Frontiers Unexplored

5) Whispers of Thunder

The next morning, the group of six was walking through the Digital World. After staying overnight, the party had bid farewell to Breezy Village and chosen to look towards the future. The path to Evergreen Dawn was waiting for them, and they couldn't procrastinate for too long before setting out upon it. 

For the most part, they were silent. Takuya kicked a small pebble along the way, trying not to grow too lost in thought. This was the third day of their adventures in the Digital World, so he was positive that everyone was wondering about what had happened to them back on Earth. Five children disappearing had to cause some sort of stir, and he wondered if anyone had found out about the train station underneath Shibuya. If so, perhaps they could expect to find more humans later down the line, though he doubted that would be a good thing in the long run. 

Suddenly, Bokomon stopped walking. When he came to a halt, everyone behind him did as well. Takuya frowned and tilted his head to one side after giving the rock a final kick. "Why did we stop?" he questioned. 

Bokomon pointed off to the left, and Takuya followed his gesture. A gasp left the lips of the Warrior of Fire, and his eyes went wide as he realized just what he was gazing upon. 

It was a village, or at least, what was left of a town. Buildings had been torn down, exposing their contents to the intense summer sun overhead. Grass blew eerily in the breeze, and a few toys were scattered about, undoubtedly abandoned by some younger Digimon at some point earlier. The sight sent a shiver down Takuya's spine, and he shook his head, trying not to think of what could have caused such destruction. 

"What happened?" Tomoki asked, his voice wavering slightly. "It looks like the village has been completely destroyed..."

"If I had to guess, it was a sudden invasion. I don't know who would have done it, but perhaps it was Cherubimon," Bokomon answered. "Of course, there's no way for us to be sure. There aren't even any traces of survivors for us to follow to the truth. We should continue on our path to Evergreen Dawn if there's nothing we can do here."

Izumi let out a small sigh. "I know that we aren't going to find anything, but I can't help but feel bad for the people who had to suffer through this..." She shook her head and swallowed back her nerves. "Let's keep going. We don't want to wind up in trouble standing here."

"We're sitting ducks right now," Junpei pointed out. "The sooner we get to Evergreen Dawn, the better. We don't want to leave Seraphimon alone for too much longer than we already have. A lot can change in the span of three days, and that's not even factoring the time that Bokomon and Neemon were on the run from Cerberumon before we arrived in the Digital World from Shibuya."

Takuya nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Let's get going," he agreed. He watched as Bokomon started walking again, and the rest of his friends followed suit before he did the same. 

Takuya, realizing he had lost his kicking rock, pulled his D-Tector from his pocket to examine the screen. The symbol of Fire flashed on its surface once again, and he couldn't help but smile to himself. Even if the world was uncertain around him, at least there was one thread keeping him tethered to the rest of the universe: his connection to Agunimon. It hadn't been in his life for long, but it was still an undeniable truth that he was happy to have in his life. 

For the next few minutes, the walk was completely silent. Takuya could tell that everyone wanted to speak up but didn't know how to do so. He wasn't sure of how to spark a conversation without it being horribly awkward, so he kept quiet instead. What else was he supposed to do? He didn't know the others well enough to navigate a conversation without them given the grim circumstances, so perhaps it would be best to stay quiet. 

Tomoki wound up breaking the silence in the end, though it was clear he was still nervous about doing so. "Um... What was life like back on Earth for all of you?" he inquired, looking up to Izumi with a light frown on his face.