We stumbled out of the portal, only to be greeted with vicious heckling and a seemingly endless barrage of objects being hurled our way, from drink bottles to half-eaten sandwiches. As we flailed, struggling to catch our bearings, I hadn't even noticed that we'd landed in a stadium, one that was packed full of die-hard fans.
'There must be at least fifty thousand people in here.' Violet marvelled.
'Watch out!' Asher yelled. Four levitating game cameras had abandoned their posts at the side of the pitch, deciding to check in on the newcomers instead.
'Look at them, go.' Asher cried in awe.
'Do ye mind, buddy, we're in the middle of a game here!'
The dwarf waddled over to me, flapping his arms around and trying to order the out of control cameras back to their proper positions. The hairy little man struck me as someone who always let his body do the talking. And as I looked closer while fighting off the grogginess that usually came from using one of the portals, I could see that he was wearing a referee's uniform.
'Where the hell are we?' I ask no one in particular.
Asher crouched to admire the lush green grass of the pitch. 'Beats me, but it looks nicer than Runazia.'
Violet just shook her head. 'That was dark.' There was likely nothing remaining of that world now, so anywhere would look paradisiacal in comparison.
The dwarf blew on the whistle hung around his neck, the sound so loud that it nearly burst my eardrums. 'Time out!' He barked. 'Honestly, the first time we tried to complete this game, a damn dragon appeared and swallowed our ball whole. Now there's you three, what do you want from us?'
I'd barely had a chance to open my mouth when I felt the ground tremor as ten players ran towards us; they were fully clad in armour, five wore shades of black and white, with the other five seeming to glisten in an outfit of blue and gold. Whatever game they were playing, it was unlike anything I'd ever seen, and we'd just committed the cardinal sin by interrupting it. It was no wonder the fans were going ballistic.
'What are they?' One skinny player asked as it stopped right in front of me, scratching its scaly head.
The player next to him must have been a giant; he was huge. He began prodding me with his fat, furry finger. 'They look strange, Ned, and they feel squishy.'
I look strange? I guess you've never seen you're own reflection. Realising that no one else was going to do so, I began the introductions. 'My name is Jake. And my friend here's Asher.'
Asher was staring fixedly at the odd pair without so much as opening his mouth.
'I'm Violet. Nice to meet you all.'
The giant threw what appeared to be a black football at his teammate's head. 'It spoke, Ned. It spoke!'
I chuckled to myself while inspecting the object further, realising that it was so much more than a ball. There were fiery orange runic symbols around its centre that only seemed to glow brighter when someone touched the thing. Then I pointed with wide eyes. 'That's the runic symbol for lightning!'
The Giant make a choking noise. 'This one's got a brain after all.'
Bastard.
After the outburst of laughter at my expense, they all appeared to be waiting for one of us to say something else. Violet extended her hand in an offer of friendship, but they just stood watching it as if it were somehow about to leap off her arm and attack everyone. The players appeared to be confused, unable to comprehend our ability to both speak and understand them; we were as alien to them as they were to us.
After a few minutes, the referee seemed to have had enough, and with a croaking voice, he sent them away. 'Managers, get your damn teams in line, will you?' It seemed the management had been as dumbfounded as everyone else at our arrival.
'Now, If you could kindly-'
Jasper chose that moment to appear and landed on top of the dwarf to knock him to the floor. The referee was eventually able to push Jasper off; it was a massive struggle, though, and he was so angry with him that he was frothing at the mouth. He didn't even bother to wave away the inbound players this time; their game wasn't going to be completed, and the little guy knew it.
We all seemed to be shuffling back as the portal began to grow in size while distorting the view of reality at its centre. I'd never seen anything like it before, and I hoped I would never have to again.
Seconds turned into minutes after Jasper's arrival, and there was still no sign of anyone else trying to pass through. In the end, I had to drag him out of the way. 'Come on; we need to-'
Jasper wriggled free of my grip when he saw his grandad. The older man's rickety legs had buckled the moment he fell through the portal, and I found myself having to dodge specks of sizzling drizzle as I sprinted after.
'Jasper, watch-' One droplet seemed to burn a hole in the ground next to me, then another ripped clean through my good jacket.
The portal was still growing in size as if something huge were trying to squeeze through, and every few seconds, it seemed to expel bands of thick black fog. Even the surrounding grass was turning yellow; it was a circle of death, where anything inside was quickly succumbing to its power.
I exchanged a worried glance with Violet. 'It's got to be Nightmouth.'
'Give me a break,' Asher complained. 'Everyone, stay back! It's not safe.'
There were gale-force winds now, and so long as the portal remained open, they'd continue to grow stronger. Already, the fog was rolling over one side of the stadium, so when the corrosive rain started, it didn't take long before it began pelting the unsuspecting crowds. And rows of fold-out seats were proving to make for inadequate cover, as everyone bolted for the exits at once.
I covered my face as best I could, but it was pointless. 'Jasper, we have to move!'
'Not without my parents!' He yelled back while staring into the looming abyss.
When I caught the look in his eyes, it wasn't fear, though. No, it seemed more like impatience. It was almost as though he was tired of waiting for them. Not only that, he was now letting the rain wash over his bare skin.
I chalked it down to my imagination. The fact was, we'd unleashed Nightmouth upon this world just by coming here. And it would only be a matter of time before the place became a mirror reflection of the ill-fated Runazia.