Plea Nation, On an unhabituated mountain,
Drops of water which came from the sky collided with Milo's face.
"It seems it is going to rain heavily." Milo looked up and saw the sky filled with dark clouds. He wasn't wrong. After some minutes, it started to rain very heavily.
The team quickly got into the tent they had prepared. There were a total of 200 people present on this uninhabited mountain. 50 of them were scientists and the rest were soldiers. As for why the scientists and soldiers were present here — it was because of the terrifying energy they were detecting from this mountain.
In the tent, Milo and some of his friends were talking about various things. Milo was a man of 40 years old. They had been sent to this mountain to research the cause of the energy being emitted. It was not thermal energy from the earth; something inside the mountain was emitting it.
"I still can't think of what the hell is inside this mountain that can release the same amount of energy as four nuclear bombs."
"Moreover, we are still unable to find what type of energy this is. We have never encountered something like it."
"Hey, do you think there is some kind of weapon stored inside this mountain?"
"I can't deny that possibility. Otherwise, what else could be releasing this energy?"
Milo listened quietly. He felt the possibility of a weapon being stored here was minimal. Who could hide a weapon inside a mountain? They had already checked the entire surface — there was no secret way to get in.
While the scientists discussed the anomaly in their tent, the soldiers at the foot of the mountain were drinking and enjoying themselves.
They were sent to protect the scientists and seal off the area. Besides that, they had nothing to do. Though ordered to patrol, who would ever come here in the first place?
One soldier stood up. "I'm going to the bathroom. You guys enjoy." He exited the tent with an umbrella and released the urea he had stored in his bladder onto some pitiful plants.
After finishing, he began to walk back to the tent — but suddenly stopped. Someone was walking up the mountain.
He couldn't see the person's face; it was 9:12 at night, and the umbrella the stranger carried hid it completely.
"It seems to be a boy? What the hell is he doing here? Didn't he see the warning signs and barricades on the way?" The soldier changed direction and began walking toward the boy, intending to inform him that the area was sealed off.
Their distance closed. The soldier didn't think much of it — what could a single boy do? He looked young, fragile even. If trouble arose, the soldier was confident he could handle him easily.
Rain poured harder. The sky was black, the moon and stars hidden.
"Hey, boy! What are you doing here? Didn't you see the barricades and warning signs on the way? This place is sealed. The government is conducting work here. Go back!"
It was strange — even at close range, the soldier couldn't see the boy's face. It wasn't that it was hidden by the umbrella anymore; it was as if his perception itself was being interfered with.
Uneasy, the soldier spoke again.
"Boy, can you hear me? You're not deaf, right? Go back where you came from. There's work going on here."
"…"
Silence.
Annoyed now, the soldier stepped forward and placed his right hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Hey, are you alright? I said go back! Don't tell me you're actually—"
Gobble.
A wet, sickening sound interrupted him. Chewing. Sucking.
It was coming from the boy.
"Hey, what's in your mouth?" The soldier's unease spiked. Something was wrong — deeply wrong. His curiosity and dread tangled together.
The boy smiled.
"What's in my mouth? Isn't it your eye?"
The soldier froze. His body wouldn't move. His mind stopped working.
Then — pain. Searing, unbearable pain from his right eye.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! M-MY E-EYE! AAAAAAHHHHH!"
The scream echoed through the forest, sending birds into the sky.
On the boy's tongue — an eye.
His eye.
He hadn't noticed it before, but somewhere during their encounter, his right eye had gone dark.
Then came the next horror. The boy bit down. The eye split into two. One half disappeared into his mouth; the other fell to the muddy ground.
The soldier's face turned ghost-white. He turned and sprinted back toward the tent, blind panic driving him.
He didn't know what that thing was — only that he needed his comrades. He needed safety. He needed to feel alive again.
And above all…
He needed to get his right eye back from his friends.