WHO?

"I don't need a bodyguard. Why are you following me?" Sponge asked, turning to look at Vvh, who was trailing behind her with crossed arms, watching as Sponge mined a few more ores.

"I told you the ores we have are enough. You're sick, and you're still pushing yourself," Vvh replied, her voice dripping with disappointment. Sponge groaned in response.

"I don't think it's going to be enough. I just need to get more today and hope it lasts us for a month or two," she mumbled, sighing. Vvh was right; she was still sick. Her body felt like a raging war of hot and cold, and she wasn't sure what she was supposed to feel.

At least she didn't feel like she wanted to vomit, which was a plus, but her body felt heavier, and she sensed she wasn't getting better. It felt worse than yesterday. It was as if Cecil had trampled over her a thousand times, and now she felt beaten up even though she looked the opposite.

Sponge gritted her teeth as she felt Vvh move closer—her sickly state wasn't helping the situation. "Will you please stop hovering?" Sponge snapped, weakly glaring at Vvh. Her hands trembled, and her head felt light after her outburst.

Vvh tilted her head lower, assessing Sponge like some kind of patient. "I am here to watch over you, Sponge. Stop acting like a child, or perhaps you don't ever want to change," she said. Sponge winced, a pang of hurt striking her chest.

On a non-sick day, Sponge could have let her words slide off like water, but now they cut deep. "Okay! Fine, so I'm a child. If you're getting so annoyed, why don't you just leave?" Sponge grumbled, glaring at Vvh.

Vvh shook her head. "And here I thought you'd matured enough," she said, walking off. Sponge's eyes widened in offense, a deep irritation coursing through her. "What the hell is wrong with you? I seriously cannot understand you right now, Vvh," she snapped, her tone sharp as Vvh paused.

"You keep talking down to me, then suddenly you want to play nurse, and now this? You're sending me so many mixed messages. It's—it's pissing me off, man!" Sponge yelled, only to gasp and cover her mouth as Vvh turned to her.

"You seem to have more to say. Do tell," Vvh replied, her tone dripping with mockery. 

Sponge lowered her hand. "Look—I'm sorry, I didn't mean—" she squeaked as Vvh marched closer.

Vvh crossed her arms, her expression stern. "I'm only letting you act like this because you're sick, and I believe the snow is bringing back bad memories. But what I won't accept is you speaking to me like that," she stated, causing Sponge's expression to fall.

"I—I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that… I don't know what came over me," Sponge whimpered, running a hand through her hair. Being sick was making everything worse, and her recent outburst left her feeling even more drained.

If she could give Vvh a medal for her patience, she would have.

"I have been patient with you," Vvh replied, her tone reminiscent of a disappointed parent, which only fueled Sponge's frustration. "That's not fair, Vvh, especially when you're acting like this," she countered, waving her hands in exasperation.

She struggled to ignore the anger igniting in her chest, unsure why she felt so furious when she was already so tired.

"I hate when we're both like this. I—I really like you, man. You're a good teacher—brutal and honest—but sometimes it feels like you're hiding so much from me. You refuse to explain yourself, and I feel like I'm trying to meet an expectation you've set for me," Sponge confessed, exhaling shakily. Vvh remained silent, arms crossed. "Vvh, please—"

Not before both of their heads snapped toward a sound—a boot scuffing and a stone being kicked. They saw a child carrying a large bag, his eyes wide like saucers. Sponge pointed her flashlight at his face; he looked familiar.

"You're that kid," Sponge said, and the child's eyes widened even more. He took a step back, clutching the bag tightly before turning and bolting into the darkness. "Wait! Don't go back there! It's dangerous!" Sponge yelled, prepared to run after him. But Vvh pulled her back by the arm.

"Don't. You're too weak to catch up to him," she said. Sponge turned to her, giving her an offended look. "Are we seriously debating this right now?" Sponge asked, perplexed as Vvh returned her gaze.

"Ugh, fine, but someone should follow him. The cave is a goddamn maze," Sponge insisted.

"Then we both go," Vvh replied, and Sponge stared at her, surprised—mostly stunned. Vvh didn't give her a chance to respond before sprinting after the child. 

Sponge followed, panting slightly and a bit slower—scratch that, much slower. She had no idea where Vvh was now or how she was seeing in the dark without any light.

"Vvh?!" Sponge called, hearing nothing but her own heavy breathing echoing in the cave. She could no longer see the light from the entrance or the torches she had lit along the walls.

"Vvh?" Sponge called again, stopping to take a break. Her legs were trembling, sweat poured down her face, and she was panting so heavily that she could barely catch her breath. She coughed harshly, her chest feeling like it was being squeezed.

Looking up again—only now realizing she had bent down with her hands on her knees—she shouted, "Vvh?! Where are you?" She ran once more, her breaths coming in quick pants. God, she was definitely out of breath and needed a break—a solid five minutes of sitting down—because she felt so off-kilter. The stale air was almost choking her, making it hard to breathe.

For a moment, she stopped again, breathing so loudly that she could barely hear anything other than her own sharp gasps. "S-stupid Vvh, running off by herself," she mumbled, out of breath. She walked over to the stone wall, propping herself against it, her vision feeling like a curtain was being drawn.

Or maybe it was just the darkness of the cave.

Cold sweat poured down her neck like waves, and she finally noticed she was shivering. She slid down to the floor, sitting and shaking. Maybe she should have let Vvh catch up to the kid because she definitely couldn't keep up with them.

For a moment, she laid her forehead against her knee, breathing heavily. Her chest trembled from the stale air, and her head throbbed from the sudden movement earlier. She opened her eyes and saw boots at her side.

Fearfully, she raised her head and looked up to find Vvh staring down at her. "V—Vvh!" Sponge exclaimed, quickly standing and almost stumbling toward her. She glanced around, expecting Vvh to have already caught up to the child. "Where's the kid?" she asked, turning to Vvh, who remained silent.

Suddenly, Vvh turned away, walking deeper into the cave. "Wha—hey, if you can't find the kid, we can just go back," Sponge said, catching up to her but slowing down to a few steps behind.

"Vvh," Sponge called again, but Vvh refused to acknowledge her, moving at a slow, relaxed pace as if walking in a deep, dark cave were nothing. Sponge shivered in the cold air, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Vvh, let's go back." Sponge made a move to grab Vvh's arm but hesitated, her eyes traveling down to the floor. She noticed she was kicking up dust—black dust. It was some kind of soot, the same stuff she had found on their door.

She pointed her flashlight at it, observing the footprints of her boots marking the ground and the dust flying around, causing her to curl her lips in disgust. She had most likely inhaled some by accident and could see the black dust on her hands and hoodie from where she had sat down.

Then she stopped, turning to Vvh's boots and noticing no marks on the floor. "What—" Sponge said, stunned, as she raised her head to look at the back of Vvh's head.

"Vvh?" she called weakly. She watched Vvh walk away, not even sparing a glance at her as she disappeared into the darkness. "I—oh god… am I… shit." Sponge quickly rubbed her forehead, then knelt on the floor, wiping the black soot from her finger, rubbing it between her pointer and thumb as she stared at it.

She pointed her flashlight at the soot and slowly noticed white specks glittering and shining within it. It almost looked pretty—if only it weren't the reason she was seeing strange things.

Was this some kind of magic dust?

Suddenly, her head snapped at a sound, and she pointed her flashlight in front of her. There she saw the child again, his eyes wide and manic. "You!" Sponge yelled—she hadn't meant to, but the child clearly knew something if he was here.

The child let out a squeal and made a move to run back into the cave. Not until Sponge sprang to her feet, sprinting towards him and grabbing his arm—harshly—did he cry out, dropping the bag on the floor as he tried to push her away.

"Stop it! Let me talk to you! Hey!" Sponge argued, grabbing his other hand to stop him from hitting her. It didn't hurt, but it was definitely annoying. Besides, he looked incredibly thin; he could barely do any damage to her.

"Let me go!" he shouted, trying to push her, but Sponge didn't budge an inch.

"Are you done?" Sponge asked as the child stopped struggling, only sniffing as he glared weakly at her. "What do you want?" he asked. "What's in the bag?" Sponge gestured at the bag on the floor and watched the kid tense up, swallowing hard and looking away.

"Y-You don't need to know! Why are you even here?" he mumbled, trembling.

"What's this on the floor, this soot?" Sponge asked as the kid looked at it fearfully. Their eyes met, and he whispered, "Why? Are you going to make me get some for you as well?"

Sponge's face softened, and she let go of his arm. "No… just tell me what's in the bag and what this dust is," she said as the kid rubbed his wrist, taking a small step back.

"Why—why are you asking?" he replied, giving her a suspicious look, his eyes staring at her in an unnerving manner.

Sponge only returned his gaze, and the kid shook, blinking wildly. He quickly grabbed his bag, opened it, and showed it to her. "Here! It—it's mushrooms to feed my family… and—and the…" His voice trailed off when Sponge pulled out a jar full of the dust.

"What is this? Why is it in a jar?" she asked as the kid nervously picked at his nails.

"I—I… they sell it… it's the drugs they take," he whispered. Sponge almost dropped the jar in shock. Turning to look at it again, she asked, "Drugs?! You mean…"

She trailed off, remembering the soot on the door, how she had wiped it on her face, and Vvh's sleeve having some of it.

"Its effects are mostly in the form of hallucinations—but with this, we can imagine a different reality where… everything is happy," he whispered, lowering his head in shame.

"Shit… how about getting sick? Is that normal?" Sponge asked.

The kid shook his head. "I—I don't think so."

Sponge studied his face, noticing how his bones were almost visible. "Is the mushroom safe?" she asked, pulling one out— it was the same one she had eaten yesterday.

"I—I think? It makes some of us sick, especially if you use it along with the drug," he replied timidly as Sponge narrowed her eyes.

She clicked her tongue. "Of course—do you have any idea why this cave is producing this?"

The kid shook his head. "I don't know. I only heard that the miners were supposed to mine ores, but then they started to go crazy and killed each other in the process… I think they didn't know the effects of the drugs and the mushrooms," he mumbled.

"Then why are you still consuming it and even selling it?" Sponge snapped, glaring at the child.

"It's the only thing we have… The drugs could also make you forget the hunger pains," he whimpered, his fist clenched on the cloth over his stomach. Sponge's heart ached. "I have a sister, and—and I can't go home without any of this. There are people in my town that need it…"

Sponge sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She handed it back to him, watching as he quickly stuffed it into his bag—his hands shaking. She could only feel pity for the child.

"They say our lands are cursed, that's why we have this… we deserve this," he whispered, staring at the ground before eventually clutching the bag to his chest.

Sponge bit her lip. "The dust… was it the reason why the miners went crazy?"

The child shook his head. "No… I think it was the effects of the hallucinations. Some people react badly to it, but most react positively," he said.

Sponge's brows furrowed. "Go home, kid. I don't think it's going to be safe here."

A cold weight filled her stomach. She was nervous about how it could affect Vvh. Sponge had spent more time inside the cave than Vvh, but she had been in contact with the dust too.

And now Vvh was somewhere in the cave, with the dust in the air. She could have inhaled all of it without knowing. "I need to find my friend," she said. "Now go."

The child let out a small squeak, nodding before running off.

Sponge couldn't shake the worry building in her chest. Vvh could be experiencing the worst hallucinations—there was no way she didn't have a troubled past. 

Sponge had already hallucinated Ji-Ho and had been experiencing bad nightmares for the past few nights. If it was already that bad for her… what about Vvh?