9) Don’t look at my ball

The forest had a quiet bliss to it during the day, the breeze moved through the trees and in the distance you could hear little unseen creatures scurrying about. If you didn't know better you'd think you were taking an easy stroll through the forest of Earth before everything went to shit. 

Skye kept a quick pace, no time to stroll himself, a few steps under a jog. A few weeks ago this would cause his legs to burn and he'd have to take frequent breaks but his body has improved quickly. 

It was both getting real meat for the first time in his life and the slivers that were improving his strength at a rapid rate. He would even go as far as to say he was quite physically fit now. 

He spent the day passing over large roots and under low hanging branches, crossing over open areas while keeping vigilant, pausing at old looking trees to connect to their system and feel around. 

It was peaceful during the day, but he knew that the night wasn't going to be so forgiving.

I have to get to the ruins at least and make a quick shelter to hide for the night. 

Luckily the beasts of this world don't seem to have the best eyesight or sense of smell, relying mostly on sound to find their way around. With their flat faces it made sense why they would choose to hunt at night where the sound traveled farther. He wasn't sure why this was true, but he'd experienced it himself. 

"Hey Dubs, actually i'm not sure why I didn't ask sooner, but why are all the faces here flat? I've seen a few monsters now and they all share the same feature?"

The ball of soul was constantly floating behind Skye, making little witty remarks or cracking a joke. For the most part Skye either ignored him or tried his best to return the insults. Dubs instantly paused, the vibe suddenly become more intense. He began to move closer to Skye.

"Look im not meant to tell you this. What I'm about to say could get us both into some real serious trouble.."

He trailed off, Skye stopped walking and gave the conversation the attention it seemed to demand. Dubs got even closer now, whatever he was about to say couldn't be more than a whisper.

"Their faces, the reason they're like that, and listen carefully because I can only say this once…"

Skye waited with baited breath.

"I have no fucking idea man."

The words hung in the air. Skye slowly started to lower his head as he came to the realisation of what just happened. For the 8th time today he was made to look like a fool by a ball of his own soul. Was he truly this big of a glutton for punishment?

Dubs continued to float in the direction they were going, Skye had no choice but to shake off the rage building in his chest and continue to push on. One day he'll find a way to strangle him, but sadly today was not that day.

As the sun started to disappear around the bend of the planet and the moons began to take full form, Skye was coming upon the edge of the ruins. From the distance he thought it was just a single castle on top of a hill, but now that he was closer he could see a whole sprawling town underneath it filled with overgrown ruins. They circled the castle on the hill, with enough space between each building to show where the roads would have flown towards the once mighty structure. 

The clearing from afar just looked like another part of the forest, but the town must have been able to house thousands of people and spread out a couple kilometers in each direction. The size of the castle was something to behold, far greater in scale than he could have imagined when he first saw it. 

This was the second sign of life existing here before on this now dead planet full of life. The skeletons that attacked Claire had armour and swords, they came out of buildings in the mountains. Now a grand castle? What happened to all these people once their god died, and would the same thing happen to the people of earth if they didn't get through the phases and save their own?

The light of day was disappearing faster and faster now, he had no choice but to venture into the edge of the town. Skye kept a few entanglement seeds in his palm just in case he had to make a run for it, continuing to slowly feed them more mana to ensure they were strong. 

It was only about 50 meters downhill from the forest to the first building and Skye sprinted the whole way. Jumping into an opening that could have either been a window, or just a hole in the wall. The buildings around, or what's left of them, were made mostly of stone and rotted wood.

The air inside was strangely damp despite the amount of openings in the walls and the collapsed roof, filling Skye's mouth with an earthy taste. Rubble and debris was everywhere, dust floating in the moonlight. 

He didn't want to be this close to the forest at night and continued moving building to building in the direction of the castle. There were signs of previous life here, stones that looked like a table, a fireplace embedded in a crumbling wall, things that could have once been cherished toys made of rags. 

Dubs said that Gaia killed this god and left this world abandoned. Will weird creatures with powers find the Dome still standing one day? 

To be honest, this would most likely happen to humans even if she didn't die. Years of war have left it almost uninhabitable. Their effects on the world were slight at first but quickly tumbled like dominos. One effect led to another and before they even tried to do anything about it the reaction was set in place.

Skye was born in the Dome, he never got to see what the world was like in its prime. He only knew of the Water Wars and the Fortified Cities. His boogie men were the Raiders outside of the walls and the Rippers within. What a life to live.

After moving as quietly as he could for the last hour he was half way between the forest and castle, finding a building that was more intact than others and deciding to hunker down. The walls were hiding him away from sight and the roof was providing him with some cover. 

He knew he wasn't alone, and either through dumb luck or caution, he has yet to run into anything. In the distance carried by the cool night air he could hear faint cries coming from the castle in irregular intervals. He dared not explore during the night. 

Here, a good enough place as any, Skye put his hands to the ground and started to spread his roots. He could push the roots about 300 meters in any one direction, or 30 meters in 10 directions at once. He decided for now it was best to ensure he was safe.

It only took around ten minutes to form the first strands of his web, closing his eyes and listening to the vibrations in the ground, feeling the pressure to see if anything was crawling around him. For the most part he seemed to be alone, even having his roots break the surface to peek into the night sky, feeling the flow of the air. Still there was nothing.

The sound from the castle continued, the only sign of activity in the dead silence of the night. With his immediate surroundings secured he started to push a single root in that direction. Skye knew he couldn't get as far but he had an idea. He would make a single line there and then follow it, spreading out every 60 meters or so.

If he was correct, this would mean he'd have full view of the way there and the way back if he needed to escape, it was just going to be a bit time consuming. But time is all he had, no way was he going to sleep in a creepy ass town like this.

Let's get started I guess

He looked over at Dubs, who seemed to be more quiet than usual. Maybe he was just as freaked out by this place as he was. 

With his eyes closed as he spread his roots he said in almost a whisper.

"Hey Dubs, you wouldn't happen to know if anything is here would you?"

The orb didn't float up or down in a whimsical way as he usually did, he was frozen in the air.

"I'm not sure, but I know they're here… and… I think they can see me"