by J E Reed
K.J. crumpled the tiny note and ground his teeth. He couldn’t go after them in the dark, but morning might prove too late. He knew it and so did Kiuno.
15: Elite
Realm: 5
Day: 248
Elite ran past Maltack. Missing? He’d refused to listen to anything else until he confronted K.J. Rain beat against him and the trees loomed as a dark silhouette in the distance. They sent a chill through his bones and an uneasy feeling settled in his stomach.
Elite burst through the tent. “What happened?” The very man he disliked and for some reason his wife seemed to idolize sat with his head in his hands as if he’d been there for hours.
K.J. sat back and pushed a small note toward the edge of the table. “Palindrome went missing and Kiuno went after her.”
That word again. Missing.
“What do you mean went after her?”
K.J. stood. “Kiuno informed me of Palindrome’s disappearance and before we could escort her to you, she took off.”
“What did you say to her?”
Anger flashed across K.J.’s face. “You assume a lot, don’t you?”
Elite clenched his fists. “I know she’s reckless, but she isn’t suicidal. There’s no way she’d run in there,” he pointed toward the forest, “without being provoked. What did you do?”
Guilt washed over K.J.’s features. “She wanted to help. I told her she’d done enough.”
His blood raged and Elite slammed his fist into K.J.’s face. K.J. crashed to the floor and blood dropped from the corner of his lip.
“You put this in her head.”
K.J. wiped his mouth and stood. “I did nothing of the sort.”
Elite marched forward and grabbed K.J.’s collar. “You told her to be the first line of attack and that’s exactly what she’s done.”
“You better check yourself.”
Vines wrapped around their bodies in a gentle yet firm hold and Maltack pulled them apart. “Guys, this isn’t helping.”
Elite glared at K.J. then exited the tent.
The rain dripped from his hair as he gazed toward the massive trees. He couldn’t begin to fathom what might be hiding in those shadows. Elite checked his weapons and tightened his belt.
He recalled Kiuno’s fear of the dark. She’d cling to him back home but despite that fear, she’d run into a wretched place where the monsters were real.
Elite made to run, but two sets of strong arms grabbed him from behind. He struggled against both, but they tackled him to the muddy ground.
“You can’t run in there,” K.J. said.
Elite gritted his teeth. “Why not?”
“Because you’ll die. Think of how much she’d be hurt then. You have no magic. No backup. What do you expect to accomplish?”
“So what, we just wait?”
“We plan.”
Thunder cracked overhead and Elite stood. “You have an army, get them ready.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Not that simple? That’s my wife in there!”
“Don’t you think I know that?”
The desperation in K.J.’s face eased his anger a fraction. Palindrome was in there too. They both had someone they loved in danger.
Elite took a breath. “What do you suggest we do?”
16: Behemoth
Realm: 5
Day: 248
Kiuno slipped through the shadows and around the guards with ease. Between the pouring rain and their dwindling fires it was no wonder people had gone missing.
Whoever took Palindrome had enough intellect to knock her unconscious. That meant a formidable enemy. Most creatures of this world were nothing more than monsters. Easy targets. But if they could subdue someone like Palindrome with such ease—Kiuno bit back her rising nervousness and crept forward.
Without tracks to follow, Kiuno entered the forest uncertain. The depths were black as pitch, but she didn’t dare give light to the area, afraid any disturbance would be a beacon for her death.
Rain dripped from the canopy above as she fumbled through, dragging her feet across the ground. She used her hands to keep balance.
Kiuno squinted as her eyes slowly adjusted and crept along the mist-covered floor. Large knotted roots jutted from the ground like crooked rows of teeth. Kiuno used them to maneuver as she crawled from one hiding place to the next.
Her skin prickled. No movement. No life.
A crack echoed through the stillness and Kiuno dove beneath a root for cover. She pressed her back to the ground, stayed low, and fought to keep her breath even. Slimy water that reeked of days-old sewage pooled to her right.
Another crack.
Then a growl.
The silhouette of a monstrous creature rose toward the sky and blocked what little light shone through. Kiuno’s heart raced faster as its low snorts and growls inched closer to her.
A web of roots broke beneath its weight and she used the noise to plunge herself into the muddy water.
Another crash of broken branches and its hot breath wafted only a few feet above. Kiuno gritted her teeth when the stench of rotted meat hit her full in the face.
She clenched her eyes and remained still. Smaller creatures wriggled beneath her fingertips, but Kiuno resisted the urge to recoil.
For the longest moment of her life, the behemoth lingered above her body, sniffing the ground and area around it before turning back from whence it came.
It dug at the earth a bit, sniffed the air, and stalked through the trees.
Kiuno let out a breath and fought against gagging as the filthy stench from the water invaded her senses. It’d also saved her life.
She turned herself over and crawled through the shallow muck.
With distance between her and the beast, Kiuno stood from the water and shook the creeping things from her body. She left the slime in her hair, hoping its disgusting scent would mask her own.
Droplets hit the water’s surface as Kiuno continued to follow its path. Hopefully whatever or whoever lived here would keep near to the source, no matter how disgusting.
She crouched, ducking from place to place on the swampy terrain. Kiuno glanced at pits full of water and her stomach clenched with what might be lurking beneath the surface.
An eternity seemed to pass before the water ended at a muddy pit. She climbed a slippery bank to avoid the deeper part, but when she descended something crunched beneath her feet.
A smell fouler than the water assaulted her and Kiuno recoiled, covering her mouth in at attempt not to retch.
She shouldn’t have looked.
Bones. Hundreds of them with rotted flesh still hanging from the ends. A caved-in skull rested beneath her boot. Flies buzzed the area and she swatted one who tried to land on her arm.
Kiuno darted from the trench.
They were eating them. Kiuno’s mind conjured an image of Palindrome’s mangled form, but she quickly averted her thoughts. She couldn’t think that way yet.
Kiuno climbed out of the pit and paused at the top.
Iron cages stood in a straight line heading away from her and mounds of dirt lay on either side. The trees had been cleared, opening the canopy to the storm’s downpour.
Kiuno crept closer.
Each mound had a hole large enough for two people to drop in. She counted ten, but shadows hid the rest from view.
Smaller trees and bushes grew through the tops, telling her they’d been there a while. Perhaps since the game’s creation.
She crept forward a few more paces and closed the distance to the first cage.
Nothing moved.
An old iron door dangled from the edge of a rust-covered hinge and the rock serving as its platform had cracked down the center.
The remaining cages appeared newer; each door held closed by a heavy chain. A rock, the size of a large tire, hung from one end to keep the latch in place. It didn’t offer Kiuno any comfort.
Kiuno glanced at the holes on either side of her. She c
rouched and peered around the corner before crawling toward the next.
A thin, bony creature quivered behind the bars of the second cage, but if it noticed her movement, it didn’t respond.
At the next enclosure, the creature whined and the high-pitched noise echoed across the expanse. Kiuno sloshed through the mud and ducked between a rock and the stone base. She counted the seconds with droplets falling from her hair.
Nothing.
Kiuno took a breath and lifted herself onto the third cage’s platform. The creature inside scurried to the far side and looked at her with wide, wild eyes. It shivered and tucked a furless tail between long hind legs. Her heart ached for its battered, bloody limbs.
Kiuno squinted in the dark. Three cages down sat a figure small enough to be human.
With heart racing, she jumped from the platform and ran the remaining distance. She paused with her back pressed against the stone and glanced at the surrounding holes again.
Still silence.
Kiuno pulled herself onto the platform and her heart soared.
Palindrome sat with her head in her knees and to Kiuno’s relief appeared largely unharmed. Kiuno tripped and a hushed curse escaped her lips. Palindrome’s head shot up.
“Are you okay?” Kiuno whispered.
Palindrome glanced to her right, then crawled toward the cage door. Kiuno winced at her swollen eye.
“What are you doing here?”
“Saving you, what does it look like?” Kiuno’s eyes scanned the area again before moving to examine the chain holding the latch. “Are you hurt?”
“I can heal myself, but if they find you, we’ll both be in this cage. Did you come alone?”
“Yes.”
Palindrome gave her an appalled look, but Kiuno tugged at the fire in her veins and began heating a link on the chain.
“Why?” Palindrome hissed. “You have to be the most reckless—”
Rustling drew their attention and panic covered Palindrome’s face. “Hide!”
Kiuno jumped from the platform and pressed her back against it as something slinked through the shadows on the other side. Palindrome shuffled away from the creature, pressing her back against the cage. Mud squished, and claws clicked against the stone.
A pinging pierced the air as the creature ran clawed fingers along the bars in a taunting fashion. Clicking followed and then a hiss. Kiuno slowed her breathing, praying it wouldn’t look on this side of the platform. It lingered, sniffed, then squished back through the mud.
Kiuno counted to three before peaking over the platform in time to see a scaly tail disappear through a hole. She waited several moments before hoisting herself back onto the platform and continued her work on the link.
Palindrome crawled back to her, keeping one eye on the hole. “It’ll hear when the chain drops.”
Kiuno followed her gaze. “Be ready to run. Go straight ahead and follow the muddy water.”
The link sweated and droplets of silver glided down the chain until the weight pulled it apart and the rock crashed to the ground.
A loud creak split the air as Kiuno shoved the latch from its crevice and Palindrome leapt from the cage. A roar echoed behind, but neither looked back.
The two scaled the muddy bank and neither paused when bones crunched beneath their feet. A spear flew over Palindrome’s head. Two more plunged into the ground soon after, but then something wrapped Kiuno’s ankle like a vice and yanked. Her chin smacked against a solid root.
Kiuno pulled a dagger and stabbed the dark figure, but her blade only sank into muddy soil. It dragged her along the ground and she cried out and grabbed a sturdy root.
Kiuno tugged at her magic and let the flames spin off into the darkness. The light reflected from the damp scales of lizard-like creatures. They growled and hissed then hid themselves in shadow.
Palindrome pulled Kiuno to her feet and the pair sprinted through the darkness.
The two ducked behind a tree and paused to catch their breath. Kiuno peeked around the trunk, trying to distinguish which shadows were natural and which were predators. “Did we lose them?”
Palindrome took a breath and peered around the other side before leaning her head against the tree again. “How far in are we?”
“I don’t know. Not too far.”
Kiuno’s blood ran cold as a tree fell to their right followed by an earth-shattering roar. Her adrenaline kicked into overdrive when four eyes and a nasty snarl towered above.
She shoved Palindrome into the muddy water, then rolled beneath the nearest root structure.
The beast’s strong jaw snapped it in half. She skidded to the other side then dove to another root system trying to keep anything between her and the teeth chasing her through the trees.
Its clawed paw dropped on the next set of roots and Kiuno rolled out and clamored to her feet.
She looked left. Right. Then sprinted toward the advancing beast and let the flames spiral down her arm. Fire blasted it in the face, and it roared.
Kiuno hid behind another tree.
Palindrome tried to sneak around a large trunk, but long claws slashed through it and Palindrome screamed as she ducked and covered her head.
“Run,” Kiuno yelled.
Kiuno jumped from her hiding place and launched another assault of flames toward the creature. It turned and lunged. Kiuno stepped back and tripped. Her backside collided with the ground and she rolled just in time to avoid its massive paw.
She shifted to her feet and ran beneath the creature’s legs. Kiuno drew her sword, but she miscalculated and the breath left her body when its paw slammed into her chest.
Kiuno skidded across the ground. Her arm twisted beneath her and a loud crack followed. Lightning-like pain lanced through her limb.
She screamed, gripped her elbow, then screamed again. The beast stalked forward, its fangs seeming to smile as it closed in on its prey.
Fear shot through Kiuno’s bones and she tugged at the hottest part of her core.
Fire crackled around her body then burst forward in a flash of lightning that struck the beast in the mouth. Its claw ripped through her leg as it lashed out and backpedaled.
Kiuno tried to clutch both limbs, but Palindrome grabbed her collar and dragged her back.
The beast clawed at its face and dragged it across the ground.
Kiuno clenched her teeth and fought for breath through the unrelenting pain. Palindrome rested one hand on Kiuno’s bloody leg and the other on her arm.
“Both are broken, but the leg is worse.”
Kiuno writhed at her touch. “The leg, so we can run.”
Palindrome placed both hands on Kiuno’s leg and the faint glow made them both squint.
Skin and muscles squirmed beneath Palindrome’s touch. Kiuno’s stomach twisted as the area burned and itched all at once.
A resounding roar lifted the hair on the back of Kiuno’s neck. Palindrome pulled Kiuno’s good arm over her shoulder and hoisted her up.
Blood still rolled down Kiuno’s calf and she winced as the two hobbled through the forest.
A tree fell, followed by a gurgled roar.
“I think we pissed it off.” Kiuno’s injured leg caught on a log and she moved the broken arm to catch herself only to hear the bones grind together. She couldn’t stop the scream that escaped her lips again.
Palindrome uttered an apology and pulled her arm back across her shoulder.
Rays of morning light flickered through the trees ahead. Kiuno squinted in the lighting. Her breath came in panicked gasps as she fought to stay conscious. How long have I been in here?
The beast crashed through the forest floor behind and Kiuno’s heart surged. “Hurry Palin.”
The woman gripped her tighter and dragged her through the brush. Kiuno tried not to look behind. Thorns and branches scraped her arms and legs and tore at their clothes. Kiuno thought she could feel the hot breath closing in on them. She clenched her eyes, then the two women burst through the trees.
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A line of men with weapons stood ready. Their hands were all over Kiuno before she could process they were no longer within the trees.
“Back away,” Palindrome screamed.
The men shifted without hesitation. Palindrome, never having released her hold, gripped Kiuno’s arm tighter and limped them behind the first line.
The beast broke through the trees and Palindrome let Kiuno collapse to the ground. Both watched as vines sprang from the ground to capture its feet and fire engulfed its massive form before it could flee.
The creature struggled, but once shards of icy glass buried themselves in its core, the world fell silent.
A shadow towered over her face and Kiuno glanced up to K.J.’s grimace.
“You look wrecked.”
Kiuno closed her eyes in response.
“I need her in my medical tent.” Palindrome turned to another. “Find Maltack. Tell him Palindrome needs him and it’s an emergency.”
K.J. scooped his arms beneath Kiuno’s knees and torso. Every movement felt like a thousand shards of glass shooting through her body.
“She’s lost too much blood,” Palindrome said.
Kiuno’s vision blurred and her eyes grew heavy. K.J. shifted her again and the jostling ceased.
“Anything I can do?” K.J. asked
“Get blankets.”
“I’m here.” Maltack burst through the tent flap, but Kiuno couldn’t bring herself to look at him. “How bad is it?”
“I feel like I’m going to pass out,” Kiuno said.
Muscles pulled in her leg and she cried out again when a bone shifted into place. She cracked an eye open to see K.J. return and set a pile of blankets on the nearby table.
Kiuno took a few breaths. “I brought her back.”
“You’re an idiot, you know that?”
Another shift in her arm and the lingering shadow engulfed her consciousness.
17: Burn
Realm: 5
Day: 249
Kiuno woke, her body heavy and arms burning once again. She glanced down to find Elite’s hand wrapped around her wrist and his head against the cot.