Alice hugged her back, albeit with only a fraction of the effort. After a moment she asked: "Can we leave now? I don't want anyone to see me like this."
"Let's go," Ellen agreed. She helped Alice onto her feet, careful not to touch any part of her that might be soiled, then led her back to the visitor center.
The main room was deserted. Even the clerk who'd been asleep in the corner earlier was gone now.
Ellen led Alice up to the second floor, where Alice immediately disappeared into the bathroom.
She was probably clearheaded enough to find a room on her own, so Ellen let her be and went in search of Tear. She didn't have to look hard. Two of the four bedrooms had their doors cracked open, and Tear was inside the second.
She entered slowly, careful not to wake Tear, set her knife and buckler down beside the dresser in the corner then climbed into bed.
Sleep came easily enough, but her dreams took her to an odd place. Something big was shuffling around in the distance. She couldn't see that something, not while her vision was completely black, but she heard it well enough. It made an immense amount of noise as it moved around. Not only did it seem to have dozens of feet, but it sounded like it was in a hurry as well. Alongside its racing, pounding footsteps came a great deal of metallic noises, which sounded a lot like weapons smashing into wood.
"Do you hear that?" Tear asked.
Ellen opened her eyes and sat upright. The noises from her dream persisted. Had she actually been asleep, or had she fallen into the same dreamlike state as the villagers?
"It sounds like there's something big moving around out there," Tear said. "I think someone's trying to fight it, but it doesn't sound like they're winning." She paused. "Do you... do you think we should go outside?"
If there was a monster attacking the village, they couldn't leave it alone, not unless they wanted to risk having it butcher them while they slept. "Let's go look," Ellen said.
She grabbed her knife and buckler and made her way down to the first floor. Tear followed.
The others were already gathered near the entrance, their weapons drawn and ready. Even Alice was there. She was wearing a thick, deep blue tunic and tan pants.
"This is the most vivid dream I've had in a while," Brendon said with a chuckle. "I don't know why I'd dream about being in this village, though. I'd much rather be at home."
"I'm telling you this isn't a dream," L.L. said sharply. "You're going to get yourself killed if you keep thinking it is. And besides, our home was destroyed."
Ellen joined them. "Is something happening outside?"
"We've been told it's just a tavern brawl," L.L. said, eyeing Sycamore, "but there's far too much commotion out there for it to be something that simple."
Sycamore threw his arms up in defeat and moved away from the entrance. "You can go out there if you want, but I already know you're not going to like what you find."
L.L. pulled the front doors open, then immediately jumped back a step. A cloud of black smoke shot into the visitor center. There was even more outside. A fire burned in the distance.
Chapter 10
Ellen took a deep breath then charged out into the smoke.
Right away she regretted not staying inside. The black smoke was so thick all she could see was darkness. She ran and ran and ran but there was no end to it. It was not long before her lungs started screaming for air, but she couldn't afford to stop and take a breather now, not if she wanted to live to see the morning. And her eyes were dry, so terribly dry. Tears poured from both, all of which were quickly consumed by the warm, thick blanket of smoke bearing down on her. It soon became too much to bear. She closed her eyes and pressed onward, hoping desperately that she didn't run into the fire, a building or some other obstacle.
After several long breathless, sightless moments, a cold breeze swept over her. Ellen opened her eyes to discover she'd escaped the smoke. So had L.L., who stood nearby.
The house across the street from the visitor center was on fire, she saw now. So was another house near the southern edge of the village. Their flames were some of the only sources of light remaining, the other being an orange glow near the center of the village.
"This whole village should be lit up," L.L. complained. "Someone hasn't been doing their job."
Sycamore charged out of the smoke. "I told you there was nothing good out there!" he shouted, his voice stricken with fear.
Brendon, Tear and Alice were right behind him.
Worse than the fire was the dark silhouette moving around in the distance. A monster, Ellen had no doubt. Its head rose higher than most houses, and there were four silver gleams, most likely weapons, hovering around it.
"It's probably the same monster that's been following us," Ellen said. Seeing it here in the village didn't surprise her at all. If anything, it should've gotten here a lot sooner.
"I thought this sickness was supposed to make us see nice things," Brendon said. He chuckled. "There's nothing nice about a giant monster attacking us during the night."
"How do you want to handle this?" L.L. asked him. "We can't ignore it, but trying to fight it in the dark is completely futile."
"Let's figure out where everyone is hiding and join them," Sycamore suggested. "I don't see anyone else out here. That means they've gone into hiding, right?"
Ellen looked around. The area was oddly empty. Had everyone already escaped to safety, or were they so lost in their sickness that they didn't realize they were under attack?
The monster moved right up beside the fire near the edge of the village, and its dark shroud vanished. Its appearance caused several cries of fear to erupt from the area, and for good reason: it was an ugly thing. It looked like a giant, pudgy, black worm with legs, dozens of them. Where its face should've been was a gaping hole lined with jagged teeth. A long red tongue stuck out the front, drooping down several feet. Dozens of dim yellow orbs, presumably its eyes, surrounded its gaping maw.
As if its teeth and tongue and sheer size weren't bad enough, the monster was caring four giant axes as well. It raised them into the air together, and with one quick slash it crushed the fiery home into scrap. The light vanished.
"It looks like it hates light," L.L. said. She glanced at the burning home across the street from the visitor center. "If we wait here, I'm sure it'll come to us."
"I think I'll have to sit this one out," Sycamore interrupted. "There's someone-well, two someones I met earlier, and they're pretty important to me. I can't just leave them alone at a time like this. Besides, I'm sure none of you want to trip over one of my explosives in the dark."
He spun around and ran off into the dark village.
"Let him go," L.L. said. "He's useless and always has been. He would've destroyed us alongside the monster."
Ellen eyed her, feeling weary. L.L. had always been abrasive, but she'd never seen her attack someone like this before.
Tear joined her side. Already she had two of her phantom bows trailing behind her. "This village is way too dark, but I know we can get through this as long as we stick together!" she said with a smile.
"My shield-" Alice started to say.
The monster galloped down the pristine road, its body nothing more than a silhouette against the night sky. Panicked cries erupted wherever it went. Same faded into the distance while others came to an abrupt end.
Ellen took out her knife as the monster closed in on the burning house, but despite having dozens of eyes, it did not seem to notice her. Instead, its full attention went to the flames.
It swung its lower set of axes first. They knocked the base of the house into its neighbor. The roof collapsed into a burning heap that barely had time to settle before the monster's second set of axes smashed into it so hard they launched it into the air.
As the burning hunks of wood sailed away, the area became dark.
"We can't fight like this," L.L. complained. "We need to get out of here before it runs us over."
Running away sounded
nice, but the area was so dark Ellen couldn't see her own hands. She would've completely lost track of Tear if Tear was not latched onto her arm.
Worse than the darkness was the slurping, gurgling, sputtering sounds creeping her way. She was just about to warn the others about them when something wet and soggy slid across her cheek.
Ellen turned around and ran. There was no time to worry about the others. She had to save herself.
The soggy appendage didn't follow her, but Tear did. The grip Tear had on her arm was unbreakable.
"We'll have to meet up later," Tear called out. "The monster found us. We're running!"
"There's light near the center of the village," Brendon said, his voice distant and far off. "Meet us there."
If there was light anywhere in the village, Ellen couldn't see it. All she could see was a vast sea of darkness. For a second she wished the dimension would start to decay so that the sky might brighten up a little.
Her run slowed to a walk. She had to move with one arm stretched out in front of her, feeling for obstacles.
"Where are you, Alice?" Tear called out. "Please tell me that monster didn't find you!"
"She has her knife," Ellen reminded her. "She's safer than we are."
Her outstretched arm bumped into something wooden, probably a house. She followed it leftwards until it ended, then moved forward. She found a second obstacle soon after and repeated the process.
Tear snickered quietly. "This was the first time in over a week that I've been able to use my magic bows, and I didn't even get to fire them once."
She would not be snickering if that soggy appendage had touched her cheek. Ellen wiped the slobber from her face then continued on.
She soon came across a dirt path. It was lit by a single lantern that lay discarded on the ground. Someone must've either dropped it while they were fleeing, or lost interest and wandered off while they were supposed to be lighting up the village.
She put her knife away in its sheath and grabbed the lantern.
Despite the danger around them, Tear had a big smile on her face. "I feel like I can do anything as long as you're nearby, Ellen! No matter what happens, promise me you'll never leave my side!"
There was something intimate about the way she spoke. Worse yet, Tear's grip on her arm was tightening. Tear ought to know by now she wasn't going to leave her, or maybe Tear was after something else.
Ellen looked away. "This village might be destroyed. We don't have time to talk right now."
Tear released her. "You're right. We have to find the others, then we need to stop that thing."
She pointed to the dark silhouette in the distance. The monster didn't seem to have any trouble navigating the village despite the lack of light. It frolicked through the darkness, hacking its way through buildings as if it were cutting through a field of tall grass.
"Everyone saw that thing coming and escaped, right?" Tear asked, sounding worried. "They're not still in their homes... are they?"
"I'm sure they ran away," Ellen said, but Tear didn't seem to believe her, probably because she didn't believe herself. Most of the villagers were probably still in their homes, stewing in their sickness, completely unaware of the danger bearing down on them.
With the lantern lighting her way, she headed for the center of the village, following a dirt path passed several rows of small houses. It led straight to the pristine road.
A group of armed soldiers was gathered beside a brightly burning brazier a short ways down the road. She felt a tinge of relief. There was at least twenty of them, more than enough to handle the monster.
But her relief only lasted a moment. There was no way they didn't know the village was under attack, so why were they just standing there?
"It must be their sickness," Tear said. "They probably think this is all a dream."
"Let's go wake them up," Ellen said, and Tear nodded.
She ran towards the group. How exactly she was going to connect with a bunch of delirious soldiers was a mystery to her, but she had to try. How they'd managed to find their armor and weapons and assemble out here was an even bigger mystery, but not one she cared to solve right now.
None of the soldiers paid her a single bit of attention as she approached. The awkward "Um..." she greeted them with didn't help.
"We're under attack!" Tear shrieked. She pointed furiously to the tall, dark silhouette lurking in the distance. "There's a giant monster in the village and it's going to eat us all if you don't do something!"
A few of the soldiers glanced at her. None moved.
Tear lowered her head in defeat. "What do we do now?"
Brendon and L.L. would likely have an easier time reaching the soldiers, but no matter where Ellen looked, she could not see them anywhere. What was taking them so long? They'd left before her. They should be here by now.
The monstrous silhouette raised its weapons. An explosion of wood followed. It had to have struck down another house or two, Ellen assumed.
Or struck up. A silver gleam high up in the air caught her attention. She watched it long enough to realize it was heading right for her and Tear, then dropped her lantern, grabbed Tear's arm and pulled so hard Tear cried out in pain.
It was for her own good. A metal sink crash landed right where she'd been standing. It hit hard enough to leave a crack in the pristine road, then bounced into the side of a home, destroying one of the walls.
Tear stared at the crack in awe. "That... almost hit me. But you-"
"Don't worry about it," Ellen said. She'd long since grown accustomed to pulling Tear out of harm's way. It felt as natural as swinging her knife.
She turned to the soldiers. A strange sense of confidence she'd never felt before flowed through her.
"There's a monster destroying your village," Ellen said. "It's going to kill everyone you care about if you don't do something fast. The two of us can't do much on our own, but we can stop it if you help us. You just need to wake up!"
In an instant her confidence turned to regret. Not one single soldier was looking her away. They didn't even seem to realize she'd been speaking to them.
"I don't think anyone can reach them," Tear said sadly. "There's no way we can fight that monster in the dark. Maybe we should find the others and escape while we can."
That was beginning to look like their only option, until a dark, dusty cloud shot out from between two houses beside the road. Its sudden appearance brought the soldiers to life. They raised their weapons and quickly formed an arc around the cloud.
The cloud vanished, and Alice stood in its wake. "I'm not a monster," she snapped. "The real monster is over there," she added, pointing to the dark silhouette in the distance.
But the soldiers didn't listen. They stared blinking at her for a few moments longer then resumed their vacant, disinterested idling.
"What's wrong with them?" Alice complained. "Don't they realize-"
The monster struck down another home, and more debris shot up into the air. None of it came anywhere near the pristine road, but that didn't stop Tear from dropping to her knees and covering her head.
"They were really lively when they thought I was a monster," Alice said. "Maybe when that monster starts smashing its way over here, they'll finally fight back."
Ellen eyed her lantern. The soldiers would come to life if they saw the monster up close, and the monster was attracted to light, which meant-
"It's not worth it," Alice said. "Do you think anyone here would help you if you were in danger? Don't get yourself killed for them."
That only made her want to help more. Alice had to learn that not everyone in the world was evil. It would not be an easy lesson to teach, but she had to start somewhere.
Ellen picked up her fallen lantern then faced the monster.
"You're not going to lure it over here, are you?" Tear asked. "It's probably faster than you. It'll catch you before you make it back here. Maybe you can... I don't know." She scanned the area. After a moment of se
arching, her eyes settled on the house the sink had crashed into. "That house is already in bad shape. Maybe you can set it on fire."
Ellen hesitated. Tear was right, there was no way she could outrun such a massive monster, but was setting a house on fire the only alternative? Even though the sink had left it in an awful state, it was still someone's home. The someone might still be inside. Plus the flames could spread before they were done fighting the monster.
She glanced over her shoulder, hoping to see Brendon and L.L. running towards her, but they were both still missing.
The monster was still in plain sight, albeit masked by shadows. She watched it smash two homes, one right after the other. Broken bits of wood shot up into the air then rained down around the village.
Ellen pulled the cover off her lantern, marched straight up to the damaged home and held the flame to the wall, right below the roof. It was a terrible shame she had destroy someone's home, but she couldn't afford to wait any longer. If the monster was allowed to run free the whole village would be destroyed by the morning.
Fire spread from her lantern to the wall then up to the roof. It moved startlingly fast. In less than a minute, there was not a single shingle left unscathed.
Someone behind her called out: "Monster!"
Ellen tensed up. For a second she thought he might be talking about her, but when she turned around and couldn't find one single soldier looking her way. They were all focused on the hulking shadowy figure rushing towards them.
She relaxed. The plan was working. Her fire had caught the monster's attention, and the soldiers all seemed to understand now the danger they faced. Their movements were still sluggish, but they'd perk back up once the battle started. That's what she hoped.
"Oh no!" Tear cried.
Ellen spun around. Her fire had spread to two other houses. Already their roofs were covered with flames.
Her heart sped up. This was not what she'd wanted at all. How far would the fire spread? Would it take over the whole village?
There was no time to worry about it now. The slurping, gurgling noises she'd heard earlier were right behind her.
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