"We shall take it into consideration," replied Jane.