Book 2: Prologue
Just a note, the characters here all use online usernames. I’ve hyperlinked any that require references/explanations. The Novel Synopses pagehas been updated with V2 summary.
Perhaps due to the storm, the sky had turned dark as though night was falling, despite it being not yet four in the afternoon. Layers upon layers of clouds formed a dense mass in the distance like an thick yet filthy old cotton blanket. It stretched out infinitely, enshrouding them with a suffocating pressure.
Not too far away was a broken-down white van that was shakily driving down the desolate mountain path.
Including the driver, the van held five people: three males, two females. They all sat quietly in their seats with either apathetic or unreadable expressions on their faces. No one spoke.
A trace of indescribable secrecy floated around the abnormal silence inside the van.
The sky darkened bit by bit as the downpour intensified.
The flurry of raindrops made pattering sounds as they swept across the car windows on both sides, making a clamour that was hard to endure. It was deafening and continued without end, like someone was moving a rusted saw back and forth next to their ears, agitating their hearts and sending their thoughts into turmoil.
This abrupt rain had already lasted for over four hours. No one remembered at what exact point it had started raining; all they recalled was that it had been a beautifully sunny scene when they had headed out in the morning. Who would’ve known that the instant they drove into the mountains, there would be thunder and lightning accompanied by strong wind and heavy rain? It was as if they had accidentally stepped into some ghost city.
And their van had already been driving for over ten hours. The engine that could not bear the heavy load was like a very aged horse, gasping for breath under the lightning’s threat. The tattered wheels skidded along the uneven mountain path every so often, and the gas level indicator on the dashboard now had a red light.