07. Dead, Lost, or Back?

[ZACK'S POINT OF VIEW]

Three days later.

At the night's end, I walked in the middle of the forest while tightening the jacket I was wearing again. Now all I can hear is the sound of my footsteps echoing the silence of the night, as well as the rustling sound caused by the friction of my shoes against the dry leaves that have fallen to the ground.

A gust of night wind often whispers too strongly in my earlobe to stop by. However, I ignored everything that was heard, my irises instead focused on circling, remaining on guard for whatever I might find.

"Calm down, Zack. You need to stay away from the crowds and find a place to hide temporarily, you can think about other matters later, the most important thing now is that you don't wander in the forest for too long, because at any time there will be wild animals that can pounce on you at any time," I whispered. to myself, trying to calm down even though, to be honest, I was terrified. In my heart, I keep reminding myself that I have to be brave in a precarious situation like this, I can't depend on my parents continuously when they have asked me to survive alone.

It's been three days since the strange thing that happened at my house at that time. During those three days, I also absorbed much information from my parents. They explained everything I didn't understand, although when my father first told me, I still couldn't believe what he said. Still, after proving it myself by seeing what happened in these three days, I finally started to believe it.

That the hunt had already begun.

Initially, I was still trying to digest the situation because everything was too sudden to understand. Because on the first day, I even fainted after voicing a protest to ask my father for an explanation about what happened—to be honest, until now, I still doubt whether I was unconscious due to exhaustion or something else.

However, it would be better if I focused and didn't make my head spin by thinking about too many things. After all, that's not the question I need to think about right now, but how I will survive the following days.

Then on the second day, the condition of my house was still pitch black as if to make other people think that there were no occupants in it. Father also forbade us to open the door and leave the house one step. Then there was me, who kept pressing for an explanation, I looked like an idiot in the middle of a battle who could die at any moment because I didn't know about the rescue strategy that had been devised long ago.

However, any pleas I threw at them finally elicited a response. Both father and mother began to explain all the question marks that had been lodged in my head since yesterday, then I began to find out all the facts from their explanations.

Let me explain what happened to my world.

All of this started fifty years ago—or before I was born. At that time, large-scale arrests were carried out by an unidentified group. The group takes on human forms, but no one has ever seen what they look like because, during the hunt, they all wear black cloaks and hoods to cover their entire face.

The arrest occurred long enough with an unpredictable period. Surprisingly, they only caught teenagers around twenty years old in the year of the hunt. Although the group arrested all of the youths of the same age at the time, they took very few of them away.

Because the next day, many of the teenagers previously caught were killed and a few others disappeared without a trace. The group never hesitates to kill anyone they feel is disrupting or getting in the way of their hunt.

Many people believe that these anonymous groups have taken away those who disappeared. However, Father also said that after the arrests were over, some of the children did return to their homes safely. Some say that the surviving teenagers hid or even fought against the black-robed group.

So, in conclusion, some of the teenagers had been killed, made it back and also… disappeared.

The question that remains is, where did those who have disappeared go? Because until now, there has been no sign of the missing teenagers, they seem to have disappeared into the Earth without a trace so that no one can look for them. If it was like this, it was likely that it was the group that had hidden the teenagers.

Father said that the hunt happened once every fifty years. He had also done a lot of research over the years until he concluded that this year would be the tenth hunt, which turned out to be me being one of the targets of the search because I had just turned twenty years old not long ago.

“This house is no longer a good place for you to hide, neither can Father and Mother continue to look after you because they will take you away from us both. They will come looking for teenagers with special abilities, so since you are one of them, you must leave this house. You must try to survive alone until this hunt is over, Zack." That sentence my mother gave as an answer when I asked why I had to leave when I still had both my parents in the house.

However, even after hearing Mother's explanation earlier, I still didn't dare to leave the house. I thought the three of us could still live together and go through everything that happened together. If we were to live or die in the end, I would feel less regret than having to leave my parents. Besides, if I had to go, too many evil thoughts are haunting me right now.

What if I end up getting killed? Or what's worse, what if I just disappear and can't survive as my mom and dad want?

“This arrest is specifically for those who are special. You are one of them, Zack. So you have to go through this. It would be better if you tried to survive first before choosing just to give up. Because Father feels confident that you can stop this hunt.” My father tried to strengthen me through his words so that I would have more faith before leaving home.

However, stopping this hunt… exactly what did Father expect from this cowardly me? I'm just confused thinking about how to survive for later. Still, that man believes I can stop everything that happened.

 Moreover, they say that I am special thanks to my abilities. However, instead of feeling special, I wouldn't say I like this ability. Because of that, I can't normally live like other kids.

My parents still couldn't answer some questions and said I would get the answers during the trip. But I didn't expect that the journey they intended would happen so quickly because, on the third day, I was awakened with a little force in the middle of the night by Mother, brought into the living room only to see a large backpack filled with several clothes and food supplies enough for me to take away.

Am I being kicked out of the house or what?

"Father, Mother, what's this?"

“They have started to enter the village, Zack. You must go now.” Father spoke at that moment with a solemn expression. “Zack, get as far away as possible. Keep looking for a place to hide, then stay away from the crowds. Never show yourself to those in black robes, and never tell about yourself to those who cannot be trusted. Visit each district and find other kids who share your special abilities. Most importantly, join forces with those you can trust and survive.”

Now, here I end. Along the forest towards the city to find a new hiding place. During the walk, I just kept looking around with a feeling of uneasiness, the sentence my father said last time seemed to guide my journey, I didn't forget every detail he told me so I could take care of myself.

It will take several hours to get to the city. If you use a vehicle, it will indeed take more time because the road you traverse is a long detour. However, I just found out that there is a faster way to the city through the forest, it's just that this road can be reached on foot rather than by vehicle.

Again I learned this fact from father, that man had already gathered much information before the hunt in my year was carried out. He said everything he did was solely to protect me and make it easier for me not to get lost during the trip. Father also pointed out several blind spots in other districts that would allow me to escape the group's sight.

Ah, yes, I forgot to tell you something more shocking than the hunt description. Namely, my father and mother can talk through telepathy, they have the same unique ability as me. Their ability can be used to talk to other people only through thoughts.

But, now I'm not surprised anymore by that fact. After hearing all the explanations about large groups and hunting, I couldn't be more surprised by everything father told me.

There are so many things I'm thinking about right now; about how I would survive the hunt, which places I could stop at as a temporary hideout before moving on to district two, and how I would fight back if I ever ran into that group. However, of all the questions, only one thing had been bothering me ever since. Questions that I will not be able to find answers to before I see the end of my journey.

Dead, missing, or back?

Which of the three answers can I get for the end of this hunt?