We marched in a line straight toward the marking on the map. Red led the way as Garg and Black stood side to side. I followed the group, sword in hand. We were all equipped with weapons and bags of supplies. It was a quiet walk. The wind chimes clanged but released no noise. Our steps were the loudest noise, which echoed throughout the endless void.
Red had informed us it would take time to get to the edge of the massive stretch of land, void of carrots. All we could do till then was keep our heads on swivels and stay prepared for anything.
After walking for so long, the dreaded sound rang throughout the group. The windchimes all rang simultaneously. I jumped up and waved my sword to the surroundings. Garg took his bag and dumped its contents to the ground. It was a large pile of heavy rocks and bags of carrot stems.
Black caught on and helped Garg quickly form a habitat for the fire. The fire grew as it began to consume the carrot tops fed into it. We all looked back to Red who stood very still. Black took a step from the fire, only for Garg to raise his arm in front of him
"Don't make a noise."
We all watched as Red raised her hand. It ignited into a small, white light. She took a small breath as if she had entered a state of tranquility. Then, she stopped.
"I don't feel the presence of Shadows."
The group began to calm down as we set down our bags.
The times that went on were a lot like these. We followed Garg's navigation skills and successfully dodged the Shadow encounters. It was impressive how the man was able to predict the safest path.
When the wind chimes rang, Red scanned for Shadows. Nothing would ever be in our vicinity. During our resting periods, Garg and Black would train in hand-to-hand combat. Black was improving his skills exponentially.
During this rest period, I waited for Garg and Black to go off to train. Once they were out of sight, I approached Red when she was looking over our supplies.
"Red."
She looked over at me with her sharp eyes.
"I want to learn how to detect the Shadows."
She grinned.
"If you want to be a more useful tool to me, learn to fight."
I gripped the blade on my belt. Her eyes flickered as she sensed the anger emanating from my stance.
"If you wish to fight, then don't expect me to hold back."
Red raised a fist toward me, then tilted her wrist.
My legs began trembling. I felt a blanket of fear cover my mind. It was so difficult to think. I dropped to my knees as I gripped my heart. But her fingertips were already dug deep into my chest.
"What- what are you doing to me."
I began to wince as tears fell from my eyes, soaking into my mustache. Red released her fist as the weight was lifted from my chest.
"I keep my arsenal of power well diversified. If I need to make my opponent fall in fear, or humble them in a surge of light, I can do it all. I won't allow any weakness to stand in my way."
Red reached out and grabbed my hand to stand me on my weakened legs.
To learn this, you must completely take all the fear of your own life and live within it."
I could see Red stare deep into the white void. She reached out and closed her eyes.
"Take all the death of your life, and sleep away with it. Consume it and gurgle it out."
She quickly slammed her fingers together into a fist as I felt the world around me suffer once again. The power was so heavy. She quickly let go of her fist, releasing the area of its presence.
"Your turn." Red turned to me.
I was confused.
"How can someone like me just simply do it?"
Red took her hand and set it down on my chest. They were rough and worn hands, sometimes I forgot she was a woman. She gently whispered to me.
"I can sense. It's my entire ability. To feel, and make my opponents feel. And I can feel the mana within you. It feels a lot like I was, when I was a child."
I had a good understanding of what she had meant. Mana must have been the power I felt when I arrived here on the bus. The confusion, the anxiety of a lost memory. Mana was that brutal power and sadness that followed me from the hut.
I reached out my hand and closed my eyes. I thought of my fear of the Shadows. I saw them consuming everyone around me. Skip. Alice. Black. I saw them cut Blue's head off and consume his body. I ran. I couldn't stop running. I opened my eyes as vomit splurged from my mouth.
Red set her hand on my back.
"You must allow it to consume you. You cannot run from your fear. Once it has consumed you, you can expel it from your fist. You did well, we can try again later."
She walked me to the fire Garg and Black had started. They both snored from a long day of training. I couldn't help but chuckle at how much they were alike. I sat down in the dirt and watched the fire sparkle once more.