Ep.34 Strangers in the Dark

The world exploded back into existence with a violent lurch. Portal travel, as it turned out, felt like being torn apart and reassembled—a fact I would have appreciated knowing beforehand. My stomach roiled as reality solidified around us, and I fought the urge to empty its contents onto the ground.

We materialized in a forest clearing under a star-strewn sky, the three of us sprawled in a tangle of limbs and groans. The portal snapped shut behind us with a sound like thunder, leaving us in near-total darkness. The sudden absence of its ethereal light left dancing spots in my vision as my eyes struggled to adjust.

"Everyone alive?" I managed to croak out, trying to orient myself. My ribs screamed in protest as I pushed myself to my knees, the healing Ms. Vera had performed only partially addressing our injuries.

"Define 'alive,'" Rowan muttered from somewhere to my left. I heard him shuffling in the grass, followed by a pained hiss. "Because I feel like I've been trampled by a herd of wild horses."

Maya remained silent, which sent a spike of worry through my chest. "Maya?"

"I'm here," she finally responded, her voice barely a whisper. In the dim starlight, I could make out her silhouette as she sat up, one hand still absently rubbing her throat where Ms. Vera's fingers had left angry bruises. The memory of her gasping for air, of life nearly being squeezed out of her, flashed through my mind, and I had to suppress a surge of rage.

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, details of our surroundings began to emerge. We were in a small clearing surrounded by towering trees whose species I didn't recognize. Their bark seemed to shimmer faintly in the starlight, and their leaves whispered secrets in a breeze I couldn't feel. This was old forest—the kind that had seen centuries pass and held mysteries in its depths.

"Any idea where we are?" Rowan asked, finally managing to get to his feet. He swayed slightly, and I moved to steady him.

"Not a clue," I admitted. "Ms. Vera said she'd send us to the farthest town she could reach, but—" I cut myself off as the events of the past hour came crashing back. The overheard conversation, the fight, the revelations about my supposed sealed powers, Maya's near-death, the cryptic warnings about the Order... it all swirled in my mind like a toxic brew.

"We need to move," Maya said suddenly, her voice stronger now but carrying an edge I'd never heard before. "If what Ms. Vera said is true, if they're really coming..." She didn't need to finish the thought.

"She's right," I agreed, trying to push aside my confusion and focus on immediate survival. "We need to find shelter, get our bearings, and figure out our next move. But first—" I turned to face them both, barely visible in the starlight, "—are you two okay? Really okay?"

The silence that followed my question spoke volumes. None of us were okay. How could we be? Our world had just been shattered, our trusted teacher had tried to kill Maya, and we'd learned we were being hunted by some mysterious organization for reasons we didn't understand.

"I can walk," Rowan finally offered, which wasn't really an answer but was probably the best we could hope for at the moment.

"My throat hurts," Maya said flatly, "but I can breathe. I can fight if I need to." There was something different in her voice now—a hardness that hadn't been there before. The trauma of betrayal had left its mark.

I nodded, then remembered they might not be able to see it clearly in the darkness. "Okay. We stick together, watch each other's backs. First priority is finding civilization—"

A twig snapped somewhere in the darkness beyond our clearing, and we all froze. The forest had gone completely silent, the way nature does when a predator is near. I felt Maya and Rowan move closer, our backs forming a triangle as we faced the darkness around us.

"So," Rowan whispered, a tremor in his voice, "anyone else think Ms. Vera might have miscalculated just how 'far' this place was from our pursuers?"

As if in answer, something large moved in the shadows between the trees, and I realized our night was far from over.