Krafft's Notes on Anomalies

"Walker!" William stepped forward eagerly, wanting to bring his returning companions back to the team and leave this dangerous place as soon as possible.

The flames moved with his movements, the halo swayed, and the shadows receded like water, giving way to a new cave, which was made up of countless small sections that looked like they were being knocked open by a giant hammer. A uniform, round shape was forcibly carved out between the edges and corners. Tunnel space.

It was no different from the caves I had seen before. It was extremely familiar, and it was precisely because of this that it made people feel horrified from the bottom of their hearts. Like countless repetitive details that seemed to have been mentioned unintentionally in the story that has been laid out for a long time, when the truth was revealed at the end, everyone burst into laughter in the previous article, applauding the culprit who created them.

Is that thing disguising its trajectory as a cave, or are these unnatural caves shaped by wind sand, flowing water and other geological factors?

If so, they are walking in the footsteps of giants, treating them as tiny reptiles in a blessed land, unaware of what may be passing by at any time.

[There is never a "safe" mine]

The witness cannot escape this obvious fact. He is standing in such a "footprint". That thing may turn back at any time and bury them forever underground in a foreign land. Then the mine will be destroyed like the old mine. Sealed, leaving behind an unknown so-called "accidental collapse" rumor.

The fear of an uncontestable existence made him slow down a little, but he found that he had gone further than he thought.

The underground crossroads were covered by the closing darkness behind them. They had walked at least thirty steps, going straight into the passage where the aftermath of fear and the ringing in their ears still lingered.

Even with William's rough nerves, he noticed something strange, but it seemed that some sluggish thinking kept his thoughts at a certain moment. The flying insects sealed in resinous amber, the bubbles solidified in the ice, a motionless, lifelike The thought is driving the feet to move forward, towards the companion who is still far away.

The same is true for the sailors who followed. No one thought there was anything wrong with them not catching up with Walker, even though his face was like a carrot hanging on a donkey's face. It seemed so close, but it always remained at the edge of the aperture, as if it were a shadow. The floating objects on the surface stick to the surface of the black water, and the light advances and then retreats.

As if aware of William's hesitation, the cheeks on both sides were pulled apart a little again, and the corners of the mouth on the wider face were slightly raised, intensifying the smile-like expression.

The implicated image was even more uncomfortable than William's impression of a colleague with a scarred face. That colleague was just stabbed in front of his face, and he could still see the vivid expression beneath his ferocious face. And this intact face is far-fetched at best. Behind the intact surface is completely stiff, as if it has been frozen hard by the cold current, and the tendons are condensed into lumps.

Behind the gap in the grinning mouth are not the yellow and white unhealthy teeth of sailors, but the depth is limited. It is more like an illuminating black light-absorbing plane than a throat.

The steps of the three were not close to each other. A sailor passed him from the right side while marching. He gradually moved closer to the front edge of the torch lighting range and reached out into the darkness to hold Walker's hand. He didn't get a response, so he came up empty. As a matter of course, he took a few steps forward and walked completely into the wide floating shadow.

The shoulders passed under the wide face and did not reach the physical body, as if walking silently into another world.

The sound of the crab's legs tapping on the stone rose and fell, and his thoughts were condensed. It was difficult to find a simple logic, but it was impossible to come up with it.

William was tired. When he was younger, he was also a figure who could flex his muscles on the deck, although he rarely had the opportunity to show it to the opposite sex. But that morning, as his father, the old captain, handed over the steering wheel and left, the captain, who always liked to drink and brag, was far less physically strong than before. Even if he was not so depraved that he could not lift a knife, it was really difficult for him compared with the sailors.

Once you lose self-discipline, your body will expand quickly no matter how good your foundation was before. For the sake of dignity, the belt tightens the belly, but just because the fat is not visible, it does not mean it does not exist. It actually slows down the speed.

The other sailor gradually overtook him, and after walking a few steps farther than the church door to the icon, he completely left the flame of the torch.

The only light source in the cave is weak, and the entangled flammable material is gradually peeling off, and the trembling will be extinguished.

The aperture shrunk, but Walker's face did not disappear from the field of view, always staying at the edge of the light that was getting closer and closer. The swaying fire shrank until the tip of my toes touched the dark area when I took a slightly longer step. The long and tiring journey finally closed the distance between me and it, and I could clearly see the half-closed eyelids.

The crab's legs knocked on the stone, and his almost stagnant thinking took a side path and changed to a more direct description.

【Carapace】

It was a solid material like carapace that was in contact with the stone wall, but how could Walker have a carapace? That's too big, right?

Ridiculous thoughts passed by, and the thoughts seemed to be thawing and no longer imprisoned.

The thought of moving forward and welcoming Walker back shrunk like a flame, and dark thoughts occupied his mind: Why did he come here, and how far had he traveled?

He was shocked to realize that he had gone too far, so far away that the unchanging cave felt strange. It was like waking up in the captain's cabin of another sailboat of the same shape. The furnishings were the same. The strangeness still pinched his heart for a moment.

The sourness and astringency spread together with the tremor of the heartbeat, the skin is touched by the astringent taste, the tip of the tongue tastes tremor, discomfort, alienation, and the discomfort of leaving the comfort zone.

He held the torch and vomited. This action caused the lingering burning to fall to the ground and was about to be extinguished. In the flickering light, a red bearded face faced a pale, broad face.

No, it cannot be called staring. There is no eyeball placed behind the flat eyelids, and there is no tongue behind the parted lips.

Another face came closer, then a third, emerging from the surrounding darkness that threatened to drown the remaining light.

William recognized them. The owner of these two faces had just passed by him, and there was no mistaking them. His sailor's face had become broad and flat, lacking three-dimensionality.

Once I crumpled the parchment journal after drinking, and then spread it out to dry again, and this is what it looked like.

"What hell..." His mouth, which has been influenced by marine culture, formed a curse word faster than his brain. It was hard to tell whether it was a curse word or a declarative sentence.

Death, or perhaps a more terrible fate, was approaching, and the overwhelming fear was not as strong as imagined.

The different colors of the rock wall up and down, the worship of long-bodied things, and the prominently depicted faces are all coherent and logically connected.

Perhaps he was mentally prepared, but even he was surprised - the moment he reached for the handle of the knife, Xianxin realized that he was witnessing a shocking and terrifying story.

Sea of ​​Ice, Teme River, Wendeng Port, Solace Port, clear and yellow rivers, stone avenues, dust-covered dirt roads...

I can’t remember who said that the things you care about most will only be thought of when you are caught in a storm.

And William felt regretful that the most real scene in his life, the most capable of arousing primitive and strong emotions, was going to be buried here in obscurity with him, and he couldn't even find the most tasteless drunkard in the pub as an audience.

The blade struck weakly at three unmoved floating surfaces. Yes, he is no longer young, his physical condition is not what it used to be, and he has unknowingly consumed too much energy.

The light of the fire, the metal hitting the face, the clang of gold and stone, the sharp blade cutting through a thin layer of skin, bounced off the weird and extremely hard material.

"Heavenly Father, for the sake of my donation..."

The hard knocks that followed came together with the bright flames, carving into the face before it could retreat with the darkness.

The third person who passed by him today, but this one brought his own torch.

"Who?!" The incident happened suddenly, and he didn't know whether the one sent by Heavenly Father was an angel or an audience. William asked reflexively.

"Heavenly Father!"