<h4>Chapter 553: 553-Two Teams</h4>


    <strong>Clementine:</strong>


    "So it is decided. We will take the stone from this tower and head straight toward the dark side of the north. You and the others will go to the other tower we left behind, remember?" Ian said to Yorick.


    We stood next to the tower, our heads tilted back and our eyes fixed upward.


    "You will take the stone from there and bury it in the woods on this side," Ian continued, giving the final instructions as we nodded.


    I turned to Fauna and noticed her eyes squinting several times.


    "Before we go, I want to say something," I said, drawing everyone’s attention.


    Fauna quickly turned to me.


    That was how I knew she was the most scared, because she seemed to be looking for someone who would help her.


    "This ce is heavily infested with ughs, and they smell fear," I exined, recalling how we had been attacked here by those flying bat type creatures.


    She immediately grabbed Haiden’s hand, and his head snapped toward her, as if asking why I was saying all that.


    I saw the fear on her face, and I was afraid she might somehow summon those monsters by panicking.


    "You do not have to worry about anything. You have me," Haiden assured her, smiling.


    She nodded faintly again, still looking timid and afraid.


    "With that said, we should take off the stone," I said.


    As soon as the words left my mouth, everything felt real.


    Ian and I began to climb the tower, one step at a time.


    He had done it before, so he moved with ease.


    The problem was that specific tools were needed to remove the stone, and we realized that only when we stood right beside it.


    "Now what?" I asked Ian.


    He stared at the poles and chains securing the stone, then looked at me.


    "We do not need to secure anything anymore. It is not like we are going to put it back," he replied.


    As soon as he said that, I understood.


    We attacked it without hesitation.


    We tore at the chains, yanked at the poles, and punched until the metal began to give.


    Finally, the stone came loose.


    The moment it fell free and the chains snapped, something felt wrong.


    The earth beneath us shook violently, and I nearly slipped until I felt a grip around my wrist.


    Ian had caught me.


    "Always there to hold me. My hero," Imented, and he chuckled.


    He pulled me up with one arm and wrapped the other around me, smiling as he jumped down from pole to pole like Spider Man, holding me close and making me giggle.


    It was inappropriate to treat the mission like this, but these were the only moments we had to feel happy.


    I did not stop myself from letting out a small chuckle whenever Ian did something special for me.


    Wended on the ground, and everyone leaned in to look at the stone.


    It seemed to be beating now.


    That was because it had been taken away from the main heart of the tower.


    "Okay, everyone. We have broken the heart," Ian announced.


    As he spoke, everyone stared at each other.


    We lifted our heads and watched ck clouds fill the sky.


    "We will reach the dark side in five hours. Remember, you are supposed to climb the second tower, take the stone, break the heart, and head straight to the woods. Do not waste time. It is getting riskier every minute," Troy reminded them.


    We began to run from the tunnel.


    It had briefly been suggested that once we buried the stone, we should return and inform them.


    But that would take too much time, maybe even more than five hours.


    That would leave the north unstable for too long.


    Monsters would begin crossing the border, and eventually they might seed if given that much time.


    So we had to hurry.


    As we ran, I turned my head and saw Yorick wave at us.


    It felt like a final goodbye.


    Haiden and Fauna waved as well.


    Thest thing Haiden and Fauna told me was that they would stay back with Yorick and Mariana.


    Along with them, they had entrusted us to punish Haiden’s uncle and watch his pack.


    We entered the station and crossed to the other side.


    Along the way, Troy and Leysa talked constantly.


    He was filling her in on the kind of monsters we had encountered in the normal side of the north so far.


    It helped. Otherwise, the silence would have been unbearable and frightening.


    When we reached the gate to the dark side, we paused briefly, then pushed the door open.


    The moment we did, Leysa started coughing.


    The air was poisonous. It was thick and dirty.


    We stepped out, and Ian quickly shut the door behind us.


    Now we stood in the dark side, everything gray and dim as if the sun had never shone there.


    "What the fuck?" Leysa whispered.


    I turned to look at her.


    The way she clutched Troy’s hand, I could not me her for being scared.


    This ce was the scariest.


    We tried to adjust to the air while moving forward when I heard Leysa gasp.


    We stopped and turned to see what she was staring at, and it was not something small that could be missed.


    The monster stood tall in the clouds, releasing a strange sound.


    "What the fuck is that?" Leysa asked, pointing at it.


    "That is the Hollow Man," I stated.


    Troy and Leysa looked at me, then at Ian.


    "Yeah. This thing changes its pattern. It also changes the way it can be killed," Ian exined.


    We understood then that we were not supposed to engage with the Hollow Man.


    There was no single way to kill him.


    One day he could be killed by one method, and the next day that same method would fail.


    "Let’s go. We have to avoid it," I shouted.


    We rushed forward.


    The monster began chasing us.


    It had seen Ian and me escape too many times to let us walk away again.