The Wasteland

Kael had been traveling for what felt like hours—kilometers of barren wasteland stretching endlessly in every direction. 

The horizon remained unchanged, a flat, oppressive line that offered no promise of progress. 

A faint mountain range shimmered on the edge of his vision, but no matter how many steps he took, the jagged peaks never seemed to get any closer. They were an illusion. Just like everything else.

His eyes dropped to the tablet in his hand. 

The words blinked on the screen: Proceed ahead. 

He gritted his teeth. That could mean anything. How much further? How long before he reached… what? This was all so pointless.

The night deepened, the air thick with silence. There was no sound except for his footsteps crunching on the cracked earth beneath him. 

His breath came in shallow gasps as the cold began to settle into his bones. He pulled his jacket tighter, but it did little to stave off the creeping chill that gnawed at him. Despite the freezing temperature, beads of sweat clung to his forehead, dripping down his face in a strange contradiction—cold and heat waging war inside his body.

His heart beat too fast, too erratically, as if it, too, was struggling to make sense of the growing tension. The wasteland stretched on forever, the emptiness pressing in from all sides.

He tightened his grip on the tablet, the screen lighting up again. Proceed ahead.

"Hello?" Kael's voice felt small against the vast, oppressive silence of the wasteland. 

It felt… wrong. The sound of his voice echoed in his mind, but there was no reply. No rustling of wind, no distant animal call, nothing but the vast emptiness stretching out before him. Was there no life here? No creatures lurking in the shadows? Why was this planet so… empty?

A sudden, guttural howl sliced through the stillness, sharp and primal. 

Kael froze, his heart skipping a beat. The sound came from far off—too far to pinpoint, but it was unmistakable. His hand instinctively tightened around the tablet as he scanned the horizon, his eyes darting from side to side.

Was it an animal? Another person?

His body tensed, and for a moment, he considered the possibility that whatever was out there might be hunting him. The howl echoed again, closer this time.

The tablet buzzed in his hand, a harsh, mechanical vibration that pulled him out of his thoughts. He glanced down at the screen, half-expecting another set of orders.

Obstruction ahead. Take a seventy-kilometer detour to the right.

Kael's brows furrowed in disbelief. Seventy kilometers? To avoid what? The howl? Or was it something worse? 

He let out a dry laugh, the sound bitter in his throat. 

"You're joking, right?" His voice cracked slightly, exhaustion creeping into his bones. He'd been walking for what felt like an eternity, the weight of the night pressing on him with each step. "No way am I doing that. I'll keep going ahead if that's fine with you."

The tablet buzzed again, more urgently this time. A warning. Or a command? He didn't care. Whatever obstruction lay in his path, he'd deal with it. The thought of taking a detour for some unknown reason made his skin crawl.

The howl grew louder, more frantic, but still distant enough that Kael couldn't make out its origin. His chest tightened as he glanced toward the dark horizon, his instincts prickling. He had to keep moving.

Nothing was going to stop him now. Not even the tablet. If he had to follow orders, he would at least make his own way.

Kael pressed forward, each step purposeful, boots sinking slightly into the dust-covered ground. 

The air was heavy, and the longer he walked, the more he began to feel like the planet itself was swallowing him whole. Every footfall felt heavier than the last, but he ignored the weight, determined to push on.

Warning. Imminent death ahead.

Kael's jaw tightened. The warning was too familiar now. Just another cryptic message, another attempt to control him.

He wasn't going to turn back.No way.

But as his boots pressed deeper into the soil, something shifted beneath him. The ground began to tremble, lightly at first, then with increasing intensity. 

Kael's breath hitched. He stopped dead in his tracks, his instincts screaming that something was wrong. The vibrations grew stronger, and the air felt charged, as if the very earth beneath him was alive.

He wasn't alone.

Something was moving in the distance. Fast. Too fast.

Kael's eyes scanned the horizon, heart racing as the distant shadows shifted unnaturally. At first, it was hard to tell—was it just the wind playing tricks on him? But then, he saw it. 

Red eyes.

Glowing. Watching.

The creature's silhouette emerged from the darkness, massive and distorted, a hulking figure that seemed to materialize out of the very night itself. Its eyes glowed like burning embers in the vast, black void, and its low growl rumbled in the air, deep and primal. It was getting closer.

It's coming towards me, Kael realized, his blood running cold. He took a wary step back, his fingers instinctively curling into fists. The snarls of the creature pierced the stillness, growing louder, more frenzied as it closed in.

A beast. Massive. Hungry. And it was coming straight for him.

Kael's mind raced, adrenaline flooding his system. He was alone. He was unarmed. The tablet's warning wasn't enough. There was no time to think. Only to act.

Nothing was going to stop him now. Not even the tablet. If he had to follow orders, he would at least make his own way.

Kael moved forward, boots silent against the dusty terrain.

Warning. Imminent death ahead. The tablet buzzed warningly.

The ground began to shake, and he stopped in his tracks. Something was moving in the distance. And fast. 

It's coming towards me, Kael realized, taking a wary step back. Red eyes glowed in the darkness, and the animal's snarls could be heard even from far away.

The animal lunged forward, its jaws gaping wide, saliva dripping as it charged at Kael with terrifying speed. 

He braced himself, every muscle in his body coiling like a spring, waiting for impact. There was no way he could outrun it. No way he could fight it.

He closed his eyes for a split second, heart hammering in his chest.

Then—

A sharp, resonating noise split the air, and before Kael could react, something struck the creature in the side of the head. 

The beast's snarl turned into a horrified shriek as it was violently thrown to the ground, crashing into the dust with a deafening thud. The impact sent shockwaves through the air, and a cloud of dust erupted around them, momentarily obscuring the scene.

Kael stumbled back, his breath caught in his throat. When the dust settled, he gasped.

Three figures stood around the fallen creature, their stances confident and calm. 

One of them, a tall figure with a hood pulled low, was crouched beside the animal's limp body. A long arrow protruded from the side of its head, and the figure was carefully pulling it free, the sound of the arrow coming loose accompanied by a wet, sickening squelch.

The other two figures watched intently, silent and unmoving. One had a spear slung across their back, while the other had their hands rested lightly on the hilt of a dagger at their side. 

All of them seemed like they had materialized from the very shadows of the night, their dark clothing blending seamlessly with the barren wasteland around them.

The taller figure effortlessly picked up the massive beast and slung it over their shoulder.

"Wait," Kael shouted. "Who are you?"

"Get to your destination, newborn," they spoke in a gravelly voice, in an accent that he didn't recognize. "You are none of our concern."

With that, the figures set out away from Kael and into the darkness.