Rift

POV: Kaycee

Kaycee felt the warmth of Darren's hand in hers and smiled softly as they walked together toward the breach. It seemed as though they would walk right through it and yet still be at the university, like the breach was nothing more than a bright, swirling light and not a doorway to an unknown place.

The closer they got to it, though, the more intense the feeling of the FLUX energy became. It was different from the energy of life she sensed all around her—in the grass, the trees, and the... flowers? There were flowers around them. Pretty flowers dotted the area where she had been standing moments ago. She shook her head, realizing it wasn't the time to think about flowers.

The FLUX energy felt rougher, less refined, and more chaotic. Kaycee slung her bow over her shoulder and reached out with her free hand toward the breach. She couldn't see it, but she could sense a kind of resistance, as if the two types of energy were battling against each other. The pushback felt like trying to force the north poles of two magnets together.

Darren and Kaycee stepped forward simultaneously, and the resistance gave way. She then felt a pull on her body, eerily similar to magnetism. She didn't let go of Darren's hand as they moved forward, the bright red light enveloping them both. She closed her eyes, but it did little to block out the extreme brilliance all around.

One more step and...

"Whoa..." was all she could say.

"Where are we?" Darren asked, clearly in as much awe as she was.

They were standing on what looked like solid ground, with pale yellow grass spread thinly across its surface. The land extended to their left and right as far as she could see, eventually meeting a massive, cloudy, semi-opaque wall behind them. On this side, the breach no longer appeared as a swirling red light; instead, it looked like part of the barrier was cracked in several places, as if struck repeatedly by a sledgehammer.

Kaycee couldn't gauge the exact distance, but directly opposite where they stood, another wall rose and stretched to the left and right, disappearing from sight in both directions. This wall was not only opposite in direction but also in color. While the one they had just passed through was a cloudy, milky white, the other was a dark, inky black. Small, jagged mountains loomed between them and the other wall. However, there was no one in sight.

Welcome to the Rift. This is a space connecting all other spaces and planes of existence.

"The Rift, huh?" Darren muttered, clearly speaking to EDS and seeing the same thing on his display that Kaycee was seeing on hers. "Where exactly is this place?"

EDS displayed the answer before her, even though she hadn't asked the question.

Thanks, EDS, she thought, knowing he could hear her.

Current levels of human comprehension leave no room for a truly panoptic understanding of the Rift. This space is the crossroads between every other created place where something exists, and if one searches in the right place, they may even find the doors to non-existence. I don't advise it, though.

"Where do we go..." Kaycee began to ask, but she immediately noticed she could already sense where the enemy was. She released Darren's hand, drew an arrow, and knocked it immediately. Though she had never used a bow before, she had felt drawn to it when EDS had shown her the weapons selection screen. Somehow, she just knew how to use it.

Maybe it's because I chose the Scout Spec? she wondered.

She started walking, eyes peeled for danger. The further they walked in, the more tense she became. She could feel the life in the grass beneath her feet, but there wasn't much plant life beyond that.

A few minutes passed in silence as they moved across the empty plain, the small mountains steadily growing larger. There was no wind or clouds, and though it looked like day, there was no sun she could see. In fact, there was nothing overhead except the vanishing point where the two separate barriers seemed to merge into one high above.

About half an hour later, they reached the base of the small mountains—more like large, rocky hills than actual mountains—and Kaycee began to hear something. She looked at Darren questioningly, and he nodded, indicating he heard it too. He pointed toward a small path several hundred feet long, leading up to the top of the nearest hill.

Kaycee nodded and began following him up the path, careful not to slip and lose her balance. She didn't know much about conflict or battle, but it seemed that height would be advantageous for using a bow. Several minutes passed in relative silence as they tried to keep whoever they had heard earlier from noticing them.

Finally, they reached the top of the rise and stopped to peek over. Not seeing anyone there, they both climbed up the rest of the way and found themselves on a mostly flat plateau, littered with upright rock pillars about as big around as large trees back home. The pillars stood like trees too, unmoving and sturdy. They varied in height, with some as tall as Kaycee and others several times taller.

Kaycee started forward with Darren right beside her, though now they moved even slower. She could sense someone, or something, ahead of them, but she could tell that whatever it was, it was down below somewhere. Still, the fear of being heard kept her edging slowly through the stone pillars.

The plateau seemed to be only a few hundred feet wide, and even though they were moving relatively slowly, it didn't take long to cover the distance. Soon enough, they reached the edge and peered over at what lay below.

She could now see the base of the inky black wall, where it met the ground, which was a dull gray color, as if it had no life in it. In fact, Kaycee couldn't feel any life there. She could still sense the invaders and the energy flowing through her own and Darren's bodies, animating them and giving them life. 

A small camp spread out below. There were a few tents with a small fire pit in the middle. It was the creatures themselves, though, that immediately drew Kaycee's attention. The sight of the creatures set her nerves on edge. She couldn't recall if she'd ever seen anything as creepy as what she was looking at just then.

It was a bit hard to tell from that distance, but the creatures resembled small, green monsters. They stood on two legs, but both their legs and arms were long; too long. Their bodies were unnaturally thin, and their heads were oddly large. Long, pointy ears rose from the crown of their heads, and their eyes were large and bulbous.

There were only eight of them, all gathered at the base of the black barrier, with stacks of weapons, burlap sacks, and wooden boxes taking up space nearby. She could see a large, cave-like opening in the wall near them, but couldn't see anything on the other side.

"What are they doing?" Kaycee asked.

"I don't know, but those might be the creepiest things I've ever seen," Darren replied.

"Agreed, they look like a mixture between a goblin and a skinwalker," Kaycee said, shuddering at the thought. "Do we just go down and attack them?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure what the best course of action here is," Darren admitted.

Before Kaycee had the chance to consider further, all of the creatures' heads snapped toward them at once.

"I think they know we're here," Darren said. "I'm not sure how everything works just yet, but I feel pretty confident for some reason." He hefted his spear, admiring it.

Seeing him now, Kaycee felt a surge of confidence too—not just in him, but in herself as well. She felt capable, as if none of this was really new. Her power knew this place and this enemy.

The creatures each grabbed a nearby weapon and charged toward them. Rather than just waiting for the creatures to reach the plateau, Kaycee took advantage of the range and pulled back the string on her bow. It felt like the most natural thing in the world. She took a deep breath, then let out a long exhale, releasing the arrow in the direction of the goblin-like creatures.

The arrow flew quickly and far, dipping toward the ground at just the right moment. Seconds later, it struck, piercing the rearmost creature in the head. She was too far away to hear any noise, but it seemed the other creatures didn't notice, as they didn't even turn around or acknowledge the death of their comrade.

"Good shot," Darren said, smiling broadly in her direction.

Kaycee felt her face grow hot and looked away, knocking another arrow and swiftly letting it fly. It too hit its mark, burying itself several inches deep in the head of one of the creatures. This time, she could make out what sounded like a scream of pain as the creature fell to the ground. They were much closer now than they had been, making quick work of the slope, which wasn't as steep as the side Darren and Kaycee had initially climbed up.

She didn't think it would take more than another minute before the creatures were upon them.

"They're getting close," Darren noted. "I'll take the lead and keep them off you, and you try to take them down with your bow as quickly as you can. Sound good?"

Kaycee nodded and stepped back, positioning herself beside one of the nearby stone pillars. Darren posted up a dozen or so feet in front of her, right where the goblin creatures would crest the hill.

"Here we go!" Darren shouted.

Kaycee narrowed her eyes, focusing on her task. She couldn't see the creatures anymore from where she was, but she knew they would be in sight within seconds.

All at once, they burst into view. Kaycee had already knocked another arrow and let it fly. It struck, taking out the creature furthest from Darren. Now that they were close enough, she could see they were only between four and five feet tall.

Darren wasted no time either, and Kaycee was almost taken aback by how he moved. He struck straight out with his spear, ending the life of the nearest creature. He immediately pulled the weapon back, slicing right with brutal accuracy.

Kaycee loosed another arrow, but it missed its target by a hair. She exhaled in frustration. It seems my aim isn't perfect after all. She drew and fired once more, this time skewering a creature through its neck. It fell to the ground, choking on its own blood.

Kaycee looked toward Darren just in time to see him decapitate the last remaining creature, its head rolling down the hill back the way the monsters had originally climbed up.

"Well, that was crazy," Darren said, turning to her. She quickly closed the distance between them, careful not to step in the monster blood.

"It wasn't too bad, though, right?" she asked. "If that's all we're needed for, maybe this won't be so difficult after all."

Suddenly, the ground began to shake, and a terrifying scream echoed through the air around them. Kaycee rushed to the edge of the plateau to look down at the opening in the black barrier.

Where the eight creatures they had just killed previously stood, now there were at least several dozen more. Behind them all, just having emerged from the opening and undoubtedly the source of the horrifying scream, was another eerie-looking creature. It resembled the small, gangly goblin creatures, but it was at least twice as tall and three times as wide. Even from up on the plateau, she could see that its body rippled with muscle.

"Looks like I spoke too soon," Kaycee murmured.