Chunks of earth floated around Amelia like orbiting moons. Pebbles and boulders alike drifted in the same invisible current, each turning with the same effortless grace, as if bound to her by unseen threads.
She moved one hand, and the stones shifted, sliding into a loose ring that spun lazily. With her other hand, she clenched her fist—three larger rocks snapped into place midair, locking into a perfect triangle. A flick of her fingers, and they lowered back to the ground in a slow, deliberate descent, landing without a single thud.
She took a breath and stepped forward. The soil beneath her feet rippled. Clods of dirt and shards of stone rose, swirling faster until they melded into the shape of a massive sledgehammer. It hovered for only a heartbeat before drifting down into her waiting palms. She held it there, balanced and whole, then released it. The hammer dissolved into dust, spilling between her fingers as the rocks around her began to rise again.
No one spoke.
Even Henry, who'd usually crack a joke before the silence had a chance to breathe, stood at the edge of the clearing with his mouth half open. Ella's notepad dangled from her fingertips, forgotten.
I didn't move from my spot against the trunk. Couldn't, really. But even if I could've, I wasn't sure I'd have dared. Something about the air felt… fragile. Like the wrong word would shatter it.
Amelia slowly lowered her hands. One by one, the stones settled gently back to the ground as though reluctant to leave her.
Only then did we all remember to breathe.
But still, no one said a word. I would've bet money that Ella or Henry would've broken the silence, but the moment I saw Amelia's face, I understood. Her expression shifted in ways that didn't match the triumph I'd expected.
She moved to a fallen log and sat, idly stirring the dirt with her fingers, her gaze distant. Ella glanced her way, the start of a sentence caught behind her lips, but thought better of it and returned to carving neat strips of meat from the beast. The others followed her lead, keeping their distance.
I couldn't blame them. Her face was… complicated. One moment, hope. The next, a flicker of sorrow that vanished almost before it could register, like the two were locked in a constant struggle for space.
What unsettled me the most was Benjamin's reaction; it almost seemed as though he understood something the rest of us didn't.
Still, my gaze kept finding her.
The dust beneath her fingertip began to swirl, gathering into the shape of a small teddy bear. It wobbled unsteadily on clumsy legs, swaying side to side.
For a moment, she smiled.
Then it was gone, buried under a quiet, heavy sorrow. She masked it quickly, but the weight of it lingered in the air between us.
What could have gotten her to such a state? Powers like that were the kind people would kill for, things you'd expect to bring nothing but celebration. But whatever was going on behind her eyes… it wasn't joy.
The thought lingered, heavy, until my own body reminded me it had its own problems. I shifted, trying to find a position that didn't feel like every inch of me had been stitched together with wire. Pain shot up my side, radiating from the puncture in my leg and the deep ache in my ribs.
"So, how do you feel?"
Ella's voice cut through the hush as she approached, hands still stained red despite her attempts to wipe it away with a rag. Her tone was light, a little too light given the situation, but I recognized the effort. She was tired too. We all were. But she was still trying.
I drew in a shaky breath before replying, "I'll live." It came out rough, more exhale than words, but it was the best I could manage.
She winced a little. "Okay… yeah, that was a dumb question," she muttered, slumping down beside me with a tired sigh.
Before I could respond, she gently pressed a water canteen to my lips. I didn't even bother trying to lift my arm. I just gave a slow nod of thanks and drank deeply. The water was cool, blessedly clean as it flowed down my throat, clearing away the sandpaper-like feeling.
"Thanks," I rasped, my voice just a little clearer.
"No, thank you," she said, her smile faint but real. "Without you and Amelia, we'd probably be monster chow by now."
We sat in silence for a while, the kind of quiet that only comes after bloodshed—too much to say, too much to feel, so we let the stillness speak for us.
Then, without warning, she tilted her head toward me. "So… what do you think of the name TwinSight Bear?"
My brain took a second to catch up. TwinSight Bear. Not bad, honestly. Better than half the names she usually pitched.
"I like it," I murmured. Then, despite myself, I added, "Though… Six-Eye Bear has a certain ring to it."
Ella barked a laugh, "Oh my god, no."
"But it had six eyes," I said, deadpan.
"Not all in one place! They were on its hands, remember?"
"Still counts."
"No way," she said with a grin. "I'm not calling it Six-Eye Bear. Sounds like a cartoon villain."
I chuckled or tried to. The pain in my side turned it into more of a wince.
Then the wind shifted.
Ella's smile faded as we both looked up.
The sky had darkened in an instant.
Thick, dark clouds rolled in with unnatural speed, swirling like a vortex overhead. The air grew heavy with static and the distant rumble of thunder. The wind howled overhead, picking up speed faster and faster, and soon began pushing things around.
My stomach turned with instinctual dread as a lightning bolt struck down from the sky in the distance. The last thing I wanted was to be struck by lightning.
"Get Atlas to cover!"
Amelia's voice cut through the sudden roar of the wind.
"Owen, Emily, help Atlas!" she barked, already scanning the tree line for shelter.
The wind howled louder.
I tried to stand, but the moment I shifted, a bolt of pain ripped through my leg and side. My body buckled beneath it. I would've entirely collapsed if Owen hadn't caught me under one arm, steadying me. Emily was there a heartbeat later, slipping under my other arm. Together, they half-dragged, half-guided me toward the largest tree in sight.
Every step was a battle. My leg burned like it was packed with shards of glass, and my ribs protested every breath with sharp, tearing pain. I clenched my jaw, grinding my teeth to keep from making a sound. The cold wind lashed at us, tugging at our clothes as we shuffled to shelter.
The tree we reached was massive, with branches wide enough to keep most of the rain away. Beneath its canopy, the air was still damp, but at least it wasn't the punishing downpour outside. Owen eased me down with care, mindful of my injuries.
It didn't matter, though. No matter how gently he moved me, the pain from the walk roared in my mind, drowning out everything else. My breath came in short, frantic bursts, each one a jagged lance through my chest and leg, the ache rolling over me like a living storm. I tried to steady myself, breathing shallow and slow. Anything deeper sent a spike of white-hot agony through my ribs.
Amelia, despite her earlier silence, had taken command again. Her voice cut through the muffled chaos outside. In minutes, a small fire flickered to life in the hollow between the roots, its glow sheltered beneath a makeshift canopy of hide and damp gear.
Eventually, the worst of the pain ebbed, and my thoughts began to settle into something close to focus. That's when Ella dropped beside me, setting her kit down with a quiet thud. Her hands moved quickly, arranging a makeshift cutting station on a flat stone. She began slicing thin strips of meat with what remained of my knife's blade.
Noticing the fractured steel, I couldn't help but sigh inwardly. She might as well keep it. There was no way it would be of any use in a fight now.
Turning toward her, I tried to lighten the mood.
"Got any salt on you?" I asked, half-joking.
To my surprise, Ella rifled through her bag and produced a small, pale chunk of rock. "Actually, yeah. Sodium chloride, technically," she said with a grin.
I raised a brow. "What are you, some kind of mobile kitchen?"
She smirked. "No butter, though. If that's what you're hoping for."
I chuckled, instantly regretting it as pain flared through my ribs.
As she shaved salt over the meat, I leaned back against the trunk, watching the firelight dance over our tired faces.
But my mind wasn't entirely there.
It drifted back to the fight.
The creature's snarling maw. Its sheer size, looming over us like a nightmare given form. I remembered the crushing weight of its blows, the urgency in Amelia's voice, the snap of bone and scream of stone as it tore through air and flesh.
My hands clenched before I realized it, muscles tightening as if bracing for another hit. Even now, part of me was still there–
If I'd been just one step slower…
I exhaled, slowly. Regret wouldn't help. All I could do now was learn from it. After all, it's not like I was trained to fight giants and whatever else this place threw at us.
But I hated how much I had to rely on them right now. Hated that I couldn't help, that I even needed help to sit up.
But… we were alive, and in the end, that's what mattered.
Eventually, the warmth and exhaustion overtook me. My body sagged into the tree, and sleep claimed me.
But peace didn't follow.
In the depths of sleep, the storm never ended. It only changed. Firelight dimmed and bled away, replaced by lightning that split an endless sky in jagged flashes. The ground dissolved into thick, roiling mist that crept in from all sides, cold and unnatural. It curled around me, clinging to my skin, smothering everything in a heavy, oppressive silence.
Until that silence broke.
Screams echoed in the distance like a hunting warning, then out of the mist, a figure appeared, scorched beyond recognition. It reached out, its voice like charcoal dragged across stone, pleading with me to follow. I took a step, but before I could answer, the figure crumbled into ash, scattering on an unseen wind and leaving me swaying in the emptiness it left behind.
I woke with a jolt, my body drenched in sweat, my breath coming fast and shallow. The storm outside was still raging, but something was different. My neck… it was burning!? I instinctively reached for the mark, only to feel something strange. Yanking my hand back, I looked in horror at the thing covering it.
My hand was coated in a cold, void-like substance. Then my mind reeled as I watched it spread up my arm and then along my neck, where more of it seemingly leaked out of my mark, moving from my neck down my arm and across my chest.
The substance moved with purpose, creeping along my skin and seeping into the wounds that had been tormenting me. It felt cold, yet oddly soothing, as if the pain were being swallowed whole by the darkness.
As it fused with the injury, I felt the muscles knit together, the torn flesh mending itself with an eerie precision. I gasped, staring down at my leg in disbelief. The pain was gone, completely erased in a matter of seconds. Slowly, I flexed my leg, and it moved without a trace of discomfort.
What… what just happened?
I touched my arm, then my chest, gingerly feeling where the cuts and bruises had been. The aches that had plagued me were fading, replaced by a strange, almost invigorating sensation. My body, which had been wrecked with pain, was healing… no, it healed. Everything was healed as the substance dissipated, vanishing as quickly as it had appeared, leaving only smooth, unblemished skin behind.
The voice echoed in my mind again, low and insistent. "Follow."
For a long moment, I just sat there, stunned. Then, testing my strength, I pushed myself up onto my feet. There was no pain. How?
My legs held steady. I stood upright, fully mobile, as if the injuries had never existed. The sensation of relief washed over me, but it was soon followed by confusion.
Amelia, Owen, and Ella, who were busy a moment ago, stopped mid-motion as they noticed me standing. I could feel their eyes on me, confusion shifting to shock and back to confusion again as they slowly registered what they were seeing.
"Atlas?" Amelia's voice was filled with disbelief. "You... how are you standing?"
Ella's mouth dropped open, her eyes wide with bewilderment. "But you…you couldn't even move. What... what just happened?"
Owen looked between me and the now-healed wound on my leg, his expression a mix of awe and confusion.
I glanced down at myself, still trying to process it all. "I don't know," I admitted, my voice low, barely able to comprehend the reality myself. "I was hurt... and then this... substance…it just..." I trailed off, not knowing how to explain it.
For a moment, the camp was silent, everyone grappling with what they had just witnessed. Benjamin rubbed his temples, clearly trying to make sense of the situation. "That's... impossible," he murmured.
Ella, still staring at me like I'd just clawed my way back from the grave, finally shook her head. "Whatever that was… it saved you."
I gave a slow nod, the weight of her words sinking deep into my chest. I didn't understand what had happened, why I was still alive, or what the voice in my head had truly meant. But I did know one thing. Whatever had healed me gave me that dream on purpose. But what was I supposed to follow?
Then, A sound shattered the moment.
A sharp crack split the sky, louder than thunder, deeper, like the heavens themselves were tearing apart. Everyone's Heads snapped upward.
Then we saw it.
A massive form tore across the canopy above, a storm of motion and light cutting through the rain. For a heartbeat, it was there, vast and violent, before vanishing beyond the leaves and leaving only the crackle of blue arcs and searing white sparks dancing across the treetops.
It came again, closer this time, and I caught a glimpse of its massive wings, impossibly carved from lightning itself. My mind balked, refusing to shape what I was seeing into anything tangible. This wasn't right.
It couldn't be real.
How could something exist as pure force, alive but without form? A natural disaster given shape? The thought clawed at me, spinning in circles without an answer. No matter how I tried to piece it together, it didn't make sense. The more I thought about it, the less sense it made, as if my mind itself was rejecting the very idea.
The creature gave a low, reverberating hum that rolled through the clearing, shaking the air itself. It was like thunder given thought, a sound that rooted itself in my bones. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, it drifted back into the storm clouds above, leaving only the memory of light and the shiver it had carved into all of us.
The wind howled louder, the storm redoubling its fury in the wake of the creature's passage.
My mind finally snapped into focus as I shouted, "We need to move!"
Amelia's shock vanished, replaced by something akin to panic. "Grab anything you can and go!"
Her voice cracked like a whip through the rising chaos. Everyone sprang into action, shoving supplies into bags and grabbing anything they could carry.
I moved quickly on my own, surprising even myself as I gathered my things without so much as a twinge of pain. Amelia caught my eye, still stunned but too focused on the task at hand to dwell on what had just happened.
Glancing back at the sky, I saw the massive creature again, moving slowly, as if it sensed us. We didn't have any more time.
Shooting through the forest, our gazes remained fixed on the horizon, where the storm's lightning still danced in its eerie patterns. Our pace quickened, but the relentless storm was never far behind. Its search area was adjusting and expanding as it zeroed in on our location.
As I scanned our surroundings, searching for any potential hiding spots, a shape flickered at the edge of my vision, its presence more distinct this time, yet still just out of reach. A shadow perched on a low branch, unmoving but watching all the same.
A chill prickled the back of my neck. It wasn't the first time I'd seen something like this. Memories of distant, half-forgotten encounters in the desert stirred in my mind, but I didn't question the instinct that told me to follow. My gut tightened, an unshakable pull guiding my steps.
The moment I moved, the shape dissolved into the mist.
Behind me, the others hesitated for only a second before following my lead. My eyes darted to where it had been, but there was nothing, until it reappeared farther ahead.
Again and again, it flickered in and out of sight, always just beyond reach, leading us deeper into the forest. I should have felt uneasy, but somewhere beneath the unease was a quiet certainty, telling me that this was our only chance.
The storm above grew fiercer, as if the sky itself was unraveling. Thunder cracked so violently it shook the ground beneath our feet, and lightning tore through the sky in jagged streaks that lit the forest in bursts of pale white fire.
Then it came into view again, but this time, it wasn't fleeting.
The shape that had darted just beyond the edge of our vision now loomed overhead, no longer some distant flicker of motion. It moved above the treetops in the form of an avian titan of pure lightning and storm. Its wings crackled and arced with raw energy, each beat sending shimmering waves through the air. Feathers that weren't feathers at all, just jagged filaments of light, snapped and shimmered around it like a crown of static.
And then, it paused.
Suspended in the sky directly above us, the creature hovered with terrifying stillness. Every bolt of lightning in the storm seemed to bend toward it, drawn to its presence. The wind howled, trees bent and groaned, and my breath caught in my throat as its glowing eyes locked onto us through the storm.
In a single terrifying instant, it folded its wings and dove, turning into a blinding bolt of energy hurtling straight toward us.
Amelia thrust her hands forward, her newfound power carving through the earth. The ground split, jagged spires of stone surging upward to form a wall between us and the oncoming bird.
For a heartbeat, hope stirred. The creature struck the barrier with a thunderous impact, wings flaring in a storm of light. Rock held against lighting, and for that single instant, I thought, maybe, just maybe, we could fight this thing.
But the thought was ripped from me as the wall erupted in a blinding spray of dust and static. Lightning tore through the stone, sizzling and cracking as the barrier shattered, fragments crumbling until nothing remained but scorched dirt.
Even so, those few stolen seconds mattered as we all darted around a cluster of trees putting the thing behind us.
Just as hope began to flicker to life, the storm lashed out again. A streak of lightning shot down with terrifying precision and struck Owen. His body jerked violently, a scream of agony ripping from his throat as the electricity coursed through him. I saw his face contort in pain, his eyes wide with terror as his body crumpled to the ground.
"Owen!" Emily's scream tore through the storm with a desperation that overwhelmed common sense.
Time seemed to fracture around me. I saw her lunge for him, fingers outstretched, but before she could reach him, the lightning bird descended. A flash of searing white engulfed Owen, and in the space of a heartbeat, his body dissolved, burned away into drifting ash before our very eyes.
It landed like a blow I couldn't block; the air ripped out of me. Gone. He was gone… just like that.
Emily's cries rang out in my ears. Her face twisted in anguish as she fought against Ella's grip, reaching for the storm that had devoured him. Ella held her fast, grim determination locking her arms around Emily before she could throw herself into the same fate. The wind carried Owen's ashes away, scattering what was left of him into the storm as if he had never been.
We ran harder, the memory of what we'd just seen driving our legs faster than adrenaline alone ever could. Every breath burned, every step heavier than the last, but none of us dared slow.
Then, just a few turns more, the forest broke open. The treeline gave way to a vast, gaping field, within which moved the strangest things.
The only word that would come to mind would be Rifts—Countless tears in space, flickering open and shut in chaotic rhythm. They blinked in and out, swirling voids that chewed the world apart at its seams. Each one beckoned like a doorway to somewhere else, but every step toward them was a gamble, each flicker a coin toss between life and oblivion.
Amelia's voice rang out through the chaos, steady and unflinching.
"We have no choice! Into the field!"
Just then, a bolt split the air, striking a tree so close the world seemed to shatter with the sound. The trunk exploded into a hail of splinters that hissed through the rain like knives. Pain flared hot along my side as several shards tore into me, but there was no time to stop. I clenched my jaw, forcing my legs to keep moving.
The field was worse. Every step became a gamble, a frantic dance of instinct and luck. Rifts blinked in and out without pattern. Some yawning open meters ahead, others snapping into existence at my heels. I didn't know what would happen if I touched one, but the gaping holes gouged into the earth where they'd appeared were enough to tell me it wouldn't be good.
At the edge of the field, the bird faltered. Lightning crawled across its body in jagged arcs of blue-white, its gaze fixed on the shimmering distortions that tore at the ground between us. For one fragile heartbeat, hope flickered in my chest, maybe it wouldn't follow.
But that hope was put out a second later as it hurled itself after us. What was wrong with this thing!? Why was it so determined to kill us that it would put its own life at risk?
Just then, its wing grazed one of the tears. To my shock, the moment it touched the rift, part of the bird's form vanished, swallowed by the void. The creature recoiled, its advance halted as it struggled to comprehend the rifts' destructive force.
We tore across the distorted field, weaving through the chaos as rifts snapped open and shut around us. They blinked into existence like jagged shards of glass suspended in midair, always too close, never predictable. Every step was a gamble, every breath a prayer, as the world fractured and stitched itself back together faster than my eyes could follow.
Left, right, down, there was no rhythm or pattern to it, only the constant threat that the next tear would open where my flesh would be.
And then, something went wrong.
My leg gave out… no, I didn't stumble, there just wasn't ground under my foot.
Before I knew it, the ground was rushing up to meet me–
Crack!
Amelia Grayson
My heart pounded like a war drum, each beat rattling through my skull as I staggered across the field of shimmering tears. The rifts blinked in and out with no real patterns. One wrong step, one heartbeat too slow, and I'd be gone, ripped into somewhere else or torn apart mid-stride.
But something was wrong. My legs felt heavy, sluggish almost, as if the ground itself were dragging me down. I should have been faster, so much faster, but then I saw it: a splintered length of wood jutting from my thigh. Blood streamed warm down my leg, each step weaker than the last. The moment my focus wavered, my foot slid into a hollow carved by a rift. My ankle twisted with a sickening snap, and I was pitched forward, crashing into the dirt. My head smacked against the ground, stars bursting across my vision.
The world tilted. Colors bled and shifted, the rifts flickering in and out of sight like broken lanterns. My pulse thundered in my ears. Why… why did it all have to happen like this? It was supposed to be a simple scouting mission. Just in and out. But this world, these powers… what had they cost us?
Ethan was gone. Owen was gone. Was I next?
I tried to push myself up, arms trembling, but they shook violently under my weight. My vision swam, and somewhere far off I heard laughter. A child's laughter, soft and cheerful, echoing in the storm. My arm gave out, my body collapsing back into the dirt. Overhead, the sky twisted in colors that made no sense.
I would die here.
And maybe… maybe that wouldn't be so bad. It would be over. No more running, no more blood, no more watching people I cared about burn away into nothing. I could be with my lit—
No! The thought stabbed through me like fire. Don't think like that. Not now. Not after how far we've come. If I gave up here, what would that mean for the others? What would they think if I just quit?
A scream tore out of my throat as I forced my arms and legs to move. My body shook, my vision blurring with tears and static, but I pushed. And then, just as I felt myself collapse again, strong hands grabbed my arm, hauling me upright.
I looked up through the haze and met Benjamin's eyes. His face was drawn, sweat and dirt streaking his skin, but his grip was iron as he pulled me away from the rift's edge.
"I've got you," he huffed, dragging me forward out of the clearing. Looking up, I meet the faces of all those who made it, except one.
Just as I turned back, I saw it.
Atlas's left leg vanished. One heartbeat, it was there, the next it was gone, swallowed whole by a rift that blinked open like a waiting trap. His body twisted violently, momentum pitching him sideways. He hit the ground with a bone-jarring thud, dust and light exploding around him. My scream clawed at my throat but stuck there, frozen by sheer horror.
The lightning bird roared, a sound that split the sky in two, and dove.
Its wings were ruined, shredded by the tears, but it could still move. And with one last lunge, it opened its mouth, preparing to consume him.
And then the sky ripped.
A final rift tore open, gaping wide where its head should have been. In one blinding instant, it swallowed the bird whole… and with it, Atlas.