Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 18. Mice

Charles's mind raced with thoughts. Mice were typically at the absolute bottom of the food chain. With such a large mice population, there would surely be other predators on the island. He had no idea what those predators were. One thing was certain, though—they were not cats.

While Charles was consumed by his thoughts, the mice retreated. Within a few moments, not even a single trace of fish bone could be seen on the yellowish-white sand.

"Sailors, drop the anchor! Prepare your weapons and explosives, get ready to disembark!" Charles commanded, and the crew sprang into action.

Charles had prepared more explosives for this exploration. While gunpowder was not always effective, it was better than nothing. If the only danger on the island was the large population of mice, the explosives would certainly come in handy.

Two wooden boats were dropped on the water. With the exception of the disabled Bandages, who was left behind to guard the ship, the remaining crew disembarked. Each of them had a strip of cloth tied around their shoulders. Their names and positions were written on the cloth. This was to ensure that when they returned to the ship, no one would be missing, nor would there suddenly be an additional member.

The group slowly made their way toward the rocks. Having experienced such expeditions before, the seasoned sailors remained relatively calm. However, the newer crew members were feeling more fluctuating emotions. They got startled by even the slightest movement or rustle of leaves.

As they ventured deeper into the island's rocky terrain, the rocks became less stiff in place and were tilted at angles. Remains of various animal skeletons started appearing, scattered haphazardly across the ground.

A hint of disappointment flickered across Charles's face. It seemed that the passage to the surface was not on this island.

Just as Charles was hesitating about whether they should continue further inward, a streak of red light flashed between the distant rocks.

Charles instinctively ducked behind a massive boulder and whispered to the rest,"Quick, extinguish all the flames!"

Though the others were unsure of the reason, they followed their captain's command without question.

With the torches extinguished, the distant red glow became more distinct. The bright color shimmered between the rocks, appearing in intervals as it got closer to where they were.

As the mysterious glow drew nearer, its source finally appeared in everyone's vision.

The creature resembled an oversized locust, and by estimation, was about five meters long. The red glow emanated from the luminous spots beneath its translucent skin. They flickered on and off in a spine-chilling manner.

Despite lacking wings, the locust seemed to be able to fly freely in the air. It seemed to be searching for something; its six eyestalks at the front of its body constantly swiveled and scanned the surroundings.

The humans huddled behind the rocks barely dared to breathe. Some of the more timid ones even closed their eyes and were trembling.

Charles locked his gaze on the creature, and observed its eyestalks. It was clear that this being was far from peaceful. Its predatory appearance urged Charles to avoid any unnecessary confrontation.

Suddenly, someone's stomach growled unexpectedly, and the rumbling sound reverberated like thunder in the silent environment.

In an instant, the creature's eyestalks swiveled toward the direction the humans were in with a swift motion. Its spiked mouthparts emitted a terrifying low growl. Then, with a slight shimmer of its translucent body, it vanished right before their eyes.

"Damn it! That thing can turn invisible, and it's coming!" Charles exclaimed.

Clutching the explosives at his waist, Charles stood tense and resolute, as he braced himself to face the creature head-on when it reappeared.

The other crew members tightened their grip on their weapons, while their hearts raced with anticipation.

Charles silently counted down the seconds in his mind. Just when he was about to throw the explosives, the pitch-black environment was suddenly illuminated by a red glow. The creature materialized above a large boulder, its eyestalks peering into the distance.

Squeak squeak squeak!

The sound of mouse squeals echoed from that direction and grew louder and louder. It sounded as though they had intentionally orchestrated their calls to distract the creature.

The engorged locust writhed its swollen body and rapidly floated toward the source of the noise. The red glow slowly faded into the distance.

In the dark, Charles wiped the cold sweat from his brow and let out a sigh of relief. He had never expected to be saved by mice.

Just as he was about to turn to speak to the person next to his left, Charles was startled to discover a pair of eyes emanating an eerie, ghostly green glow.

But that was just the first pair, and not the last. One by one, pairs of eyes began to glow, their luminous gazes intensifying and multiplying with each passing moment. The sight was overwhelming; the layers upon layers of eyes sent shivers down their spines.

Charles struck a match against the rock wall, and the fire illuminated the surroundings.

Mice.

An endless swarm of mice were packed together like towering stacks of dominoes. They had encircled Charles and his party.

"Hello there! I'm Lily! Nice to meet you!" A sudden female voice disrupted the silence, and everyone froze in their tracks.

After a quick assessment, Charles identified the speaker—a white mouse standing amidst the horde. This white mouse behaved and moved differently from its kin. Its eyes shimmered with a spark of intelligence.

The white mouse seemed to have realized that Charles was the leader of the party. She hopped forward and tilted her head upward to meet his gaze.

"Hi, I'm Lily. What's your name?" She introduced herself once more.

Charles glanced at the mice surrounding him and whispered, "Charles."

Just as soon as they finished their brief customary conversation, a roar echoed from the direction where the flying locust had left.

"Oh dear! Hurry, my friends could only delay it temporarily. That thing is coming back. I'll take you to my home," the white mouse exclaimed as she led the other mice in a swift retreat.

Seeing the red glow resurfacing in the distance, Charles dared not stay in place and hurriedly followed along with his crew.

Compared to that monster, at least there was a possibility of communication with these mice.

In the darkness, Charles and his companions scrambled after the mice as they navigated through a chaotic path. Eventually, they arrived at the entrance of an underground hole that was slightly over a meter in height.

Charles and his party entered the cavern with their torches in hand. In the shadows, pairs of eyes locked onto the humans entering their cave as rustling sounds filled the air.

The dozen torches were lit and the fire illuminated everything with the cavern. The cave was about the size of a football field, and countless brownish-black mice were staring intensely at them.

The mice themselves were nothing unusual. What was peculiar was that some of them held tools made from bones; they resembled humans in a certain way.

In the cave, there were some neatly arranged low-domed structures. Charles even spotted a larger mouse teaching a bunch of small mice how to count! He felt as if he had entered a land of miniature beings.

The white mouse had brought a toy-sized stool from somewhere and placed it before Charles. She jumped onto it and sat down.

"Can you bring me home? I miss my mom," Lily pleaded.

A swarm of mice approached the party of humans and placed a bowl of brownish liquid in front of each human as if to welcome them.

Home? Charles scanned the peculiar mice cave around him. "Isn't this your home?" Charles asked.

"Of course not! I'm not a mouse! I'm human!" the white mouse insisted. Its fur bristled with agitation as it tried to defend its claim.

"Human?" The crew members stared wide eyes at the tiny mouse before them. They struggled to find any trace of human resemblance.

Noticing their disbelief, the white mouse, Lily, began her explanation.

"I truly am a human. My parents took me on a boat to visit my grandfather on the Isle of Whereto, but we encountered a whirlpool. I fell into the sea, and when I woke up, I became like this. I have no idea why or how it happened."