<h4>Chapter 387: 387-Lost The Key</h4>


    <strong>Clementine:</strong>


    His thin, tall body leaned forward, his head stretched up like a long pole with empty lines where his face should have been.


    His arms hung low, but I could tell, even without his face, that he was looking at me.


    I was sprinting toward him, and he was moving toward me with long strides.


    His steps began to grow quicker, and the vibrations struck me harder.


    He lurched forward suddenly. One long arm swung down toward me.


    I ducked fast, his fingers brushing the back of my head, barely scraping my hair, but I felt it.


    If I had not been quick, even by a second, he would have knocked me down or grabbed me in his fist.


    The force of the swing pushed me farther, almost knocking me off bnce, but I stayed up.


    I kept moving, running hard. He bent low as if he wanted to pick me off the road.


    I slid between his long legs before he could reach me.


    Soon, I was running between his legs anding out behind him.


    Taking a short pause would have meant getting struck by him.


    So I kept running, pushing myself forward until I finally felt like I could turn around.


    After five minutes of sprinting, I stopped and turned back.


    I saw that the tall monster was stilling after me. However, he was far behind because he could not sprint.


    At this point, I realized that if I wanted to leave him behind, I needed to step out of his path.


    Once I disappeared, I did not think he would look for me. So I did just that.


    I began to move ahead at a quick pace and nned to search for the woods.


    I did not have to think long. I spotted the outline of the trees in the distance and relief washed over me.


    I turned left and hurried toward them. When I reached them, I hid behind a tree.


    I noticed that the tall monster stopped briefly before he turned around and wandered away.


    Relief filled me and I stepped out from behind the tree. Now I had to find the exact ce where a gate to the other side would open.


    Before I could pull out my map, I heard a chittering echo around me.


    Somethingrge flew above the trees. I saw one of them through the leaves.


    It looked like a huge bat with long arms. I crouched low under a fallen log.


    The bat swooped over me and vanished into the darkness.


    "What the fuck is that now?" I groaned,ining.


    It felt as if the dark side of the north was filled with these things.


    I began to wonder if this was where they all lived and sometimes slipped through the opening and reached the other side of the north.


    This was why there were not many big monsters there. They woulde out once in a while.


    I finally took the map out and opened it. My fingers moved across the lines.


    There was a small mark near the bottom corner, barely noticeable.


    I stared at it until I recognized the shape. It was almost like a very small circle.


    I grabbed the key from my pocket and saw the same circle drawn on it.


    This had to be done by Miss Rue. She had marked it before the ringleaders handed the map to me.


    I followed the direction she had pointed out. The woods grew darker and stranger.


    They were not quiet.


    Once in a while those big, bad things appeared, and honestly they were very scary because when I tried to look more closely, it seemed like the bats had human shapes.


    The rest of their bodies were covered in bat skin except for their shapes, and they were that big too.


    At this point I had no clue how long I had to move through the trees before a metal structure appeared between two tall trunks.


    Staring at the gate and the dark metal bars made me smile widely. It was the same gate I had seen with Miss Rue.


    The spaces between the bars were only wide enough for a hand to pass through.


    I reached out happily, remembering Miss Rue’s words.


    "Do not go to the train station. They will execute you there."


    I stopped next to the gate and let out a shakyugh of relief.


    I could not believe I had been to the dark side of the north alone,pleted a task, ande back alive.


    "You did it!" I jolted at the familiar voice.


    I looked to the side and saw Miss Rue step out from behind the trees with a bright smile.


    Her hair was messy, but her eyes looked warm.


    She hurried closer until she stood right behind the bars.


    "You did it!" she repeated. "Thank goodness. I thought you would lose too," she remarked, tears forming in her eyes.


    "Yes, I did it. How are you? You don’t look fine," I asked her worriedly.


    "Yeah, they let me go. There is a lot of chaos happening. You need to get out of here and go to your friends, but make sure that the ringleaders don’t see you," she warned, and I nodded more.


    "Is everyone okay?" I asked her.


    "I don’t think so," she replied with a sad pout. "I saw Ian shirtless in the cold wind. He was surrounded by lurkers. You need to hurry up."


    The information she gave me made my heart skip a beat.


    I was so worried that I instantly started to search for the key I had put into my pocket along with the map after confirming that I was headed in the right direction.


    When I pulled the map out, I realized the key was gone. I looked up at her, and she gave me a nk look.


    "What?" she asked me. "Don’t tell me you lost it?" She questioned.


    "I think I dropped it somewhere behind," I mumbled in a terrified tone.