Lyren’s emerald eyes fluttered open after what felt like an eternity. I’d been sitting watch over her for hours, my arm throbbing, my ass numb, and my only conversational partner a twelve-foot-tall, multi-ton corpse that was starting to get... fragrant. Now the sunlight filtering through the canopy had changed, turning the greens and yellows into deep oranges and reds as long shadows stretched across the forest floor.

  Lyren jolted upright, crying out in pain as she agitated her many wounds.

  "Whoa, hey, take it easy," I said, making a calming gesture with my hands and keeping my voice low. There was no telling what kind of other kinds of monsters could be lurking in these woods.

  She clutched her broken arm to her chest, looking at me warily for a moment before dismissing my presence entirely to scan our surroundings. I tried not to be too offended, but I wasn’t entirely effective. Our current location seemed to confuse her for a moment before she saw the body of the monster laying about twenty feet away. She wrinkled her nose at the smell.

  I sympathized. The monster stunk like the moldy hairballs I used to pull out of the shower drain every month when I lived with my ex when it was alive. But after marinating in the elements all afternoon? The corpse smelled worse than the dumpster behind a bad seafood restaurant.

  Staring at the dead beast, a complex set of emotions crossed Lyren’s face that I couldn’t parse. She seemed to let all of the emotions from the battle wash over her before finally hanging her head.

  "Rennic... Elara..." she whispered. The names came out as a muffled sob. I remembered the horrific image of the man, Rennic being crushed, and the sight of the female elf, Elara, embedded in a tree. Lyren was reliving those moments now that the fight was over. The pain of those memories finally catching up to her. She squeezed her eyes shut, tears leaking from the corners, her body shaking.

  My heart did an awkward sympathy lurch. What was I supposed to say? 'I'm sorry your friends got pulverized by a gorilla-pig-bear-monster'? Yeah, great idea, Garber. That will fix everything.

  I was a stranger here. When my parents died so many people that I didn’t even know wanted to give me advice or try and share words of comfort or prayer. None of it helped. They didn’t understand my pain. Not that they didn’t understand the pain of losing someone close to them. Most people experience that at some point or another. What no one seems to get is that every single person deals with that pain in their own way. What is comfort to some is devastating or infuriating to others.

  No matter what relationship Lyren had with those two, whether it be friends, teammates, lovers, whatever, the loss of them was obviously quite painful for her. I had no right to intrude on her grieving. So I just sat there, quiet, staring at my own useless bat.

  After a time the sobbing turned to sniffles and Lyren’s breathing eased a bit. Finally, she seemed to calm, eyes closed like she was meditating. Her long red braid was curled around like a snake on the stone behind her. Her polished dark wood staff lay next to her where I had placed it when I moved her away from the monster.

  When I first saw it I thought the yellow crystal had been placed into the staff like a gem into a setting, but now that I saw it up close, the wood of the staff looked to have been grown around the yellow crystal giving it a more organic feel. The runes carved into the wood were also interesting. When Lyren casted her spells against the monster, some of the runes glow briefly. I wondered if the staff was the source of her magic. The woman had never let the staff fall from her hands until she was rendered unconscious at the end of the fight so I guess I had no way of knowing except to ask.

  I looked up to see Lyren was glaring at me for checking out her weapon. She reached over and pulled her staff into her lap.

  “Not going to try and steal your glowing staff,” I said, feeling a little defensive. “I’ve just never seen one before. It’s beautiful the way the gem seems almost grown into the top.”

  “That’s because it was,” she said, matter-of-factly, but the wariness on her face eased a bit. It wasn’t hard to see she was exhausted and still in incredible pain both physically and emotionally. She kept glancing in the direction where I knew her fallen comrades to be.

  “I…I haven’t been back over there yet,” I told her. “There could have been scavengers or… I didn’t want to leave you alone while you were unconscious.”

  The elf looked me over again, taking in my blood-soaked slacks, shredded budget brand button-up shirt, and ridiculous collection of random stuff I’d brought from the van.

  "Why are you dressed like that? Who are you, human?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, her voice dry and raspy. "What are you doing so deep in the Glimmerwood by yourself?"

  Her tone was harsh, but I had been in the service industry long enough to not to take it personally. You never knew if you were meeting a person on the worst day of their life so I always tried not to judge anyone until I knew more about them. Except for bad tippers. They are the fucking worst.

  "Myles," I answered. "My name is Myles." It felt strange to be addressed as ‘human’. She said it like it was a mild insult, or a species of cockroach. However, it did help to make it finally sink in that I really wasn’t on Earth anymore. I know I had seen monsters and magic but part of me kept expecting someone to jump out from behind a green screen and tell me this was some giant practical joke.

  It wasn’t until Lyren called me ‘human’ with such disdain in her voice that it really sank in. She is not faking this. That dead thing over there is real and I almost died fighting it. I am not in Omaha anymore. That last part actually made me smile. The smile, of course, immediately made the aggressive elf sitting across from me frown. I dropped the smile faster than a bad Wifi connection.

  "Honestly? I don't know how I got here. One minute I was driving my caravan, and the next..."

  "A caravan? Unlikely.” Lyren interrupted. “ I know all of the merchant routes through the southern part of the kingdom. None of them would dare travel anywhere near the Glimmerwood."

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  She thinks I mean an actual caravan. A genuine laugh escaped me this time despite the grimness of our situation. In my head, I pictured my beat-up Dodge Caravan trying to navigate these ancient woods being pulled by horses with guards following like a merchant caravan in medieval times. The image was so ridiculous I couldn't help it.

  Lyren didn't get the joke, but I think the sound of my laughter was so unexpected and honest that I saw the corners of her own mouth lift in a faint smile.

  Her nose wrinkled again in disgust, the smile dropping off her face. She turned her head toward the mangled corpse of the beast. I gestured to the dead creature.

  "What was that thing?"

  "They are called Umbral Chimera," Lyren said, her voice laced with suspicion. "They are corrupted beasts, twisted by dark magic. Most people call them abominations."

  She looked at me, raising an eyebrow. "How can you travel this deep into the Glimmerwood and not know of the dangers here? Are you a fool?"

  "I told you," I said, trying not to get irritated with the injured, grieving woman. "I’m lost. I don’t even know where ‘here’ is."

  Lyren opened her mouth to ask what that meant, but a dry, wracking cough seized her. She swayed. I quickly grabbed my metal water bottle and held it out. She looked at it like it was a bomb. I twisted the top off for her. She took it from me cautiously, her fingers brushing the steel, and smelled inside skeptically. When she realized it was only water inside she took a small drink. Then another.

  The water seemed to earn me a few trust points. She handed it back. “An interesting container. Are you from the kingdom of Neldar? I hear Neldish craftsmen are renowned for their metallurgy.”

  “No. I’m from Earth,” I said. “I’ve been going to college in Omaha for the last few years. I switched majors from a bachelors of science to a business degree putting me a year behind but I should be able to graduate this fall if I can just pass my Operations Management final.

  I’ve been working as a barista and driving Rydeshare to supplement my grants. I really hate driving drunks and sorority girls around but hey it pays the bills you know? That’s what I was doing when I found myself stranded here. Which reminds me, I’m definitely filing a complaint about ‘Emily’ when I get back.”

  Not going to lie. It felt good to tease Lyren a little. Dropping a load of incomprehensible bullshit after she'd been so rude to me.

  I may not be some magic-wielding elven warrior like she is, but I put my life on the line to help her. I didn’t need to be thanked for helping, but it would have been nice to not be on the receiving end of what felt like an interrogation right after watching over her unconscious body for hours. So, I smirked as she sat there looking confused at what I can only assume were a bunch of words that she didn’t understand and a bunch of places she didn’t know.

  I took the opportunity now that she seemed less aggressive.

  “I’m sorry about your companions,” I said bowing my head slightly. “Whatever your customs are, if you would like help, I’ll do what I can.”

  Lyren’s cheeks tightened and I could tell she was trying not to cry in front of me again. She took a second to compose herself before she spoke.

  “No, it is I who should apologize to you. I noticed you before Rennic was killed. But there was nothing you could have done. My allies were already dead when you appeared.” She lowered her head, bowing to me.

  “I would have died as well if you hadn’t run down that hill like a raving madman.” She looked back up at me with her deep emerald eyes. “But, why? Why did you, a human, put yourself in danger to save me?”

  "Why do you keep saying 'human' like it leaves a bad taste in your mouth?" I shot back. "Are humans disgusting to elves or something?"

  Lyren tilted her head, trying to decide if I was an idiot or just faking it. "The human kingdoms are at constant war with the other species of the Verdantyre," she said flatly. "They believe their magic and technology superior to all of what they deem the 'lesser races’."

  “Great. Fantasy racism. God, humans are such assholes.” I muttered to myself. I meet a gorgeous elf and she automatically thinks I’m a xenophobe. This just keeps getting better and better.

  Lyren sat cross-legged, patiently watching me mutter to myself.

  “Your name is Lyren, right? I heard your companion call out your name before. May I call you Lyren?” I asked. She simply nodded. “Lyren. This is probably going to sound crazy but when I said that I’m not from around here I didn’t mean another city or kingdom. I’m not from this world. My planet is called Earth and I live in a city called Omaha.”

  Lyren looked surprised but didn’t interrupt me as I continued.

  “A strange woman brought me here in my van and then just disappeared. I don’t know who she was or what she wanted. All I know is that this place is very, very much not like my world and I am very lost. I followed a trail until I ran into you all fighting that creature. I tried to help but I’ve never fought an abomination or whatever you said it was called. It’s been, probably, ten years since I’ve been in a fight of any kind and that did not go well for me either.”

  I was rambling pretty badly but it was helping me to get all of the tension out of my system.

  “That nightmare over there almost killed me like ten different times.” I said pointing to the abomination’s corpse. “After you killed it and passed out I had no idea if there was a village or some place I should take you to or what I should do. I was just starting to get worried about it starting to get dark when you finally woke up.”

  It was then that Lyren looked up at what little sun was left in the sky that forced its way between the branches. Through the break in the canopy, the sun was no longer visible. Its diffuse light painted the underside of the leaves in hues of deep orange and purple. Lyren’s breath hitched and her eyes widened. The color drained from her face, replaced by intense fear.

  "By the Ancients," she breathed, scrambling to her feet despite her obvious pain. "We have to run. Now."

  She struggled to her feet, biting back a cry as her broken arm protested and her head swam. I was beside her in an instant, my hands hovering not wanting to touch her without her permission but unable to stop myself from trying to help.

  "Lyren, wait. You've been unconscious for hours. Your arm is broken and you probably have a concussion and some broken ribs. We should just find some shelter and lay low for the night."

  "Staying here means we die or worse," she said, her tone filled with absolute certainty. "The darrochs will be out soon. And they are far worse than any abomination."

  She started to take off. I looked back in the direction of the bodies of her companions.

  "Wait," I said, grabbing her good arm. "Don't you want to... get their things? Or... or bury them?"

  Lyren's face crumpled, then hardened into a mask of pure resolve. "We will have to come back for them." She pulled her arm free. "If we don't find safety before dusk falls, we won't live long enough for it to matter."

  She snatched up her staff with her good hand, her broken left arm dangling uselessly at her side. Blood still trickled from her hairline as she launched into an unsteady run, each ragged breath punctuated by a barely suppressed whimper.

  Lyren’s reaction to it getting dark chilled me more than the abomination had. This was a woman who had faced down a tusked monstrosity five times her size without flinching, yet now she ran with the desperate fear of a prey animal. Whatever these "darrochs" were, they put the fear of god into a battle-hardened fighter with magic powers. Anything that could do that was not something I wanted to meet in a dark forest so I took off after her without any more questions.