by J E Reed
At least they had something to look forward to. Something to keep them safe. They weren’t fighters and would function well in a larger community, as long as it existed.
The three watched until the small crowd disappeared beyond the trees, and exhaustion hit her full force. The world spun and Kikyo’s hands wrapped around her shoulders as she tilted back.
“You all right?”
She nodded and used the gate to steady herself. “I think I’m just tired.” Both kept a careful eye on her for the rest of the afternoon. Once he was sure she wouldn’t faint, Kikyo’s expression turned somber, and his distance increased.
“I’m not going to spontaneously combust.” Both laughed, but neither commented, the fatigue hitting them all.
They settled in the center of town around the large fire that had since turned to coals. Its only purpose had been to light the darkness. Smoke no longer mattered, no one was coming to their rescue.
She tried to organize the events of the day but felt as though it’d dragged on longer than possible. Then she remembered they hadn’t slept.
Dread swept over her when she thought about how things could have ended. If not for the magic she would be tied to a horse right now and the two beside her would be dead or dying.
If people sought the stone, then she needed to be careful and keep it hidden.
Stars came out to play, perfectly placed just as those from the real world. She wondered if this was how the sky looked beyond city lights or if it was enhanced for the sake of this place.
Everything had changed.
Beyond the gate lay a dangerous world, and those she loved were in the middle of it. She tried not to imagine everything that could have happened. They were strong, they would survive.
She looked at Kikyo who lay with his arms folded behind his head, seemingly asleep. What color was his stone? The sleeves of his shirt hid it from view and she’d never given it much thought. She’d seen the cool gray of Elliott’s the first night.
Kikyo maintained his distance all afternoon. Even now, he slept farther away than necessary. Had he been afraid of her, or was it the concept of magic in general? Elliott acted as though he didn’t mind, if anything, he seemed intrigued.
She tried pulling for the magic again, but it was so foreign she wasn’t even sure it’d happened. Kiuno smiled at her own foolishness and turned her attention back to the stars.
“What’s on your mind?” Elliott asked.
She raised her arm. “Everything.”
His gaze fell on the stone.
“I didn’t mean to burn him,” she admitted.
“Even more reason to learn how to control it,” Kikyo said. She thought he’d fallen asleep, but a firm voice told her otherwise. “If we end up in another confrontation and you have an outburst like that who’s to say we won’t be caught in the crossfire?”
“No need to worry her,” Elliott said.
“He’s right though, I was just trying to escape.”
“He’ll reconsider grabbing someone like that in the future. You instilled a good lesson in him.” Kiuno laughed. “Now get some sleep.”
Stars shot across the sky and she fell into a restless slumber that mixed with burning fire and dreams of home.
REALM: 1
DAY: 42
Kiuno woke to the smell of food and the sun beating down on her. Elliott cooked while Kikyo sat in silence. None opted for conversation.
She rolled her sore wrist. Kiuno was sure Tyler had pulled something in it, but all that remained were the bruised fingerprints on her skin. Kikyo caught her looking at the marks, and she put her arm down to hide them. He clenched his jaw, but kept quiet.
The empty town held an eerie air. The silence almost deafening. She’d become accustomed to seeing everyone running about and laughing with those they’d grown close to. She looked at Elliott and wondered if it’d been hard to let them go. He seemed fond of several amongst the group.
Each building sat empty, the rotting planks more apparent now that people didn’t give them life. Small animals scurried through the grass, reminding her of the twisted creatures her nightmares tried to conjure. She was eager to leave.
Elliott stood. “I’m going to see if there’s anything left. I’ll leave the snares to you.”
Kikyo rose and she followed, grabbing her bow. There had been no incidents since the search parties, but that didn’t ease her fears. Perhaps she should have considered that occurrence before Eldridge left.
An uneasy silence settled over them as she and Kikyo entered the forest. His sidelong glances did nothing to ease her discomfort.
“Kikyo?” He stopped, turning to acknowledge her question. “What’s wrong?”
“You need to learn to control it.”
That again. He’d mentioned it last night. She knew what could happen.
“I know, I—”
“I can help you.” Instead of explaining, Kikyo pushed up his right sleeve, revealing a translucent, green stone, his name etched perfectly across the surface.
“Wind?” she asked. He nodded. “And you know how to control it?” As if answering her question, a slight breeze made its way through the trees, ruffling her hair and then faded just as quickly. “Why haven’t you ever said anything?”
“It was confusing at the time. I thought it wise to keep such information to myself. Now that things have been explained and you’ve shown signs of a more dangerous element, I felt the need to tell you.” He stared into her eyes, his gaze unnerving. “The air is gentle and practice with it doesn’t leave much room for error, but with fire…even a single spark could spell disaster.”
The urgency in his voice was unsettling. Kikyo was usually calm, collected. The last time he lost his composure people had died. Why did this bother him so much?
“Are you afraid of it?” she asked. He stared at her as if she’d just asked an impossible question and turned away. There was a long pause before he turned back and lifted his left pant leg.
Her breath hitched.
“When I was ten, our house caught fire.” He looked off in the distance. “I was trapped inside. I didn’t escape entirely unscathed and my mother, well, she didn’t escape at all. We lost many things that night.”
“I’m so sorry…” Her eyes misted as she allowed the image of a scared young boy sink into her mind.
“Don’t be, it was a long time ago.” That was the reason he’d been keeping his distance. He wasn’t scared of her, but the flames they knew nothing about. Despite that fear, he was offering his help.
“What do I need to do?”
He indicated for her to sit then joined her, crossing his legs. Kikyo brought both palms forward and she mimicked the action.
“Feel for it, dig deep for that pool in your core. It’s like a rush. A spark that must be held onto and brought to the surface. Yesterday was ideal with your adrenaline going. It’ll be much harder to recreate that same feeling.”
Kiuno watched the air shift in his palm to form a small tornado, tiny particles of dirt making it visible to the naked eye. “Concentrate the energy in your palm. When you pulled back from Tyler you were focused on your hand.”
She looked at her palm but felt foolish. It was alien, something unreal, fabricated. Kiuno reminded herself where she was and looked at the small whirlwind again, but the fire from yesterday seemed like a far-off dream.
Taking a breath, she searched for the sensation, anything that would match what she felt before. It was hard to search for something you knew nothing about. There was nothing like the adrenaline rush except the rush itself. Sitting in a forest wasn’t going to create that blood racing sensation.
She let her hands fall. “I don’t know where to start.”
Kikyo studied her for a minute. “Keep feeling for it, if you find anything, let me know.” She nodded. “And if you don’t mind, I’d like to keep this between us.”
Kiuno gave him a puzzled look. “You don’t want Elliott to know?”
&nb
sp; “Not yet. I trust Elliott, we all know he’s done far more than could have ever been expected. Just call it a backup plan.” She nodded again, it wasn’t as if his secret would hurt anything.
Her mind floated back to the arrow pointed at Kikyo’s chest, and she wondered if he’d seen. Perhaps he wasn’t quite as vulnerable as she’d first thought.
THE SNARES gave her and Kikyo a few rabbits, and they were back in the village before the sun hit its peak.
Kikyo skinned while Elliott cooked. She was pretty much useless for such things, but they didn’t complain. It wasn’t for her lack of trying.
Each ate in silence, snuffed out the fire, and Elliott wrapped a single bag around his shoulder. Whatever he’d found hadn’t been much.
At the gate she turned, taking a final glance over what she’d called home the past few weeks. It appeared as though people had never inhabited it. Grass still covered the area, the wooden structures still looked like rotting shacks and now the fire had been smothered. It was lonely and desolate.
“Come on.” They followed Elliott to the river. Eldridge was kind enough to give directions that would lead them straight to the portal. Would this world feel more real once she saw it?
That night they ate leftovers, and Elliott stoked a fire. Kiuno leaned her head against a tree wondering how long it would be before she heard from Elite, from everyone. Would the next town hold any answers? What about the one after that?
“How far are we from the portal?” she asked, her focus shifting to the treetops.
“We’ll be there tomorrow.”
“Maybe we should have gone with them,” she whispered. Her eyes traced through the trees, wondering if anything was stalking them, watching.
“No,” Kikyo said. “After he grabbed you—” he cut himself short.
Elliott nodded in agreement. “We’ll be fine.”
Each made themselves comfortable and she thought back to the arrow Kikyo had pointed at Tyler. Would he kill for her? Both men’s actions indicated there was no question, but she’d like to never truly know that answer.
REALM: 1
DAY: 43
She woke to Kikyo’s gentle shake, the sun’s light just visible through the trees. “What are you doing?”
“Come with me.” She stretched and rose, following a few steps before stopping to glance back at Elliott’s sleeping form.
“Shouldn’t we wake him?”
“Let him sleep, we won’t be far.” Though reluctant, she followed.
They sat as before, and Kikyo went over his magic again, trying to detailedly instruct how his own flowed. She felt for it, searching for the foreign substance that resided somewhere in her body.
Kiuno tried forcing her heart to race, but it only resulted in Kikyo reminding her to breathe. She tried to replay the events with Tyler, envisioning his tight grip around her bruised wrist but nothing came of it.
“This isn’t going to work,” she sighed, throwing her hands in her lap.
“I didn’t think you were one to quit.”
She glared at him and remembered the doubt he had when they first met. She’d proven him wrong once. “I’m not, this just feels ridiculous.”
He let his hands drop. “Don’t rush it, you’ll see progress eventually.”
She knew he was right, but it didn’t help. She didn’t like to be out of control, especially after what he’d been through. The thought of hurting him was painful. After a few more attempts they headed back, and Elliott woke, oblivious to their absence.
Come evening, the trees opened to another meadow, but this one wasn’t lush and green as she expected. The land spread before them was barren, the grass and trees dead, and the air held an electric charge that made her hair stand on end. In the center was the cause of such desolation.
The portal.
It arched like a doorway, the area around the center shifting and shimmering as if it weren’t part of this dimension. The sight reminded her of steam that rose from asphalt on a hot summer day. Purple mist poured from a blackened core, tendrils reaching like hands for any life that dared venture too close.
“What is that?” she whispered.
“Our way to the second realm,” Elliott answered.
“I didn’t think it would look…so eerie.” Her skin crawled. Everything about it brought reality crashing down. The reality of the monsters and experiments.
“Eldridge told me the travel is fast. You won’t be there long, though it can make you light headed.”
Won’t be where long? Her mouth went dry as her heart sped up.
Kiuno held her breath when Kikyo approached the mysterious void. His feet disturbed the purple vapor that hovered over the ground like mist on a cool morning. He stretched one hand forward, testing the void and disappeared.
“You’re next.” She crept forward with Elliott’s guidance, every fiber in her body telling her to run. The air turned cooler with each step, almost suffocating. Mimicking Kikyo, she tested the blackened core, but Elliott pushed her through.
An icy current shocked her body. Her limbs took on a ghostly feel, as if she were being stretched too thin. Everything twisted in spiraling grays, but before she could fear being stuck, Kiuno felt solid earth collide with her knees. She remained kneeling, eyes clamped as the world spun, cool air spilling at her back.
“Kiuno?” Elliott’s voice arrived a second later.
“I might be sick.” He stepped back when her stomach heaved.
“Are you all right?” Kikyo asked. She nodded and used him as a support to stand. Kiuno took a few steps to separate herself from the cold air. She’d be okay with waiting awhile before passing through another.
A thinner forest surrounded them with a straight path cut through its center. There were more pines in this wood than the last. Seeing the footprints on the ground and how many had passed this way renewed her spirits.
“This will take us to a town?” she asked, still looking down the path. It was put there purposefully. Another part of the game. Not a single tree or plant grew past the invisible line that marked the trail.
“Eldridge said it should only take a few days.”
“All forest?” Kikyo asked.
“It’ll open into prairie.”
“Hunting will be more difficult.”
“We’ll get enough to hold us over, but I think it’s best to stop here for the night.”
Kiuno looked back at the portal. “As long as we’re away from that thing.” They smirked, but all agreed.
“We should continue training, especially in light of the creatures Eldridge mentioned,” Elliott said. She hated to think about it. About the monsters from her nightmares being alive, stalking their every move.
He continued, “Beyond the third realm, people have become hostile.” She remembered Eldridge mentioning that they didn’t travel alone through the third realm, but she’d assumed it was because of the monsters.
“Why?”
“There’s no governing force. No law. What’s to stop them? They can take what they want. Do as they please.”
She’d always wondered how the world would be without law, but this wasn’t the answer she’d hoped for.
“What’s the plan for dinner?” Kikyo asked.
“I’ll leave that to you, however, Kiuno will not be getting off so easily.”
She groaned. “Why does Kikyo get to go?”
“Because I’ll actually bring something back.” They snickered when she made a face. She still needed practice with the bow, lots of it.
Back in their small town, she’d only sparred with Elliott on occasion and even then, it was nothing compared to what he did now. He pushed her beyond limits, his fists colliding with her body as she struggled to react. Elliott wanted her able take a strike, to prepare her for the worst.
WITH MORNING, they continued and met miles of tall grass by noon. Looking at the footprints, Kiuno prayed she’d find some information on Elite. If this many people had passed by then surely some
one had heard of him.
Seems like thousands, tens of thousands maybe. She shook her head trying to fight Eldridge’s words.
When evening came, they sparred together. Elliott went over movements she struggled with, and Kiuno became more confident. At least until she faced Kikyo. If she’d ever doubted he’d be able to defend himself, she didn’t now.
Kikyo launched at her with more ferocity than Elliott ever had, leaving her to look foolish as she struggled to match his pace. He never held back, and she had the bruises to prove it. Blue was becoming her new favorite color.
As the outlines of a distant structure came into view, the group picked up their pace. It was early evening before they were close enough to see the wooden wall. It towered as tall as the stone one in the first realm. She wondered if they’d built it or if it’d been there when everyone arrived. Kiuno looked at the dark clouds in the distance, at least they had shelter tonight.
It was clear now. They were meant to survive. Whatever psychopath put them here did so with a purpose, even if it was just for entertainment.
Were they monitored or did the captors wait on a grand exit? The thought was unsettling, but if they weren’t monitored then the monsters wouldn’t serve a purpose. A shiver ran down her spine—someone was watching.
As they walked through the gate, several armed guards greeted them. Archers sat perched on platforms that’d been built into the wall, support beams stretching to the ground on the inside. She suspected they were guarding against something rather than someone. Gruesome creatures with claws and dripping fangs flashed across her mind.
An overwhelming buzz greeted them as they entered the main stretch. Various people lined the dirt pathway while others rushed from one building to the next. They were driven. This wasn’t a timid group that feared for their lives, it was a determined one. People that knew how to survive and flourish.
Children played in the street, chasing one another in a game she knew nothing about. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, though a grim thought passed shortly after. She wondered if they’d misjudged how long they’d been here. Could people adapt this fast?