The oppressive heat lingered in the air, though no flames burned nearby. Kellie wiped sweat from her brow, her eyes darting around their makeshift group. The death of Carter—swallowed whole by that ghastly, clawed hand—had left them shaken, their morale brittle as glass.
Belinda crouched low, her sharp gaze sweeping the terrain. She clutched her weapon—a short, jagged blade that glinted in the crimson light. "Something's coming," she murmured, her voice tense but steady.
Kellie, standing beside her, nodded, though she couldn't explain how she knew. It was as if the heat spoke to her, a pulsing presence in the very air. "It's hot," she added, her tone firm. "Something's burning."
Her words hung in the air for a moment before a mechanical click-clack broke the silence. The sound was unnervingly precise, like gears grinding together in the heart of some monstrous machine.
Then, before their eyes, the space ahead of them began to warp. The fabric of reality twisted and split apart, the lines jagged and unnatural. The tear widened into what could only be described as a gate—a massive, shimmering portal with jagged edges that pulsed faintly with a fiery orange hue.
Through the gate, they saw chaos. Twisted, monstrous forms lurked on the other side, their grotesque shapes shifting and shuddering as though eager to escape. Hulking beasts with gnarled limbs, serpentine creatures that writhed with unsettling grace, and fanged horrors with glowing eyes all crowded together, clawing at the shimmering barrier that kept them at bay.
The gate creaked, the sound echoing like the groan of some ancient, dying beast. Then, without warning, it sprang open.
The monsters surged forward.
Kellie barely had time to react before a creature with scales as black as coal lunged at her. She leaped back, narrowly avoiding its serrated claws. Around her, the others scrambled to defend themselves.
Chase stared at the chaos, his heart pounding. A long sword appeared in his hand, its blade gleaming faintly. He didn't remember picking it up—or even seeing it before—but instinct took over. He gripped the hilt tightly and dashed forward to meet the onslaught.
The first monster he faced was a hulking brute with tusks that jutted out from its jaw like jagged rocks. Its eyes glowed a sickly yellow, and its roar shook the ground. Chase swung his blade with all his might, the steel connecting with a satisfying crunch as it cleaved into the creature's neck.
Beside him, Arthur was battling a gangly, spider-like beast with too many legs and a maw that dripped with acid. "Why is it always spiders?" Arthur groaned, thrusting his spear forward. "I hate spiders!"
The spear pierced one of the creature's many eyes, and it let out an unholy screech. Arthur grinned despite himself, pulling back for another strike.
But there was no time to celebrate. Another wave of monsters surged forward, and the group was forced to spread out.
Kellie fought fiercely, her movements precise and calculated. She danced around her opponents, her weapon—a pair of short daggers—flashing in the dim light. She sliced through the throat of a wolf-like beast before spinning to dodge the snapping jaws of another.
Belinda, on the other hand, fought with brute strength. Her blade wasn't elegant, but it was effective, cutting through her enemies with brutal efficiency. "Stay focused!" she shouted, her voice cutting through the chaos.
Chase glanced her way, nodding grimly. He parried a blow from a monstrous hound, its fangs clashing against his blade. With a swift motion, he drove the sword into its chest, the beast collapsing with a final, pitiful whimper.
Around them, the fight raged on. The air was filled with the sounds of clashing weapons, guttural growls, and the screams of the dying. Blood—thick and dark—spattered the ground, staining it like ink on parchment.
Chase was relentless, his sword flashing as he cut down beast after beast. But something nagged at the back of his mind, a faint sense of wrongness he couldn't shake.
Why were they here?
He couldn't remember.
The thought was fleeting, pushed aside as another monster lunged at him. He sidestepped and slashed, the blade biting deep into its side. But the feeling remained, growing stronger with each passing moment.
Then, it happened.
Belinda screamed—a sound that would haunt Chase for the rest of his days. He turned just in time to see her falter, her foot slipping on blood-slicked ground. A monstrous claw swiped at her, rending through flesh and bone with sickening ease.
Her blade clattered to the ground as she crumpled, blood pouring from the jagged wound in her throat.
"Belinda!" Kellie cried, rushing to her fallen friend's side.
Chase froze, his sword hanging limply in his hand. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe. Around him, the battle continued, but all he could see was Belinda's lifeless body.
Kellie sobbed, cradling her friend's head. Others nearby mourned their fallen comrades, their grief a sharp contrast to the chaos around them.
Arthur, however, had no time for sentimentality. "Oi! Chase!" he shouted, his voice strained but unmistakably annoyed. "Pick up your damn sword!"
Chase didn't respond.
Arthur swore under his breath, dodging a swing from a club-wielding beast. "Are you serious right now? You're just gonna stand there? If you wanna die, fine! But at least cover my back first!"
Chase blinked, Arthur's words barely registering. He looked down at the sword in his hand, then back at the carnage around him.
"None of this makes sense," he murmured. His grip on the sword loosened, and it clattered to the ground.
Arthur turned, his face a mix of fury and disbelief. "Motherf—" he began, but he cut himself off with a frustrated growl. "You're unbelievable, you know that? Just standing there like some brooding protagonist while the rest of us are out here dying! What, you think the monsters are just gonna give you a pass because you're having an existential crisis?"
Chase didn't respond. He was staring at the sky—red and unnatural, the clouds swirling in patterns that seemed almost deliberate.
"It's fake," he said suddenly, his voice barely above a whisper.
Arthur blinked. "What?"
"Everything," Chase continued, his eyes narrowing. "It's not real."
Arthur opened his mouth to argue, but the words died in his throat as the world around them began to shift.
The crimson sky darkened, the swirling clouds dissipating like smoke. The ground beneath them shuddered, cracks spreading like veins. The monsters froze mid-attack, their forms flickering and fading like images on a broken screen.
Kellie gasped, clutching Belinda's lifeless body tighter. But even Belinda began to blur, her form dissolving into nothingness.
In an instant, the chaos was gone.
They were back in the room they had started in, the eerie silence broken only by the sound of their own ragged breathing.
Arthur collapsed onto the ground, his spear falling from his hands. "I hate this place," he muttered, his voice weak but tinged with his usual humor. "I hate it so much."
Chase said nothing, his gaze fixed on the spot where Belinda had fallen. Though he knew it wasn't real, the memory of her death still lingered, sharp and painful.
Kellie wiped at her eyes, her expression a mix of relief and lingering sorrow. "What just happened?" she asked, her voice trembling.
Chase exhaled slowly, his jaw tightening. "An illusion," he said simply. "They wanted to test us. To see how we'd react."
Arthur groaned. "Great. Next time, how about we just play a nice board game instead? I'm fantastic at Monopoly."
Despite everything, Kellie let out a shaky laugh.
But Chase didn't smile. He couldn't shake the feeling that this was just the beginning. They would be spending alot of time in this place.