Thanks to Kaci, we set out from Merigor better prepared than we would have been. Under her instructions, we applied for the Defense Operation which was run from one of the upper rooms of the Bureau of Guidance. With the help of the Watchers and the Guides, we were able to requisition packs and supplies and equipment and gear—and even weapons. I chose a sword and spent several days swinging it at posts in the training yard behind the tavern. Beneath the watchful eye of battle-worn psychonauts, I stepped forward onto the path of the warrior. I was determined to go out there as well-prepared as I could, and if that meant learning how to swing I blade, I would.

  Not Siraj or Kaci, though, it seemed. Siraj chose a bow and arrows, as well as a set of long daggers.

  "It's all I need," he said.

  Kaci chose a thick staff almost her height that twisted about at the top. From within, a gentle light glowed. She twirled it expertly, swung it a few times, and the grinned widely.

  "I'll take a bow and arrow as backup," she assured them, "but this will do me just fine for all other occasions."

  She's a healer, I reminded myself. Whatever that means. I tried to imagine what healing looked like in this world. Did this mean she was a glorified paramedic? Or was it something else? I'd played a few video games in my time, but I was more of a sports video game player than a fantasy or MMO player. Hopefully I won't find out too soon, I thought. That would suck.

  We left early in the morning—or what Kaci considered morning, when the lights of the city gently pulsed at a lower light. Slipping through alleys, we made our way for one of the city gates. As we stood outside the western gates, I realized that for the first time, the Other Side, seemed quieter than before. Had the city really been so noisy? I supposed it must have been. I had barely noticed. Perhaps I had just been swept up in the amazement of it all.

  Now, we were away from the bustle and hustle of the souls that congregated, from the traffic flowing in and off the pier, and from the hovering care of the Light Elves. The three of us stood to the side of the large grey stone road that wound out of the city and led into the grey wasteland beyond. Other warriors, soldiers, and visitors passed us in groups or as individual, swiftly moving, shadows.

  How any one could leave the safety of the city to traverse this land alone was beyond me. Yet, here I was. I shivered as my gaze swept the daunting landscape before us—a grim reminder that the world I had fallen into held many dangers. Before us stretched a green and gray plain that sparkled with tarnished color. Once upon a time, it might have been a vivid ocean of colorful flowers. Now, the flowers glinted like dimmed stars through the creeping mist that smothered the land. Shadows twisted the trees into malevolent shapes, and the once bright world plunged into perpetual twilight.

  "What's the terrain like?" asked Siraj, after a moment of silence. "Solid? Or marshy?"

  "Some bits are marsh and bog," she said, pointing to clumps of thick trees in the distance. "Where the eastern edge of the forest is, that's where the bog lies. We'll try to avoid it."

  "Try?" I asked.

  "Souls have a habit of getting turned around in the mist," Kaci said. "Many of them leave the Metropolitan City of Merigor… but some do not return."

  I eyed the redheaded girl carefully. Most girls I knew were the chicks from high school. Some of them had been crazy. Some of them had been cool. This one was… mysterious. She didn't flirt. She didn't joke around that much. She was dressed in strange clothing that looked liked she'd stepped out of some old-fashioned world. Maybe she was one of those cosplayers or LARPers. Scratch that, I mused. It's probably her 'thing'.

  In some ways, Kaci was rather pretty. Her long, wavy auburn hair flowed with a gentle fiery red that streaked with deeper, bloodier colors. Her green eyes also glowed unnaturally bright, as though she were lit from within like a candle. Was it her powers? The force of her being? What did my eyes look like? I had as yet to find anything that counted as mirror in Merigor. Maybe we'd find one in our travels. Either way, Kaci didn't look like most girls I knew. Across her pale skin lay a smattering of freckles, giving her a tomboyish look in some ways, which was directly contradicted by the long, old-fashioned dress she wore.

  "She's a weird one," I had noted to Siraj one day when Kaci was away making arrangements. "Think we can trust her?"

  "You're asking that now?" Siraj snorted. "After you gave her our names?"

  "Oh. Right." I blinked and then shrugged, offering him a sheepish smile. "She was just so friendly and approachable. I didn't think…"

  "You didn't think. That's a habit you've got, Max, the not thinking thing. You need to nip it in the bud," Siraj warned. "But… I will say that, so far, everyone has said she is what she says she is—an extremely powerful and gifted psychonaut. Even the creatures at the Bureau know her. They told me to watch over her."

  "Will you?"

  "Yeah." Siraj eyed me. "You?"

  "Together forever," I chuckled.

  "Ugh." Siraj rolled his eyes. "Don't make it weird, bro."

  "No homo."

  We laughed and joked, and the moment passed. Now, as we followed Kaci in the wake of the stream of questing souls, I wondered again whether the young girl was someone we could trust. Too late now, Max, I told myself. You've decided to stick with Siraj, and Siraj, for whatever reason, wants to stick by Kaci. So… now we're in this together.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  For several hours, our path was easy. Although we left the main road and followed one of the side trails, the way was still clearly delineated, and we could see other souls spread across the terrain. It was almost like a large hike or search party—a sense of camaraderie filled the air mixed with excitement and trepidation.

  With such an easy path to follow, I could let my mind wander, allow my gaze to shift around, and relax a bit. Various details seemed to jump out at me whenever my eyes rested too long on a singular object. I noticed that the trees which dotted the plain, alone or in small groves, were twisted things; but, on looking closer, you could see that the dark branches sheltered small clumps of flowers and green grassy knolls. There were sharp rocks that broke through the green and brown of the plain, and a twisting river that ran out to the sea.

  And there were signs that others had walked this path—broken wagons, shattered wheels, rusted lances, discarded bits of armor, and tattered scraps of fabric. But no skeletons. That was the odd part. I don't know why I was imagining skeletons lying around, but it felt apropos… and there were none. No one had fallen behind and died. They don't die here, remember, I thought. They disappear. Which is kind of worse.

  Then, I began to realize that the relative quiet of the countryside deepened until the silence was absolutely complete. The shouts of the other souls, the lights of bouncing lanterns, the glint of the flowers disappeared. A grey wall fell about us, so thick and heavy, Kaci, Siraj, and I were forced to press close to each other. After a while, Siraj pulled a rope out and told us to notch our section into our belts, effectively keeping track of each other—a fragile lifeline that would connect us in the mist.

  When we stopped for what must have been lunch—a simple affair of ration bars and water—Kaci told us about the fog. The Mists of Merigor, as she termed them, had aways existed. They had, however, grown over time, spreading out and thickening.

  "A sign of the times," she said. "A warning, maybe. Or simply another symptom of the Shadow."

  "Evil," Siraj said.

  "Something like that, yes." Kaci's green eyes shifted past my shoulder. "It hides pathways and rivers and groves of trees… and entire forests filled with dark creatures."

  "The murky people," I said.

  "What…" Siraj shook his head as he stared at me. "Murky people? Really. The Myrkalfar."

  "Murky people," I repeated promptly, just to annoy him.

  "The Dark Elves, yes. They roam about in the mists. We won't seem them com—"

  Kaci fell silent as Siraj's hand swept up, clamping hard over her mouth and cutting her off. She glared at him over his hand, but when he removed it, she kept silent. Her eyes followed his, darting around us. I stared too. Had Siraj seen something or heard something? What could Kaci see? I couldn't see a damn thing really. Just the tiny bubble that was the three of us.

  A breath wisped past my shoulder. The four of us. There was something out there.

  Siraj flicked his fingers in a circle and shifted around, turning his back to us. Kaci and I followed suit. Thankfully, I was free of my backpack, and I had laid my sword beside me while relaxing for the small meal. Although I tried to move as quietly as I could, the scrape of metal as my blade drew out of the scabbard drew the creature closely. A shriek tore through the mist, hard and dissonant, like a car's tires shredding on cement. With almost practiced ease, Siraj whipped out his knives. Just in time.

  The creature half-pounced, half-swooped out of the mist. It sprang at Kaci, perhaps hoping to take out the weakest of the group. But Kaci wasn't weak. Whipping the staff around, she beat the creature back, and summoned a fine green glow that misted around us. Energy and power tingled through my skin, and I knew that whatever Kaci had done, I was stronger for it.

  Pushing forward, I slashed my sword at the creature. My mind barely registered what I was looking at—an emaciated, humanoid-like figure with bulbous red eyes. Wings, as thin as membranes, swept around from its back. It darted about, launching itself in the air and then swooping down to grab at us again and again.

  I felt like an idiot, just flailing my sword about, but I refused to give up. Siraj, on the other hand, sheathed his knives and readied his bow. Drawing an arrow, he intently scanned the skies. For a few minutes, I wondered if the creature had wised up and decided to go home. Then, with a startling shriek, it was on us again.

  Large claw-like hands whipped toward Kaci again. I darted between her, raised my buckler, and slashed at its nearest wing. The steel blade bit through tendon. Black ichor gushed out. Screams reverberated and then ended abruptly, doused by the mist. Then, narrowly missing my shoulder, an arrow flew. It whickered through the arrow with a low hum and gouged through one of the creature's eyes. Clawing at its head, it struggled to rise. Dodging the flailing, shadow-like limbs, I raised my sword and stabbed downward. The creatures guttural cries died, and then, as if blown away by the wind, its shadowy form shifted and evaporated, leaving only Siraj's arrow.

  "Wha-what… where did it go?" I gasped.

  "To the Pit, where all Darkness dwells," Kaci replied solemnly. She raised her staff and waved a hand, summoning more of the green light to bathe us, easing our bruises and aches instantly. "Where all Myrkalfar go."

  "Myrkalfar?" Siraj muttered. "We call this something different back where I'm from?"

  "This thing has been seen back on Earth?" I asked.

  Siraj chuckled. "I thought they were just stories or myths. Urban legends, you know? But I guess it's real after all… the Mothman."