The firewood cracked and popped, sending out sparks as warmth spread like a protective dome around the seven figures huddled close against the mountain night chill. The sky was clear tonight, revealing a million stars twinkling above them.
"You're not planning to live here permanently, are you, Lemo?" Kantsuke asked, seated to his right.
The former soldier tossed another log into the fire, causing a puff of white smoke to rise into the crisp night. Despite the open sky, the wind blowing down from the dense pine forest was biting. Tonight, they were roasting marinated venison over an open flame at the backyard barbecue pit.
"If I live long enough to make this place safe... then maybe," Lemo said, covering his mouth as a cough threatened to escape.
"Don't say that. We're trying to help you," Mari spoke up from beside Molly. "Especially Kantsuke." She turned and smiled sweetly, then rested her soft cheek on his left shoulder.
"I know, I know." Lemo smiled. "Thank you all. But certainty is... uncertainty," he added, nudging a log deeper into the fire.
"Sohtae told me Babinew might have the cancer meds you need."
"I know that, Tiger," Lemo said, surprising everyone with his calm tone. "But counting on a guy like him? Not likely."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Izzy asked, frowning.
"Everyone knows he's the one importing meds, but no one knows where he is. Probably because of the things he's done. That guy—no, that psycho Dr. Babinew—wasn't just doing legitimate business."
"Sohtae said he's storing his stuff at the Jim and Tomson Farm. We might find your meds there."
"Jim and Tomson," Lemo corrected, and as soon as the name was spoken, a heaviness settled around the fire. Everyone's expressions turned grim.
"What? Why's everyone looking so weird?" Kantsuke sensed the tension. What's the big deal? he thought. Compared to zombies or the Amoon, how scary could an abandoned farm really be?
"No one's told you yet, huh?" Lemo looked around at Sophia, Izzy, and Meenda, all sitting nearby, their faces stiff as stone. Even the venison and sweet potatoes in front of them sat untouched.
"What?" Kantsuke pressed.
"Mari, coffee please. I doubt anyone's sleeping easy tonight."
"Yes, sir." Mari accepted the cup from Kantsuke, poured warm coffee from the pot, and handed it back.
"Start from the beginning," Lemo said, setting down his cup and rubbing his hands near the dancing flames.
"That farm used to be a famous tourist attraction in this city. Their wine was excellent. I used to take girls there on dates. Not because I liked it, but because they asked. Back then, I didn't have a gut and thinning hair."
"You still look good, if you ask me," Kantsuke teased.
"Good for a cancer patient, huh? Thanks." Lemo chuckled dryly and coughed twice, then continued.
"Things went on like that for years. Then, last year, a meteorite crashed into the flower fields at that farm."
Kantsuke furrowed his brow.
"A small one, like a satellite fragment or something. No casualties. No one cared. The next morning, the farm reopened as usual, with just a makeshift wooden fence around the impact site. But that night... things got strange."
"More like horrifying," Izzy cut in. She glanced at Mari and Molly, who were curled up like kids hearing a ghost story by the fire.
"Guests staying overnight went mad. They killed each other. All of them. Including Jim and Tomson. Like the Russian lady said, it was terrifying. But to me, it was... weird." Lemo sipped his coffee.
"Weird how?" Kantsuke asked.
"On Ether, all drugs are legal. That's why tourists from Earth and the colonies flock here."
"What are you trying to say?"
"At first, I thought they overdosed and killed each other."
"That's what we thought too," Sophia chimed in. "The doctors believed it was a new designer drug. But the blood tests came back with substances that didn't match any known drugs on this planet."
"That was just the beginning," Lemo went on. "After that, the place was abandoned. No one took over the business. It became a target for the Amoons—close enough to town but far enough to be hidden."
Lemo paused and looked at Kantsuke. "Can you guess what happened next? Over a hundred Amoon members camped there. And they started killing each other. Just like the tourists. Within a month."
"How?" Kantsuke felt a chill run down his spine.
"With their bare hands. No guns. No knives. One guy ripped open his friend's belly with his fingers and shoved the intestines into his own mouth—choked to death on them. Forensics confirmed it. Creepy, huh?" Lemo wheezed, clutching his chest.
Kantsuke remembered Sohtae's words: No Amoon dares go near that place... Now he understood why.
"It was all over the news for a month. Some blamed demons. Others said it was a witch's curse. But no one dares go near there. Except lunatics and thrill-seekers."
"You think Babinew's crazy enough?"
"That guy's a psycho," Lemo said. "If you knew the things he's done... you'd think he's worse than any demon."
"What things?"
"He did—cough, cough—damn it..." Lemo's cough worsened with the cold.
"I think you should go inside," Sophia said, helping Lemo to his feet and guiding him into the house. Kantsuke didn't press further.
"What about you all? Anyone wanna come with me tomorrow?"
Silence. Their expressions said it all: he'd be going alone.
"Okay, fine. If anyone changes their mind, let me know." Kantsuke grinned. He wasn't sure whether he should go, but his curiosity burned too bright to ignore.
BZZZ"This is Kim Sohtae. Kantsuke, do you read me? Over." A panicked voice burst from the radio on his belt.
"Loud and clear," Kantsuke responded.
"Do you remember the Jim and Tomson Farm I told you about?" Sohtae's voice was heavy with worry.
"I remember."
"I need your help. My people—they've been taken there."
The words left Kantsuke stunned.
"What do you mean?" he asked, pressing the transmitter as the fire crackled around him.
He listened closely as Sohtae began to explain what had happened...