A month earlier
Inside a weathered hangar, a tram car hung from a thick cable.
Three people were standing below the tram, each with drastically different attire.
There was a man wearing a red HAZMAT suit, but the hood was pulled down to show his face. He had a beaked nose, and patches of rotten hair marked his head.
Facing him were two women. One was completely covered in an amalgamation of feathers, fur, flesh, teeth, bone, and trees. Only her head and tangled black hair were exposed, as well as the tips of her fingers through her gloves.
Next to her was Athalia, casually dressed in the same brown garments as usual. However, they looked less comfortable now, as the pockets were filled to bursting. Her auburn hair was tied back with a strand of sinew, courtesy of Enza.
The man was making a speech to the two of them.
"—And with your agreement—signed with a drop of blood and a single tear—the offering will be made, and you will be closed in the tram. By signing, you fully understand that the offering cannot be undone, all protocols must be followed to the best of your ability during the expedition, and the tram door cannot be opened by staff once closed."
Athalia and Enza nodded. "Yes, Fince, do it now."
Fince had unusually long fingernails.
With one swift movement, he used them to make a small cut on both Explorer's foreheads. When drops of blood started to bead up, he wiped them off with his hand.
He pulled an onion from a zippered pocket on his suit, and handed it to Enza. She crushed it between her palms. A few moments later, tears welled up in both Enza and Athalia's eyes. They leaned forward and each let a single tear fall onto the man's outstretched palm. He proceeded to wipe the mixture of blood and tears across both his eyelids.
"It's sealed, then. Good luck…"
Enza and Athalia grinned at him and climbed to the top of the tram. The hatch was already open. They flopped down on the red squishy seats.
From her pocket, Athalia pulled four small clumps of wax that had been shaped into earplugs. She tossed a pair to Enza, who crammed them in to get as snug a fit as possible.
"Sleep tight, and don't let the bedbugs bite."
"What's a bedbug?"
Athalia never got her answer; Enza was already unconscious.
Outside the tram, Fince wore a grim expression.
He walked to the side of the hangar and climbed a staircase that was tucked in the shadows.
It didn't lead to a full second floor but a small opening high up on the outer wall. It faced the abyss. There was a long wooden plank extending a few hundred feet out, supported underneath by diagonal beams from the warehouse wall. There was something far out on the plank that couldn't be seen from where Fince was.
He stepped out onto the plank. It was a sheer cliff right where the warehouse ended, and nothing could be seen but a void of darkness.
He took careful yet familiar steps towards the end of the plank. As he approached, he saw something that had been tied onto the very end.
Two things, actually.
Two black boxes. It's about seven by three feet each.
The man pulled a handsaw from behind his back.
Shkk shkk shkk shkk
CRRRRACK
The weakened plank finally couldn't hold the weight and snapped off…
Fince peered over the edge.
An absolute nothing.
But darkness is an incredible source of imagination.
Two pairs of eyes flickered from the abyss.
Green and brown…
His eye twitched.
A loud mechanical crunch came from inside the hangar. This was followed by a series of creaks, groans, and metallic screams from the mechanism that held up the tram.
With a final screech, the cable slowly started moving the tram into the void…
Fince took a seat on the plank, his legs dangling over the edge.
He watched as the tram groaned past him and disappeared into the unknown.
Right now, this is a closed world.
A place where no one is watching.
It's too cold for my liking.
He zipped the suit over his head and walked back along the plank into the hangar.
***
3 days later
Athalia and Enza both wore grim expressions. Neither of them were speaking to each other; both of them were quietly counting under their breath.
They suddenly made eye contact with each other.
"Close."
"Yeah…"
Through the copper walls of the tram, they could hear distant gusts of wind.
Both of them stood up.
Enza dug her hand somewhere deep into her suit and tore out a large femur bone, one that was much larger than a human's. With one hand, she snapped the femur into four equal pieces. She shoved two of them back into her armor with a squelch and held one in each hand.
Athalia reached into her sleeve and unwrapped the Measuring Anchor.
The two of them got into a crouched position and waited tensely. Each of them gripped the edge of their chair.
BAM!
The tram suddenly jerked to a halt.
Enza and Athalia kept their balance and immediately looked up towards the hatch.
It flew open on its own, slamming into the tram ceiling.
Enza made eye contact with Athalia and angled her chin towards the opening.
Athalia nodded and jumped through the hatch while Enza waited inside.
She took a deep breath of fresh, crisp air and enjoyed the feeling of a cool breeze on her skin.
In front of her was a forest of ash with no end in sight.
Athalia had always found birch trees rather creepy; she thought the black spots looked like eyes. Luckily, these were so burnt you could barely see the spots.
When the wind was waving their branches back and forth, Athalia thought it was like they were dancing in a circle around her.
She scanned the area but luckily didn't find anything out of order.
She turned around and faced the direction the tram had come from. It had stopped right on the edge of a sheer cliff, where the forest abruptly started. Beyond the cliff was an impenetrable void.
Athalia craned her neck towards the hatch.
"Clear."
Enza sighed with relief from inside the tram.
"Great. Let's go to sleep."
Athalia climbed back inside, shutting the hatch behind her.
The two passed out on the fluffy red seats in seconds.
They slept undisturbed for a full eleven hours. Athalia was the first to stretch her arms and yawn.
She looked at Enza, who was still out like a light.
I don't know how she's comfortable with all that armor on…
Unfortunately, she couldn't let her sleep. There was much to be accomplished.
Enza groaned as she was shaken awake.
"Still clear?" she mumbled.
"I haven't checked."
"Well, go do it already…"
She flopped back over and closed her eyes.
Athalia took out a glass of ice water. She removed an ice cube and placed it on Enza's forehead.
She dodged out of the way as a hand clawed through the air at her face.
Enza mumbled a curse under her breath as she stood up.
"You've checked your personal inventory?"
Athalia quickly patted herself down, then nodded in affirmation.
Enza gestured at the hatch.
Athalia gave the wheel a few spins.
Click!
She pushed it open and peeked her head out.
The sky was gray.
There are those who can't find beauty in a gray sky.
This sky was just as bright as any blue one.
Just because the color changes slightly, does that make it any less beautiful? Just because it's a slightly different frequency?
Neither Athalia nor Enza thought so. But when they looked at this gray sky, they couldn't help but be biased against it.
When you're inside and looking out a window, you might be able to think of the sky's color as just a different coat of paint to decorate your world.
When you're outside, the sky can finally meet the ground. It can become your reality.
"Overcast…"
Enza chuckled in agreement.
Athalia swung her head back and forth.
"But there still isn't anything else abnormal."
Enza cracked a smile. She was about to say something when Athalia cut her off.
"Don't jinx it."
Enza inclined her head apologetically.
Athalia jumped off the tram and landed near a tree. It had a red marking on it. There were more red markings on certain trees behind it, marking a trail into the distance.
The trees here were like that sky.
Trees they certainly were.
Yet many would hesitate to call them beautiful, if they would even call them trees at all.
"Husks of life…"
The first group to land here had used that name.
It's not like they had ever seen green trees for real. Only in drawings… but they still had an impression of how a forest was supposed to be, and this wasn't it.
And perhaps this forest wasn't entirely like the sky. The skylight lights up the world, no matter what color it might be.
But a forest is surely meant to be brimming with all manners of life.
If someone who remembered those forests came here, they would surely feel sad.
Neither Athalia nor Enza were sad.
They were excited.
For they knew this time they would see a green forest. Not now, but it would come…
For now, the only color to be seen came from the pieces of fabric that marked the trees.
Enza climbed up to the tram roof, joining Athalia.
"Feeling refreshed?"
"I sure am. If only that would ensure our safety…"
Athalia glanced up at the sky again.
To her, the most beautiful thing was its border.
Not in any kind of interpretive way.
The line that separated the two skies.
From black to blue. It was abrupt. A perfectly straight color divide, right at the point the gorge ended. Someone would definitely need a ruler for that, unless they were exceptionally talented.
She looked away. No distractions. It's overcast.
"Enza, you can lead first."
Enza frowned. "Why do you say that?"
"I have something I'd like to test out. It won't work if you're looking."
"Should I be scared?"
Athalia forced a laugh. "Of course not. Please. I've never hurt you."
Saying you never have is different from saying you never would…
Enza muttered under her breath but obliged. "I prefer to lead here anyway."
"Just don't get too comfortable, because it's your strong suit. That's part of why Explorers often change up the roles; remember that!"
"That's rich, coming from you," Enza retorted.
She lifted her deer-skull boot behind her like she was checking if she had stepped in something. Dozens of spiders ran up her pant leg in fright. Then, she reached into the boot's tread and pulled out a pebble that had been stuck.
She squinted and threw the pebble down hard at a spot of black ash right below the platform.
There wasn't a reaction.
She threw a few more pebbles in a radius of a few feet around the first. Still, nothing happened.
Enza and Athalia smiled in unison.
"Looks like the first jump won't be that big, eh?"
Enza nodded in agreement.
The ring she had formed was only large enough for one person. She carefully hopped down and landed right in the center.
Her eyes locked onto one of the nearby trees with orange tape wrapped around it. She tossed a pebble near its base. The ground around the tree collapsed completely, taking the pebble along with it into the chasm.
She turned to an adjacent marked tree and repeated the process. There wasn't any kind of reaction this time. She marked out another path and tiptoed across it. As she walked, she picked up the stones she had left behind.
She turned and looked back up at Athalia, who was still on the top of the tram. "Are you coming?"
Athalia nodded and jumped down to where Enza had previously been. "Yeah, sorry. I was checking the air."
Enza knew that Athalia's nose was trustworthy, so she took this seriously. "Notice anything off?"
Athalia glanced up at the sky. "The acid smells fifteen minutes away, perhaps closer. But we haven't seen any signs of movement, which means it surely can't rain that soon…"
Enza frowned. "That is indeed unusual. What do you think we should do?"
Athalia shrugged. "The Dance of Instruments will start no matter what. They're probably just sleepy. Now, keep going."
They navigated from tree to tree, the ash to either side dropping off as they went.
Red…
Red…
Red…
Enza was completely focused on looking for the marked trees.
Red…
Red…
Green…
Green?
Her eyebrows twitched upwards.