She scanned her gaze over the entirety of the place where they would rest now. Ericka no longer needs to hear Jasmin's story because she already knows what will happen. The only thing she could do was change the course of time. They shouldn't suffer any harm. As Thalia said, they will come out of this alive.
Ericka saw Thalia deep in thought; Ruth had also fallen asleep beside her.
"Thalia, I have a question to ask you." She said back then.
Thalia looked at her intently. "What is that?" She asked back.
She wanted to ask Thalia what she meant by traveling as if she could feel the suffering of whoever was causing it.
"You said you feel as if you are in the body of the suffering soul. You feel their lives back then. Am I understanding your point correctly?" Ericka asked her companion directly.
Thalia didn't respond as if she was considering the question. It nodded, confirming her understanding. "Before we arrived here, I was traveling. I entered the warehouse area where a person named Ellese was tortured and killed." It also said.
"Making it difficult? Is that its cruelty?" She asked.
She nodded at her. In her journey, when important events are shown, she doesn't hear the conversations; those are just memories floating in the air, as if watching a show without any voice or sound.
Thalia travels differently from me; she portrays the event as if it happened to her as well. Ericka looked at Thalia, startled to see that two women, a child, and, most importantly, the man she saw digging with bloodied hands were also following her.
"Thalia," was all she could say.
"Why are you so pale?" Thalia inquired. This made Thalia ask.
Ericka forced a powerful swallow, as if the information in her mind were consuming her. She saw a house full of blood. She saw a man holding a gun, shooting two women, followed by a young boy.
She gasped at what she saw back then, sweating profusely. A whole family was killed by a man whose face she couldn't see, just like the uniform of the organization they saw earlier.
It looked like the uniform of an organization.
"Ericka," Thalia called her.
She looked at Thalia intently. "Thalia, were there any deaths in that family back then?" She asked the person she was talking to.
She saw Thalia's reaction; she knew it was reported a month since the death of Ellese and Felisa, siblings who were killed in their home, bathing in their blood, with no one spared, not even a young boy at that time.
"The family that was reported back then— our house was just a distance away and our houses faced each other, and my cousin's whole family was killed that night." Ericka even saw Thalia clench her fist.
"Cousin, what was the reason for the murder?" She then asked her companion.
"I don't know the whole story; I don't know because I don't want to know the painful struggles my cousins are going through; it breaks my heart."
She understood Thalia; she shouldn't force someone who isn't ready to share, because it would only hurt them if pushed. Therefore, she only nodded in response.
"Are you going on a journey to find out what happened to your cousin?"
Thalia clenched her fists, gripping the jacket she was wearing tightly; she didn't need to force it anymore because she already knew the answer even before she spoke and told her.
"They're here now; you can't see them, but they want to convey something to you, Thalia." Ericka said that back then.
Thalia just nodded at her; she believed what she was saying, that she wasn't mocking her ability to see the unseen, whoever that person might be.
There are still many uncertainties, and it is still unclear what the root cause of the death is. It seems that some are involved in the problem—a problem that has been unearthed— because a soul seeking justice does not stop; it will find a way just to achieve peace.
"We need to escape from here," Ericka heard Thalia say.
There is a small path, and you will find an exit leading out of here. A woman she didn't know whispered; she saw that she was Thalia's cousin.
Be careful now.
She didn't answer. Ericka closed her eyes and pondered. She indeed saw a small hole just big enough for a person to fit through.
"When the two wake up, we'll go out here." Ericka said.
"You know it's risky to return; they could see us, and if they find this hideout, we won't escape." That was the only response Thalia gave her.
"We're not going through there." She looked at Thalia.
"That's where we'll go through." Ericka even pointed to the hole surrounded by cobwebs.
She looked at her with a meaningful gaze.
"Just trust me, Thalia, your instinct is strong, and use it. Let's believe in our survival instinct, Thalia." She ended up saying.
Thalia merely scratched her head and nodded in agreement. She didn't respond verbally anymore.
A long silence passed between the two of them.
Ruth suddenly woke up, gasping for breath; she had woken up from a terrible dream, drenched in sweat.
"Ruth?" What happened to you?" She noticed the worried look on Thalia's face.
"I'm feeling nauseous." Ruth appears to be experiencing severe stomach pain. "My dream was so terrible," Ruth couldn't take it and vomited.
Thalia quickly approached her friend; she also laid her down.
When she had calmed down and regained her composure, they waited for Ruth to recount what happened between her and Thalia back then.
She even closed her eyes. "I see so many corpses as if they were thrown into the depths of a dam. The smell is so foul." It said.
She felt like throwing up again. "Don't tell any more stories; that's enough." Ericka said.
Ruth simply nodded, allowing her to calm down, and they planned to leave once Jasmin, who had been sleeping until now, had had a proper rest.