Despite the small size of her house, Briana had found a way to fit all three of us.
There was only one bedroom, but a large sofa in the living room could hold two people. She had suggested I take the bedroom, to give Aria more comfort... but Aria had immediately refused.
— It doesn't bother me at all, she said, perfectly sure of herself.
Briana didn't push it.
And so here I am, lying on this sofa next to Aria, practically pressed against her. I can hear her breathing — calm, steady. Her shoulder brushes mine.
I've never slept this close to anyone, let alone a girl this beautiful. The proximity unsettles me. I've always been an only child, with little experience of other people... so sharing a space this intimate shakes me more than I want to admit.
The fire in the hearth crackles faintly. The silence of the village feels too heavy, almost suffocating.
I'm just about to drift off when I hear her voice — soft, almost a whisper.
— Casimir?
I turn my head toward her.
— Yeah?
She shifts slightly, eyes open in the dim light.
— Do you think any of this is actually real?
— What?
— We're about to face someone we know almost nothing about... Maybe he doesn't even exist. And yet I'm scared like it's completely real.
I breathe out quietly.
— Me too. It terrifies me, knowing we're going to have to push through places like this... and that we could die at any moment. But I don't want to be dead before I understand why the Founder told us we were criminals.
Without warning, she moves closer and grabs my back. The gesture is simple, but it dissolves what little wariness I had left.
— I'm glad I ended up with you. You're in the same situation I am, and it shows that I can count on you. You're a good person.
I smile faintly.
— We're all in the same mess. If we want to get through it, we have to trust each other. Whether we loved our old lives or not... no one deserves this.
She nods slowly.
— And now here we are about to face an infected creature... I'm really afraid of the worst, Casimir.
— With me around, he won't get anywhere near you. You'll see how I handle it.
She lets out a quiet snicker.
— You better not let him get close to me, or I'm running!
— Your wish is my command, madame.
I give her a little military salute, and it works. Her laughter chases the weight off our shoulders, just for a moment.
The conversation winds down gently. We share a little of our lives from before — small anecdotes, unfinished dreams — until sleep finally carries us away.
Day 2. 8:00 AM.
When I open my eyes, morning light is already filtering through the curtains, and Briana's shouts jolt me out of sleep in an instant.
10:30 AM.
— No, you're going to get a rebound hit like that!
— Remember to step back, Casimir!
— Aim for the blind spots, Aria!
Morning broke to the noise of training. Brad is teaching me to fight hand-to-hand, Born is working with Aria on her archery. And the loudest voice is Briana's, shouting instructions from the edge of the field without ever stopping.
I block a strike, dodge — but Brad is merciless. He chains moves together, tests me, pushes me to my limit.
Aria, for her part, applies herself. Every arrow targets a moving dummy. She's improving fast. Too fast, even.
— Not bad for a first session, says Briana. Keep this up and we can start the raid earlier than planned.
Born approaches Aria during the break.
— From what we know, the infection has corrupted all of the chief's senses... but it's the parasite that controls his body. You absolutely must aim for the vital points.
They talk at length, even through the meal. I watch them. Her role is crucial — it's her shots that will let us neutralize him. I'm nothing but a distraction.
But deep down, that suits me fine. I've always been the one sent to the front line.
After the meal, Briana walks us through the territory. A light mist drifts above the trees, and golden spores float lazily in the still air.
She stops and points out the two ends of the territory.
— This zone is enclosed by four walls. Six hours of walking from one end to the other. The two great gates — east and west — have been sealed long before the infection. Thirty years for the eastern one, twenty for the western.
— Sealed how? I ask.
— Whenever an enemy takes hold of a territory, the gates connecting it to its neighbors close. Like a quarantine. Adjacent territories become cut off, isolated... until the enemy is defeated.
She pauses, eyes drifting toward the horizon.
— Some believe these gates will reopen once the chief is gone. As for me... I don't know what to believe anymore. It's been too long.
I stare at the two great wooden and stone structures in the distance. Cut off from everything for too long. I understand now why these men had been waiting for people from the outside for so long.
The rest of the territory is nothing but desolation — mushrooms, twisted trees, luminous spores. And yet it all radiates a strange beauty, almost melancholy.
— Alright, you two. One last training session for today.
Walking back to the training ground, I turn to Aria.
— Once all of this is over... what's going to happen to all these people?
She thinks for a moment, eyes on the village houses in the distance.
— I get the feeling they're real people... but that they have no awareness of where they truly are. I suppose they'll stay here forever.
— I see. Thanks.
I say nothing more. But her answer sits in my throat for a long time.
Day 3.
— Aria, you've come a really long way, says Born. That was flawless.
— Thank you, Born. That's because of you.
Briana stands straight, gaze fixed. When she speaks, everyone goes quiet.
— The time has come. We are finally going to defeat this infection that took our chief from us... and our brother.
My heart races.
— Why do you have weapons? I ask. I thought it was supposed to be just the two of us facing him.
— What do you take us for? Briana replies. We're not going to let you do the dirty work alone. It's our territory at stake.
Her answer reassures me more than I want to admit.
We move out together: Born, Brad, Briana, Aria, and me. Brad has put on a light suit of armor. The others carry daggers tucked at their belts.
— The others stayed in the village, says Briana as we walk. In case something happens to us...
— Don't say that, Aria cuts in. We're going to beat him.
— We'll see. We've arrived.
The whitened mushrooms are there... but something is off.
— These are the tracks? I murmur.
Briana narrows her eyes.
— Yes... but there are too many of them.
I look around. At first, there had only been a few. Now they're everywhere — on the trunks, on the ground, even on the rocks.
— It looks like he's covering his tracks, says Aria, tense.
— Or drawing us in, Brad corrects.
A shiver runs through me.
The wind picks up slightly. The spores shift direction.
Then... nothing.
Complete silence. Even the insects are gone.
— Wait, murmurs Born.
I look down.
The white mushrooms... are gone. All of them. Vanished, as if they had never existed.
— He's seen us, Briana says flatly.
Too late.
A sound cuts through the air. Something bursts out from behind Briana.
— Briana!!
— Get back!!
A tentacle drives through her forearm. She screams — then, without a single second's hesitation, pulls out her dagger and severs her own forearm before the infection can spread. Blood spatters the ground.
— Aria, shoot for his head! Born cries.
— Got it!
The arrow flies and finds its mark. A monstrous roar shakes the clearing.
Abb.
He is no longer a man. His body is covered in mushrooms, his skin rotting, his eyes empty and white. Tentacles burst from every part of him, thrashing like snakes.
I run, strike. My fist meets his jaw with a dry, brutal crack.
— That's it, kid! Briana shouts from the ground.
Another tentacle lashes toward me, but Brad severs it with a clean stroke.
— Don't worry, Casimir! We're right here!
I'm gasping. The air reeks of rotting flesh. The spores swirl in every direction, as if the forest itself is in a panic.
— Now that he's focused on you, our plan can begin!
I run in the opposite direction from Aria, as planned.
— Aria, aim for the back of his neck! Born yells.
An arrow. A shriek. The monster staggers.
But suddenly, he charges toward Aria. Too fast. Too close.
I understand that we won't stop him in time.
Her voice comes back to me. "I'm glad I ended up with you... I can count on you."
There is no way she dies here.
— Aria, get down! Briana screams.
— I can't—
A howl tears through the air.
A shadow drops between Aria and the monster. A spear drives through the creature with almost inhuman force. And through the mist, a voice rings out — a voice Briana recognizes at once:
— I thought I recognized your voice, sis...
Briana's eyes go wide.
— It's... it's not possible.
— Bikao... you're alive?!
The missing brother. The one they had believed lost forever.
He's here. Alive.
— I'll explain later, he says. It's not over!
The fight resumes — violent, savage. Bikao dodges a blow, strikes back, then shouts toward Aria:
— Shoot him in the heart when I give the word!
— Understood!
But Abb is losing his mind. His tentacles multiply. Bikao steps back, stumbles. The monster charges toward Aria again — faster than before. There's nothing anyone can do.
— You're not touching her.
I run without thinking. My fist crashes into his jaw with a sharp crack. I feel my bones vibrate, my breath burning. My body had reacted on its own, as if it had always known exactly what to do at this precise moment.
For the first time, I'm not fighting to survive.
I'm fighting to protect someone.
— Aria, now! Bikao shouts.
The arrow is released.
It drives through his chest.
The monster collapses. Still.
Silence.
Briana approaches carefully, dagger in hand.
— We're safe... he's dead.
Two deep rumbles roll from somewhere in the distance.
BOOM.
BOOM.
I raise my head. Far away, to the east and to the west, the two great gates begin to open slowly — for the first time in decades. The sound rolls beneath my feet like an earthquake.
Briana stares at them, unmoving. For once, she says nothing.
Then:
— Thank you, Casimir.
Aria throws herself at me, tears in her eyes. Her body trembles against mine.
— Thank you. A thousand times, thank you. I could see death coming.
I wrap my arms around her.
— Last night, you told me you could count on me. When I saw you in danger... I understood that I didn't want to lose you.
As I say the words, I feel my eyes blur.
Maybe from exhaustion.
Maybe from relief.
Or maybe from something I don't quite dare to name yet.