It was difficult to fix something without the proper tools. Zeltara learned that firsthand as she tried to repair her broken lantern. It was only by luck that the container that held the oil remained intact. It wouldn’t have been salvageable otherwise. Without her workbench back home, Zeltara had to improvise with objects and trinkets she had on her. There wasn’t any hope of getting it back to good as new. The shattered glass and broken handle attested to that. But she needed only to get the lantern functioning. Luckily, the light streaming into the cave allowed her to see what she was working on.

  The three had woken up earlier than expected. A miracle, considering all the energy they’ve been burning the last few days. The sun beat down, with several hours of daylight remaining. They decided to stay inside the cave for shelter until the temperature dropped. Besides, all they’d done was travel for days now. A momentary rest would help their muscles recuperate and settle their minds. After the argument last night, Zeltara wanted everyone to be at their best. If she was going to be the leader, then she’ll take it seriously.

  Kaztos seemed content to just sit by the entrance and keep watch outside. Since last night, he had seemed more focused, which Zeltara appreciated. She found herself glad that Saiya had taken the direct approach in confronting that issue. Hopefully, she will learn to take care of it herself next time. Zeltara knew that was probably the first of many personal problems between the three of them.

  Speaking of Saiya, she was passing the time in a manner much more interesting to see. She moved a small ball of mana she created from one hand to the other. Zeltara understood it was a control exercise, but lacked knowledge of its specifics. Seeing mana being used always fascinated her. If only she could control it herself. Zeltara shook these thoughts away. There was no point in thinking about the impossible.

  After a little more tinkering, she felt ready to test the lantern. She held her flint and steel and tried to ignite the wick. It soon became apparent that it wouldn’t work. Zeltara groaned in frustration as she set the lantern down. She’ll work on it later. From the corner of her eye, she saw Saiya and Kaztos glance at her.

  Zeltara turned to them. “It’s time to eat.” The two sat down next to her as she divvied up the food for them. After handing them their share, the three began to eat and drink from their waterskin.

  Kaztos looked over at her and asked, “How is the lantern? It sounds like you’re having some trouble.” The thought almost made her groan again. What she wouldn’t do to have some proper tools.

  “I can’t get it to work yet. I don’t have anything with which to make proper repairs. The best I can hope for is a patch job. I’m having trouble getting the wick to soak up the oil properly while remaining secured. The part that secures it is damaged.” Kaztos hummed for a second before answering.

  “Well, I’m sure you’ll figure it out eventually. Until then, make sure to stay with us when we travel.” The thought of relying on them for something so simple left a bitter taste in her mouth, but it couldn’t be helped. Zeltara begrudgingly nodded in agreement as they got back to eating. The rest of the meal passed in companionable silence. Once finished, Saiya addressed the issue everyone recognized.

  “We’re going through our rations faster than expected. At this rate, we barely have enough to last two more days.”

  “We can’t do anything about it now. Our travel has been more strenuous than anticipated. It was naive of us to assume they could have lasted that long,” Kaztos said. He grimaced at the thought of getting that important detail wrong. It made Zeltara place her hand on his shoulder for comfort. The gesture made him return an appreciative smile.

  Saiya’s expression was grim as she said, “The fact of the matter is we have to get to those lights within the next few days. Otherwise, we’re going to be too weak to travel. We’ll die for sure.” Zeltara wished that the blond girl could be less blunt than that. The three knew the situation they were in.

  “We also need to worry about that monster in the dark,” Zeltara said. The mention of it made the other two tense. “Kaztos, could you try explaining what you saw again? Anything we need to know about it?” Kaztos turned his head toward the cave as he seemed to think. They sat there in silence for a few moments before he turned back to answer them.

  “My apologies. It’s hard to describe what I saw. I only saw some of its outline in the darkness. It was almost incomparable to anything I’ve ever seen before. The little I saw didn’t follow the conventions of what a creature should look like. Limbs shouldn’t move or be connected in that way. It was some kind of abomination.” The description only filled Zeltara with dread. Just what thing was following them around? “Do you have anymore inventions you’re hiding? Something to help us if we’re attacked again?”

  Zeltara went into her satchel and pulled out the grapple crossbow. She had removed the rope holder and other parts, leaving it a regular crossbow. “I don’t really have anything else besides this. I removed the attachments, so it would work as a regular crossbow. But I haven’t really tested the firing mechanism before. We didn’t even use it for its intended purpose.” Saiya leaned in and examined her invention closely.

  “Now that I look at it, that crossbow is very small. I can’t imagine it has much power behind it,” Saiya said.

  “It’s meant to be used one-handed. You’re right about the lack of force it can generate. I doubt it could penetrate decent armor. But it’s better than nothing.” Saiya seemed to realize something and looked at her almost accusatory.

  “Why didn’t you use this when fighting the goblins? It could have been helpful for us to have.”

  “It’s untested. I wasn’t sure it would work. At least with my marbles, I’ve used them successfully before.” Once, but they didn’t need to know that. “Besides, I’m not the most accurate. I didn’t want to risk Kaztos getting hurt by missing.” The explanation seemed to satisfy Saiya as she leaned back into her earlier spot.

  Kaztos asked, “Does this mean you’re out of those marbles?” Zeltara turned to see him looking at her, concerned. Guess he was worried about her ability to defend herself.

  Unfortunately, Zeltara couldn’t reassure him this time. “I only have two of each kind left. Most of them were used in fighting the goblins. I have the materials to make more on me, but that’ll take several hours.” Their time needed to be used for other matters. She’d just have to make do with what she had. “Speaking of which, we should head out now. It’s getting late, and we only have a few hours of sunlight left. We need to get away so the abomination won’t be able to catch up easily.” Kaztos seemed to perk up at her name choice but didn’t comment. They needed to call it something, and who better to name it than the first person to see one up close?

  The other two agreed and packed up. Zeltara put her coat back on after wiping dirt off of it. One thing she was looking forward to at that village was a way to clean up. They were covered in dirt, ash, and who knows what else. Never had Zeltara more desired a bath. The group was soon ready, and they headed out towards the village.

  The temperature outside was hot, but manageable. It was much more bearable than the oppressive heat on their first night’s journey. That, combined with the lack of ash fall and clear visibility, meant this was the best conditions they'd experienced for their entire journey. The three fell into easy conversation as they traveled. As they walked, Zeltara continued to work on her lantern. She didn’t want to rely on her friends for a light source. Although she made progress on the repairs, the lantern still wouldn’t light and stay on.

  After a few hours, the sun started to set. The mood among them became subdued. They all knew what was in the darkness. There was a tangible threat out there that endangered their lives. While Zeltara hoped they had made enough distance to lose the abomination, she knew they needed to be ready. Looking over at Saiya and Kaztos, it seemed like they shared her thoughts. They soon made mana lights to see. Zeltara settled in between them as they continued walking. After a few more minutes, the last of the sun’s rays left them, leaving the world in darkness.

  Travel felt much more stressful. With almost all their visibility gone, it made any noise all that much louder. Their footsteps almost seemed to echo as the only source of sound. They didn’t exchange any more words, as they were on high alert. They listened closely for any sounds of scuttling or wailing in the distance. Anything to give them some kind of warning. They travel for over an hour in tense silence.

  It’s to Zeltara’s dismay that she noticed something was now off. She glanced to either side of her to see that Kaztos and Saiya were equally distraught. At first, no one wanted to say what was wrong. The problem was they needed to talk about it. Saiya finally got the courage to say it.

  “The lights are gone. We should have seen a sign of them by now.” Zeltara felt herself jump at the suddenness of her voice. Now that it was said out loud, Zeltara filled with dread. Those lights were their only hope at this point. They didn’t have many supplies left.

  Kaztos asked, “Did something happen to the village? There’s no good reason for them not to use lights this night compared to the last.” Zeltara considered their words. They needed more information about the situation.

  “Let’s find a hill. We can use the height to get a better look at where we’re going. Keep an eye out for one.” The other two agreed, and they continued walking. It was hard to see in their limited light but, after a few minutes, Kaztos spotted a hill to their left. While the incline was steep, they could get to the top of it quickly. They then began looking around.

  It took only a moment for someone to spot it. Kaztos got their attention and pointed to the northeast. “Look, the lights are over there. Did we get off track somehow?”

  “I don’t see how we could have. We went straight at it. There’s no way we could have gotten this far off. They must have moved somehow,” Saiya said. It made Zeltara think. Perhaps they were making some wrong assumptions. What could explain this? An idea came to her moments later.

  “What if those lights aren’t a village after all? What if it’s a caravan of some kind? They must have traveled during the day. They seem to be going east, so we should adjust our direction.” Hope resettled in them. Their goal was still there. It would just take more travel than expected.

  “There’s a problem. If the caravan is traveling away from us, then we need to cover much more ground. How are we going to reach them before we run out of supplies?” Saiya asked. The issue dampened their renewed confidence as quickly as it had come.

  “What if we were to extend our travel time to cover the day as well? That way we won’t lose distance in our pursuit,” Kaztos said. Zeltara considered it before shaking her head.

  “If we do that, then we’ll exhaust ourselves too much. We’d only waste more time in the long run. We should save that as a last resort. A caravan is usually a little slower than walking speed. We should be able to make up ground.” It wasn’t an ideal scenario, but they had little choice. With their supplies, they had two more days of rest left. Zeltara decided that if they couldn’t catch up by the time their supplies ran out, then they would keep going. It would end with their either making it or dying.

  Kaztos and Saiya agreed with her plan, and they traveled once again. Rather than going north, they traveled east-northeast. The three remained cautious in case the abomination caught up with them. Any small noise outside of their footsteps would cause the group to jump in surprise. Fortunately, as the hours passed, no attack came, letting them travel in peace.

  Zeltara felt exhausted. They had already been going for several days in harsh conditions. The added few hours of the past evening only made things worse. She thought back to the day this all started. How she complained about the short walk to the Urada Caves. Zeltara thought about how that was nothing compared to what she was feeling now. Her legs felt like jelly. Weariness weighed on her as a suppressive weight. She hoped that sunrise would come soon. She didn’t know how much more of this she could take.

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Hours passed before the sun rose. Zeltara felt dead on her feet. Looking at her companions, she could see that they were in a similar condition. To make matters worse, there wasn’t any cave or outcropping to take shelter in. The best the three could find was the shaded part of a hill. Once they reached it, Zeltara and the other two collapsed to the ground. It took them a few minutes to recover and hand out food.

  They ate in silence. Zeltara found herself too tired to think about starting a conversation. All she could do was focus on eating to regain her strength. Unfortunately, even after eating, Zeltara found herself still hungry. She couldn’t help but stare at her satchel. The temptation to eat more of their dwindling supplies was overwhelming. Without thinking, her hand reached forward. A hand grabbed her arm around the wrist.

  “I’m sorry, but we need to save it. We can’t give in to hunger now,” Kaztos said. His voice dripped with the exhaustion she felt. Her focus returned, and she pulled away her hand. Zeltara berated herself for what she had almost done.

  “Sorry Kaztos. It’s just...” She couldn’t bring herself to finish, but Kaztos seemed to understand. He nodded before almost falling over to lie down. Zeltara felt a hand on her shoulder. The gesture made her smile. She turned to Saiya and nodded in thanks. Soon, Zeltara and Saiya joined Kaztos lying on the ground to get some rest. Almost immediately, her eyes were closed as she drifted off to sleep.

  After hours of dreamless sleep, Zeltara woke up. Despite the rough conditions they rested in, sleep proved to be rejuvenating for her. Must have been due to how exhausted they were. She opened her eyes to see Kaztos and Saiya still asleep. Zeltara looked around and took in her surroundings. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at first. She got up and stretched, getting sore muscles to relax. Her thoughts cleared as she completely awakened. Once clear-minded, she noticed a major problem.

  “Wake up! We’ve overslept.” Indeed, the sun was about to set. The plan had been to set out at the same time as yesterday to cover more ground. Zeltara shook Kaztos and Saiya, causing them to stir. “Get up, guys. We need to get going now.” The urgency in her voice jolted them both into action. Both of them sprang up on guard, as if expecting an attack.

  “What’s the problem, Zeltara?” Kaztos asked. He glanced around but, after seeing no threat, relaxed his posture.

  Saiya appeared agitated. “Did you have to wake us up like that?” In response, Zeltara pointed at the sun, which was just reaching the horizon.

  “As I’ve been saying, we overslept. We’re several hours behind where we should be. We need to head out now.” The three hustled to head out. They ate their rations as they packed. Kaztos noticed Zeltara stressed about the situation, so he rushed to reassure her.

  “I know it’s not ideal, but look at the bright side. Those extra hours of rest helped us recover. I’m feeling as well rested as possible, given the circumstances.”

  “As well rested, considering we slept on the dirt ground, you mean? I traded leg pain for back pain,” Saiya said. Zeltara found herself calming down. Leave it to her friends to give their own spin on a situation.

  They were quickly ready to set out again. Zeltara at first considered having them travel at a faster pace to make up time. However, she didn’t want to ruin the extra strength they got from that extended rest. It was best not to push themselves until they had no other choice.

  Zeltara ended up pulling out her lantern to work on as they walked. Tinkering always helped to relieve the stress of a situation. The last thing she wanted to do was think about how those lost hours might be the difference between life and death. Best to work on something in front of her to keep her mind off it. Plus, maybe she won’t have to rely on Kaztos and Saiya for light anymore.

  Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, as sunlight only lasted for only an hour. As darkness fell on the land, Zeltara found herself stuck between her friends again. She didn’t let this deter her as she continued to work on her lantern. After some time, she noticed Saiya looking over at her.

  When noticed, the blond girl said, “Why don’t you just give it up already? You’re not making any progress on that thing.” The statement only irritated her.

  “I’m not going to give up. I want my own source of light to use.” Saiya seemed confused by her insistence.

  “Why are you even bothering? Kaztos and I can provide enough light as it is.” She didn’t seem to get it. Zeltara had to have her own light source. She couldn’t let herself rely on them for such a basic need. She could handle herself.

  Irritation seeped into Zeltara’s tone. “I’m going to keep working on it. Just drop it.” Saiya flinched at the venom in her voice. Regret washed over her. She hadn’t meant for it to come out like that. Zeltara took a calming breath. “Sorry. This is important to me, okay? I need to get this working.”

  Saiya nodded and said, “I’m sorry for pushing.” She then turned her attention back ahead.

  “I haven’t seen any lights up ahead yet. Are we going the right way?” Kaztos asked. He was probably steering the conversation away from any arguments. Zeltara took the offered escape presented.

  “We couldn’t see anything last night at first, either. We just have to catch up and then we’ll see it. Just have to keep going in this direction.” Kaztos hummed but didn’t answer. So much for starting a new conversation.

  Still, the three walked on in companionable silence. They traveled for a few more hours into the night. There were occasional conversations about lighter topics. After they talked it out, she and Saiya smoothed things over. Zeltara was glad to see no hard feelings between them. The last thing they needed was another argument. Zeltara knew she could get prickly about her inventions, but it couldn’t be helped. They were what allowed her to be on the same footing as everyone else. She had to build something that Kaztos and Saiya could just as easily do themselves. It could be aggravating at times.

  Zeltara’s ear twitched as she heard a rock tumble down in the distance behind them. At first, she wanted to write it off as nothing. Then another rock fell over a little closer. Something was there. She stopped, which caught the attention of the other two.

  “What's wrong?” Kaztos asked. Zeltara pulled out her crossbow and turned around.

  “I hear something out there.” Hearing this, Kaztos pulled out his hammer and Saiya her wand. Both of them turned to face the direction she was looking at. The three waited to see what was approaching them. A recognizable wail echoed, making Zeltara shiver involuntarily. She would never get used to such an unnatural shriek.

  “Looks like our stalker has caught up with us,” Kaztos said. He took a few steps forward and had his hammer at the ready.

  Meanwhile, Saiya took a step back and pointed her wand into the darkness. “I guess those few hours of extra rest weren’t worth it.” By now, all three can hear the scampering of the abomination’s movements. Zeltara could feel it closing in. She set down her broken lantern and aimed her crossbow, tracking where it moved. Soon, it reached the edge of where Saiya’s light reached.

  All Zeltara could see was the faintest shape in the darkness. Kaztos was right. This thing made no sense. It was a writhing mass of limbs and parts. Parts of it almost seemed to move independently of each other as what might be the torso shifted around, uncaring of where its legs carried it. It then moved back into the darkness.

  A cold sweat overtook Zeltara. She couldn’t hear its footsteps anymore. Before she could easily track it by noise, but now there was nothing. How was that possible? Was this thing just toying with them before? Whatever the reason, they were now wide open to attack. She tried to concentrate on hearing anything. Any sign of its impending attack. Then she heard it. The shifting of gravel behind her. Zeltara realized it at that moment, Saiya.

  She whipped around and yelled at the blond girl, “Move!” This warning came at the last second, as the abomination lunged towards Saiya. Although she jumped away, the beast still knocked her over. Upon impact with the ground, she lost control of her mana light, which went out. Absolute darkness enveloped the area.

  Zeltara panicked. They needed light right now. She crouched to the ground and felt around for her lantern. As she did, Zeltara heard movement all around her. Was it the abomination moving in to kill them, or the others trying to maneuver around? She needed to hurry. After a few moments, Zeltara found her lantern and attempted to light it.

  She heard something stumble several feet away. Kaztos’ voice came from that spot. “We need to see. Someone light something.” It took a few tries, but with a strike of her flint and steel, the lantern lit. As a weak flickering light filled the area, Zeltara looked to where Kaztos was. What she saw horrified her.

  Several feet in front of Kaztos was the abomination. Zeltara could now see that the monster lived up to its name. It was around eight feet tall with over a dozen spider-like legs it walked on. They were all haphazardly attached to a misshapen torso. It had five humanlike arms, which looked dislocated. Each hand had clawed fingers. One end of the torso hosted a mouth with jagged teeth. Its skin was pitch black and yet reflected like an insect’s exoskeleton. Finally, at the top end of the torso, was what looked like the blackened-out husk of a human upper body without arms. The body lay almost limp with its head sagging to the side. The only reason the torso hadn’t fallen over completely was because one of the arms was partially holding it up. Zeltara almost vomited just looking at it.

  Kaztos stood still in front of it. He appeared frozen in fear, looking at this grotesque creature. The abomination could easily lunge forward and tear him to shreds, as he stood completely exposed. Zeltara couldn’t bring herself to move forward to help him. She was helpless as the abomination moved. The human-shaped upper body straightened up, and its maw of a mouth opened. That unholy wail reverberated through the area. The monster then reared back and retreated into the darkness.

  Kaztos stumbled back a few feet, breaking the spell over the group. Saiya lifted herself from the ground. As Zeltara tried to recompose herself, she wondered why it had run away. It had the perfect opportunity to tear all of them apart. She then looked down at her lantern and realized. It was just like back on the cliff and during the sunrise. The abomination failed to attack them both times. It retreated when she lit the lantern. They all came together to reveal one conclusion.

  “Light...” Her voice came out a mumble, but it caught the other’s attention. When they looked at her, Zeltara found the strength to speak. “It’s afraid of light. That’ll drive it off.” As she said this, her lantern dimmed as the fire started to flicker out. “Quick, channel mana lights, now!” Kaztos and Saiya immediately generate bright mana lights in their hands. Just a few moments later, her lantern died. She was glad that at least Kaztos and Saiya would keep it off them.

  Unfortunately, Zeltara had misjudged the situation. The abomination rushed in from the darkness. Saiya was surprised and stumbled while trying to get out of the way. The monster rushed towards her too fast for its size. Seeing the danger, Kaztos rushed between them and brought his hammer back to swing. The abomination abruptly stopped, lifted several legs in the air, and slammed them on the ground forcefully. The impact caused Kaztos to fall to the ground. It then loomed over Kaztos and stabbed at him with its legs to skewer him. He could barely fend off the attack by rolling from side to side. One stab went for his head, but Kaztos deflected at the last second with his hammer.

  “Kaztos!” Saiya leveled her wand at the abomination and channeled. The medium glowed as excessive mana poured into it. A large fireball shot towards the monster. The flames impacted the side of it, causing the monster to stop its attack. For a moment, Zeltara thought that it had been hurt. Unfortunately, as the flames dissipated, the abomination was unharmed. The human maw opened again, as it let out another ghastly wail. Saiya stood there frozen in fear as the abomination approached her.

  Kaztos lay on the ground, still trying to recover. Zeltara had to act. She took one of her remaining black marbles and threw it at the beast. It impacted the human-shaped head, causing it to rear back. Saiya lurched away to gain distance. Zeltara then aimed her crossbow and fired. The bolt penetrated the side of it, but the monster didn’t react to it. It began to recover.

  She was out of ideas. Kaztos was still on the ground, recovering. Saiya had nothing to stop it. They were seconds away from dying. Zeltara tried to think of something. She then looked down at her lantern. An idea came to her. What if she was looking at this all wrong? She dropped her crossbow, then picked up her flint and steel. With one strike, she relit the lantern.

  The abomination reared back again and vanished into the darkness. That was it. The thing was afraid of natural light. Zeltara knew there wasn’t much time. Already, the flame in her lantern was dying out. She looked to see Kaztos struggling to get up. She ran to him and was joined by Saiya. They kneeled before him and access his injuries.

  Kaztos had minor cuts and bruises on his arms and face. The leather armor on his stomach had a puncture, and blood leaked out. Zeltara feared he was seriously injured. However, Kaztos gave them a grin and tried to get up.

  “Don’t worry, the armor absorbed most of the hit. It was only a glancing blow anyway. Could you please help me?” Zeltara and Saiya both gave him a hand up. Kaztos groaned as he stood and cradled the wound. He again gave them a grin, but they could see the pain in his expression. Before either could say anything, the abomination wailed close by. All three readied their weapons again.

  “Do you two have any ideas?” Saiya asked. Zeltara tried to think of something. The lantern was too unreliable for them to drive it off with. Nothing they had worked against it. She needed to think. It had a weakness in natural light. How could they use that? An idea formed in her head.

  The lantern’s flame started to die. They had only a few seconds. There wasn’t enough time to explain. “I have a plan. I need you guys to trust me.” Saiya and Kaztos looked at her.

  “Always,” Kaztos said. Saiya nodded in agreement. It made her smile despite the circumstances.

  “When the lantern goes out. I’ll throw my last marbles at it. Then I need you guys to buy me a little time, ok?” Before they could respond, the lantern went out. Zeltara could hear the abomination closing in from their right. She grabbed the rest of her marbles. “Now! close your eyes.” With that, she threw her last three marbles in the direction of the monster. Even with her eyes closed, she could see the light through her eyelids.

  Once the explosion dissipated, Zeltara backed up a few steps and enacted the next part of her plan. Kaztos and Saiya both stood in front of her, ready to face the abomination head on. They had a few seconds as it flailed around in pain. Seemed like the white marbles had some effect on it. Hopefully, it’d be enough.

  Zeltara grabbed a crossbow bolt and the cloth mask from her satchel. She then wrapped the cloth around the tip. Meanwhile, the monster had recovered and attacked them again. Saiya launched a fireball at it, but the monster ran through it, unaffected. Kaztos took a position in front of them, ready to face it again.

  With the cloth secured around the bolt, Zeltara next grabbed her spare lantern oil. She then poured some onto the bolt. The bolt was loaded into the crossbow. As this happened, the abomination swung several of its legs at Kaztos. He avoided the first few attacks, but was forced to block one. The force of the blow knocked his hammer out of his hands and left him wide open to an arm, hitting him in the gut. Kaztos fell to the ground, holding his wound in pain. Before the monster could advance, Saiya threw a knife at it. The blade bounced off the creature’s skin, but caught its attention. The creature’s arms swung, sending Saiya crashing to the ground.

  “We need help! Hurry!” Saiya shouted. She lay on the ground as the abomination tried to grab her with its arms. Its torso mouth opened, revealing rows of teeth that dripped with a familiar inky substance. Zeltara finished loading the crossbow and lit the bolt. She hoped that would make it retreat, but the monster seemed focused on Saiya. It grabbed her and started dragging her towards its mouth. Her mana light went out, leaving only the bolt’s fire to light up the area. As Saiya screamed, Zeltara took aim. She had only one shot at this. The front of the bolt was heavier than usual and likely to drop faster. She needed to aim higher. Zeltara couldn’t afford to fail here. Saiya’s life was on the line.

  So, she concentrated, targeted high, and fired the crossbow. The firebolt went through the air and stuck right into the abomination’s open mouth. Its insides burst into flames as it dropped Saiya onto the ground. As the monster ran away, the human head wailed in pain. Zeltara could see the flames as it ran off into the distance.

  She stood there for a second, taking it all in. Did they really survive that? She was almost sure they were going to die. A relieved smile overtook her as the area turned pitch black. Zeltara fumbled in the dark and managed to relight the lantern. She then looked towards her friends.

  Saiya lay on the ground gasping for breath. She appeared panicked about what almost happened to her. Zeltara rushed over to help her up. Once on their feet, she noticed the blond girl wouldn’t stop shaking. Unable to think of anything else, she brought Saiya into an embrace. She hugged her until the shaking stopped.

  “I’m okay. Thank you,” Saiya said quietly. Zeltara hesitantly let her go and looked her over. Outside of bruises from where the monster had grabbed her, she appeared okay. They then turned their attention to Kaztos, who struggled to get up. Both rushed over and helped him stand. Kaztos offered them a pained smile as he held his torso.

  “I’ll be fine, thank you.” Both girls looked at him, worried. “What’s with the sad looks? We drove that abomination off. That’s something to celebrate.” That helped cheer them up.

  “We’re alive,” Zeltara said in wonder. It seemed almost impossible. There were several points she thought they were going to die. Kaztos just grinned at her and chuckled. Saiya then giggled, and Zeltara joined in. The three laughed their disbelief and stress away. They managed to fight on another day.

  “What now?” Saiya asked. Zeltara thought for a second before responding.

  “I’m sorry to say this, but we have to keep moving. We’ll go as long as we can before finding somewhere to rest. Kaztos, do we need to treat your wound before we go?” Kaztos shook his head in response. In fact, he stood up straighter.

  “I’m fine. It looks worse than it is. I’m already getting my wind back. But you’re right. All of this will be meaningless if we stop now.” With reassurance that Kaztos was okay. The three soon set out again. They moved at a slower pace than before, but Zeltara knew they needed to cover more ground. Rest could come later. For now, she focused on putting one step in front of the other.