Night had fully settled over the village. The torches burned low, casting dancing shadows on the walls. Most people had retreated to their corners, trying to sleep. But sleep did not come easily.
Shen sat with his back against the well, eyes half closed. Jiang was beside him, her dagger in her lap. Lin had taken first watch, but she kept glancing at the dark spaces between the houses.
The children had disappeared after their song. The old man stood frozen on the platform, his bell silent.
From the other side of the village, a man left his group. He was one of the two survivors from the large man's team—the one who had not spoken much. He walked toward the edge of the village, perhaps to relieve himself. His footsteps were heavy on the dirt. He stopped near a broken cart, unbuttoned his pants.
A small figure stepped out from behind a house. A child. A girl with tangled hair and a torn dress. She blocked his path.
"Please," she said, her voice soft. "I lost my doll. Can you help me find it?"
The man stopped. He looked at her. His face was tired, his eyes hollow from the day's horror. He had seen the children before, running and singing, but he had never spoken to one.
"Go away," he said.
"Please," the girl repeated. "It's dark. I'm scared."
"I said go away." He pushed her aside.
The girl did not move. She looked up at him. Her eyes were black. No white. Just black. The man froze. His hand stopped mid-air.
"You won't help me?" she asked.
"No."
She smiled. "Then I'll help myself."
She reached up with both hands. Her fingers were long. Too long. They should not have bent that way. She touched his head. Gently. Like a mother stroking a child.
Then she twisted.
The sound was wet. Like breaking a stick. The man's head came off. It rolled on the ground, stopping near a stone. His body stood for a moment, then collapsed.
There was no blood. Just darkness. The torches flickered, but the shadows seemed to swallow the light.
The girl picked up the head by the hair. She looked at it. Then she looked toward Shen. Her eyes found his in the dark. She smiled again. Then she walked away, carrying the head. It disappeared into the dark.
No one screamed. No one moved. The other teams had seen it. They stared, frozen. A woman from the third team covered her mouth. A man from the second team stepped back and bumped into a cart, knocking over a clay pot. It shattered. The sound was loud in the silence.
Shen's hand was on his hook. He had not moved.
Lin's face was pale. Jiang had her dagger raised, but there was nothing to stab.
The old man on the platform did not react. He stood like a statue, his eyes fixed on nothing.
After a long silence, someone whispered, "Don't refuse the children."
Lin turned to Shen, her voice low. "What just happened?"
Shen kept his eyes on the dark where the girl had vanished. "The same girl. The one from the well."
"The one we helped?" Jiang asked.
"Yes. We helped her. We got a reward. He refused. He died."
Lin shivered. "So the children test you."
"It seems that way."
Jiang looked at the body. "We need to warn the others."
"They saw," Shen said. "They'll figure it out."
A man from the second team walked over to the corpse. He stared at the headless body, then looked around. "Where's the head?"
No one answered.
"The girl took it," someone said.
The man cursed. He walked back to his group. No one moved the body. It lay there, a dark shape on the ground.
No one slept after that.
---
Dawn came slowly. The gray light revealed the body where it had fallen. The head was still gone. The girl was nowhere to be seen. The body's hands were open, as if reaching for something.
The large man from the same team stood over the corpse. His face was hard, but his hands shook. He looked around at the others.
"Who saw what happened?" he asked.
No one answered.
"You," he said, pointing at Shen. "You saw."
Shen said nothing.
"It was a child," someone from another team said. "She asked for help. He refused. She killed him."
The large man cursed. He kicked the ground. Then he walked back to his spot and sat down. He did not look at anyone. His shoulders were hunched. His team was now just him and one other man. The other was sitting against a wall, staring at the ground.
The morning passed in silence. No one ate. No one spoke. The children did not appear. The only sound was the wind and the occasional cluck of a chicken.
Shen checked his supplies. He had dried meat and water. Enough for two more days. He shared a piece with Lin. She took it without a word.
Jiang cleaned her dagger. The blade still glowed faintly. "The girl gave us a leaf," she said. "Yellow."
"For today's dish," Shen said.
"If it's yellow."
Lin looked at the sky. "The sun is high. Noon soon."
At noon, the old man rang his bell. The sound cut through the silence. Everyone stood. They walked to the platform, staying in their groups. The large man stood alone. His remaining teammate sat against the wall, refusing to move.
A clay bowl appeared on the stone. Inside was a yellow stew. Chunks of meat floated in a thick yellow broth. The smell was sweet, like honey. But underneath the sweetness, there was something else. Something rotten.
The crowd gathered, but no one stepped forward.
"Someone must eat," the old man said.
The large man looked at the other teams. "We lost two. Someone else's turn."
A woman from another team shook her head. "We all have to take turns. That's the rule."
"There is no rule. Just survival."
Shen watched the stew. His mark was cold. No heat. No warning.
Lin leaned close. "The girl gave us a yellow leaf. Is that a clue?"
"Maybe," Jiang said. "Or maybe it's another lie."
Shen pulled the dry leaf from his pocket. It was brown and brittle. But when he held it close to the stew, he felt a faint warmth from it. His mark pulsed once. Weak, but there.
"The leaf has something," he said. "From the well. From that place."
He studied the stew. The surface was smooth. No bubbles. No steam. The smell was sweet, but underneath it, there was something else. Bitter. Rotten. Like old eggs.
He closed his eyes. His mark did not respond to the stew, but it had responded to the leaf.
"The leaf might be an antidote," he said.
"Or it might kill you," Jiang said.
"We have to test it."
The large man heard them. "What do you have?"
Shen didn't answer. He looked at the other teams. "Does anyone have salt? Or herbs? Anything strong?"
A woman from a third team pulled out a small pouch. "Salt. I have salt."
Another man held up a dried chili. "Pepper. Old, but strong."
Shen took the salt and the chili. He crumbled the leaf into the stew. Added a pinch of salt. A dash of chili. He stirred.
The stew bubbled. The sweet smell faded. A new smell rose. Earthy. Warm. Like fresh bread.
He scooped a small amount. Drank.
The taste was strange. Spicy. Salty. But not poison. His stomach settled. His mark stayed cold.
He waited. One second. Five. Ten.
No pain. No blood. No burning.
The old man nodded. "The dish is accepted. Day three is complete."
The crowd exhaled. Some cheered. Others just sat down, exhausted. The woman who had given the salt wiped her forehead. The man with the chili laughed nervously.
The large man stared at Shen. "You knew."
"I guessed."
"You used something from that well."
Shen didn't answer.
The large man stood up. His fists clenched. "You could have shared. We lost two men."
"You lost them because you didn't help the child," Jiang said. "And because you made them eat poison."
The large man took a step forward. Other people moved between them. "Enough," someone said. "We're all tired. Don't start a fight."
The large man glared at Shen, then turned and walked away. He sat down against a wall, far from the others. His remaining teammate still hadn't moved.
Shen sat down against the well. Lin handed him water. He drank.
"That was stupid," she said.
"Maybe."
"You could have died."
"I didn't."
Jiang sat beside him. "The leaf worked."
"The girl gave it to us. Maybe she wanted to help. Or maybe she wanted to see what we'd do."
Lin looked at the empty bowl. "Two days left. Two more dishes."
Shen nodded. He looked at the sky. The sun was beginning to fall. The shadows grew longer.
The body of the man who had been killed by the girl still lay where it had fallen. No one had moved it. No one would. The head was still missing.
The large man's other teammate finally stood up. He walked to the body, looked at it for a moment, then walked away. He didn't say anything.
The sun began to set. The torches were lit. The children appeared again, running in circles, singing their hollow song. Their voices were high and empty, like wind through broken glass.
The girl with the black eyes was among them. She looked at Shen. She did not smile. She raised one finger to her lips, then pointed at the sky.
One more day.
Then she disappeared into the dark.
Shen watched the spot where she had been. He touched his mark. It was cold again.
"Tomorrow is the fourth day," Jiang said.
"We'll be ready."
Lin hugged her knees. "I hope so."
The night grew colder. The torches burned low. Somewhere, a dog howled. Then silence.