Cassius’ flashlight flickered on as he entered the forest. It didn’t help to reveal much of the contents aside from floating dust and bugs. The dense chamber only echoed the small clinks of his armor. This was only the first zone, yet he felt his skin crawl with each step he took. The second zone was nearly as dark as this during the day. The overgrowth was even worse than…the last time.

After some walking, he stilled himself and inspected his surroundings. Nothing was there, yet—his mind refused to believe that something hadn’t noticed him. What lay ahead of him was more than dark. The pitch-black void in front of him was pulling him in, yet he steadied his feet on the ground. He took a step forward—his mind flashed images to him, reminding him. He took another—another flash warned him. The veins in his head were bulging and his face scrunched up. He took a breath before stepping forward again, his foot rested inches away.

I’m fine. This won’t be the first time, so I’ll be fine. There’s no reason to worry… A final step forward. The bushes still pricked at his legs. The scent of wood still lingered in this darkness. He didn’t know where to look or where to go. The flashlight was nigh useless, but as long as he could feel the smooth wood of his club…

“I’m not giving up,” his voice shook as he picked up his pace, blindly trudging through the thick bushes.

Beneath his closed eyes, he felt a punishing appearance of light. He covered his eyes, feeling that even the smallest ray of light in that abyss would torch them. Then his skin and smell, everything. It was as if he stepped into a new world. He uncovered his eyes and looked down. The forest floor was finally there to meet him. The grass under his shoe was almost gray and crisp, and as his eyes drifted

Two dark, skinny legs stood tall above the forest’s ceiling in the distance. Those legs belonged to a giant, hunchbacked monster with bright, sunken, crimson skin. Everything in Cassius’ body stilled. His eyes locked onto the creature’s face; the head was that of a lizard’s, yet it did not have scales. Its eyes bulged obscenely from their sockets and glistened with a dark golden color. The sky was bright again, as if the sun had just risen.

What is this? His thoughts felt shaken by the giant. The largest Aberrō Cassius had ever seen was only twice as large as him. The creature's head turned in his direction in the blink of his eye. He quickly shuffled behind a tree and peeked at it. Its arms hung low, and each step it took shook the ground. As Cassius met its unfocused gaze, his head throbbed and the forest returned to darkness. The creature blinked slowly, its wet, vertical pupils slowly drifting away as it disappeared from Cassius’ sight again.

It was dark now; the forest was dense again. The sound of bugs buzzing returned. He still looked straight up, as if the creature was still there. A blur spread through his mind, and his hanging maw drooled.

He gagged as saliva went down his throat, snapping him awake. Cassius spat the drool from his mouth and thought, What happened? I don’t—I don’t remember…What did I see?

Cassius found himself standing atop the same mound of dirt from before. The metal finger sticking out glistened under the ray of his flashlight. Thanks to his earlier efforts, Cassius dug up more of the hand and revealed a stretched-out arm. The finger was now pointing somewhere. I didn’t get to see this before. Did Han already know? Cassius gazed at the corpse's hand, feeling torn about whether he truly desired to know who lay buried underneath the dirt. He bit his lip as he continued forward with his aching head. The bodies should have rotten by now, so that must mean that person was someone else… At least I hope so.

He rubbed his temple with his free hand. Thoughts ran wild in his head. What if I’ve already gotten lost? What if I’m just imagining things? Maybe I’m already going insane

Cassius’ breathing hastened, and he clutched his club. The typical feeling ran its course up his spine again. Before he could turn around, a violent tear ran through his armor, pushing him to the ground. He lost his breath, but scrambled back up. He ran his hand across the back of his armor, feeling the jagged tear of a claw. No blood, Cassius turned his attention to a glowing creature lurking behind the bushes. It circled him and leaped between the gaps in the dense forest. It’s alone. I can take it. He readied his club as the Aberrō pounced, revealing the headless body of a wolf. Cassius swung his club, striking and sending it flying into the darkness. He aimed his flashlight at where it landed without letting his guard down. The Aberrō jumped high into the air, causing a burst of its blood to splatter out of the bushes. As Cassius swung, the headless neck of the Aberrō bulged and convulsed—it was being held in the air by…something. Its paws squirmed for release until…

Pop.

The black blood spewed and rained down as the scattered carcass hit the floor with a splat. Cassius directed his gaze downward at the Aberrō. With the last drop of blood, silence returned to the forest. From behind him was a quiet, wet pitter-pattering. All Cassius could muster was turning his head to whatever was behind him. It was a person. A man’s pale head poked out from the bushes. He stared at Cassius with deep, soulless eyes. Cassius’ mind drew a blank and his eyes widened. All he could do was stare back. The pitter-pattering began again, and the man’s head slowly emerged out of the bush, along with his long, pale neck. Short and slimy appendages creeped out and stuck to the tree beside him. The man continued watching him as the appendages dragged him out of the bush, revealing his giant, centipede-like body. Each leg running along it crawled onto the tree, coiling around it. Its dry lips parted slightly and a low groan came from it. From side to side, it twisted its head. This creature—if it could be called an Aberrō—froze both Cassius’ body and mind. All he knew was that he could not move and that he shouldn’t.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

The creature exhaled before it spoke.

“Ad vi…tam…” The Aberrō sang gruffly. Its eyes lost contact with Cassius and looked to the forest’s ceiling. “Ad vitam…aeternam…” Suddenly, it raced up the tree, its body snaking creepily along it until it stood above the forest. Cassius could only see its face staring up at the sky. Cassius blinked with his wet lids. The grass was dry and grey again, while the sky was bright. This vision yet again. A smile crept on the Aberrō’s face. With great hesitance, Cassius looked even higher. Again. The giant's bulging, glowing, yellow eyes stared the centipede down with its thin pupils and its hands wrung the centipede.

“Misere…re…mei Deus…” the centipede croaked as it sang.

“Stultus era—”

Pop.

The hands that wrapped around it became engulfed in black blood. The centipede’s lifeless top half fell from the sky. As it hit the ground with a squelch, the dark forest returned. Its face glared straight through Cassius as the gleam in its eyes faded. Blood rushed painfully through Cassius’ body; he had only ever felt this caliber of adrenaline once before. He had no time to think. Cassius ran as fast as he could. The black muck flew off of him, and the leaves were but a blur. Run! Just run!

After what felt like an eternity, Cassius could see the Aeternum’s giant dome in the distance. He finally slowed down and rested on his knees just outside the forest entrance. When he looked up, he saw an older man in a long trench coat looking down at him. The moonlight illuminated his face dimly. That boxy chin, those livid eyebrows, he knows them.

Black blood dripped down his chin as he gulped for air. “Sergeant…”

Why is he here? He only comes once a month…

“Why were you in there?” The Sergeant’s jaw moved rigidly as he commanded him.

Cassius couldn’t gather enough air to speak, let alone give an answer. The Sergeant rubbed his dry face, sounding like scraped sandpaper. “Don’t do that again. I’m warning you.”

Suddenly, a hint of rebellion clouded Cassius’ mind, completely ignoring all of what he saw that night, just as he gained the breath to talk.

“And what’re you warning me about?” He stood up from his knees and spread his arms out, showing his blackened armor. His chest still heaved under his chestplate as he groaned, “There’s nothing to lose here.”

The Sergeant sucked his teeth and crossed his arms. “I’m serious. If not for you, then for your friends.”

Cassius’ eyes left the Sergeants and looked at the dark barracks. He hesitated before muttering, “They're not my friends."

“What is wrong with—” The Sergeant rubbed his face and groaned, “Why can't you just do what I say?.”

“I think the only one that’s wrong is you. Why do you care? You don’t want me to die now? You left me here for nine months, and now you care?”

“I don’t care about you any more or less than any of the others.”

Cassius felt a lump in his throat and tried to calm down.

“Then why are you here? Why not tell all of us?”

The Sergeant let everything go quiet. His eyebrows relaxed as he stuffed a hand back into his coat’s pocket. “Cassius, you’re not right in the head right now. Go to sleep and forget about what you saw.”

Cassius lowered his chin as he looked up at him and said, “Stop acting like that’ll work now. I’m not a kid anymore. Now tell me why.”

The Sergeant pulled out a cigarette and lit it. “Fine. Since you’re so concerned, I’ll tell you. That Aberrō you saw—well, neither of them—are normal. When you, being the idiot you are, decide to get closer to it, you’re bringing it to us. Just leave this one alone. You won’t be able to do anything.” He began walking away, taking a puff of his cigarette.

Cassius’ throat tightened as he growled, “That's easy for you to say. You get to sit in that dome and watch us fight for our lives. But now you tell me I can't do anything..” His voice cracked as he spoke. “Then what’s the point then? What did they die for?”

The Sergeant sighed and kept walking. Cassius could only see the side of his face from the moonlight, and the smoke took up most of it.

“Stop chasing ghosts. You’re not a kid anymore, right? That’s what you said. Just get over it. Everyone dies for the same reason.”

Cassius watched him walk to Aeternum, his figure getting smaller and smaller with each passing second. Anger brewed inside of him and coursed through his blood. The Sergeant was but a dot in his vision when a luminescent hole opened in the dome to swallow him. The weight of Cassius' breath overwhelmed him as the light disappeared, leaving him in the quiet moonlight. Cassius reached under his armor and took out the folded ghost orchid painting. The dam in his eyes finally broke. Bringing the paper to his forehead, he buried his face in his hands. Cassius stood alone in the field, surrounded by dust, dirt, and an empty sky.

Defending a fantasy…our entire lives. We’ve been protecting a place we don’t even remember…

He clutched the paper in his palm, feeling its warmth.

No, there’s still a chance. I have to see them again. God can at least grant me that wish.