“Sely… Sely…” a whispered voice, the shoulder being moved gently.

It's pouring outside. Still sleepy, Sely struggles to distinguish her name from the rushing water.

“Hmm-nhg…” she says, rolling over in her cloth cocoon.

“Sely… wake up. Something's happening.”

“mmm… Awwhawh! Dad?”

“Shhh!”

But it's too late. A loud clang is heard in the other room.

“Damn, he heard us!”

Sely sits up. It's pitch dark and only the outside rain beyond the open door seems slightly luminescent.

“Dad?” Although still groggy, anxiety begins to stiffen the girl's body. “Dad?”

“Shhh-shh… I'm here” the man kept his tone whispered.

That it is Toslevi, Sely is sure. His hand on hers, resting on her shoulder, is familiar.

“What happened?” Sely whispers too this time. She tries to make out her father's features, but it's too dark.

“We have guests. Passing in front, they shot the flashlight in my face… they woke me up, but I waited. Now I'm in the back.”

Bandits?

It's not the first time this has happened. Among both insects and humans, small communities of raiders exist. To drive them away, Tossyllia usually hangs the heads of the ‘less skilled’ bandits near the community. The rest of the body is then useful as a banquet.

A ruthless method, approved by the Silver Chronicles.

Who knows if Dad will do this too... in any case I have to help him.

Sely moves to put her hand on her belt, on the ground nearby. But the holster is empty.

Ah! The gun is still in the back!!

More clangs and stuff falling, come from the other room.

“Sely” Toslevi helps her up. “With the help of rain, we must reach them from there.”

“They could have taken the gun…”

“They are definitely looking for her. I think someone in the village looked you over today...”

Sely thinks back on the day. Heeding her father's fears, she realized that she was the object of many stares... but no one seemed to be a thief.

Everyone was busy with preparations for the festival.

I would have noticed someone solely focused on me… mmm…

“But what if they found the gun?”

“No, it is hidden in the bottom drawer of the broken cabinet. Now let's go over there. While I distract them, you take the weapon.”

Sely nods. “Do you have a light?”

“We take it from them. Rain and darkness also work in our favor.”

“But now they know we're awake… before…”

“I do not believe. True you spoke out loud, but with the rain and all. I doubt they understood. They're making a lot of noise over there.”

⁂

The plan is simple, Sely will go to the antenna room via the side of the observatory that faces Vanoge. Toslevi, on the other hand, passing from the side close to the overhang, will attract the attention of thieves.

He is armed with a cleaver which he uses to chop herbs, Sely has her travel knife with her.

On his way out, Toslevi makes signs that Sely doesn't understand. Under the freezing rain, the man disappears into the darkness.

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Sely looks around.

Dark.

Slightly luminescent rain.

She runs a palm across her forehead to brush away her hair.

Let's hope so. Some humans are very strong... of course, we didn't need this bad luck!

Thunder.

Ok, it's been a few seconds. Sely can walk.

She stays close to the wall, walking low and covered in mud. She doesn't see much but the light from the rain is due to a very specific cause.

Now it's clear…

The lighthouse is pointing its torch towards the plateau. It does not point close to the observatory, but a little further downstream.

Sely looks carefully and, in the illuminated area, two dark shapes can be seen.

Goatmantis…

Strange. They are diurnal animals, the fact that they are around at night means that something has alarmed them…

However, these are beasts hundreds of meters away; Sely knows that by leaving them alone they shouldn't attack. Goatmantis are territorial, it's true, but it's night and this is not their territory.

Even if they seem to be getting close to telling the truth…

Oh well, now is not the time to think about it!

Sneaking forward, one hand remaining to test the wall, Sely approaches.

She hears noises that are increasingly similar to voices...

“Ah!”, “Ngh!”, “He discovered us!”

Near the staircase, a shadow slips out. Then another follows. They hold flashlights, the beams of which are lost in the rain.

“Damn!” a shadow shouts.

“The insect is nearby! Careful!”

A third arrives to interrupt the discussion of the shadows. One of the two thieves tries to enlighten him, revealing his identity.

Dad…

I must hurry.

Sely stops looking and sneaks into the back entrance. She knows that once she gets her hands on the gun, it will be easy to scare the two away.

Searching in the dark, however, is very difficult and Sely feels her way forward. She knows which piece of furniture her father told her about, but her haste makes her nervous, making the search more difficult.

Stumbling upon some objects on the floor, Sely realizes that everything has been knocked over. The thieves searched far and wide. Luckily, Toslevi kept a secret drawer.

Who knows how it's going out? From here you can hardly hear anything...

Dad…

Finally finding the drawer, Sely opens it with a key left to her by her father. She sticks her hand in and immediately finds the grip of the gun.

Well.

⁂

There is no one outside.

Rain.

Downpour.

Sely holds the gun tightly in her fist, drops of it falling from her little nose.

Where are they?

Where they went!?

She looks around. There is nobody.

No.

Here they are. Here are the beams of their torches. They descend into the goatmantis area. They walk staggering as if they were carrying something.

“DAD!”

Sely starts running. It's risky, the swamp doesn't help and it's dark.

But it doesn't matter, it certainly won't be a rock or a fall that stops her.

Sely runs and soon finds herself in the lit area. The two men have wide-brimmed hats under which their faces are hooded.

“Stop!” Sely points the gun. Except that she only has one bullet left…

I have to think.

Think.

What can I do!?

The two release their hold on Toslevi, who falls to the ground and starts coughing blood.

Sely looks at him. The rain washes that body, producing a red river at his feet.

She angers.

Growing anger.

The two hooded men peer like ghosts in Sely's direction. They don't say anything. Maybe it's just a paralysis of fear; are they afraid of being hit by a bullet? Or they are ghosts impassive in front of a weapon.

“What have you done!?”

The two ghosts do not respond.

“What have you done to my FATHER!?” Sely takes a step forward, aiming for the nearest spectrum.

The two remain silent and…

“MBREEE!”

Sely gets distracted and dodges a goatmantis charge.

NO!

She glances briefly, just in time to see the two men flee towards Vanoge.

Damn!

Sely puts the gun away and takes out the knife again. She knows she can't beat a goatmantis. She must open an escape route to Vanoge.

I have to find a doctor. Damn!

I have to find him right away!

Sely feels her hands shaking. She tries to get around the beast, dodging the slashes of its front legs. But her eye continues to fall there...

Toslevi, bleeding, illuminated by the searchlight, whose life slips away like blood. One gasp at a time.

At that point…

…the second goatmantis makes an appearance.

It comes from the darkness and seizes Toslevi's body in an instant with his jaws. It makes him disappear into the darkness.

Sely sees everything. She wants to run to help her father, but she knows it's late.

She knows it well.

She has to run to the village. Alone she can do nothing.

With one last dodge, she thrusts the knife into the beast's coat.

“MBREEE!”

Taking advantage of the blow it scored, Sely disengages the battle and starts running down the slope.

No, no, no!

She had known Toslevi for a short time. It is true. However…

However…

Sely can't tell if it's just the rain that's wet her face, or tears too.