Swiftscales came charging into our line from the darkness. Atop them were goblins waving swords and yelling, and it sounded like the entire goblin army was attacking.

Immediate chaos broke out among the townsfolk we were riding with. The villagers screamed. Those on horses bolted, while the people on foot scattered in every direction. Their panic was immediate and all-consuming. With all the yelling, it was impossible to try to calm them down.

Slade swung Midnight around, fending off an attack and warding two swiftscales and their riders off. He let loose with his own scream, filling the night with a chorus of angry echoes. Max charged off into the darkness while Emma lifted her staff overhead.

As Emma chanted, a burst of blinding light erupted. In a heartbeat, the landscape turned from inky black to harsh fluorescent. The end of Emma’s staff blazed in an unnatural light that cast long, sharp shadows across the landscape.

It was then that I saw that the goblin attack was just a ruse. There weren’t as many goblins attacking as we’d initially been led to believe. I counted a dozen, about half the number of villagers we’d been traveling with. The situation changed in an instant from a hopeless chaotic ambush to an easy fight for us. The only problem was the townsfolk running around.

If the villagers had stayed together, this would have been an easy fight. Instead, they scattered in every direction. We wouldn’t just be fighting a dozen goblins, but trying to protect several dozen non-combatants who were zig-zagging erratically.

“Emma!” I shouted, “Stay on the road and keep moving towards the next town. We’ve got to gather these idiots.”

She nodded as I rode off, firing arrows. I was in the zone. I nailed a swiftscale with a Crippling Shot as it tried to ride down a family. Then I Hunter’s Marked the rider and killed it with a single arrow through the back. The riderless swiftscale was much less interested in running down villagers after that. I rode after the fleeing family, letting arrows fly. At least two goblins died as I ripped shot after shot off.

“Go back to the light!” I yelled as I rode in front of the fleeing villagers. They stopped in their tracks, noticed Emma's beacon, and sprinted towards it.

I circled around what was left of our column of refugees, warning people to head back into the safety of the light. I was so caught up trying to herd the fleeing cats that a flying spear almost landed in my chest. It whisked by like a passing semi-trailer truck looking as large as a telephone pole. It was only blind luck that it had missed me by a hair.

Looking in the direction the spear had come from, my blood ran cold. Malworth sat atop a large swiftscale. He tossed another spear at me, and I dug my heels into Princess.

“Yeeeeouch! You bitch. I get it!” Princess screamed as she bolted. The second spear flew by with a lot more room between us, but I wasn’t about to stick around for anymore. I charged to the light, and the gathering villagers huddled around Emma and Sweetgrass.

Malworth did not look like he’d been able to heel up. Then again, we hadn’t been able to either. We were two groups worn out but taking this fight to the bitter end. I realized Malworth had his scouts attack to slow us down; his army was not far behind. The more he slowed us, the more goblins he’d be able to throw at us every minute.

The next town was still several hours ahead if we continued riding steadily. Scattered and panicked now, I doubted most villagers would make it. Heck, it would be a miracle if we could hold out long enough to make it to the next town. Malworth being in this attack, though, was just spite. He wanted us, specifically Slade. I was of half a mind to leave Slade behind if it meant we could get out of this.

I was so lost in thought that my firing had slowed. I’d probably missed a chance to kill a goblin or two as I sorted all this out. Slade came to the rescue, though, looking every bit like a big damn hero. Seriously, he rode out of the darkness on his black horse, his short frat hairdo looking as if a stylist had just cut it. His broad chest was under a coat of mail, and he was hefting a massive axe overhead. Seeing him gave me confidence that we’d pull this off, rescue the townsfolk, and make a great escape.

“Slade!” I yelled, “Malworth is behind me!”

It was then that Slade said the most un-Slade-like thing I could imagine. “No time for petty revenge, Vicky! We’ve got people to save!”

I wondered if he wasn’t a part of the simulation. As in, he was a program and not a real person. Then again, he’d come through the impossible door with us. Maybe Emma had brainwashed him the night before. He rode off, calling out, “To me! To me!” in an effort to gather any remaining stray villagers.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

I wheeled around and saw Malworth and another swiftscale rider just at the edge of the light. I put my Hunter’s Mark on him and lined up a perfect shot.

Malworth was pointing and giving instructions to another goblin who held a staff. The goblin with the staff held it high, and I watched as it started absorbing the light, creating darkness the same way Emma had lit the night.

Cursing, I made a snap decision. I blame Slade for his remark about petty revenge. I switched the Mark and fired arrows, not at Malworth, but at the goblin shaman beside him. Malworth was a huge threat, but we could not risk losing the villagers to darkness again. I felt guilty for even thinking it, but things would be much simpler if we weren’t trying to save a bunch of non-player characters.

The shaman tumbled from his swiftscale, but my Hunter’s Mark remained on him. He wasn’t dead. I also couldn’t line a shot up because Malworth lifted a shield, blocking my line of sight.

Making himself a nice, juicy target, there was no reason in the world not to pick off Malworth now. I lined my shot up carefully, taking time to aim even, and loosed an arrow.

The arrow slammed right into Malworth’s shield. At the last moment, he lifted it to his chest. The arrow flew true and would have buried itself in him if only it had been a split-second sooner. He roared in defiance and looked at me from across the grassy field. His eyes blazed in hatred, and I had just missed my kill shot. He was a little pissed. Spurring his mount on, he came charging at me.

Even though I was the least hurt of our group, I had no delusions that Malworth could probably tear me to shreds with bare hands. I urged Princess away, and she replied with great speed and a swift, “Duh!”

I slowed only enough to fire a few more shots back at him. He quickly blocked them with his shield but had to slow down his mount to do so. Still not wanting to tempt fate, I kept my distance and made it back to the road where everyone was trotting steadily to the next town. Where the townsfolk had been tired and bedraggled just minutes earlier, nobody was dallying now.

Slade urged Emma to take the lead and keep steady. She moved to the front of the column, with the rest of the villagers following. On each side of our line, Max and Slade rode, calling out when they spotted any goblin scouts. I stayed at the rear, constantly watching behind us, firing arrows whenever I saw a scout trying to sneak up on us and whenever Max or Slade called out that the same was happening on the sides.

We were exhausted. Not just the townsfolks but also us. Except for myself, our health bars were low. The villagers, even the unhurt ones, could not keep up a constant run. Fear will motivate a person so far, but after an hour of our steady pace, I could see the column slowing. People were running out of steam.

Behind us, I heard a different story. Out in the dark, the goblins greeted new riders. Malworth urged them on, telling his scout to harry and harass us when they could. Most chilling, though, he knew we were approaching another town. I could hear as if he were right behind me telling his scouts to prepare for an all-attack with the next horn blast… soon.

I rode forward to the right of the column to tell Slade. “Malworth means to attack soon. I can hear fresh riders joining them.”

“Don’t worry yourself,” Slade said with a ridiculous smile, “We’re almost home free. Just a little further, and we’ll be smoking kippers.”

And this, I thought, was how Slade cracks. He becomes the hero of his own movie drama. The gravity of the situation wasn’t sinking in, so he was just firing off platitudes. I left him and went around the back to the other side.

I was grateful Max was always reliable and told him what I’d told Slade.

He looked pained and exhausted. His health bar wasn’t quite half full. He might be able to sneak attack a goblin or two, but many more than that, and I doubted we’d make it through.

“Slade’s right, just a little further,” he said. “Another half hour, maybe?”

“A half-hour? We’re not going to last a half minute…”

“I know… but even if it's impossible, I think we have to.”

“What do you mean?”

“We have to save the villagers…” he started, but I cut him off.

“They’re not real.”

“I know that, and you do, too. Not so sure Slade or Emma knows. But I think there’s more at stake than losing a few NPCs.”

“Don’t you crack too.”

Max laughed, “Not a chance. If this is a simulation, it's possible that whoever is watching is judging based on how we treat even those that we know aren’t real. We literally have to protect these villagers to the last—if not for us, for another team that gets to the end.”

And that scared me more than anything in this game ever had. It wasn’t about us winning it. It was about all the people that had come in to play. Someone needed to complete whatever test this was, even if we died in the process. I wasn’t ready for the thought of that level of sacrifice. There was too much in my life that I wanted to do. At that moment, I hated the villagers; I didn’t want to die for some stupid constructs that weren’t real.

“Not much further now,” Max said, adding before I could ask why he thought so, “There are more and more farmsteads just off the road. The town can't be much further.”

Slade and Midnight slowed down ahead of us. He eased right into our conversation. “Yeah, I agree. We’re close. Which means Malworth will attack soon. I just told Emma to continue with the townsfolk no matter what happens. Max, I think you should help her. Vicky and me can bring up the rear.”

“Victoria should help Emma. I can ride with you bro,” Max said.

Slade laughed, “Buddy, you couldn’t ride a wheelchair.”

“You’re one to talk. Your health bar is just as fucked.”

“Yeah, but I’m bringing these babies to the fight,” Slade said, kissing each bicep as he flexed.

The boys laughed. I opened my mouth to second what Max said but never got the chance.

A war horn blasted in the dark behind us.