Chapter 34: S#6. Jungle Soma (3)
by fnovelpia
As the darkness lifted, Olivia appeared.
She was lying on a mattress on the floor.
“……Nancy.”
Her eyes half-closed, Olivia’s languid voice reached my ears.
I worried she might have been harmed, but luckily, Olivia seemed fine.
In fact, she had put on weight.
“Olivia…! What the hell…”
Nancy couldn’t continue.
The reunion after a year was both moving and startling.
Olivia didn’t burst into tears or rush to hug.
She didn’t even think to get up from the mattress.
Just yawned indifferently, scratching her butt, as if we had met a minute ago, not a year.
“Olivia. What happened? Where have you been all this year…?”
“Ugh… It’s annoying to explain…”
Olivia turned over and lay on her back.
She was so shocked she couldn’t speak.
She had dragged the police and her boyfriend(not) here, and almost got eaten by bizarre maggots…
And she doesn’t even welcome the reunion.
Not just that, she doesn’t even care.
“But Olivia, you’re the one who sent me the letter, right? You told me to come here?!”
“Let’s talk later… It’s annoying.”
Olivia was as lazy as a cat kept by an emperor.
It would have been less shocking if I had been trapped in a wooden doll or burned at the stake in a cabin.
Nancy immediately confronted Lily.
“What the hell happened? How did you turn her into such a moron…?!”
“Nancy. We didn’t do anything. Olivia came here on her own.”
Lily said with a smile.
“To be precise, she came looking for love.”
“She abandoned her life for love and came here?”
“Love and life are the same. Life is love. Love is life. If you find love, you find life. And if you find life, you find love.”
Lily spouted some strange sophistry.
She didn’t want to hear it. Nancy turned away.
She left the cabin filled with disappointment.
Just as I was about to leave, Olivia’s languid voice came from behind.
“…Nancy. Wait a moment.”
Nancy turned around.
Hope surged. Was she finally recognizing her old friend?
Olivia looked earnestly at Nancy and said.
“Close the curtain before you go.”
“The maggots will sleep in a week, Summer. We can’t leave until then.”
“Is there no way to avoid the maggots?”
“Yes. The maggots have surrounded the village. If you loiter in the forest, you’ll get eaten.”
“But we met Ms. Lily on the way through the forest and made it here. So, if we could come, we can leave, right?”
“No. We were just lucky to get here,” Lily said.
My mind went blank.
“So, you mean we have to stay put here until next week, until the maggots sleep?” I asked.
Lily nodded.
Stuck in this cult-like village for a week?
It was like a bolt from the blue.
The villagers, who seemed like pacifists, might turn on us at any moment.
And who knows when the ‘God’ they said cursed them will make a surprise appearance.
Lily looked at me, not understanding.
“I don’t know what Summer is worried about.”
“You can guess. How outsiders are treated in religious groups.”
“Religious groups? We don’t worship any God. We just conform. We have no intention of proselytizing. Nor do we intend to force our traditions.”
They emphasized that the curse of the ‘God’ was on themselves.
They clearly distanced themselves from us, and even apologized for dragging us into this absurd situation.
Hearing Lily’s words swayed me.
It was distinctly different from the typical rhetoric of cult religions.
But this was the most dangerous moment.
Lily’s argument could be a strategy to gain my trust.
I mustn’t let my guard down.
I approached Nancy, who was squatting near the edge of the cabin.
“Nancy!”
“……”
“Get up. Let’s leave this place.”
“……”
Nancy looked as if her soul had left her.
After the reunion with Olivia, she was so shocked that she couldn’t even hear my voice.
I went to Adolf and Bob.
In an old man’s cabin, Adolf and Bob were sitting in front of the dining table.
Bob was devouring meat stew, his nose buried in the bowl.
It was already his 12th bowl.
Adolf was practicing the Nazi salute.
What was I expecting from these idiots…
The village was peaceful.
Residents in white clothes played guitars, danced, frolicked, and enjoyed their leisure time.
They didn’t seem like a clan cursed by a God and surrounded by maggots.
However, in folk horror, the moment when the dark underside of the community is highlighted inevitably comes.
That moment is the climax.
I needed to break through before seeing the worst of it.
I pulled out my hand axe.
-Towards the forest swarming with God’s maggots, the axe murderer charged alone, the axe blade given by the woman shining brightly.
Transforming into an exterminator, the murderer swung the axe with the force to cleave the earth, charging through the forest like a runaway train.
The festival of slaughter began—a struggle to escape the cursed village.
But the cruel God does not easily allow escape.
The maggots are coming…
Just as narrated.
I struggled to break through the forest.
Maggots swarmed from all sides like carp finding pieces of bread thrown into a pond.
They pushed their disgusting snouts forward, emitting a foul smell.
I swung my axe horizontally, drawing an arc of steel.
Ssssh-
Three were split in half.
Green intestines splattered out.
It was sickening enough to make one vomit.
The maggots were about 2 meters long, weighing over 300 kg.
They had no threatening teeth or horns.
Their only weapon was a long, tentacle-like tongue.
Just big, dumb brutes.
However, the encirclement was tight.
They densely surrounded the village, leaving no gap to escape.
No matter which direction I took, encountering a swarm of maggots was inevitable.
I killed over 30, but the end was nowhere in sight.
I had no choice but to charge in one direction.
Sprinting full force, I chopped down every maggot in sight with my axe.
But my legs began to slow.
It was because of the paralyzing toxin in the maggot’s fluids.
My body stiffened as if showered in glue.
I had to stop the charge and make a counter-attack.
I arrived at the village with two maggot corpses slung over my shoulder.
The maggot corpses were not trophies.
They were a provocation aimed at the villagers.
According to Lily, the villagers were victims of their ancestors’ curse, but there’s a high chance they’re a crazy group worshiping the maggot God.
Of course, this is just suspicion based on horror movie clichés.
Without clear evidence, I can’t be sure.
But if they become furious at the sight of the maggot corpses?
That would be proof they worship the maggot God and plan to sacrifice us.
“…I’m back.”
I dropped the two limp maggots on the ground.
Thud. Dust rose.
The villagers in white clothes all stopped in their tracks.
I stood still, waiting for their reaction. Now they would show their true colors.
There was a stir among the crowd in white, but it wasn’t the reaction I had expected.
“He went into the forest alone and came back alive…?”
“And he slaughtered the maggots with just a hand axe?”
“My God, to kill those ferocious maggots like that…! That’s not human strength!!”
“I can’t believe it…”
“Hey, hey…! That’s impossible…!!!”
There was a flood of requests for handshakes.
They were grateful for killing the maggots.
Maybe, as Lily said, the villagers really are innocent victims of the curse.
I saw Lily sitting at a distance.
She was laying her younger brother’s head on her lap, putting him to sleep.
I headed towards her.
Seeing me, Lily made a sour face.
“Summer. Going into the forest alone was reckless. What if you had been eaten?”
“That won’t happen.”
I was too strong to be eaten by maggots.
“Lily. Tell me about the seven sacrifices you offer to your God every year.”
“That’s… a sin.”
“A sin?”
“I can’t say more. The God is watching us.”
Lily said, stroking her younger brother’s round forehead.
“A sin?” I couldn’t grasp what that meant.
“I’m curious about what this ‘God’ looks like. Probably not like Jesus. Does it look like the maggots in the forest? Or like a fly?”
“No. It looks like us. Its abilities aren’t much different, either. It just enjoys eternal life, unlike humans.”
A cool breeze blew.
The meadow swayed with the wind, as if the hills were turning over.
The villagers took Polaroid photos of the two maggot corpses I had brought.
Then they loaded the corpses onto a cart and transported them somewhere.
Everyone in this village was kind.
Bob Bojangles had just finished his 25th plate.
Adolf Wernitz took out “Mein Kampf.” It was a good read anytime, anywhere.
“What book is that?” asked the owner of the cabin, an old man.
He was said to be the oldest and wisest in the village.
“A great book written by the great author Hitler!”
“Oh? Can you tell me what it’s about?”
Adolf read a passage from the book aloud.
The old man was impressed.
“That’s a heart-touching sentence. Our villagers need this book.”
“I think so, too, sir.”
“Young people here haven’t received proper education; their knowledge is drying up…”
The old man stood up, leaning on his cane.
“…So, how about you teach the young ones?”
“Me? What do you mean?”
“That great book. Use the wisdom in it to inspire the young people.”
Adolf’s eyes sparkled at the old man’s suggestion.
The sun set, and night fell.
A pale moon brought darkness.
I changed into crisp, white clothes.
Not just me, but the two cops and Nancy changed too.
It felt like becoming part of the village.
The villagers treated us exceptionally well.
Especially me.
They treated me like a hero, impressed by the few maggots I killed in the forest.
Dinner was delicious, too. A meat stew rich in juices.
Bob Bojangles ate voraciously without pause.
“Now, it’s time to go to bed,” Lily led us.
The worst event in a horror movie.
The time for ‘staying in a strange place’ had arrived.
The cabin looked like a huge coffin. But we couldn’t very well sleep in the forest.
Adolf and Bob got one house, Nancy and I got another.
It would be proper for the men to sleep together, but I couldn’t leave Nancy alone.
And Nancy said she needed me by her side.
We entered the cabin together.
“……There’s only one bed.”
And not even a sofa.
“No choice then. Summer, let’s sleep together…!”
“……”
“Come in.”
Nancy lifted the blanket while lying on the bed.
Well, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about between friends.
Except, Nancy isn’t just any friend but an attractive woman…
We lay back to back.
I felt a nice sensation. Nancy’s scent was there.
I was too tense to fall asleep.
I casually brought up Olivia. Nancy didn’t respond.
She seemed unwilling to talk about Olivia.
“…Thanks, Summer,” suddenly, Nancy said that.
I was puzzled.
“For what?”
“For in the forest. You saved me.”
“Ah. You almost got eaten by maggots. What was it like inside?”
“Don’t ask… Anyway, I always seem to be a burden to you, Summer…”
We’re in a mad world of horror movies.
Bizarre situations are the norm.
Even if Nancy wasn’t around, I would have to face these terrifying entities anyway.
We continued talking, back to back.
“If you weren’t in my life, Summer, I can’t imagine how lonely and difficult it would have been. Thanks for being by my side.”
“Ha. That’s too much praise.”
“……Life is love… Love is life…”
“Huh? What did you say, Nancy?”
“Oh, nothing…!”
An awkward silence followed.
In the dark room, only our soft breathing rose like the tide.
I pretended to sleep.
Of course, I didn’t really plan on sleeping.
I could be sacrificed in my sleep, so I thought of keeping watch.
There was the sound of turning over.
Nancy had turned towards me.
Her warm and soft breath dampened my back.
“Summer. Are you… asleep?”
“……”
I kept pretending to sleep.
Then Nancy poked my cheek.
It seemed like she was checking if I really was asleep.
Just when I thought, “She’s so cute,”
Nancy swallowed and then slipped her hand inside my clothes.
Her small, soft hand smoothly entered and touched my skin.
It felt strange. So Nancy can play such daring pranks.
But then her hand boldly moved across my back to my chest.
It was a very sticky and provocative touch.
Startled, I grabbed Nancy’s wrist.
“Ouch!”
Nancy screamed.
When I turned around to look at her, Nancy was flustered.
“So, sorry! My hand slipped…!”
How does a hand “slip” and touch both the back and chest…?
Nancy was acting a bit strange today.
Is it because of Olivia?
The night deepened.
The next day.
Adolf was nowhere to be seen.
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