Krafft's Notes on Anomalies

"Quiet."

When Coop heard Kraft issue such an order, it was different from his usual discussion attitude. It was like a sword blade that he had never seen before. He was straightforward and tough. The tough tone was only heard briefly during the inquiry in the salt tide area.

He instinctively chose to obey, shut up and looked at the footsteps of William at the head of the team, adjusting his pace accordingly. The consequences of discounting Kraft's serious demands have been seen before, and the lesson is so profound that it will never happen again in this life.

Following Kraft's example, Kupp quickly looked back. At a glance, he only saw the flickering torch, illuminating the obscure face of the adherent. The darkness followed his progress, maintaining the color of no more, no less, just five. A long distance.

The thick night behind is like the tide in a salt tide area. The turbid and opaque fluid buries sharp shellfish fragments and fish bone spurs in dark places that are out of sight. People walking in it will step on it, and the wounds will ulcerate after a few days. Purulence, whole body fever.

This was Coop's deepest fear before that experience. He never could have imagined that a small wound in the turbid current would be fatal.

Combining the two, he discovered an astonishing consistency. The team was in another larger-scale turbid current and knew nothing about the contents outside the two torches.

The hills that he was tired of looking at were the same as the ground near his home. They were swallowed by the darkness that filled the gaps from the sea or the sky, completing the transformation from familiarity to ignorance.

Something has changed inside, but it's not as simple as a splinter that makes the wound fester.

The steps in front of him alternated between fast and slow twice, deliberately staggering William's rhythm. Kraft turned his head again, looking back over his shoulder, with the faint fire reflected in his eyes.

The swinging arm stopped and was pressed on the left side of the waist. After receiving training, Kupp knew the meaning of this action, and it was repeated repeatedly for emphasis.

Pressing it against his waist, the strong and reliable handle of the hammer gave him some comfort. He somewhat understood why Kraft liked to do this.

Looking back, looking at Coop, Kraft nodded slightly to him, walked forward faster, and patted William on the shoulder. The sailors looked at Coop who looked back and silently lit a new torch.

The team returned to its original pace, and Kraft also retreated to his side. One hand never left his waist, but the other hand was pressed on the side of his head, his eyes narrowed slightly.

Quiet, okay, be quiet... Coop gritted his teeth. Kraft's behavior confirmed his thoughts, but he couldn't ask because of the order.

The thought that arose had already reached his lips and was pushed back. However, in the monotonous rush, only the occasional turning route and the sound of footsteps in his ears were noteworthy, and he couldn't help but listen.

Under the leadership of William, the team maintained a slow and rhythmic pace, and everyone unconsciously followed the steps of the previous one.

The slightly time-lag sound of footsteps coming from both sides merged into the ear canal, and was also mixed with the clatter of horse hooves. With his hearing, it was really difficult for him to distinguish the direction and even the corresponding person.

But Kraft definitely changed his pace, as if to force someone to keep up with them.

Is it true that a person can walk on a mountain road without lighting? A local who knows the roads, or maybe something else...

His knowledge is currently unable to provide another option, and he will choose to walk in sync with them. On the other hand, he has never seen anyone who can blindly walk a mountain road from memory in the dark night, and neither can the guide Peter.

Coop slowed down and tried to distinguish the sounds of their footsteps as he approached the three at the end of the group.

Those who live on the deck have a stable lower body, and the legs that can stabilize the body on the crest of the wave are not bad on the mountain trail. The thick hemp braided soles of the three people are similar, and they are no different from the heavy tread of the Kraft boots in front. Difficult to distinguish.

He was a little surprised to achieve his goal so quickly, but it didn't help. Coop didn't hear the unusual footsteps from behind.

He let go of his hand on the hammer's handle and looked at Craft suspiciously. The latter did not look back, his knuckles were bent and pressed a few fingers behind the outer canthus, as if he had an unbearable headache, but his eyes were fixed on the road that was not yet illuminated on William's side.

His leather-booted feet hit the rocks and he staggered a few steps. This dangerous move scared Kupu and he quickly stepped forward to help him, but the horse held him back.

A stinging and rough friction sensation came from the palm of his hand, and the rope holding the horse was suddenly tightened, and he almost lost his grip. The mules and horses neighed and raised their front hooves, trying to turn back. The sudden burst of force caught Kupu off guard and was dragged him away.

"Let go!"

Coop subconsciously let go of the rope, and then realized that it was not him who was talking, but Yvonne, who was hugging the horse's neck in the saddle and being lifted up.

The mules and horses seemed to be frightened by an unknown source. They forgot about the riders on their backs and the dangers of the mountain road, and ran away without any destination. The crew on the route tried their best to avoid hitting the side of the mountain to avoid hitting the Crazy Horse head-on.

Kupp was still torn between grabbing the rope or protecting himself. The crew did not have the guts to stop the livestock, which was far more powerful than humans. They were about to miss the opportunity for the horses to start. A figure had already passed by quickly, and the wind was blowing the burqa and lifting it. The hood is open, and the golden hair is messy and flying.

The bright white arc-shaped reflection caught up with the galloping horse's hind legs and cut into the most developed muscle part, interrupting the force exertion. The painful legs could not exert force. As soon as the speed slowed down, the body tilted to the same side and fell.

"Hold your head, Yvonne!"

Without his words, Yvonne consciously let go and held her head when the horse tipped over, curled up and was thrown out. This action probably saved her life. Instead of being trampled under the horse's hooves, she rolled into a bush on the side of the road.

The uncastrated mules and horses took a few steps forward and struggled into the dark night outside the torch. Then heavy objects rolled down, gravel and gravel scratched their fur, and there were muffled crashes that quickly went downwards and away, and there was a very small echo. It came a few seconds later, like a faint swallowing sound.

Kraft lifted up the still bleeding sword and opened the bushes to check Yvonne's condition. William turned back from the head of the team and held a torch to illuminate him.

"William, go back. The one at the end of the team is here." Kraft opened his cloak and checked Yvonne's injury. Fortunately, the bush behind him was still lush, and most of the strength was removed at the expense of broken stems and leaves. Only the exposed There are a few more scratches on both hands.

The little guy got up from the ground with Kraft's hand. There were a few leaves on the ends of his hair, and his cloak was torn on the broken branches, but he seemed to be fine.

Kraft had no intention of relaxing, and frequently tilted his head towards William between inspections, urging him to return to his position at the head of the team.

As William came to the middle of the team, Peter, who was originally walking parallel to him, had fallen to the edge of the torch light. He was confused and didn't accept the fact that he went crazy and fell off the cliff with his important property. He was wondering if this would be considered reimbursement.

After the frightened horse, instead of looking after its owner, it turned away from him and ran away.

Kupp suddenly thought about why he couldn't find the problem at the end of the team. When everyone was concerned about Yvonne, he followed Kraft's gaze.

The darkness behind the guide seemed impure, like ink that had been left open on the table overnight, falling into flying insects and dust, adding erratic things to the uniform background.

With my semi-night-blind eyesight, I could barely make out the dim objects like floating ladles, at shoulder height outside the aperture, emerging for a moment in the darkness, and then sinking into the unfathomable ink of the night.

With a quick glance, the people walking backwards in front realized that they were no longer following them, and they stretched out their flat, wide faces and peered into the aperture.

There was no sense of being watched, and Coop lost his impression of it in the blink of an eye. Everything behind Peter was as usual, and all he saw was a hallucination under bad lighting, and a face without eyesight.