[NO LONGER UPDATED] AVEM → A Different World

Chapter 9: The Light

The drone didn't show anything like that. It just kept floating in the air, flying forward, and forward, turning on its blue light in the front as the surroundings got darker. Soon the ruins of the town turned into a dense forest. 

Where in the world was it leading me towards?

My rationality told me to investigate my surroundings and find a way back to the base, but my instincts told me to follow the drone and see where it wanted me to go. Maybe it was showing me to another smaller-scale Walkers' base -- it wasn't impossible, but also not too plausible: if there was really a base this far out, why send a team from the main base to scan the threats? It didn't make sense. But then, where should it be going to? Then the question from earlier on came back into my mind. Why would a basic, new personal drone know so much about threats far away, and could guide its owner to a place far from the base, when the other advanced, modified drones couldn't? Now nothing made sense at all.

I ran on, trying to figure everything out as I made my way through the forest. It was getting darker as I progressed, and I thought I could hear the distant howling of wild beasts from the heart of the forest. The more I walked on, the less human-touched the forest was. I wondered if my drone was really malfunctioning, and I was stupid enough to follow it into an unknown forest. Now I was surrounded by trees and only trees, and it was only getting darker. 

I was lost in a forest. Alone, with a malfunctioning drone that seemed to go deeper and deeper into the woods, at an unstoppable pace.

Drenched in fear and desperation, I slowed down and called out to my drone. "Avie!! Stop!!" I pratically screamed.

It appearantly didn't work, just as I half-expected. A malfunctioning machine, no matter how advanced, would not react to any commands. It floated on, just at a slower speed.

I am lost in a damn forest. And who knows if I can get out from here, if I survive this hell at all. And I have no tools with me at all. It's getting dark and I have nowhere to stay for the night, because there isn't enough time for me to build a shelter, and my only connection to the base — my drone — wouldn't even stop, and I can't bear to lose it in this hell when I'm alone.

Just out of a sudden, light flashed from deep inside the forest. At first I thought that I was seeing things, but as I blinked several times, it was still there. And the drone was apperarantly heading straight towards its direction. A pool of water, reflecting the moonlight? I couldn't think of any more reasons; this part of the forest was far too untouched for anyone to live in here. But if there was a pool, at least I would have water, and that meant that I could stay hydrated there. I decided to follow the drone and head towards whatever was shining in the deeper woods.

But as I neared it, it became more and more obvious that someone lived there -- or used to live there. I thought that I saw footprints -- human footprints -- on the mud track, but it was a confusing mess of steps, and whoever made those steps was to confuse any intruders. But why confuse intruders with barely-visible footprints when you had a beam of light shining directly from your base? Nothing made sense. It seemed that the person was extremely skilled at hiding, yet not doing a thing about staying hidden at all.

The drone finally stopped. And when I looked up, I saw nothing but a small hut.

No. Not quite. This structure... it looked more like two triangles forged together than a regular hut. Just like...

The Walkers' base.

That's how it looked from above. I saw drone-taken pictures in the Drone Tech room earlier on.

I was extremely alerted upon approaching the structure, in position of running away from attacks as I inspected it from different angles. There was a small, triangular door hidden a little below the ground surface, and a small window, presumably for watching for threats, on top of the upper reversed triangle. The window was the light source I saw earlier on, shining a pale light into the forest.

Does that mean... that it's occupied?

Then by whom? Walker, or Red Nexus? Or neither? Another aggressive force, relatively smaller than the two factions, that I'd never heard of? Possibilities swarmed in my mind, and I backed a little away from the structure. But just as I thought about it, another thought from earlier came back into my mind. I had to stay somewhere for the night before navigating back to the base. I could still hear the howling of unknown beasts in the distance. If that light attracted any of them... Damn, anything would have happened. But should I risk alerting the owner of the structure, and potentially attracting enemied to attack me. Should I...? I tried to think of a possible solution, but couldn't.

The drone stayed at the doorway, illuminating the front steps leading down to the door. It was appearantly leading me into that house or whatever thing it was. Should I trust it? Should I--

Suddenly, a white shadow flared in the woods of the other side of the structure. It was getting closer to it, but a distance still remained. Terrified, I sped up and trusted my instincts -- to enter the house immediately. I sped towards the doorway, careful not to alert the approaching white thing. 

And at the doorway, with the lighting of the drone, I saw a small plaque:

TH3 H0U53 0F 4V3M

R351D3N75: #0 / #1 / #???

From what I learned back at the base, TH3 H0U53 0F 4V3M meant "THE HOUSE OF AVEM" and R351D3N75 meant residents. And if I was not mistaken, the #0 of all the legends lived here. Right here in the house in front of me. The #0. The Walkers said that he disappeared about fifty years ago, and was never found again, but what have I come to right now? The #0. I valued it for a split second. The builder of the Base. The original leader of the Walkers. Their ultimate leader of all of the advanced people.

And whoever #1 was, they must meant a lot to him.

I knocked on the door loudly before a white shadow flared in front of my eyes with a wide and terrifying smile.

I thought I saw a ghost. More terrifying than all my nightmares.

That was when I lost my consciousness.

A/N: That was intense wasn't it? I had a lot of fun writing it. Anyways if you have any concerns/ requests please comment so I can see it! Have a good day/night! Potato as always🥔

another note, this 77757 mentioned is an empty id on the platform, because i'm out of options, as the real id's will play bigger roles later.