Day: 1359

Days Left: 4121

Lives Saved: 7

Henry glanced behind as he saw the skeletal monster scramble down from the cliff, charging ahead at the follower at the end of the line.

"Run!"

Those at the bottom panicked, clambering up the heap, some faster than others and thus breaking formation. Everyone else began to run, a few slipping and tripping on the uneven mountain of crippled bodies, falling. The rope tugged, pulling the people at the top of the line with them.

"Stay calm!" O'Sullivan yelled, his voice resounding across the wasteland. He gripped tightly onto the rope, preventing himself and the others before him from being pulled down too, his followers at the top copying, but their footing was weakening by the moment. His words could not break through the sheer panic of those near the bottom as they struggled to climb up, the rope connecting them more of a hindrance now.

The skeletal monster clambered up the mountain on its four hands and grabbed the follower closest.

"Run! Run!" everyone screamed, climbing up in desperation.

As the skeletal monster picked up the follower, the rope connecting them to the others was pulled with them. It was not enough to combat the sudden force eBut, even with O'Sullivan and the others tugging from the top.

"Cut the rope! Cut the rope!" O'Sullivan yelled to those at the bottom as he clung onto a nearby follower to remain stable, both of them and Henry slowly sliding down the mountain.

The monster's rib cage opened up, and it stuffed the screaming follower inside, then it seized the rope and pulled the next follower along, also stuffing them into its rib cage, and then it reached for the third-

"Cut the fucking rope!" O'Sullivan screeched.

Everyone reached for their weapons, desperately cutting through the thick rope, some quicker than others, but the third last follower, in fear, dropped their dagger, screaming as it was pulled inside of the monster's torso.

"We need to kill that monster!" O'Sullivan yelled as he cut the rope connecting him to the follower before him, but he was still attached to Henry. "We either escape together, or we stay down here together!"

But no one listened, fear overtaking any semblance of loyalty as they cut their rope, leaving behind fallen friends and comrades. Some continued running to the top of the mountain, others fleeing to the side and going back down, away from the monster, and then some were unlucky, their ankles grabbed by the earth nymphs underneath and pulled down, their screams fading away as they were consumed.

The skeletal monster paused momentarily; the three followers inside its stomach shrivelled, wasting away into bone as skin grew over the monster's frame. With a bigger meal, the monster grew more flesh, growing a hunchback and long hair sprouted over its head. It cocked its head upwards, revealing what once was a skull, now a horrifying human face, eyeless and gaunt like the skin was stretched over the bone structure.

Henry noticed Karina making her way up in the middle of the pack, pushing a nearby follower as the monster began to chase from behind. The hyena guard carrying Nia had dropped the lantern in favour of escaping quicker, the same with the hyena guard carrying the crate containing Terry the cockatrice.

"Nia..." whimpered Henry as he saw the bony hands of the earth nymphs grab at the lantern.

He glanced behind, seeing that O'Sullivan was putting on his mask.

If he transforms, then he'll easily kill the monster, Henry thought. And then, I would be forced to go through the portal.

About to activate his mask and transform, O'Sullivan yelped as Henry yanked the rope connecting them both, and they toppled down the mountain. O'Sullivan's cyclops mask flung off his face, lost somewhere in the pile of bodies.

"Henry!" O'Sullivan screamed, grabbing Henry by the ankle, his nails digging into his skin. "What are you doing! You're going to get us both killed!"

Henry kicked O'Sullivan in the face, the man reeling back, his nose bleeding, giving Henry enough time to loosen the rope around his waist and scramble out. Stumbling up only momentarily, he was dragged back down, his trouser leg snatched by an earth nymph.

"If that monster doesn't kill you, I'll kill you myself!" O'Sullivan yelled, also trapped by an earth nymph himself. "You hear me, Henry!"

Henry yanked himself free from the nymph's grip and stumbled down the mountain, darting to the lantern.

He could hear O'Sullivan yell out orders to his peons, telling them to use their masks to defeat the monster, but everyone was too focused on waiting for the portal and escaping themselves, not caring about the others. If they transformed, they would not be able to escape, as when they returned to their human form in the human realm, they would risk death, as the Eternal Abyss would keep them alive from a bad transformation.

A bright light shone behind him as Henry continued to hurtle down the mountain, almost tripping over the moving bodies of the earth nymphs. He glanced back and saw a warm light shine down from the sky.

The followers of the Evil Eye pushed and shoved each other, attempting to climb on top of each other to escape themselves, only to be pushed to the ground, everyone wanting to escape first as the monster continued to head upwards and devour more of their friends, its skin and hunchback bulging and growing, its four hands growing long fingernails, its skin becoming baggy and saggy. But it was no longer so focused on the followers themselves, but it looked to the bright light and the open portal. With greater speed than before, the monster climbed up the mountain, eyes focused on the light, seizing anyone it passed.

"Use your masks!" O'Sullivan cried out, only a few listening to him as they gave up on escape. "We can escape any time! Defeat the monster!"

Henry finally reached the lantern, no longer fearing the monster as it focused on the portal at the summit.

"Nia!" Henry yelled in relief, reaching for the lantern. "Nia..." But when he turned the lantern over, he saw the glass had cracked on one side, the lantern cage empty. "Nia?" Henry glanced around. "Nia!" he called out, but no small fairy was in sight. "Nia!"

There was a sharp piercing sound as a bolt of red light blasted at Henry, missing him only slightly and instead hitting the glass lantern, reflecting and scorching an earth nymph in another direction.

Henry ducked, seeing that O'Sullivan had finally found his mask and transformed, the bloodshot cyclops standing at the top of the mountain. It focused on the monster, preventing it from snatching a nearby follower. The red beam burned the monster's skin but could not wholly slice through its bulbous and giant form, steam rising from the burns. O'Sullivan paused with his red beam, his cyclops eye becoming more bloodshot and almost cracking from overuse.

Using the distraction, Henry darted down the mountain again, holding desperately onto the glass lantern despite Nia being no longer inside. He called out her name as he did, but there was no sign of her. Had she been taken by the earth nymphs when he wasn't looking?

No... no, she can't have... please... no-

The light at the summit dimmed, and Henry could hear the frantic screams as the followers still attempted to escape despite the monster being right in front of them and consuming one of their friends, O'Sullivan keeping it at bay just enough to save the majority of them. Then the light eventually faded, the portal closing, and in that last light, Henry saw a silhouette climbing up to freedom; it was Terra. She had managed to escape.

The portal closed, and some followers collapsed onto their knees crying, so distraught with everything that had happened and allowed themselves to be taken by the monster.

With a blood-curdling cry, O'Sullivan released another red beam from his cyclops' eye, his skin starting to crack and break from the overuse until eventually the beam sliced through the monster's body, severing it into multiple pieces, claimed by the earth nymphs. Then, after a pause, the cyclops turned to Henry.

"Get him..." he growled.

His remaining followers, that had not given into despair, reached for their masks.

Somehow finding a secret reserve of energy, Henry bolted down the mountain, his breaths like stabs into his lungs, how weak and hungry he was, but he continued to cry out for Nia.

The leftovers of the followers of the Evil Eyes had all transformed into their monster selves. They were charging down the mountain, fueled by anger and despair from seeing so many of their own defeated and, with the failure of escaping, so close to freedom.

"Nia!" Henry cried out. "Nia!" He reached the bottom of the mountain and dashed to the ridge, but he had no more strength left to pull himself up onto the cliff, despite it being only a bit taller. He almost wanted to give up, to collapse and admit defeat.

And then he heard the high-pitched squabble of a rooster in the distance. Henry glanced behind and saw Nia, the little fairy riding on Terry the cockatrice's back. She raised her arm and screamed a battle cry with her silvery twinkly voice, sharp and high-pitched with all of her ferocity, then lowered her arm, lightly kicking the sides of the cockatrice to get it charging, leading the half-rooster half, serpent little creature into battle against the oncoming charge of monsters.

The monsters halted, seeing the fairy riding on top of the cockatrice and retreated, screaming, but it was too late. Nia lifted Terry's blindfold, turning them into stone statues, frozen in their moment of peril. She continued to charge after the remaining ones, chasing them until they were stone.

Henry finally had time to catch his breath, but this relief from seeing Nia safe we short-lived as he saw O'Sullivan at the top of the mountain, the cracks in his skin and his bloodshot eye no longer so agitated. He looked from Henry, then to Nia and the cockatrice.

Henry grabbed the glass lantern and ran in front of Nia and Terry; the red beam burst from the cyclop's eye and hit the lantern reflecting elsewhere.

O'Sullivan stepped forward, continuing to shoot the beam as he saw the cracks in the lantern spread.

With the last of his strength, Henry held up the heavy lantern, the beam pushing against him, then he turned the lantern, and in an instant, the reflected beam cut sideways and dissipated in a flash. There was a loud burst as the beam sliced through the cyclops giant eye, and blood spurted out into a pile of mush; the headless cyclops stood for a moment before collapsing, its body claimed and dragged into the pile by the earth nymphs.

Henry slumped to his knees, his body so exhausted that he completely collapsed, barely able to hold himself up and watch the remains of O'Sullivan disappear and out of sight. The other followers that had been turned into statues were utterly still. Nia watched them, her face vacant, yet tears streamed down her face as she waited until they returned to flesh, turning them back into stone again by lifting Terry the cockatrice's blindfold again. She repeated the process until all of the monsters were also claimed by the earth nymphs, and then she remained still, continuing to look at the pile of disfigured bodies, then looked up at the sky, where the portal had closed.

They both remained still and silent, neither unable to fully realise in their minds that they were finally free from the Evil Eyes, from O'Sullivan. They were free, yet neither had the energy to move nor celebrate. They achieved freedom but at what cost? A few of the followers did manage to escape safely. Then Terra actually escaped the Abyss for who knows how long until she was thrown back down, but everyone else... everyone else was either now an earth nymph themselves... or had been entirely consumed by that skeletal monster.

Did Henry want them all to die? He was unsure. A part of him, after all this long being their prisoner, being tortured by Karina, wanted them all to suffer, but seeing it all before his eyes... he was quite terrified of that part of him, the part that was satisfied with seeing them all perish, hearing them scream and cry for help. What had this place turned him into? Or was he always like this?

Nia had been their prisoner for longer, and she did not smile either; she silently watched, her tears eventually ending, and she bowed her head, eyes still vacant as if she did not know how to feel.

"What now?" Henry mumbled, his throat so dry from screaming and dehydration.

Nia looked up at him, forcing a smile, but Henry could see her knotted brows. She shrugged, then patted Terry the cockatrice as if to tell him 'well done'. Henry only just thought about it, but Terry was likely a prisoner too, stuck in that crate until he was of use. Perhaps he was stuck in his monster form because O'Sullivan and Karina kept him there, just like Nia.

"We should... we should get out of here," said Henry wearily, wanting more than anything to sleep for eternity. "Let's find shelter... and food and water... and I- and I need a weapon and..." He paused. He frowned, trying to remember what was nearby, the closest food drop-off or water source, but struggled to envision the map so clearly in his mind. But it was all in his...

In his notebook.

Henry bounded to his feet, his crippling fear giving him one last energy boost. "My notebook!" His eyes darted around. "Where's Karina? Where is she? She's got my notebook! Everything I know about the Abyss... all my memories..."

Nia snapped out of her deep thought and fluttered around in search.

But neither caught sight of Karina. Henry did not remember her being one of the monsters that got turned into stone. Did the monster eat her? Or taken by the earth nymphs? Or maybe she was one of the few that managed to get away?

What if my notebook is gone...

Henry clutched his chest, his heart still managing to beat this fast after everything that had just happened.

What if it's gone...

All my memories...

All my clues to find my second cousin...

What if I get hit in the head and lose my memories?

What if-

Nia flitted over and rested her tiny hand on his shoulder, giving a hopeful smile. She motioned to herself, made a mime of searching, then pointed to above on the cliff.

"Yes, let's look," said Henry, nodding and sniffing away his tears. "She probably made it out alive, yeah. If she was with the others, with O'Sullivan, she would have made a big deal out of it and threatened me too. The same if she was about to be eaten by that monster..." Henry continued to mumble out theories as to why Karina would still be nearby, motivating himself to keep going and not lose hope, though maybe it was best that he was realistic. Chances were, Karina was gone and his notebook of memories along with her.

Nia flitted up to the top of the cliff, needing a slight boost as her power of flight was limited to a few meters hovering above. Then Henry lifted Terry the cockatrice up, the cockatrice squawking and blindly walking, his head bobbing, snake tail flitting. Nia chased after Terry, who walked off on his own. But when it came to Henry himself trying to get up, there was no strength left in his arm to haul himself up the cliff. He attempted to climb, but the young man had no semblance of power or energy.

He slumped down, resting against the cliff rock side. "Nia..." he called out wearily. "Sorry, I can't get up at the moment... you go ahead... see if Karina is anywhere near here, otherwise..." Henry's eyes began to close; he could barely hear the twinkling sound of Nia's wings in the distance as she chased after Terry the cockatrice. "Otherwise, let's just rest here and..."

"Hello, Henry..." sang a voice.