Notes: This chapter is dedicated to my brother, who was the first to point out that it's kind of creepy how many bones you dig up in people's backyards in this game.
I had to change the rating, just because of some implied gore that I don't think merits a K rating.
Also! There seems to be a few of you who are enjoying this, so I am happy to announce that this story will now be receiving weekly updates each Thursday or Friday!
They say the caves are dangerous. And they are. I can't count how many times I've found bones there, or been injured to within an inch of my life. But that certainly isn't the only place I find bones.
I see another swarm of worms. Curling, writhing, oozing, I pry them up to get to the much too soft earth underneath. It is freshly dug. Earthworms aren't supposed to be the first decomposers to feed on new material, but here they are. Here they always are, no matter how long or short it has been. I pray that this time whatever is underneath will be decently decomposed, or at least seems like a run of the mill animal.
It isn't bones this time, but a spoon with stains that I hope against hope are rust. How foolish. I know as well as anyone in this village that they are not.
I look up and meet Linus's eyes across the lake. He's watching, as usual. He watches as I go into the caves, he watches when I leave, and he especially watches when I dig. He digs too. It wasn't until I saw him rooting through the trash and followed his lead that I started to find some of the worst of it.
I thought that was the worst of it, at least until I snuck under the barrier before one of the festivals.
It isn't easy to stay mayor of a town like this.
I know too much. What I don't know is what I am still missing, and what that will cost me. In this valley the caves are some of the lesser horrors I have seen. So why does Linus watch over them so fastidiously? Is there more down there than I know? Some hidden horror I have not yet breached? Is he trying to keep something down there in the darkness? Or his he trying to keep something out, the kind of thing that would obliterate those slimes like dandelions beneath a lawnmower?
Speaking of dandelions, I stoop down to pick one. Right underneath it I see another swarm of earthworms. I sigh and reach for my hoe. I can't afford not to know.
Linus also watches the train. Maybe he is looking for a way out of here. I certainly would if I could.