Chương 66: No Face And A Million Voices

A group of Aspirants sat around an embering flame in the dead of night.

"Beware of the Blue Bonfire, for when you hear voices in the night, it may not have a face."

"A Noodledom platoon of scouts in the dead of night sat around an embering flame, awaiting their fates."

"Will they die today? Will they all die tommor—" One of the Aspirants who were sitting around the dying flame lifted a foot and shoved the storyteller off their log seat.

"Shut up, Will, people are freaking out already; you're just making it worse." Will clambered up and sat back in his seat.

"I mean, we're all going to die anyway. Why not add a little pizzazz to our lives?" A few of the other scouts sitting around the campfire had distant expressions, not acknowledging the back and forth between William and Samuel.

"Look, if we make it to Brighthaven… we can escape from it."

'Even though we were supposed to be scouting Brighthaven for the war.'

'The lieutenant was taken by it…'

"I heard Brighthaven started making alcohol!" Will's attempt to light up the mood had no effect on his platoon. He let out a winded sigh.

"We're the Royal Faction; no beast of the Blue Bonfire is going to lay waste to us…"

"Now, we need to do the huddle; it's almost time for it to appear." The dead faces of the once company of scouts slowly stood up and dragged themselves together.

'There were 250 of us; how the hell did we end up with only 16 survivors?'

'On the first day, everything went swimmingly; nothing major happened.'

'On the second, people started hearing voices in the forest.'

'On the third, people started getting sick; some even died.'

'On the fifth… the first Blue Bonfire appeared.' If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

'I know this isn't the real world, but…. There were about 30 bodies in a pile turning into blue mist.'

'On the sixth, the lieutenant, the only damn Dreamer in the company, decided to face it.'

'It stole his voice… and lured more people in.'

'On the eighth day, we learned our food was being poisoned; the chef was suspected of being a spy, so we killed him.'

'On the ninth day, we were poisoned again; the next chef was also executed…. No one wants to cook anymore.'

'On the tenth day, two new blue bonfires appeared.' A harmony of voices echoed around the survivors.

"On the eleventh day, 16 survivors huddled trying to hide from the voice in the forest." A harmony of voices from their dead allies echoed around the survivors.

"On the twelfth day, three will survive." The voice changed to the lieutenants'.

"On the sixteenth day…" The voice quieted to a whisper that still echoed.

"Thousands will die."

'Everyone is dead.' Will, Samuel, and another survivor sprinted through the forest back towards the Royal faction base camp. It was a three-day journey if they ran nonstop, but they were in no condition to do so.

'Only two more days….' Will was on watch while Samuel and the other survivor rested. Deep within the forest, two gold eyes shone, but it didn't attack or approach.

'WHY IS IT JUST WATCHING?' The survivors were slowly breaking down. After the beast of the blue bonfire killed everyone else, it simply stalked the final three. It no longer hid but simply watched their every movement.

'Only one more day, one more day.' Will sat trembling in a cave with the other survivor, Samuel, who was the one guarding the two tonight.

'Why is it singing!?' On this night, the beast of the blue bonfire decided to hide its presence but sang a harrowing song in an unknown language.

"TOMORROW!"

"We will be home at the faction tomorrow!" Will repeated the same phrases again; his hair had started looking patchy due to him tearing it out. Samuel, despite being the type to always keep his cool, sat curled into a ball, sobbing in a corner. Today, the beast neither showed its form nor sang, but the occasional familiar voice called out to them in the forest. The lieutenant called, and it spoke exactly like him too.

The first and second chefs cried in the forest; they damned the survivors for falsely killing them. Their bunkmates, the people who slept in the same quarters, cried out as well. A cacophony of its victims wept in turns or all at once; sometimes the weeping would stop, and the voices would repeat past conversations as if nothing had happened.

Will staggered into camp; His hair had been torn out, his eyes were sunken, and despite not requiring food in the virtual realm, he looked emaciated beyond reason. Samuel had carried the weak survivor for the final stretch, but the second he entered the camp, he collapsed. The people of the camp stopped their tasks to look at the survivors. The people whispered to each other, and Will fell onto his knees and screamed.

"STOP TALKING YOU DAMN MONSTER!"

"DON'T!!! DON'T TAKE THEIR VOICES!!!" Will began trying to tear his hair out, but the rest had already fallen out, so instead he began scratching his head like a madman until it bled.

By the time Will came to in the pop-up infirmary built in the camp, the beast of the blue bonfire stood at the foot of his bed and stared at him. It had no mouth, no ears, and no body either. It was two floating orbs of gold that shone on him. It tossed a plank of wood onto Will that had something carved onto it.

"Major Ford sends his regards." Will could have imagined it, but he felt like the beast with no mouth and a thousand voices smiled. It smiled before laughing. Laughing in Will's own voice.