The man went to each of the children, driving his survival knife between their ribs to pierce their hearts and deliver the coup de grâce. After that, he approached me. “Sorry for putting you through that,” he said, and began cutting my ropes with his knife.
“Did you know?” I asked. “About this village. All of it?”
“My bad, my bad. I’m truly sorry for getting you dragged into this. It wasn’t supposed to go down like this.”
“How was it supposed to go down?”
“I had to play along and pretend to be fooled. I didn’t have a spare moment to let you know.”
“Who on earth are you? That’s a handgun, isn’t it?”
“My lucky charm, a Glock 17. It can fire 18 consecutive rounds without needing a mag change. Equipped with a laser sight, too. So I can take ’em down even in the dead of night.”
“Why do you have something like that? Are you Yakuza? A mobster?”
“No. I can’t reveal my identity, but I was investigating a series of consecutive murders.”
“Does that mean you’re a cop?”
The man smirked. “The police wouldn’t just open fire like this, would they? Anyway, I can’t tell you who I work for, but this was done under special orders.”
“Special orders? From the Japanese government?”
“Hahaha. Can’t say.”
In other words… an unofficial special black-ops unit? “And that stuff about being a photographer?”
“That wasn’t a lie. That’s my public profession. This is my side hustle—combining business with pleasure.”
According to his story, he had come to eliminate a cult that had illegally squatted in the abandoned village, drugging unsuspecting travelers with anesthetics and murdering them. Whether it was immortality or rejuvenation, who knows, but due to some sketchy drug or plastic surgery, the cult’s followers looked childish at first glance. However, every single one of them was supposedly terrifyingly old.
The drug must have been in that chameleon plant tea. The man had probably just pretended to drink it.
“Are you going to kill me too? To keep me quiet?”
“I won’t do that. You’re just a civilian, and you’re innocent. I can’t kill a blameless person.”
“But what if I tell people about this?”
The man laughed out loud. “Well, consider yourself officially warned to keep your mouth shut. It’ll cause a lot of hassle if you talk. But then again, no one’s going to believe a story like this even if you tell them. People will just think you lost your mind out in the mountains.”
“Even now, I still think I might have gone crazy.”
“Take it from me. For the sake of your own mental health, forget about today immediately. And don’t tell a soul.”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll lend you a headlamp. We’re crossing the ridge now.”
I was utterly exhausted, but there was no choice. I didn’t want to stay in a place like this for a single second longer. Dragging my heavy body, I followed behind the man and walked the night mountain trail.
Along the way, the man repeatedly used a walkie-talkie to make short transmissions like, “Yeah, that’s right,” or “Roger.” Every now and then, I heard the sound of a helicopter flying overhead.
I have absolutely no idea where or how we walked, but after a few hours of trekking up and down the mountain paths and crossing a single ridge, we emerged into a valley lined with a chain of hot spring inns. I felt a wave of relief. It was a normal, human settlement.
“I’ve already pulled some strings. Your lodging is paid for. Your luggage and motorcycle have been found, too. They said they’ll deliver them here by tomorrow. Tonight, rest up here, forget everything, and go home.”
The man pressed a stainless steel flask hanging from his waist to his lips, took a hearty swig, and offered it to me. “Want a drink?”
I felt like I couldn’t get through this without drowning myself in alcohol. “Yeah.” I took the bottle and chugged it down. The straight bourbon burned down my throat, scorching my stomach.
“Nice drinking. You can keep that.” The man smirked. “Well, catch ya later. I doubt we’ll ever meet again.” Leaving me with those words, he walked away.
Even now, if it weren’t for this whiskey flask he left in my hands, I’d think the whole thing had been nothing but a dream.
THE END