Leo slowly stood up, gazing at the floating girl.
She had blue eyes, short blonde hair that reached her shoulders, and a small cluster of freckles across her nose and cheeks.
Dried mud clung to her cheek
Suddenly, another boy appeared from behind a tree.
He had spiky black hair. Dried blood rested at the tips
His eyes were constantly scanning.
Upon their arrival, Leo tensed.
"We're harmless," the girl said while descending.
"You're one of us."
"What do you mean, one of us?" Leo asked, his hands trembling
"You woke up in this world with no memories and things trying to kill you, right?" the spiky-haired boy asked.
He began walking closer.
"If so, you're one of us," he added.
The boy walked over to examine the monster Leo had killed.
"Jeez... bro, what are you?" he said while looking at the creature.
He squinted at the mushy head, slowly backing away
Leo looked at the girl
"What the hell is this place?" Leo asked.
"We're not really sure either," she said
She descended slowly toward Leo
He didn't move
But ever so slightly his fist clenched
"I'm Autumn," she said, holding out her hand.
She looked at his bloody clenched hand
She lowered it slowly.
"Leo," he replied.
She forced a small smile.
"And he's Thomas," she added.
Thomas didn't look at them
His eyes were wide
Watching as the monster's wing tried to flap
He turned quickly, walking over to the group
"That thing is still twitching" he said
Just as Thomas got in range...
It popped up
Everyone froze, looking above their heads
Leo's eyes widened
A digital notification board appeared above them
ALL PARTY MEMBERS FOUND - 3 OF 3
"Three of three? This doesn't make any sense." Autumn squinted
"What do you mean?" Leo asked.
"I could've sworn it said four," she replied
"Huh?" Leo replied, confused.
"She's right," Thomas said. "When we met, it said 'two of four,' and now it says 'three of three.'"
"Could they have...?" Autumn asked quietly.
The three exchanged glances
No one said it
"It's possible," Thomas answered.
"Then let's make sure that's not us," Leo said.
The notification disappeared.
"Let's go," Leo said, pointing behind him.
"What? No way, we literally just came from there," Thomas said.
"We explored that side already," Autumn added.
"It's the end of the island," Thomas said.
Leo turned and looked across the gorge.
He scratched his head
Sighing dramatically
"Ugh... gotta get across again," he grumbled.
He wiped his bloodied hand on his white shorts
It was only then he realized he was shirtless
The scar on his back had stopped stinging too.
Even the blood had dried
Thomas and Autumn exchanged glances after getting a proper look at Leo
"Let's go," Leo muttered
"Oh, right," Autumn said, shaking her head a few times
She floated up and flew over to Thomas
She lifted him slowly while crossing the gorge.
Just as they were halfway
Thomas looked down
"Holy- that's deep!!" Thomas shouted
"Hey, careful! If I fall, I'll haunt you!"
"Stop being a baby," Autumn said.
After crossing with Thomas, she turned to get Leo, only to see him backing up slowly.
"No! Don't!" Autumn shouted.
Leo took a few steps back
Eyes looking straight past her
Leo dashed forward
Wind whipping past his ears
Then he jumped
Both Autumn and Thomas' eyes widened.
It was as if time slowed
Leo's arms and legs swaying so freely
His shoulder-length hair swaying behind him
Almost like he'd make it
Until he started falling.
"Oh shit," Thomas muttered
OOF!
Leo slammed his chest into the edge of the cliff, barely grabbing hold.
Everyone heard the cliff's edge crack on impact
A tiny trickle of blood leaked from his lips
Leo groaned, pulling himself up
But the dirt crumbled. Leo fell.
Immediately
Autumn flew up and shot downward
The force of her movement caused Thomas to cover his eyes as dust blew around him
Just as Leo was about to hit the bottom
She caught him
She slowly brought him up
"You're one crazy dude," Thomas said.
"Hey! Quit being so reckless!" Autumn scolded.
"I was just testing my abilities," Leo said, wiping the blood from his lip
"It didn't even hurt... much" he added
Soon, Leo started leading them back toward the path he found
He crossed the forest he ran through
Even the spot where he dodged the crashing lion
The trees where the lion crashed were broken
Even the vegetation was torn apart
Then they reached the small house where the family was slaughtered
Flies were already surrounding them
Only a matter of time before the birds arrived
Neither of them wanted to look as they passed
Autumn slowly hugged herself, looking at the ground
Leo looked briefly before touching his scar
...
The sun was finally setting.
They were walking along the path Leo found
It was mostly clear
But on both sides was a huge canopy of trees
Little sunlight seeped through as it faded
There was light mist around them
So far the forest was...
Quiet
Autumn was still hugging herself, her head low
Leo was leading
Thomas at the back
"Hey, I think I know why we're here."
Thomas said after minutes of silence.
"Why?" Leo asked
"Thomas, we are not in your... fucking dream!" She finally shouted
Her eyes weren't steady
"This isn't even funny anymore."
Leo stopped walking and stared at Thomas.
A low unimpressed gaze
"Really?" Leo asked.
Autumn walked past Leo
As he stood still looking at Thomas
"H-hey, I was just joking" he stuttered passing Leo
"I was just tryna lighten the mood" he muttered
As Leo walked behind him
Autumn was in front, quiet
Leo didn't reply
He walked calmly
"You know... we could use a little light," Leo finally said.
Thomas raised his right hand
A ball of fire appeared
...
After a few minutes, it became pitch-black.
The breeze whistled softly
Carrying a lot of leaves
"Hey... is it just me, or is it getting chilly?" Autumn asked, shivering slightly
"Not really," Leo said, waving away leaves from his face
...
"H-hey, I could make it warmer for you," Thomas said
Autumn looked at him
His hair blowing backwards, flat on his head
Flame flickering in hand
Thomas then forced a smile
She flinched.
Leo watching all this unfold, looked at them both
Then raised an eyebrow at Thomas when their eyes met
Before anything more was said
Lightning crackled
Lighting up the forest momentarily
The trio jumped
Instantly, rain poured
Thomas' flames died instantly
A soft sizzle before the last wisp of smoke rose from his fingertips
The forest was now pitch black
"Fuck..." Thomas muttered
Lightning struck again.
The rain got worse.
Wind whipped through the trees, lightning striking every few seconds.
"IT'S A STORM!" Autumn shouted.
The three of them ran along the path searching for shelter.
A tree ahead exploded as lightning struck it, falling right in front of Leo.
He tensed
If he was just a second faster...
They ran off again
They kept running until they spotted a mansion on a hill. A flash of lightning revealed its dark silhouette.
"LOOK!" Leo shouted over the rain.
They ran up the hill, panting. Autumn banged on the door but got no response.
Thomas cupped his hands.
"HEY! SOMEONE OPEN UP!"
Nothing.
Autumn kept knocking.
"OUT OF THE WAY!" Leo yelled. He stepped back to ram the door-
It flung open, and he crashed inside.
Autumn and Thomas stepped in slowly.
"That's weird," Autumn said.
The door slammed shut behind them.
A tall, pale man with slick black hair stood there, wearing an old-fashioned tuxedo.
He smiled unnaturally wide, lips reaching the corners of his face.
"Welcome to the Fuerth residence," he said.
"It's been a while since I've had visitors-oh my, you're all soaking wet."
They looked down at the puddle forming beneath them.
"We're so sorry, sir, we didn't-"
"It's alright," the man said, smiling.
Autumn was cut off.
"O-Okay..." Thomas said nervously.
"You're welcome to stay the night," the man continued.
He led them upstairs and told them to change for dinner.
Funny how he had three spare rooms
Noted
But no one mentioned it
After showering
They went into their rooms
In Leo's room, there was a set of old-timey clothes on the bed.
"Great..." he muttered.
He came downstairs wearing gray shorts, a long-sleeved shirt, and a vest.
He went into the dining room
Thomas stifled a laugh.
"Now that you're all here," the man said, "why don't we dig in?"
They dug in quickly, starving.
Five minutes in, Autumn spoke
"So, sir... we never caught your name,"
"Oh? Name?" The man tapped his chin.
"Alwich. Alwich Fuerth."
"O-Okay..." Autumn said softly.
"So do you live here alone?" Thomas asked.
"Alone? No. I'm never truly alone. You have company... whether you know it or not," Alwich said.
"Uh-company? What do you mean?" Thomas asked.
Alwich's smile didn't move. "You'll find out soon enough."
He looked calmly at them
Almost like he didn't care what they thought
Confidence?
Autumn froze mid-bite and set her fork down slowly.
Leo stopped poking at his vegetables.
"What the hell does that mean?!" Leo snapped.
Autumn suddenly stood.
"I'm sorry, but we have to go."
"But it's dark and raining... it's not safe," the man said.
"Yeah, we gotta go," Thomas said quickly, getting up.
"STAY!" the man pleaded.
The trio moved toward the exit.
"Just a few more minutes!" Alwich begged, running behind them-
"Ah, fuck it!" He said.
Alwich stopped smiling
He stopped running too
But the trio didn't stop
The door burst open.
A lightning flash revealed a towering humanoid figure.
Gray skin. Bald head. Cracks across its face. Glowing yellow eyes.
At least six-foot-five
Autumn screamed as the creature stepped inside.
"Leaving so soon?" it asked, voice dripping with malice. Its grin stretched wide.
The trio froze.
"I told you all to wait," Alwich said from behind, blocking them in.
Leo looked around a few times before
clenching his fists.
"I don't know what you guys want-
BUT I'M NOT STAYING HERE!" he shouted, charging.
His fist shot toward the creature–but then his vision blurred
In that split second
He saw two of the monsters
It easily deflected the punch and slammed a fist into Leo's gut.
A shockwave rattled the mansion, shattering glass.
Leo fell to his knees, coughing blood.
Even the lightning looked blurry
He tried to stay up but collapsed, unconscious.
A surge of electricity shot through Autumn.
She screamed and fell.
Thomas stared in horror.
Alwich had a glove on his hand
Sizzling softly
Thomas looked around
Rain falling, thunder in the distance
For a split second, his visions blurred too
But he shook it off
"YOU BASTARD!" Thomas roared.
Flames erupted from his palm as he blasted toward Alwich, slamming him into a cupboard.
He spun and hurled a fireball at the creature's face.
The monster roared and swiped him through the wooden wall.
Thomas hit the floor hard.
He forced himself to his knees, climbing the stairs.
Halfway up, his vision blurred again.
He fell backward-right in front of the monster.
He couldn't move, but he could see the ceiling
And the creature crouching over him, grinning.
"Ah... it's finally working on you now. About damn time," it hissed.
Thomas shook his head, trying to focus.
The monster's face flickered and split into three again.
Darkness closed in.
End