The wind whipped through the air, stinging Echo’s face as she flew through the night, her body swaying wildly with the native’s every leap and sprint. The speed was astonishing, like she was being dragged behind a galloping horse. Her screams hadn’t even reached full force when a sharp pain in her neck cut them off. Darkness overcame her, and she passed out.
Time blurred. Night gave way to dawn, and when Echo opened her eyes again, daylight had fully arrived. She found herself lying on the ground-or more accurately, on a bed of dry grass. It seemed the grass was meant to provide some form of cushioning, as she lay sprawled on top of the makeshift bedding.
Echo quickly scanned her surroundings. No one was there-absolutely no one.
Instinctively, she rolled over and sat up, taking everything around her. She was in some kind of structure, though calling it a “house” would be generous.
It was a crude shelter, built from unknown grasses, barely enough to shield from wind and sunlight. The thick, vertical beams of grass were wide enough for her fist to fit through, offering little protection from anything.
By the entrance, a massive pair of horns, more than a meter long, were displayed. Echo had no idea what kind of animal those horns could have come from-if it was even a cow at all. Next to the horns were a few black, mysterious objects, possibly animal bones, though they didn’t quite look like it. The entire place was primitive and bare.
Echo took it all in with a glance, then immediately stood up, moving quietly toward the edge of the hut. Her steps were light, not making a sound. She peered through one of the wide gaps in the walls, trying to figure out what was happening outside.
“You’re awake?” A voice, filled with despair and indifference, suddenly broke the silence.
Echo froze in her tracks before she reached the edge of the hut, turning toward the source of the voice.
A heavyset woman with pale blonde hair stepped in through what resembled a door. She wasn’t wearing anything on her upper body, just a skirt made of animal hide that was slightly longer than what the natives Echo had seen the night before wore. In her hand, she held something that looked like food, and she approached Echo with a face that was both numb and pitiful.
The woman spoke English, clearly and fluently. Her appearance was also human, nothing like the natives. She had no long, claw-like fingers, no towering figure. But her face was ghostly pale, and the lifeless coldness in her eyes was chilling, like still water devoid of any spark. Her stomach was enormous-so large it seemed like she might be carrying three or four babies, and she moved with visible difficulty.
Echo raised an eyebrow at the sight, and through the gaps in the hut’s walls, she could see a group of natives talking and walking away in the background. Their chatter was unintelligible, and the women among them were vastly different from the one standing in front of her. Aside from having female features, the native women looked just like the men-practically indistinguishable.
Seeing that Echo wasn’t speaking, the woman shook her head slightly and said, “I only speak English.” clearly assuming Echo was from the East and couldn’t understand her.
“Did they capture you too?” Echo asked, frowning as she looked at the woman.
The woman’s expression twisted into a bitter smile when she realized Echo understood her. “I’m a mountaineer. I wanted to climb these mountains-ones no one’s ever reached before. But I didn’t expect…” She trailed off, shaking her head as she sat down where Echo had been moments earlier. The message was clear enough.
“Don’t try to escape,” the woman said coldly, noticing how Echo kept glancing outside. Echo looked back at her, listening intently.
With a sorrowful expression, the woman gave a bitter smile and shook her head. “Unless you’re as fast as they are, or as strong, escape will only get you caught again. And it’ll be even worse for you when they do.”
Echo frowned deeper at that. “Why don’t they just kill us?” She’d seen the brutal nature of these people firsthand, and had assumed capture meant death. Yet here she was, alive, and now speaking to another human being. What was going on? Did the natives not kill women? She needed to know.
The woman laughed, her face a mix of sadness and irony. “Because they need us to bear their children.”
“What?” Echo’s face darkened instantly.
The woman raised her eyebrows, staring at the light filtering in from outside. “They’re strong, sure, but most of them are men. There are very few women. So, when they capture us, we become their breeding tools. Tools,” she repeated, her voice dripping with bitterness before she let out a sinister laugh.
Seeing the hatred and neuroticism on the woman’s face, Echo couldn’t help but frown slightly.
The light streaming into the hut revealed red spots on the woman’s face, hands, and chest-not many, but definitely noticeable, and they were turning purple. Suddenly, it hit Echo, “It’s radiation. You’ve been exposed to radiation.”
The woman didn’t seem surprised at all; her expression was one of dead silence. She replied softly, “I know. A research team was captured not long ago. One of them told me there were a lot of radioactive materials here. They mutated because they’ve lived here for so long-it’s the radiation. We won’t last long. Were you part of that research team too?”
Echo noticed how the woman spoke as if she had already accepted her fate, her indifference stemming from a profound sense of despair.
Echo shook her head and said, “No.”
The woman fell silent for a moment before nodding slightly. “I figured as much. When they returned this morning, a lot of them were missing, and many were hurt. Since I got captured, I haven’t seen them injured before. A couple of days ago, it felt like they found more people, but I didn’t expect such heavy losses. Serves them right, honestly. It’d be best if they all died, every last one of them.”
As she murmured to herself, a chilling laugh escaped her lips, sending a shiver down Echo’s spine.
Echo had never seen such deep-seated hatred and resentment in anyone before. The woman’s once-pretty face now wore a terrifying expression that sent a pang of pain through Echo.
“Were those people you killed yesterday? What do you do?” the woman asked suddenly, her gaze fixated on Echo.
Echo examined her closely, noticing the glimmer of excitement in the woman’s eyes. Seeing her eager and burning gaze, Echo frowned and nodded, “Yes, we killed them. But why do you need to know what I do?” Echo was always cautious around outsiders.
The woman grinned a fierce grin, her excitement palpable. “So it really was you! Good, good, good! They should have died long ago. Do you have anyone left? Will they come looking for you?”
Echo lowered her voice, “You want to escape with me?”
“No, no,” the woman suddenly laughed, shaking her head quickly. “Do you think I’d survive if I escaped? Is there any medicine for radiation out there? No? Then why should I run? I want to die with them. I want to take them down with me.” The excitement in her expression changed from indifference to wild enthusiasm in an instant.
Seeing Echo’s intense stare, the woman lowered her voice again. “If you could kill so many of them, you could kill even more. If someone comes looking for you, they won’t get away. They’ll never get away! Ha! I want to watch them all die, every single one of them.”
Looking at the woman’s twisted grin, Echo felt her brow furrow slightly. The things she was saying, the look on her face-it was clear this woman had completely given up on the will to survive. Her obsession with destruction made her seem almost mad, not someone easy to talk to.