My Sister, Nova

Ellie turned around and her hair blew my way, but something unfamiliar about her character caused me to pause for a moment, studying her character. After looking at her clothing, I could see she must've changed her style.

"New clothes?" I asked, but she didn't respond, she only walked away. I shrugged it off and turned back to Red.

"Are you hunting with Charlie again today?" I asked her.

She shook her head, "No, he's taking Drake out to test some new weaponry. Why?" I motioned my hand for her to follow me, breaking off from the rest of the group to go onto the beach due west of our home.

Once we reached the new area, she looked around. "What's the point of this?" She asked, but I stood silent, pointing back towards the forest.

"That statue, there's something I need to tell you about it," I admitted to her. I was nervous, but she only paused.

"Should I sit down for this?" She asked me. She sat down, putting her hands against the bottom of her chin to listen.

"That statue had stuff in it. I know I said it didn't before, but it's time that I am honest with you. I plan to tell Carl and Dani as well, but I thought it should be you first. I think you're a simple person who won't look at me differently for hiding it." I paused, waiting to see her reaction.

"I think you're overthinking this. We are all entitled to our own secrets, I find it sweet of you to share them. So, what is it?" She smiled, helping me feel a little better about keeping this a secret.

"I'm not the only one with this," I said, tapping the stone in my hand.

"There are others. I'm not sure how many, but inside the statue were pictures of the other ones. People like me." I added on.

She nodded, paying no attention to our new surroundings. She adjusted her legs, waiting for me to continue.

"They talked about a better place. One I could reach with hard work, but I have no idea how to get there exactly. I'm telling you because I was hoping you'd help me out in getting there. We can figure out where he's talking about." I revealed to her.

Red stopped me, "Of course. My only question is, there's a better place we can reach, but why do Lia and Dante come from another place that's deemed better than this one? Murderers? That little girl got our friend and tried to set us all on fire, why the hell would I want to live with her?" Red asked me.

"That's where I started to think about different paths. The place the picture was taken… there were strange buildings, one made of the same shiny metal as my sword. They were definitely better than ours. I think there are several other places we don't know about. This 'better place' could be anywhere, maybe Dante and Lia aren't from that place." I debated with Red. She was bringing up some really solid points.

Red shook her head. "If that better place was here, wouldn't they have stopped people like them?" She asked me.

"Do you remember back when Lia told us about the swamp to our right? And there was a swamp there? She must've been there before, but why would she come from the North if she referred us to that place?" I asked.

Red started drawing a tiny map in the sand, pointing to each of the landmarks.

"We're right here, the ocean surrounds us on our south and west side. Assuming the east side was as much of a trap as Lia made for us in our base, that means that we're surrounded by water and bad people… so where the hell is that better place they refer to?" I didn't know the answer to her question, but she was making a compelling point.

"Then the east is our only option in terms of the future. We need to explore what's over there, but if there are dangerous people over there like Lia, then we're cornered… unless we sail west or south." I paused, remembering that day a month ago.

"No… we can't go west. That day when I held Domin as he died, I felt gazes from the west. Gazes filled with malice, just like Lia." Red looked up towards the ocean.

"Where did you feel them? It's water for as far as our eyes can see." From where I exactly remembered, I pointed across the water. It seemed far-fetched that there were people over there, but I know I felt something.

"They must be far, but I know what I felt. That means our only option is south." I told her.

"I trust you, but if we go south forever and it's only water, then we'd die out there. We need another option, but we're cornered. Would Ellie know about it?" I guess I could ask her, but I haven't even seen her since we battled.

"It's possible. Next time I see her, I'll ask." I paused, thinking of another topic to speak with Red about.

"Well, I guess since you told me your secret, I need to tell you mine, right?" She said, standing up.

"I don't need you to, but if you insist on payback, I won't ignore you," I told her. I turned back to the forest and began walking.

"I remember something from my past. Something very vague, but I know something." She told me.

"What is it?!" I asked, stopping in my tracks and turning to her.

"My sister… I have a vague memory of her. I remember her name, but nothing else comes to mind. She has a cute smile, and she carries herself bravely. I think she has hair like mine, I don't remember entirely, but her name was 'Nova'…" She paused, looking out to the ocean.

"I wonder if she's in that better place. I wonder if Nova remembers me." Red pondered to herself. This was huge for everybody. The past can be remembered. A mystery for a month now, our pasts finally matter.

"Your secret is safe with me, and I'll help you find Nova no matter what." Red smiled and we both walked into the forest.

"You're late!" Dani yelled out. We both caught her walking in this direction, she must've been coming to get us.

"Then I'll get to work, sorry Dani." Red sarcastically bowed as an apology and ran off to the beach. Dani's stare told me she was waiting for an apology, but I had different plans.

"Hey Dani, do you have any secrets?" Her face turned bright red, and she looked away.

"N-No! What about you?!" She asked me.

---

"I see… well, I'm not mad at you about that! That just gives me hope for the future!" I had explained everything I just told Red to her.

"Lia came from the North, but we don't know if she came from the northeast or northwest, do we? After all, if east is a trap, then she probably came from the northeast, if I had to guess. So shouldn't northwest be a safe bet?" I sat in shock at Dani's ideas. They were… probably the best I've heard yet.

"You're right! Northwest is a safe direction… so we'll just have to strengthen defenses on the eastern front." I told her. Dani was excited about her idea and we both returned to the beach.

"Alright, top priority today is to help out whoever needs it, sound good?" She asked me. Dani high-fived me and we went our separate ways.

For the rest of the day, I still hadn't seen Ellie, but near dinner time when the sun began to set, I walked with Red over to the statue, where I could see Ellie standing, looking up at it.

"There you are! I have some questions for you, Ellie." I yelled out to her. Ellie didn't turn around at first, but after walking closer, she finally did.

"There's a storm, Sky. It's on the horizon. I'd get into your homes and hide for the rest of your life." Both Red and I paused.

"Ellie… what are you saying?" I put my hand on the handle of my sword, stepping in front of Red. I started to get a churning feeling in my stomach.

"I'm sorry. You need to hide as well as you can. I have to leave. Sky… you need to run as far as you can east towards my house. I can't say anything else." Ellie ran deeper into the forest, leaving both Red and I confused.

"What was she on about?!" Red yelled her question at me, but I had no idea either.

"I've never seen Ellie that afraid of anything… what was she talking about?" I asked myself. We waited around, beginning to follow the footsteps Ellie left behind in the snow.

"We should head back for dinner, but I can't eat with this feeling," Red said, holding her stomach. She felt it too then.

As we followed in her footsteps, we noticed how abnormal the amount changed over time. First, there was Ellie's, then it got mixed in with so many footprints that it was hard to tell where hers went.

"We need to head back… we'll listen to her. You get everybody to hide, and I'll run-" Before I could finish, I was cut off by another alert.

[SYSTEM ALERT: DANGER! DANGER! DANGER!]

I grabbed Red's arm with my left hand and yanked her backward, tripping her on the floor. Just as my system had warned, a dagger flew right into where her chest would've been, but even as careful as I could be, two of the fingers on my left hand fell into the snow. My eyes opened wide and I kicked up dirt running away.