Supernatural Beings: Strive Survivors Vol. 2 (Steady Update)

Strive 83: Walking Around The River

Kibishi's POV

Tsk! Tsk! Tsk!

The four of us were walking alongside a river full of water. The water was a bit shiny, I'm not going to lie.

The place is a bit strange.

We have a forest to my left and ancient ruins to my right. A mixture of dark themes with "modern" ones. I say that- I'm not entirely sure myself.

The road which we're walking on is a bit dried with marks that are shaped like claws.

I'm not entirely sure if it's the creatures or the monster for that area. One thing is for sure: it's a bit scary, that's for sure. I can see dry blood on the roadway, the forest, and the ruins. The river seems to have skulls floating on it. Now that I'm thinking about it, there are dried bones and some fresh skins spread everywhere.

What is this place?

Beep! Beep!

The device which Kuma was holding was beeping for some reason.

"Human heat signal is coming from over there..." Kuma points at the other side of the river. "So it seems like we have to get to the other side of this river here."

"Is it safe to swim?" Jir asked.

I pick up a rock near me. "Let's find out."

Toss! Splash!

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

Bubble! Bubble!

The rock sinks into the river, but fish-like creatures are jumping about, attacking the area that the rock splashes on. Yikes!

"I guess swimming is out of the question..." I say with a frown.

"I doubt we would've made it anyway." Kuma says while bending her knees on the dirty and then takes a small pen from her jacket, "If the reading from my locator is reading right..."

Dip!

Kuma dips the pen in the water. The water room started to bubble up, and then moments later, she took it out. The full pen was not melted in half. The pen material dropped from Kuma's hand as she showed it to us. "...The water is very toxic and can melt our skin and bones."

"Eww!" Jir says while narrowing her eyes in disgust.

"Can't the super codes help with that, though?" I ask.

"No, it won't be any good," Tao says while taking out a small screen. She turns it on and shows us some data. "This is the data of the current codes we're wearing. It's good enough to handle attacks from both creatures and monsters. But due to this new substance, the code won't activate."

Tao swipes and presses the bottom screen. The device scans the pen and gathers the data of it. Soon, it beeps, and Tao shows us the screen once more. "The toxicity of the water is too strong for the codes to handle. It'll fry it and cause a malfunction, melting the clothes and our skin and bones. We'll be fish food way before we can swim to the other side of the river."

"Right," Kuma nodded, then tossed the pen into the river. It bubbles up, and the fishes eat their own and tear it apart. "It won't make any sense to try it if it means killing ourselves to cross it. We have to find another way around." Kuma says while placing her hands on her hips.

"How about jumping over it? Wait, no. That won't work...hmm." I say while placing my left hand under my chin.

"Let's just walk around for now. If anything, the most dangerous thing here is the monster for this layer. Everyone, follow me." Kuma says, then walks ahead with her hands in her purple jacket. Jir follows suit, and so does Tao. Tao stops and then looks at me. "Coming, Kishi?" 

"Yeah, I am." I nod. 

Tao smiles and walks once more. I look at the river one last time and then blink. "Hmm...(I could've sworn that- never. This is my first time here...I think. No, of course it is. I have to look forward and keep up with the others.)"

I shake my head and follow the girls behind.

A few walks later...

Tsk! Tsk! Tsk!

The air is heavy the more we walk around. It seems like the super codes are helping us, but at the same time, it's hard to move more than normal.   

"I wonder if the air is different?" Tao asks with a calm expression.

"What brought that up?" Kuma asks with curiosity while looking back at us while walking ahead. "Well, for one, the air is a bit tight, almost as if someone is strangling me to death. I find that a bit unsettling." Tao explains while looking at the sky, "The sky color is different as well. Why is that? I know for certain that the large hole didn't move at all. It looks a bit closer, thanks to us being higher than before."

"You think it's because we're higher up, and the air is a bit tighter than underneath the ground?" Jir asks.

"No, not really. If we were on the surface and were on those things called "planes," then yeah, I would agree. But it's not like that. It's almost as if the whole layer is within its bubble. You know- since it's much different than the first one. Which would explain the air lacking the breathing room." Tao explains. She took out her notepad and wrote down some notes. "I may need to work on something to deal with that. Hmm..."

"Wow, Tao. You're getting more invested in inventing these days. What makes you do that?" Kuma asks while blinking.

"Kishi's safety." Tao indeed says bluntly.

"The girl has her pretty straight." Jir smiles.

"I respect that answer. I'm glad you're being honest with us these days. Makes these explorations a lot easier."  Kuma says while looking forward with a bright smile.

"At any rate, we should be close, right?" Tao asks.

"Maybe. We are making progress. Look! We're nearly around the riverside!" Kuka says, pointing at the river. Now that I look at it, we're nearly at the other side of the river.

Alright, soon we'll be able to help people!

To Be Continued...