Episode 6: Mu (1)

She was standing right there. Rose was standing right there. When was the last time I saw her? A day? A week? No… It was only a couple of hours since we separated. I felt like an eternity but why?

"It's been a while," Sam said casually.

"Yeah, it has," Rose said.

"I wonder who they are?" Freya said happily.

"Probably Rose's friends," Andrea replied.

"We should probably get out of here," Antonio said.

"Wait!" Claire shouted. "We can't listen to him! What if he is part of the soldiers as well? I still don't trust him!"

I couldn't deny what she said. She was right. The person right in front of me, wearing a soldier like clothing, was really suspicious.

"Wait a moment…" Sam said. "Ray, did we meet him before?" he whispered.

I looked at him again. "It's you!?"

"Yeah yeah! Remember? We met earlier in the accommodation place," Antonio said.

Behind Antonio, the two girls peeked from behind Antonio and looked directly at me. Freya smiled brightly and Andrea bowed slightly.

"Who are…" I said.

Rose looked back at Freya and Andrea and said, "These are the girls that well with Antonio the whole time."

The girls waved at us.

Rose walked towards Claire and said, "Claire, let's go. Let's get everyone safe and then will deal with Antonio afterwards, okay?"

"Okay…" Claire agreed.

I was relieved. I didn't really know what was going on. The group of people, standing right in front of me, were a mixture of kids and adults holding rifles. One looks like a soldier, and the other one looks like a maniac.

The siren sounded in the background. It reminded me of our current situation. Without hesitation, I spoke up. "Guys, let's go. we can't waste any more time," I said.

* * *

Upon closer inspection, I found that they were people that I recognised. The girl, holding the gun, was from the first day I arrived at the Transport Museum. The one standing next to her, was Antonio, the person I met near our room. The injured woman was the police officer we met earlier on.

Thankfully it wasn't hurting any more – my wound. We paced down the corridors; I didn't know where we were heading but Antonio seemed like he knew the place pretty well.

"Hey, hey, Mr!" Freya said as she jumped towards me. "Do you know our little rose here?" She grinned.

"Hey," Rose said.

"Yeah, I was with Rose until we got separated right, Sam?" I said. "We didn't really know where she went. We were looking for her the entire time…"

"Oh! I get it now…" Freya grinned. "There is something going on between you two right?"

Andrea stepped forward and grabbed onto Freya's hand. She pulled her back and gave her a menacing stare. Freya looked at Andrea and smiled awkwardly implying that she was apologising.

"I'm sorry, Ray," Andrea said dipping her head down slightly. "Freya didn't mean to bother you."

"It's okay, don't worry about it," I said smiling at them. "She's an energetic one, hahaha."

We continued to walk down the path and after a few more corners, the place began to dim and soon enough, it was totally pitch black.

"Antonio?" Karen said.

We were all concerned about the direction we were heading towards.

In the distance, Antonia replied, "It's fine! Just keep running forward."

A moment later, a projection of light beams onto the floor from Antonio's arm and we followed the path. In the distance, a bright, yet warm, light shone towards us. It was as if we were reaching the end of the tunnel. We sprang out of the corridor and I covered my eyes from the bright light.

Gradually, I open my eyes and said softly, "This… Where are we…?"

The wind was blowing and the green grass spread out away from us as far as we could see.

Freya and Andrea ran forward and Freya stretched her arms out spinning around.

"Welcome to Mu!"

* * *

We walked down the grassy fields. It took a while but we finally arrived and we stood in front of the wooden fences. Freya held on to Rose's hand and dragged her away towards the entrance.

"Young miss! Antonio!" the guard said. "Pass on the message! They're back!"

The other guard ran back, away from us, and we walked up to them.

Antonio waved his hand at them. "Hey! It's been a while."

I was confused and surprised. "You… Know them?" I asked Antonio.

"Who are they?" Karen questioned. She was being wary of them.

"Don't worry, they are good people," Antonio replied.

We followed them into the place and the guard directed us towards the centre of the area.

"Welcome home, dear," a soft voice said. She opened her arms widely and welcomed Freya.

"Mum! I'm back," Freya replied.

Andrea walked up behind Freya and bowed down slightly at her mother.

"Welcome back too, Andrea," Freya's mother said.

"It seems like she is her mother," Karen said looking at me.

"Yeah," I replied.

Antonio walked forward and greeted her mum.

I looked around the place. The buildings weren't very modern. The design looked like it was built from the early centuries, or rather, fantasy-like. The house was completely made of wood including the floor, table, chairs and even the walls. But surprisingly, everything was very well-made, very... elegantly made. There was also another thing I noticed… They didn't have electricity. Everything ran on fire, candles, and oil lamps. Thankfully, the windows were big and a lot of light passed through into the room keeping it bright inside.

Antonio turned around and walked back towards us. "So… let's have a brief introduction shall we?" Antonio suggested.