Forlorn Dimension

by Matthew Satterlee

Trevor grabbed her around her waist and pulled her away. Ludendi fought back at first, but gradually she settled down.

  "So what do we do now?" Barry asked. "Everything but our weapons was inside the cabin. We don't have any food or water or anything."

  "We'll stay here until the fire stops, then look around," Ellen said. Maybe somebody survived. That's what she hoped. They might even find out how the fire started.

  "I hope you're not thinking about digging around in the rubble. I already know what you're going to find, and it won't be pretty."

  Ellen quivered. They'd find burned up bodies. The thought didn't occur to her at first. She wished it hadn't occurred to her at all. "Once it's brighter, we'll go back to the fortress."

  The flames near the front of her cabin died down for just a second, and during that brief moment of calm, Julius charged out into the open. He ran forward a dozen steps then collapsed. His back was on fire. Ludendi and Trevor rushed to his side and started shoveling dirt onto him.

  "That sure is a surprise." Barry climbed to his feet and bolted towards Julius.

  Ellen stood up and followed him. They might've failed their mission, but they could still save Julius.

  Chapter 16

  Ellen looked down at Julius in awe. His clothes were singed all over and black marks covered his face and hands and back. How he'd survived so long inside a building consumed by flames was a mystery to her, but she was glad to see him alive.

  Her friends stood beside her. They looked just as surprised.

  "How did you survive?" Ludendi asked.

  "Lucky," Julius said weakly. He broke into a coughing fit.

  Ellen eyed the monster. Its body was charred now, but a few small patches of clean flesh still remained. "That monster might still have some life in it."

  Her friends nodded and picked up Julius. Barry grabbed his legs and Trevor and Ludendi his arms, then they hauled him towards the monster.

  "Stop," Julius begged. "It hurts to move. Let me rest."

  "Just bear with it," Ludendi said. "You'll feel a lot better in a minute."

  They set him down beside the monster. Ellen had to force her knife into his hand; he was too busy agonizing to listen to her. She also had to lift his hand and stab the monster for him.

  Julius's eyes opened wide. He ceased his writing and agonizing and stood up unhindered. "What sort of magic is this?" he asked, examining Ellen's knife.

  Ellen snatched her knife from his hand then backed away a few steps. She didn't know Julius that well. There was no telling how he'd react if he learned about her knife's power, especially once the reality of the cabin fire hit him. "You should feel better now. That's all that matters."

  "I feel alive again," Julius agreed. He ran his hands over the burn marks on his arms, then the ones on his back where his clothing had been burned away. His excitement waned. "It's no miracle, but..." He glanced at Ellen, then at Barry and Trevor and Ludendi. "Where is everyone else?"

  That was the question Ellen feared. She lowered her head in hopes that one of her friends would speak up, but they kept quiet as well.

  Julius looked to the two cabins then shouted "No, it can't be! We need to save them!" He took off running.

  Ellen chased after him. The fact that Julius had survived still amazed her. There was no way his friends had the same luck.

  Her friends ran with her. Together they formed a wall between Julius and the burning cabin and held him in place as he tried to force his way inside.

  "Just let me take one look," he pleaded. "If I survived then they might be alive as well. It's not too late!"

  "You can't," Ellen argued. There'd been enough deaths already. They didn't need another.

  But Julius was determined. It took her full strength and help from her friends to keep him back.

  The struggle ended when Barry charged in and tackled Julius to the ground. Ellen winced when they collided. It had to be a painful hit, Julius's whole body was covered in burns, but it was probably for the best.

  "There's nothing you can do," Ludendi said sadly. "The fact that you survived is a miracle. There's no way anyone else-"

  "But my friends," Julius mumbled. He sat upright, glanced at the cabin then burst into tears. His wailing drowned out the crackling flames. He lunged forward, latched onto Ellen and wept into her shoulder.

  Ellen held him gently. It was the least she could do after he had lost all his friends in one of the most awful ways she could imagine.

  Her friends stayed with her for a minute, watching silently. They moved away after Trevor said, "There might be another monster out there. The fire and his... crying might attract something else."

  "Let's take a look around," Ludendi said. "We don't need two surprises in one night."

  "We might as well," Barry said. "Who could sleep after all this?"

  They gathered their weapons and started patrolling the area.

  Ellen continued holding Julius; she didn't have much of a choice, not with him latched onto her so tight. Her shoulder was soon soaked with his tears.

  "You're not the only one who lost all their friends recently," she said after a while.

  His crying stopped. "Who else knows my misery? Is it you?"

  "A few weeks ago, my family and I were attacked by a gigantic monster," Ellen said. She quivered. She hated thinking about that night, but if the story helped bring Julius to his senses, she'd bear it. "They sent me away so I wouldn't get hurt. I don't know if they're alive, and even if they are, I don't think I'm ever going to see them again."

  "Weren't you devastated? How did you cope with your loss?"

  "Not very well," Ellen said with a small smile. "But I managed to make new friends. They can't replace my family, but having them around helps a lot."

  Julius released her, wiped his face clean and stood up. He then gazed into the burning cabin. "I was their leader. They'd bash my head in if they saw me acting like this." He glanced at the other cabin. "How did all this start?"

  "We don't know," Ellen said. "Barry and I smelled smoke and ran outside, then a monster with a burning club attacked our cabin."

  "That's when I woke up," Julius said, "surrounded by fire and brimstone. I thought it was merely a bad dream, but when the fire pinched me I didn't wake up." He turned to Ellen. "I thank you, Ellen, for your shoulder, your magic, and your kind words."

  He was going to need months or more likely years to fully recover from his loss, but at least she'd set him on the right path. "I don't mind," Ellen said.

  She tracked down her friends, then spent the next few hours wandering the mining site in search of monsters. There were none to find, much to her relief.

  The cabins continued to burn until the sky started turning orange.

  "We should head back to the fortress," Ellen said.

  "Yeah, definitely," Ludendi agreed. "We made it out here in less than a day. We can easily make it back in a day, especially if we don't have to wait for those wagons."

  "Before you head back," Julius said, "I'm sure we're all curious to know what caused this incident. If you can spare a few minutes, I'd like to look around."

  Ellen agreed, and Julius headed for the cabins. She was curious to know what had caused the fire as well, but not curious enough to dig through the rubble.

  Julius returned to their cabin first, dug his sword out of the wreckage, then headed towards the miners' cabin. After searching the rubble for a little bit and finding nothing, he finally went over and investigated the monster's club, where he found a melted torch stuck to the side.

  "I told both groups to pack away their torches and not light them during the night," he said, "but it seems not everyone took my warning seriously. The monster must've been drawn to the flame, and in its aloofness it managed to knock this torch onto its club, where it became stuck. That's my assessment."

  The fire was an accident, if Julius's investigation was correct, but Ellen still felt terrible. So much had been lost, and for absolutely nothing.

 
"It's hard to believe one little thing could cause so much damage," Ludendi said sadly.

  "We were so worried about monsters we forgot to worry about ourselves," Trevor said.

  Julius tossed the torch away then outstretched his arm and started concentrating. Sparks and flickers of violet energy swelled around his palm.

  "Are you leaving?" Barry asked.

  "There are penalties for abandoning a mission," Trevor said, "but you... you probably aren't worried."

  "I already suffered one of the harshest penalties imaginable last night," Julius said.

  "Well you know," Barry said thoughtfully, "if you really want a new group to stick with, we're still here."

  A red rift appeared beside Julius. He pulled his arm back then gave Barry a faint smile. "I'm honored, but I don't need to remind you that this dimension is dying. I see little reason to wait here for the end to fall on me. Now, if you four wanted to join me..."

  Ellen looked to her friends. They would have to leave the dimension eventually. Heading out now, while the real danger was still a ways off, wasn't such an awful idea.

  But her friends' faces were full of uncertainty. They weren't going anywhere.

  "It's not a bad idea," Ludendi said, "but I still have friends and family back in the fortress. I can't just leave them like this."

  "I have family as well," Trevor said. "It wouldn't be fair if I left them without a warning."

  "Why don't you just wait a bit?" Barry asked.

  Julius shook his head. "I apologize, but this dimension took everything from me and I can't bear it any longer. Wherever you four end up, I wish you the best of luck." He stepped into the rift. His body started fading away. "Perhaps we'll meet again someday."

  Ellen glanced at the dark tear in the sky. It had grown twice as wide during the night. The end was getting closer. It was only a matter of time before the whole sky became dark forever.

  "Let's go home," she said. Her friends agreed.

  The return trip went by quickly. It was still bright out when they reached the fortress.

  Ellen headed for the training hall. Her heart sped up with each step she took. She was their leader. Explaining the results of their mission was going to fall on her shoulders.

  The training hall soon came into view. She froze.

  Barry grabbed her arm and pulled. "We faced that ugly thing with the club together. We can face Kilroy. He's not half as bad."

  "You'll have to do most of the explaining," Ludendi said, "but we'll help when we can."

  "O-okay," Ellen said.

  "The real challenge is going to be facing the families," Trevor said. He sighed. "I'm glad that's not our job."

  Ellen froze again. Accident or not, they'd still been in charge of protecting the mining group. How could she ever face any of their friends or families after what had happened?

  But Barry pulled too hard for her to ignore. He dragged her all the way to the training hall then inside.

  Kilroy was there already. He studied her for a moment then asked, "What's wrong? Did something happen during your mission?"

  Too many things had happened, each one more awful than the last. Ellen didn't know where to start.

  "We-we lost our supplies," Ludendi said.

  Kilroy shook his head at her. "It's not the end of the world, but those supplies take a lot of time and effort to make. Try not to let it happen again." He pondered. "You were sent out with Julius and his team. Where are they now?"

  "They're going to be late," Barry said. "Very... very late."

  "They're not coming back," Trevor said bluntly. "Neither are any of the miners."

  Ellen cringed. He could've eased into the explanation, but instead he dove in headfirst. "J-Julius is alive," she said, "but he left the dimension." Her whole body trembled. "His team, and all the miners... There was a monster, and a fire. We're the only ones who made it back." She went on to explain the torch and Julius's findings.

  "It's a tragedy," Kilroy said afterwards, shaking his head. "There's not much more to say. What's worse is that you're not the only team to return with news like this."

  "So we're not the only ones who messed up?" Barry asked, sounding almost excited.

  "I can't give you the specifics, but yes, there are others who returned in just as bad of shape. I'm sure it's easy to do, but don't blame yourselves for this incident. Nobody can predict what sort of monster is going to crawl out of the dark or how they'll act after they appear."

  He was right, but Ellen couldn't shake her disappointment. Everyone she had been assigned to protect was gone now. The only reason her and her friends had survived was because she had followed Barry into the storage room.

  "Galvin recently decided to pull all of our teams back to the fortress, both those from the Fortress Brigade and the Fortress Guard," Kilroy said. "Your next mission, if the last one didn't make you want to quit, is going to involve finding those teams and sending them home. Most of them are out in the Primeval Forest. I don't believe your team has been there yet."

  Just hearing the word mission made Ellen uneasy. Could she really handle another one after the last had ended so horribly? Especially one that involved visiting that dreadful forest?

  "You'll leave the day after tomorrow," Kilroy said. "That's if you choose to stay. I won't blame you if you quit. You won't be the first team to call it quits recently." He pulled four coin pouches from his back pocket and handed them out. "I know you don't like our currency, but I'm sure there's something you can buy that'll cheer you up."

  Ellen accepted the pouch, slid it into her pocket then slunk outside. Her friends drifted passed her and went their separate ways. She thought about asking them their plans for their next mission, but they looked tired and miserable enough already.

  She planned to return to her room, but only made it a few steps before Mareem caught up with her.

  "I'm so glad you're alive, Ellen!" Mareem said.

  Ellen saw her coming this time and threw herself at her. After all the doom and despair she'd experienced recently, Mareem's merry presence was the greatest comfort she could imagine. She wrapped her arms around her, held her tight and buried her face in her warm shoulder. In an instant her dread started fading away.

  Mareem hugged her back and asked, "Um, is something wrong? You can tell me about it if you'd like. I'll listen."

  "No, it's nothing." Ellen released her and backed away. "I'm just glad to see you."

  "It doesn't sound like nothing, but if you don't want to talk about it then I won't force you."

  "Do you have a family?" Ellen asked.

  Mareem gave her a curious glance. "I do! A big one, too. A few of them are in the Fortress Brigade, just like you, but they've been talking about quitting. A few others used to be in the Fortress Guard, but they're retired now. And there are others..." She trailed off. "Why do you want to know?"

  "It's nothing," Ellen claimed. Mareem had someone to keep her safe after the dimension decayed away. That's what she wanted to know, and her curiosity was satisfied. "Sorry, but I can't visit you today. I didn't sleep at all last night."

  Mareem gave her a smile and waved goodbye. "Don't worry about it. I hope you sleep well!"

  Ellen headed for her room, but only made it as far as the courtyard before she ran into someone else she knew.

  It was the black haired boy. He charged out of an alleyway, his eyes focused on something behind him.

  She was too tired to move or dodge or do anything. The boy crashed into her. The impact knocked her over and left her dazed for a moment. When she got back onto her feet, the boy had her knife in his hands.

  "This isn't a normal weapon," he said. "It's too light and too perfect. What is it really?"

  Ellen picked up the boy's mace, which had landed beside her. "It's mine," she said. "Give it to me."

  "Look how clean it is. It doesn't look like it's ever been used before, but I bet you've butchered dozens of people with it."

  She was far too exhausted for some
thing like this. "Give it back," she growled.

  "Did you get this from the Fortress Brigade?" the boy asked. "Or did you find it somewhere?"

  A few strangers had stopped to observe their conflict. Ellen saw them, and ignored them. "Do you remember the way I cut you when we first met? I'm going to do something much worse if you don't give me my knife." Their first meeting had been an accident, but what she planned to do if he didn't listen would be deliberate.

  A startled look appeared on the boy's face. He handed her knife back, then she dropped his mace near his feet.

  "I'm in the Fortress Brigade as well," he said. "I hope we don't end up on the same team."

  Ellen put her knife away and returned to her room.

  She tried to sleep in late the next day, but the bell kept ringing until she gave in and climbed out of bed. At least when the fortress was finally destroyed that bell wouldn't be able to torment her any longer.

  "We just can't catch a break," Ludendi said in a yawn.

  A tinge of regret lingered in Ellen's head. She wasn't on good terms with the black haired boy before, but now he no doubt hated her more than ever. If they ever met again, it wasn't going to be a pleasant experience for either of them.

  Ludendi climbed out of bed. "So what do you think about our next mission? Are you going?"

  "I don't know," Ellen said.

  "I think I'm going," Ludendi said. She was quite lively. It was as if the events from their last mission had never happened. "Even more teams are going to end up just like Julius's team if they stay out in the wilderness."

  "But we might end up like them if we go out there again."

  Ludendi pondered. "That's true... but we're a pretty good team, don't you think? And if you're there to be our shield and maybe lend us your knife if we get hurt, we should be alright."

  "I'm not just your shield," Ellen growled, with more anger than she had intended.

  Ludendi startled. "Sorry... but you have to admit your shield is really good at saving lives. Anyway, let's see what Barry and Trevor have to say. If they're not going then I'm definitely staying home."

  Ellen followed her downstairs to the lobby, where they ran into Barry and Trevor. Both were on their way to ask them the same question.