"It's a shame that he died," Ludendi said, "but I'd really like to know what killed him. Do you think it's still nearby?"
"It has to be something small enough to hide in the grass," Trevor said. "I've been watching our surroundings all day, but..." He lowered his head. "I'm still new to this. I'm sure I've missed a lot."
Ellen glanced back at her friends, who were all tense and on edge. "We've made a lot of noise and nothing's shown up," she said, hoping to calm them down. "I don't think there's anything nearby."
Barry responded to her attempt at comfort by tearing his sword out of its sheath and unstrapping his shield from his backpack. "I'm not taking any chances."
"I'll keep searching," Trevor promised. "I'm going to watch every inch of these plains."
"We should all be keeping an eye out," Ludendi said, then she drew her knives.
Ellen faced forward. They were probably being overreactive, but at the same time, she didn't feel any compulsion to put her knife away.
None of her friends spoke for hours. Despite their heightened alertness, the plains remained calm and quiet. The grass shook every now and then, but only because a gentle breeze swept through it.
"I don't know what killed that man," Ludendi said after a while, "but I doubt it followed us this far." She put her knives away.
"I'm still not taking any chances," Barry said. "If it is following us, someone's going to get an axe in them. Probably me."
"What makes you think a monster is going to attack you first? You're so slow with that backpack on you're probably the most harmless one here. Even without the backpack you're not much better."
"It's just a hunch," Barry said with a shrug.
"Monsters usually don't stalk anyone," Ellen said, "especially not across the distance we travelled today."
Her friends seemed to relax, but they still didn't speak much for the rest of the day.
Once the sky started turning dark, she led them off the makeshift path and headed for a thick cluster of tall gray rocks that stuck out of the ground. A narrow crevice on the side led to a small encampment with a dirt floor.
They were well hidden, so once they'd settled down she sent Barry out to find wood then helped him build a fire.
"Are you sure this is okay?" Barry asked.
"It's alright," Ellen assured him. "There's no way a monster can see us from outside. The smoke might lure something towards these rocks, but it won't be able to find its way in here."
She sat down beside the fire and started unrolling her sleeping bag. Her friends did the same.
"I kind of wish a monster would crawl in here," Ludendi said. "Then we could cut it up and cook it."
"I'm sure there's already one lurking nearby," Trevor said, "but it's not going to show up while we're awake. It's going to wait until we're asleep."
"It's not like I can sleep on this ground," Ludendi said, undaunted. "At least I'll be able to hear it coming."
But she did fall asleep. So did Barry and Trevor. Ellen was the last one awake, much to her surprise, and she was the last one to wake up the next morning. She opened her eyes just in time to see her friends leaving the encampment.
She quickly packed up her sleeping bag and followed.
"That looks way worse than it did yesterday," Ludendi said from outside.
"Maybe I was wrong," Trevor said. "We don't have years left. We might not even have one year left."
Ellen emerged from the crevice to find them gazing up at the sky. They were looking at the dark patch, she had no doubt. The alarm in their voices told her it had grown, but she couldn't bring herself to look.
"Did you see it?" Barry asked her. "It looks like something's trying to tear the sky open."
"Look at it, Ellen," Ludendi urged.
Ellen forced herself to look up at the sky. She was already feeling glum, but the sight before her made everything worse.
The dark patch had grown into a long tear that reached all the way down to the horizon. It had to be dozens of miles long, if not hundreds.
"I see it," Ellen mumbled. She wanted to be mad at the dark patch, or rather, the dark tear for expanding so much, but all she could feel was dread. The peaceful times in this dimension were coming to an end and they were coming to an end soon.
"Even if we do have to leave," Ludendi said warmly, "we'll still be friends. That patch might tear the dimension apart, but it's not going to tear us apart."
"I can't come up with such sappy things so early in the morning," Trevor said with a yawn, "but I think you're right. And if we can survive this mission then I'm sure we can survive without the fortress."
Barry started marching away. "Remember what Ellen said before: even if our dimension is falling apart, we still have to do our job."
Ludendi and Trevor both agreed and hurried after him.
Her dread vanished so fast Ellen couldn't remember it ever having existed in the first place. The fortress had only been her home for a few weeks. It had been her friends' home for their entire lives. If they weren't upset about losing it then she wasn't in any position to complain.
She darted after them and took the lead. Another long stretch of grassy plains lay ahead.
Ludendi was quick to announce when they passed the halfway point of their mission, which happened after three hours, and not long after that, Trevor spotted a peculiarly placed tree not far from the path of trampled grass. It was the only tree for miles. It leaves and branches cast a shadow over a small patch of grass that was cut so low no monster could possibly hide in it.
"It looks like the perfect place for lunch," he said.
It was hard to call it perfect when there was no meat vendor nearby, but the tree was likely one of the safer spots they'd find in the plains. "Let's take a break there," Ellen said.
Once they arrived she sat down with her back against the tree. Ludendi and Trevor sat down beside her, then Barry handed out the bread and water and joined them. "I hope all our missions are like this," he said. "We get to tell everyone we're risking our lives to protect the fortress, and all we have to do is walk around in the grass for a couple days."
"This is nice," Ellen agreed. "It's too bad we can't stay like this forever." Her family had some downtime during their hunts, but they never had any moments of real peace. The end of one battle was nothing more than the prologue to another battle they hadn't found yet. It was a lifestyle she didn't miss.
"I wouldn't mind having more missions like this one," Ludendi said, "but there's that forest behind us. I really don't like how it looks. I'm sure we're going to end up inside it eventually."
Barry finished his lunch first then started packing up. As he finished, a breeze swept through the area. It wasn't that strong, but it still knocked him off balance, probably because of his heavy backpack. He stumbled all the way to the edge of the clearing, where he tripped and landed on his side. The contents of his backpack spilled into the tall grass.
"You better not have lost our food," Ludendi complained.
"Our water is even more important," Trevor said, his voice raised. "We're not going to last long out here if we have nothing to drink."
They darted passed Barry and started scouring the grass for the lost supplies.
"I didn't fall on my sword, or our axe," Barry said, annoyed. "Thanks for asking." He heaved himself up and looked to Ellen. "Get your attacks in now while I'm vulnerable."
He looked more discouraged than usual. "It was an accident," Ellen said earnestly. "We're not going to starve just because you tripped."
For a second Barry looked like he might shed a tear. "It's going to look bad if we have to go home early," he said. "Let's see what we can find."
Ellen agreed, then they searched.
One flask of water had broken open and spilled into the dirt, but all the food survived and what seemed like all the other supplies turned up after a few minutes.
"I hope that's everything," Ludendi said. "We're going to end up spending another night out here if we do
n't hurry. Let's get going already."
She hurried off. Trevor followed.
Ellen wanted to go with them, but Barry called out to her first. "Our box of matches is still missing," he said. "Can you help me look for it? It can't be that far."
Ellen nodded and started searching. She scanned the tall grass first, found nothing, then dropped to her hands and knees and looked closer. She moved fast. This was the perfect opportunity for something to leap out hiding and stick an axe in her.
"That's the only thing we're missing," Barry said. "After we find-"
Something happened. It went by so quickly Ellen couldn't tell what exactly. It started with a sharp pain in her ankle, which was followed by a panicked yelp from Barry and ended with him landing on top of her. Her elbows almost buckled when his full weight crashed down on her. His chest rested against her back and his face her neck.
Barry put his hands on the ground beside her hands and pushed some of his weight off of her, but he didn't move too far from her body. "Sorry about that," he said. "I wasn't looking, and I think I stepped on you." He paused. "I didn't really notice before, but you have really cute hair."
"T-thanks," Ellen said, cautious as to why he chose this specific time to say something about her hair.
His hands crept right up beside her hands, lingered for a moment, then moved on top of them.
"What are you doing?" Ellen asked, her voice tiny.
Barry wove his fingers in between hers. "You don't mind, do you?"
Ellen shook her head. She did enjoy being close to Barry, but this was a few steps further than she was accustomed to.
"What are you two doing?" Ludendi shouted. "Don't tell me you're-"
Ellen couldn't see her. She didn't want to see her, not in her current predicament.
"We were just enjoying each other's company," Barry said.
"In a place like this?" Ludendi made a disgusted sound. "You know, the fortress guards can probably see-" She sighed. "Trevor and I are going to look around. You two can do whatever you want, we won't be watching."
Barry pulled his hands away, but his hips remained exactly where they were: pressed against Ellen's backside. "If they're giving us a moment alone," he said with a snicker, "we might as well do something with it. What do you think?"
"Um...!" Ellen's heart sped up. This wasn't why she had joined the Fortress Brigade, but at the same time, she did enjoy Barry's company. "What were you thinking?" she asked, her voice tiny.
"Nothing specific," Barry said, "but I did have a few ideas."
Ellen was curious to see what he had mind, but Barry didn't express those ideas. A shriek in the distance caused him to pull away.
"I think that was Ludendi," he said. He stood up and took off running.
Ellen hurried after him. A monster had finally found them, she had no doubt. Her real concern was how much damage, or worse yet, how many fatalities it had caused.
But there were none, much to her relief. She found Ludendi and Trevor on the other side of a small hill. Trevor stood with the blade of his poleaxe wedged inside a small, red creature with a dozen tiny legs sticking out of the shell on its back. Ludendi sat behind him, clenching the bleeding wound on her upper arm. It wasn't a pretty wound, but it didn't look fatal or even debilitating.
"It's really not that bad," Ludendi said, her voice strained. "Just help me bandage it up and I'll be alright." She eyed Barry and snapped, "You better not have lost our bandages!"
Barry took off running back the other way. "They're still in my backpack. Hold on!"
Ellen reached for her knife, but was hesitant to pull it from its sheath. It was her fault Ludendi was in pain right now. She wanted to help, but how would her friends react once they learned about her knife's power?
Barry soon returned with a bag full of medical supplies, which Trevor used to clean and cover up Ludendi's wound.
"You're really good at that," Barry said afterwards.
"I learned a lot about bandages right after I started practicing with my poleaxe," Trevor said.
Her wound wasn't bleeding anymore, but Ludendi still looked strained. "It stings really bad," she said, "but I'll survive."
Trevor turned to the monster, which was still twitching despite the poleaxe wedged inside its body. He pulled his weapon free and started winding up an attack.
"Wait," Ellen called out, and Trevor paused. "Leave it alone for a second." She pulled her knife from its sheath and offered it to Ludendi. It was the least she could after all the times Ludendi had helped her.
Ludendi looked confused. "What do you want me to do with that?"
"Stick it into that monster. It'll make you feel better."
"We already got our revenge, but if you say so." Ludendi took the knife, and despite not yet having experienced its power, she already looked surprised. "This is really light. I figured something this big would be heavier."
Her steps were shaky and cautious as she approached the monster, but once she stuck the knife into its head, she moved as if her body was brand new, which wasn't far from the case.
"That really did make me feel better! This is a strange knife you have, Ellen."
"It drains the life out of anything it stabs and gives it to the holder," Ellen said.
She felt a twinge of regret. She was completely unarmed. If her friends wanted to keep her knife, there was little she could do to stop them.
But Ludendi offered her knife back. "I don't know where you found a weapon like this," she said, "but I'm glad you have it."
"It's really unique," Ellen agreed. She took her knife back and breathed a sigh of relief. Ludendi had a chance to keep her weapon, and she didn't.
Barry let out a long, drawn-out "Oh!" then nodded. "So that's why you stabbed that monster in the foot the other day. I knew you were hiding something."
This was the second time her friends had caught her lying to them. Ellen looked away, embarrassed. "I don't like telling others about my knife. I'm worried they might try to take it away from me."
"We're not going to steal it," Barry scoffed. "It's a neat toy, but it's never going to cause as much damage as a real weapon." He held his sword up proudly.
"I'd probably get myself killed trying to fight with such a small weapon," Trevor said, "and I doubt it can bring the dead back to life."
"I'd much rather use my own knives," Ludendi said. "Of course, you do have to let us borrow it if we get hurt."
Their reactions knocked the fear and doubt clear out of her. "O-okay," Ellen agreed.
"So what happened with you two?" Ludendi said. "Did you, you know..."
Barry tsk'ed and kicked the ground. "We weren't really going to do anything. I just fell in a strange position and thought it was funny."
"I'm sure you just fell," Ludendi scoffed. "Like I believe that."
"You did make yourself into quite a joke, however," Trevor added.
"Hey, shut up!" Barry retorted. "At least we didn't get caught off guard by a wimpy little monster."
Trevor and Ludendi's expressions turned serious.
"We weren't caught off guard," Ludendi said. "We found it crawling around and decided to play with it a bit."
"But it was a lot stronger than it looked," Trevor added. "We should've killed it right away, but instead we let it live, and, well-" He gestured to Ludendi's bandages.
Barry relaxed. "We all acted pretty reckless just now. Let's just pretend this whole thing never happened and promise to do better next time."
"Sounds good to me," Ludendi said.
"That's probably for the best," Trevor said.
"Okay," Ellen said eagerly. None of them were innocent, but none of them had to get hurt again so long as they learned from their mistakes.
Her enthusiasm only lasted a moment. They were just barely halfway done with their mission and there was no telling what else might be lurking in the plains, especially with the decay spreading so quickly.
Chapter 13
The missing box of matches
turned up after a minute of searching, then Ellen hurried her friends back to the path of trampled grass. She moved quicker than ever. Her only concern right now was finishing their mission before another unexpected turn of events slowed them down or stopped them for good.
She kept up the quickened pace until the sky started turning dark, then led her friends to a campsite Ludendi had suggested. It was a small, flat patch of dirt surrounded by a tall ring of boulders.
She slept easily. Not only did her friends not mention having a fire, which was a risky thing in such an open area, they fell in together and went to sleep without a single complaint.
Morning soon came, and she kept up the same pace.
"We're making really good time now," Ludendi said, her eyes on her maps. "I thought my arm was going to slow us down, but it hasn't been hurting at all."
Trevor studied her bandage. "But it has been bleeding. I guess we can't expect a magic knife to fix all of our problems."
Hours passed by without issue. The grassy plains didn't offer up a single monster nor rift nor other chance encounter.
The main road leading out of the fortress came into view as the sky started turning dark.
"Can we finish this tonight?" Ludendi pleaded. "We'll probably have to stumble around in the dark for a bit, but it'll be worth it if we can sleep in our real beds."
"Sounds good to me," Barry said. "I'll carry someone if I have to." He glanced at Ellen. "I'll even carry someone if I don't have to."
"Let's hurry," Ellen said. The plains had been mostly kind to them, but she sorely missed her bed and the safety of the fortress walls.
"There's another rift open near the end of the road," Trevor said with his usual meekness. "I don't see anyone nearby, and I don't see anyone on the road."
"Do you think another person came to this dimension and died?" Ludendi asked. "Two people in three days seems like a lot."
"Maybe it was another Fortress Brigade group," Barry said. "They saw how much walking they had to do and bailed out."
"Why would they do something like that?" Ludendi scoffed. "This dimension isn't perfect, but I'm sure the others are far worse."
Forlorn Dimension Page 12
