"I hope you didn't really poison him," Trevor said. "That'll get us in trouble for sure."
"He's just imagining things," Ellen lied.
She waited for Barry to return their mugs, then followed him back to the road they'd been on before Barry veered off course. It brought them to a wooden staircase that led to the top of the fortress's outer wall. A watchman at the base of the stairs let them pass but told them not to stay too long.
Ellen watched the fortress shrink below her as she climbed. The buildings were a mishmash of wood and stone and brick that didn't fit together at all, and roads were even worse offenders, but she didn't care. This was her home now.
The top of the wall had much more space than she had expected. It was as wide as a normal road, with stone guardrails on both sides. It was more vacant than she had expected as well; her and her friends were the only group present.
She moved to the far side of the wall and gazed out into the grassy plains. Dark shapes that looked like trees lined the horizon. There might be a forest out there, but the light from the fires on the fortress's towers didn't reach that far.
Vacant, wild areas like the one that stretched out before her used to be her home, yet now it felt completely alien.
Barry joined her side. "We're going to be roaming around out there soon. You're probably used to it, but us, we're, uh..."
"It can't be that dangerous," Trevor said. He moved to Ellen's other side. "Monsters probably can't see at night, so they're not going to attack us while we're asleep." He glanced at Ellen. "Or will they?"
"Most of them slow down when it's dark," Ellen said, "but there are some that never stop looking for targets."
Barry and Trevor both shuddered.
"It's really easy to avoid them at night," she added, hoping to calm their nerves. "You just can't make a lot of noise, or have a fire burning in the open. And if you have a safe place to hide, like a cave-"
Talking about caves brought back bad memories. She stopped.
"There's something I've always wondered," Trevor said. "What exactly is a monster? They're definitely not... natural, if that makes sense. Nobody has ever seen a monster egg before, or found one... you know, giving birth. They just seem to crawl out of the dark when nobody's looking. It's like something out of a nightmare." He looked to Ellen. "You've been all over the world. You have to have seen something."
This seemed to be a topic he had a great deal of passion for, but Ellen had no answers for him. The only thing she knew about monsters was that they hated all things living. "I don't know anything about where monsters come from," she said, to which Trevor responded by looking disappointed.
"So how do you like the fortress so far?" Barry asked her.
A scratching, shuffling, scraping sound was rushing towards them from below. Barry and Trevor didn't seem to notice, but Ellen heard it loud and clear.
"I love it," she said, then she drew her knife.
Chapter 7
Two curved sickles reached up from outside the fortress and hooked onto the stone guardrail.
It was a monster.
Ellen retreated to the left, and Barry and Trevor the right.
"W-we should stick together," Barry said as he fumbled his sword out of its sheath.
He was terrified, and so was Trevor. "It's okay," Ellen said calmly. "It can only focus on one of us at a time. Whoever's not being attacked can cut it apart while its back is turned." For Barry and Trevor's sake, she hoped the monster focused on her.
The monster heaved itself up onto the wall. The black pool of congealing matter that was its body landed with a soggy plop. Its head, or what she assumed was its head because of the two empty holes that sort of looked like eye sockets, turned to her, then its arms started swinging. It had eight of them. Each one was narrow and sickly looking, and each one carried either a sickle or a long, curved knife.
Ellen backed up several steps. It was an ugly, fierce thing, but it moved slow and they had it outnumbered.
"Attack it!" she called out. The monster's full attention was on her. Barry and Trevor could walk up and hack its arms off if they wanted. They could cause even more damage if they attacked it the same way they had attacked the training dummy yesterday.
Both stood frozen in place.
She couldn't blame them, but she still felt disappointed. They'd both put a lot of effort into showing off their strength during their training, yet when it came time to use that strength, they were both too scared to move.
She backed up more than thirty feet while the monster crept towards her, slashing its weapons at her the whole way. She'd never land an attack while it focused on her, but it moved too slow to ever catch up to her.
For a moment she almost felt safe, then the air filled with violet energy. Two magic circles went rocketing towards her. She sent them away with her shield, then ducked under two knives that slashed at her.
Two more sickles came for her head right after. Ellen repelled them both, but when the slashes came, she didn't have time to duck. One knife's cross guard crashed into her shoulder and launched her into the stone guardrail.
She bounced off the hard stone surface and lay face down. Her whole body ached, but she didn't have time to idle. The monster would cut her into chunks of meat too small to recognize if she gave it the chance.
She forced herself up only to discover that the monster had its back to her.
A poleaxe was wedged into its head, she noticed, and several swords stuck out of its body. She smiled. Barry and Trevor had snapped out of their frightened dazes to help her.
She charged forward and jammed her knife into the monster's soft body. In an instant her pain vanished, and she could move unhindered again.
That was her knife's power; its hidden aspect: it drained the life from anything it stabbed and gave it to the wielder. It wouldn't stop her from bleeding or repair a broken limb, but it would ease her pains and give her the stamina to fight forever so long as she had more targets to stab. It was the only knife like it in the entire world.
She pulled her knife back then aimed at one of the monster's sickly arms. A single swipe severed it from the body. The next one took two cuts. She swung as fast as she could. Barry and Trevor might've unfroze, but there was no telling how they'd react when the monster started hurling weapons at them.
Ellen tried to swing again, but a strong arm covered in green armor came at her from behind. It was wrapped around her torso in the blink of an eye.
"You've done enough for today," Brendon said. "It's time to let the experts do their job."
He lifted her off the ground and started carrying her away. Ellen tried to squirm free, her friends were still in danger, but her struggling only made Brendon tighten his hold. He soon squeezed her so hard she couldn't breathe, and only then did she finally relax.
Brendon set her down twenty feet from the monster, behind a woman with long, red hair and a blue uniform. Her weapons, two crimson swords with golden hilts, were two of the most pristine weapons she'd ever seen. They almost outshined her knife, and they were magnitudes nicer looking than Brendon's great axe, which she could see now was covered with cracks and dents.
"What about the other two?" the woman asked, her voice very direct.
"I can't get over there," Brendon said. "This is a good a time as any for them to learn to dodge."
The woman raised one of her weapons into the air. A burst of energy ensured, then a solid ring of crimson swords appeared and started swirling above her head. They spun so fast they stirred up a cloud of dirt around her.
Ellen studied her while also shielding her eyes from the dirt. She had to be the woman Ludendi spoke of during their first assessment, the woman whose attack she was mimicking. It was a good choice. There was at least three dozen magic swords under her control right now, and she didn't appear strained at all. If she could control that many weapons at once then she had to be at least as strong as her guardian's friends, if not stronger.
"There's just
one again," Brendon said, "and the kids already put a dent in it. Finish it off, Lindsey."
Lindsey thrust her sword forward, and the swirling ring of blades took off. It sailed straight into the monster, turning sideways as it approached, and shredded its body into hundreds of tiny black chunks of meat. It then passed between Barry and Trevor without touching either, flew over the guardrail and crash landed out in the plains.
Lindsey took a deep breath. "I was worried I'd hit one of those two. I'm glad they stayed still."
"You might've hurt them if you missed, but they'd be dead if you did nothing." Brendon gave her a hard pat on the back, then looked to Ellen. "You don't need a bath now, do you?"
"Stop saying things like that," Ellen complained.
Brendon shrugged. "I've seen people twice your age black out at the sight of a monster. I guess you're just the bravest little soldier around." He reached down and pinched Ellen's cheek then chuckled.
His metal gauntlet froze her skin, and the pinch hurt so bad she considered stabbing him with her knife to take the pain away, but it was ultimately a small price to pay compared to what her and her friends might've lost fighting the monster by themselves.
Barry and Trevor shambled towards her. Both looked dead and beaten. "Thanks for saving us," they said together, then they collapsed.
"You owe us for this," Lindsey said. "We're not going to ask for a lot. We just need you to keep the monster you saw a secret."
"So you want us to cover it up?" Trevor asked. "Isn't that... shouldn't everyone know what kind of danger they're in?"
"And who are you to tell us what we can talk about," Barry complained.
"We're a part of Galvin's Special Forces," Brendon said. "That's who we are." His voice became flat. "And it's not our decision. Galvin wants any monster sighting kept secret until we find out more."
"We can have you meet with Galvin and he'll explain it himself if you'd like," Lindsey offered, but Barry and Trevor both kept quiet.
Ellen stayed quiet as well. Three monsters in two days was nothing noteworthy, at least not compared to her old life, but this so called safe and peaceful dimension was becoming less safe and peaceful by the day.
"This is supposed to be a peaceful dimension," Lindsey said. "If people think that peace is over, their fear is going to cause more damage than any horde of monsters ever could. That's why we need you to stay quiet until we figure out where these monsters are coming from. It likely has something to do with the Fortress Guard team we haven't heard from since-"
"These are just Fortress Brigade kids," Brendon interrupted, "and they're still in their assessment period. They don't need to know all of this."
Lindsey shot him a dirty look. "Why are you acting so friendly with them if they're nobodies?"
"Showing a little humility isn't going to hurt you," Brendon said. "Besides, if they know what's good for them, they'll stay quiet."
"Galvin's right," Lindsey said. "You don't take your job very seriously."
Ellen watched the two of them as they drifted towards the stairs, still bickering over what seemed like trivial nuances. What was Brendon and Lindsey's relationship? They were too open with each other to be just teammates, but there was too big of an age gap between them for there to be anything intimate.
She stopped thinking about them when she noticed Barry and Trevor both beaming at her.
"So how did you get the special forces to come up here?" Barry asked.
"You made them appear just in time to save us," Trevor said.
"I didn't do anything," Ellen said. At least, she didn't remember doing anything.
"So which one of you is stronger?" Barry called out.
Brendon and Lindsey paused near the top of the stairs. They looked at Barry, then each other, then Barry again.
"We prefer to work together instead of competing," Lindsey said.
"That's true," Brendon said thoughtfully, "but I think if we fought it out, we both know who-"
Lindsey shoved his shoulder. "We have other work to do. Let's go."
They disappeared down the stairs.
Trevor sighed and headed for the stairs. "I don't have the energy for anything else tonight. I'm going home."
Barry followed. "Same here," he said, his voice strained.
Ellen put her knife away and went with them. Their performance wasn't great, but there was hope for them yet.
Chapter 8
Ellen woke up the next morning when the bell rang. The smell of smoke lingered in the air. There was a fire burning somewhere in her room. She shot upright.
"Did you sleep alright?" Ludendi asked. She was seated at the desk in the corner, her attention on a strange set of tools: a silver pan with melted wax inside, a bucket of water, a sort of canister made up of six long tubes, and a small wooden rack with two dozen candles hanging from it. "I started working early today. I hope I didn't wake you up."
"I didn't notice," Ellen said. All of those tools were Ludendi's candle making equipment, she realized now.
"Barry stopped by earlier and told me what happened last night. I'm really glad none of you were hurt." Ludendi quickly added, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone what happened." She stood up. "I need to pick up some more supplies. You can come with me, if you want."
"Okay," Ellen agreed.
She slid her shoes on, waited for Ludendi to pack up her candles, and followed her first to the cafeteria for breakfast, then across the fortress to a busy road lined with shops. She took her knife with her this time. Two monsters had already made it inside the fortress. There was no telling when another would show up.
Several of the major roads were starting to become familiar, but there were more alleyways and other narrow, snaking paths than she could ever hope to remember.
Whispers and mumbles about a monster attack popped up all over the fortress. Everyone was familiar with the monster that hit the dormitory, but no one seemed to know about the one on the wall. It was probably for the best.
"I don't think I've ever seen people act this scared before," Ludendi said. "All these attacks are really shaking everyone up. I hope they're over."
"Me too," Ellen said.
She looked up at the dark patch in the sky. It might've moved a little, but it didn't seem to be growing.
Ludendi looked up at it as well. "Do you know what that is?"
Ellen glanced at her, and Ludendi met her gaze and held it. She knew exactly what the patch meant, the dimension was starting to decay and would eventually die, but she didn't say anything. Brendon told her before she'd be removed from the fortress if she spoke about the patch, and on top of that, would it make any difference if she did tell anyone? They couldn't stop or even slow the decay. Knowing what it meant would only amplify everyone's fear.
She looked away. The whole issue made her uncomfortable. "I'm not sure."
"I'm sure it'll go away eventually," Ludendi said. She handed Ellen a small bundle of candles. "There's a shop right over there that sells wicks. Just tell them you're shopping for me and they'll know what to give you. I'm going up ahead."
Ellen peered in the direction Ludendi pointed her. There were shops on both sides of the road, none of which sold anything resembling a candle or a wick. Most didn't even have displays.
A smell in the air made her forget all about candles. It was the aroma of cooked meat. It was the first time she'd come across such a delightful smell inside the fortress.
It lured her towards a make-shift grill setup in front of one of the shops, where several cooked chunks of meat were roasting above a small fire.
The man watching over the grill eyed her and smiled. "Do you like what you see?"
"I've never seen food like this before," Ellen said. Her stomach suddenly felt very empty. She couldn't take her eyes off the meat.
"It's roasted monster. Most people can't cook them right, but I have more experience than everyone in the fortress combined! If you got something to offer me, I'll give you a great deal."
Her head told her to back away, there was something else she was supposed to be focusing on right now, but Ellen couldn't stop her arm. Before she knew it, she was offering the man her candles.
He accepted her offer. "Not what I had in mind, but it'll work." He placed the candles in a sack beside his grill, dug out two narrow sticks then skewered several pieces of meat onto each one. "Come back soon! And tell your friends!"
Ellen took the two skewers and wandered off. She bit off one piece of meat right away. It was hot and greasy and its spices massaged her taste buds in ways she didn't know were possible. It was almost too much to bear. Her eyes started watering up.
Ludendi caught up with her. "Did you find the store?"
"Um," Ellen mumbled, her mouth full of meat.
Ludendi looked at her, then to the meat, then gave her a crooked smile. "If you were my assistant I'd probably fire you, but since you're new here, I'll give you a break. Of course, you have to give me one of those." She snatched one of the skewers away before Ellen could protest. "This is amazing," she said after just one bite. "At least you have good taste."
The rest of the shopping went by much easier. There were other vendors selling meat and fruits and bread all over the fortress, but with her stomach full Ellen managed to ignore them. All the supplies Ludendi had her carry to their room as punishment for trading away the candles helped take her mind off food as well. They also made her arms ache.
The soreness faded on her way to the training hall. Barry and Trevor were there already.
"We're three days in and nobody's quit yet," Kilroy said, impressed. "I've had groups that fell apart after the first day, but you four look like you're really into this."
"I realized something last night," Barry said. "I was fighting a-"
"You mean you had a dream you were fighting," Trevor said.
"I had a dream I was fighting a huge monster with a bunch of knives and sickles," Barry said, his voice anxious but energetic.
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