HA\LF: Dead nor Alive

Ruby lifted Archie's body and it felt so heavy that it was impossible for her to lift it up on her own. Vincent helped her and put Archie on Ruby's lap, they were staring at Archie and saw the liquid was crawling on the ground like a snail. They were looking at it with curiosity but then the green-haired witch came out from one of the trees on the small island. "Don't get too close to him, you will be in danger if it touches you," she warned them. The witch sat next to Ruby and grabbed Archie from Ruby's lap and put him on her lap instead.

"What happened to him?" Prince asked as he avoided the liquid on the ground.

"Who knows," The witch replied as she stared at Archie while she brushed Archie's hair. "He might have exhausted his power. When was the last time he eat?" she asked as she looked at Ruby.

"I don't know, it might be a month or so," Ruby answered.

The witch hummed with understanding. "Well that answered the reason why he collapsed, he's starving and he used all the abilities he has to fight her," she said.

"Is he going to be okay?" Ruby asked.

"He will be fine, he just needs some rest and he will be fine once he wakes up, but he might need food so I will gather some for him," The witch said as she stared at Archie. "Why don't you guys check around the area since you guys are here to gather some information related to the Landing Site," she continued.

All of them nodded and slid down to the bottom of the lake.

They couldn't believe that the place where they stood used to be a lake and now the whole lake disappear because of that giant hole. They went to check the hole and stood on the edge, as soon as they looked down at the deep and the dark endless hole, they all got a chill down their spine. The wind breezed out from the hole and hit their faces as they carefully walked away from the hole.

"What do you think is down there?" Resse asked as she looked at the others.

"I don't even want to think about it, Resse, it's better for us to just focus on the symbols since we are here to take pictures of the symbols not investigate this hole," Prince answered.

All of them then started to investigate the ground and it wasn't pleasant for them because they had to cover their nose from the pungent smell of rotten flesh of the parasites and not to mention The Mother's blood that was spurting all over the lake. They were looking at the ground for the symbols but there was nothing else but mud on the ground.

The green-haired witch was watching them with curiosity. "What are you looking for?"

They turned around and looked at the witch. "We are looking for symbols. There used to be a lot of symbols on the ground, right? Before this whole area become a lake?" Ruby replied.

The green-haired witch was staring at them for quite a while and then she started to giggle and covered her mouth. They were looking at each other with confusion and then the witch cleared her throat and closed her eyes with a smile that held her laughter. "You know, I have met a few humans like you who came here and seek the same thing," she said. "But none of them could leave this place, do you know why?" she asked as she glared at them with a sinister smile.

They immediately went on guard and prepared to grab their weapon on their waist and back. The witch giggled mischievously and shook her head. "Why are you so wary of me so suddenly? Just because I said it doesn't mean I'm the one who did that," she said. "Don't set a foot in a place you don't want to be. Have you never heard that kind of phrase?" she continued.

"Could you blame us if we are curious? We are living in a world where humankind is endangered, and the truth is that there are humans like you who have become something that we can't explain. A parasite, and now we understood that there's more to what we know, do you think it's wrong for us to find an answer to all that?" Vincent explained.

"If what you're looking for is an answer," The witch said and then switched her gaze at the giant hole. "Why don't you guys go down there? I believe if an answer is what you seek, you might find it down there," she continued as she glanced at them.

All of them looked at the hole and it immediately gave them the chill again.

"If you look at that abyss, each one of you will see different things. The things that you fear, the things that you fear might be down inside that hole. Anything that running in your head, all of them might be living in that hole, and you never know until you jump down and get into that hole," The witch said. "It's the same as why you're all here, you might be curious but would you be able to handle the answer once you know everything? Will you be able to survive and stay alive and not kill yourself as soon as you got the answer like the other guys? Will you not regret it once you know the answer?" the witch continued and glared at them judgingly.

All of them were gulping as they stared at the witch nervously.

"I will give you a small information about this area, but you have to do me a favor first," The witch said. "Take a long look at the hole, and tell me what you see," the witch continued with a gentle smile on her face.

Since they all wanted an answer they agreed to the witch request and decided to walk to the edge of the hole and stared down at it for quite a while.

Everyone started to see things that they didn't want to see, they imagined the thing that they fear the most. For Ruby, she looked down and saw Julia and the people she abandoned in the past, they were screaming at her and asking her to save them. Vincent looked at Ruby in that hole, he saw Ruby was holding the grenade's pin while she was crying, she was so close to pulling it out but she hesitated. Resse on the other hand watched herself surrounded by parasites and ate her alive while she was screaming in pain with blood coming out of her mouth, nose, and eyes. It reminded her of the experiment she had and it terrified her fully. Prince saw the friends he had who joined the experiment, he saw them killing themselves over and over but they all came back to life while screaming with disbelief and in agony. All those friends he saw were the friends who didn't make it into the experiment and had to be killed before they turned themselves into parasites.

Once they showed their fear to the abyss, that was the moment when the abyss stared back at them. A low and fierce growl could be heard coming from the deep of the hole, they were frozen in place and their whole body was shaken in fear. They were too scared to move while the abyss kept glaring at them, and their bodies started to move on their own, they were walking closer to the hole and ready to jump off. The witch stared at them with a smile on her face but then the roots appeared from the mud and rooted their bodies then threw them away from the hole.

"Now, do you understand why I asked you to stare at that hole?" The witch asked. "Are you ready to get the answer that you're looking for? The answer that will haunt you for the rest of your life?" she continued as she questioned their decision.

Tears were covering their eyes as they looked at the witch who was still sitting and letting Archie rest on her lap. "What's happening?! Why are we seeing things?!" Resse asked.

"Why are you asking that question to me? You should ask that question to yourself," The witch replied. "You should know the answer, and the answer is fear. If you still have fear in your heart, you won't be able to handle the answer that I'm going to give you," she explained.

The witch stood up as she carried Archie in her arms while she walked down and approached them. She smiled gently and stared at them then she leaned her head forward as the four of them were sitting on the mud and looked up at her. "The answer you're looking for is..." the witch said but the moment she said that the four of them covered their ears with fear written all over their faces as they read the lips of the witch.

Their bodies trembled in fear and tears fell down their cheeks the moment the witch gave the answer. "You asked for it so don't regret it, humans," she said as she walked past them.