Among Us [Volume 2]

Chapter 8

As expected, the villagers who went to church were out and about, so we needed up having to clear out the whole area again.

With the noises that some of these people make, I feel like they're just rabid or something.

Leon inserts the key he found into the door of a building, and pushes it open. We take the path below ground through caverns. The Merchant is there, not sure why, but I don't ask.

I sell him some gems I've found, in exchange for gold coins that I'm sure we can use later if needed. I know we're gonna run into him some more, I mean, I'm literally his number one customer.

We continue on, the caverns soon leading to the woods. I can see the church in the distance. After clearing out the graveyard, we move up towards the church, minding a very rude dynamite thrower. I yank really hard on the church doors, but they don't budge.

Leon calls upon the wise tutelage of Ingrid Hunnigan, while I call upon my inner strength to open these doors.

"Hunnigan, it's Leon. The door's locked, we can't get in."

"Didn't they teach you how to pick locks at the academy?"

Leon scoffs "There's some sort of indentation, like something might fit inside."

"Well, there's no use standing around. You guys have to find some way or something to get inside."

Leon disconnects and starts aimlessly walking around. I stop trying to pry the door off of it's hinges and start looking for something that may fit in the indentation.

In the rear of the church there's another damned puzzle. I call Leon over, as he has way more patience with this nonsense than I do. I'm more of a shoot-everyone-then-go-home-to-do-nothing-productive kind of person.

We get a cats-eye stone. I'm not sure if doing that puzzle is worth the trouble for a stone, but maybe I'll take it home, turn it into a necklace or something.

As we walk around the side of the church, I look down, it's basically like walking around the side of a cliff. The only thing keeping us from plunging into the water below is a wooden bridge-like platform. I have fun shooting the villagers in their kneecaps, and watching them fall down into the water.

For the record, it's not sadistic. These assholes have been trying to kill us since we got here. It's called payback.

We stop inside a little shack, and pick up some ammo off of the shelves. I find another note.

Closure of the church.

Regarding the puny troublemaker and the two fugitives, the apprehension of Luis is our top priority; the American agents are a distant second.

Right, since I was never captured, I guess I'm the troublemaker? And who the fuck are they calling "puny"?!

What Luis stole from us is far more important than the girl.

Unless we get it back, the girl will become useless to us. We must get it back to execute our plan to the end.

If it gets into the wrong hands, the world would become a totally different place than what Lord Saddler has envisioned.

At all costs, we mustn't let that happen.

Nevertheless, we're not letting go of the girl. To ensure that the agents do not get to her, I have locked the church door where the girl is being held.

Anyone who needs access to the church must first get approval by Lord Saddler.

There is a key beyond the lake, but it should be safe now that the "Del Lago" has been awakened by our Lord. No one will get across the lake alive.

Plus, our same blood courses through the male agents' veins. It'll just be a matter of time before he joins us. Once he does, he'll take care of the troublemaker, and then there will be nobody left that will come looking for the girl.

"What the fuck?" I turn to Leon "What is this shit about same blood again? And you're going to "join them" apparently?"

"And also "take care of you" as they put it." He shrugs "I don't know what they're talking about."

I sigh, and shake my heads. "I knew they had their heads up their asses. They're all rabid. They're probably just spitting nonsense."

We decide to agree on my conclusion, and move on. There's no way Leon would join them, are they high?

The next area we enter is weirdly quiet, with the exception of muffled growling. Not wanting to find out what that is, we move on. The lovely villagers up ahead decide to gift us another one of their lovely boulders.

This is going to be my exercise for the whole month. I deserve a lot of fast food after this. Once we go home, I'm treating myself to lots of Burger King.

We eventually come across a huge lake. We both take out our binoculars.

"What's that...?" Leon whispers. I hardly catch what he said.

I move around, and find some villagers in a boat tossing the body of our driver in the lake. I grimace.

"Shit!" He hisses

They drive away in their boat. Soon after, something, I'm not sure what, surfaces, and snatches up the body. It disappears as quickly as it appeared.

"Oh my gosh..." I rub my eyes aggressively, feeling my skin heat up. I'm getting Raccoon City Sewer vibes here. "That better not be another fucking alligator."

"Eh. Could be a crocodile."

"Leon, I swear, you're too cheeky for your own good."

He starts walking off.

"Leon, where are you going?!" I jump up, following him.

"To the lake"

"We're not going in that lake!"

"Only way to get that key."

When we reach the pier, I stop. Leon looks at me, mildly annoyed.

"Ivette. Seriously."

"I... I have Thalassophobia..." I mutter "That's... that's why I can't swim..."

My family had a tradition of learning to swim in the lakes since we didn't have a pool. Whenever we'd go to my grandparents house, we'd go to the lake in the back of the house. I am deathly afraid of large bodies of water, so I never learned, and no one ever tried to force me to do so. Not learning to swim really only made my fear worse.

He takes a moment to breathe, and probably to formulate a sentence that won't hurt my feelings. "We'll be on a boat. I won't let you fall in, and if you do, then I'll be right here to bring you back up, okay?"

I hesitate. With that thing in the water, does he really have that much control over whether I die in that lake or not?

"Ivette" He calls my name "Do you trust me?"

I nod.

"Then let's go. I'll keep you safe, I promise."