Both moved cautiously through the oppressive darkness, every step slow and deliberate. Khael's hands hung loosely at his sides, empty, though his trusty knife rested securely in its sheath on his left leg. Finn, on the other hand, carried a distinctive weapon—a gun similar to a machine gun but slightly larger and more intimidating. Whatever was out there, hidden beyond their sight, they tried to convince themselves they were ready for it. Or at least, that's what they kept repeating silently.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Khael broke the silence, his voice low and edged with doubt. "We should've at least told her where we're headed."
Finn glanced at him with a half-smirk. "Relax. You worry too much, we're just checking out a noise. We'll be back before she even knows we're gone."
Khael shot him a sideways glance.
"Says the guy who still sleeps with the lights on—"
"I don't do that anymore!!"
Khael remained quiet for a moment, a distant look in his eyes as his thoughts wandered. He felt it in his gut, that familiar uneasy feeling.
"She's going to kill us," he muttered under his breath. "We're gonna die."
The only sound between them was the faint, rhythmic ticking of Finn's watch, each second passing like a drawn-out eternity. The minutes dragged on, stretching into an uncomfortable silence. They both listened intently and waited for something—anything—to happen. The air felt unnaturally still, as if the world itself had paused. The sound that had sent them out here in the first place, never returned.
Gr-r-r-r…
In one smooth action, Khael's palm snapped to his knife, causing the blade to slide free. His entire body was tense and prepared as his eyes ran through the blackness.
"Get ready," he whispered.
Finn looked at him, a bit surprised, then shrugged with a nervous laugh.
"Uhhhh… you don't have to be so serious—"
"What do you mean? That's the same sound we heard earlier! It has to be close, whatever it is—"
"It was my stomach," Finn interrupted. "I'm hungry."
"…"
"…"
The silence stretched between them, awkward and heavy, until Khael let out a slow exhale and sheathed his knife. His expression was unreadable as he turned toward Finn.
"Maybe we should head back. It's getting late," Finn suggested.
"Whatever," Khael replied, his tone flat.
"Let's just head bac...."
...........….....
.............
….......…
.......
...…..
.....
…..
…
"—ou there?" Khael felt a sharp push against his shoulder as Finn's hand shook him.
Khael blinked and looked like he'd just been dropped from the sky. "Huh?"
Finn grinned. "Daydreaming about girls again, huh?"
"What? No!"
"Sure, sure." Finn nodded dramatically. "Don't be shy, man. I get it. May your harem grow by the dozens."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
Finn put his hands together like he was praying. "I'm just begging you… leave a few for the rest of us."
"Shut up!"
Khael's gaze finally settled on the creature sprawled in the dirt nearby. It looked like a massive beetle, roughly the size of a full-grown human, its jagged legs bent at unnatural angles. There were multiple cracks in the shiny black shell, and dark fluid was slowly pouring out and pooling around it. It appeared new, as if it had just fallen here, rather than aged or decomposing.
"I thought we cleared out all the trash. Where do these things keep coming from?" Finn muttered.
Khael felt like something had changed. It had appeared so suddenly, like it had materialized out of thin air. If he'd been alone, he might've questioned his own sanity. But judging by Finn's reaction, it didn't seem like it had appeared out of nowhere after all.
"Hey, are you okay?" Finn asked, noticing the dark expression on Khael's face.
Khael remained quiet. His mind felt heavy, clouded with a strange numbness. Something about this wasn't right, but the more he tried to focus, the more the details slipped away. He wasn't scared, not exactly—it was more like a strange confusion. He felt like he was standing in the middle of a puzzle where none of the pieces fit.
"Hey, Finn…" Khael's voice was low, almost distant.
"Yeah?"
"What just happened?"
Finn blinked, caught off guard by the question. He tilted his head, processing it.
"Uh—that thing was about to attack us from behind, but you killed it….?"
"Oh…" Khael muttered. He tried to recall the moment, but it felt like a half-forgotten dream. He didn't remember seeing the beetle, let alone reacting to it. The memory was just… gone, as if it had never happened.
Finn sensed something was off. He stepped closer and placed a firm hand on Khael's shoulder.
"Is something wrong?"
Khael hesitated for a moment. He wasn't quite sure if it was the right time to ask, but he needed to know.
"Is it possible for someone to forget what happened in the last few minutes?"
Finn blinked, a little thrown off by the sudden question.
"Uh… yeah, I guess. There are a lot of reasons for that, but I'm not really sure. I'm no doctor."
"I see…"
"Why are you asking? Wait! Did you forget everything? What will happen to my meal–!"
"Shut up, dumbass! I fine."
Finn let out a small laugh, but then his tone quickly shifted to something more serious.
"Still, why'd you ask?"
"I just…"
GRAHHHHHHHHHHHH
They both fell silent as a far-off scream broke the quiet environment. For two seasoned fighters, screams like this were nothing new. They had heard countless more on the battlefield. To someone else, it might have felt like a nightmare. But even for them, who were used to such sounds, there was something about this one that made them uneasy. It wasn't the loudest or the most terrifying, yet somehow it got under their skin in a way they couldn't explain.
Their eyes met for a brief moment. Without saying a word, they moved forward, Khael falling a step behind Finn. The silence between them felt heavy, like there was so much left unsaid, but neither of them broke it. Their boots crunched softly against the dirt as they moved forward. Instead of the open field they had passed earlier, they were now surrounded by dead trees. Their twisted branches reached like skeletal fingers toward the sky. The air grew cooler as they walked. The fog was denser. Khael kept his gaze forward while Finn led the way with steady steps.
After a while, Finn finally slowed and gestured up. "There," he said quietly.
Khael looked up. There was a massive cliff ahead that towered over them.
"Don't tell me we're going to–"
"We're going to climb," Finn replied before he could finish.
"…" Khael blinked in disbelief, but Finn seemed unfazed. Without waiting for a response, he took a confident step toward the cliff and urged Khael to follow. With a resigned sigh Khael stepped forward knowing he had no choice.
The surface was jagged, covered in sharp, uneven edges that snagged at their fingers and boots. Loose stones shifted unpredictably underfoot, sending small cascades of pebbles tumbling down below. Each move had to be deliberate.
As they climbed higher, the chill in the air intensified. The fog swirled around them like a living creature. Khael focused on his movements. He grabbed the rough rock while his feet found secure placements amidst the jagged edges. Finn was a few feet ahead.
"Almost there!" Finn called back, barely breaking through the dense mist. Khael could see the outline of the cliff's edge growing closer.
"You sure it's there?" Khael asked.
"Trust me,"
Just as Khael reached for another ledge, his foot slipped on a loose stone, and for a split second panic surged through him. With quick reflexes, he managed to grab a nearby sharp rock and regained his balance, but not without consequence. The sharp edge bit into his palm, leaving a deep cut that stung.
"You okay?" Finn's voice called out from above.
"Yeah,"
They continued their ascent, and soon glimpses of the world beyond the cliff began to reveal. When Khael finally reached the edge, Finn grabbed his arm and helped pull him up to the top. He looked behind. The lower ground was hidden beneath a thick blanket of fog. Ahead, only an endless sea of white stretched before them, made almost beautiful by the faint glow of the moon.
"It's a pretty big field. It'd take hours to search in the dark," Finn muttered, his eyes scanning the endless land ahead, barely visible under the dim light.
Khael sighed, shifting his weight as he tried to gauge just how far it stretched. "What now?" he asked, looking over at Finn.
"You jump,"
Khael froze for a moment, narrowing his eyes. "No way I'm doing that!"