chapter 13 Outskirts of Acroniya Part 2

Her mother shouted, "What were you thinking?" After that, she started crying and continued, "I have already lost two of my precious things.

Your brother and father, both cannot make it."

The girl couldn't understand what her mother was trying to say. She turned to find her brother but couldn't find him anywhere. She saw a blanket that resembled her favorite blanket, which had somehow turned red. She slowly moved near the blanket. Everyone was busy tracking the beast's movements, which had just attacked them, and didn't see her. Her hands started moving towards the blanket. At that time, her mother realized that she was missing again. Covered in fear, she started searching the area and found her in front of the blanket. Her hands were reaching out to pull down the blanket.

Her mother ran and stopped her from doing this, but her hands had already touched the blanket. She asked her mother, "Mama, what's this red color? And whose is he...?" She continued after a brief pause, "And where is brother? I haven't seen him for long." She shuddered, remembering the sight she saw earlier.

Everyone was worried about the beast's reaction, but when nothing happened for some time, they started their work. "How much time will it take?" one of the men said, covered in fear. He was looking around for any sign of danger. There were a few men present in the front; their hands were bleeding from continuous digging of the debris fallen by the beast. After some time, the debris turned more and more red. When they were no longer able to dig more, people from the back moved to the front and took their positions. After a few minutes, the previous person returned to their work. This continued for a long time without stopping, until the girl's scream reached their ears. They all remained still and tried to find any sign of danger, but when nothing happened after waiting for some time, they continued their work.

One of the men, resting and waiting for his return, said, "We are only one-fourth done yet. It will take us more time..." Before he could finish his words, he was cut in half by another person who was walking towards the debris. The man's eyes were so lifeless that the other tried to take his place.

The man said in a sad tone, "Don't worry about me. I am fine. I can do this," he said after a brief pause. After digging for a continuous 15 minutes, their fingers started to pain. Some of them had taken the positions of others, and some of them tried to do as much as possible. At this time, they were more careful than before, resulting in slower digging speed and fewer injuries.

One of the men, sitting down on the nearby rock where others had taken his position, said, "This will not work like this. We have to dig a small hole, which would be much faster to dig." Everyone thought for a minute or so and started working accordingly to the plan. At first, it started very quickly, but soon after, difficulties started appearing. Their speed was very slow as there was not enough space for even two people to work there.

One of the men, resting and waiting for his return, said, "We are only one-fourth done yet. It will take us more time..." Before he could finish his words, he was cut in half by another person who was walking towards the debris. The man's eyes were so lifeless that the other tried to take his place.

The man said in a sad tone, "Don't worry about me. I am fine. I can do this," he said after a brief pause. After digging for a continuous 15 minutes, their fingers started to pain. Some of them had taken the positions of others, and some of them tried to do as much as possible. At this time, they were more careful than before, resulting in slower digging speed and fewer injuries.

One of the men, sitting down on the nearby rock where others had taken his position, said, "This will not work like this. We have to dig a small hole, which would be much faster to dig." Everyone thought for a minute or so and started working accordingly to the plan. At first, it started very quickly, but soon after, difficulties started appearing. Their speed was very slow as there was not enough space for even two people to work there.

One of the men tore his suit and declared that he had an idea. As the hole was deep, it was difficult to dig it normally. So, he decided to dig it by moving his upper body into it. Except for him, everyone else started analyzing the hole. He put his suit on the ground near the hole so that he could be pulled out in case of an emergency. He told the others his signal and started digging. He dug nearly one-fourth of a meter. When he started suffocating, he signaled to the others by moving his legs. Without waiting, all the others pulled him out in an instant with their combined efforts. Another person entered the tunnel and started digging. His control was better than the previous person, and he dug more than one-fourth, nearly three-fourths of a meter.

The next person took the lead but was only able to dig a small portion. After a few digs, he was almost about to faint. When he was brought out, his face was filled with sadness and guilt. He said, "I think I am unable to..." Before he could complete this sentence, everyone nodded their heads and said, "Don't worry, we all understand you."

Now it was the turn of the sad man. He took a deep breath and started digging. He was trying his best but was only able to cover more than half a meter. But still, he wasn't giving any signal. Everyone started worrying. After about a minute, the person who had introduced this idea ordered everyone to pull him out. When they pulled him out, he was fine from the outside, but his breath was very uneven. "Why didn't you give any signal?" the person who had ordered to pull him out demanded, his voice laced with anger and worry. "I know you meant well," he said, his voice filled with concern, "But please, rest for a while, don't push your body too far." He started walking towards the opposite side, while other people kept checking the area to ask about the condition, and others continued digging.

"Have the beasts noticed us?" he asked one of the men keeping check on the beast's movements. That person replied in a slightly relaxed tone, "No, they haven't found us." But then his tone changed suddenly, and he said in disappointment, "But how long can we stay here? They will definitely find us here. And if this happens, we all will not make it." He looked towards the children and continued, "Even they will all have the same painful fate as all the others who fell before us."

He tried to change the topic and tried to calm himself, along with this trying to control his fear. He waved to the girl in response to her wave to tell her to stay in the same place to stay hidden there.

He asked about the work, how the work was going on. He told him everything and added, "If everything remains the same, then it will take us around an hour or so." The man replied in fear, "This is not good." He looked towards the beasts at a distance who were resting and trying to sleep and told them everything about the scream and the girl.