Hundreds of tall tree silhouettes surrounded Spero as he jogged through the forest covered in darkness and rain. He tried his best to follow the woman ahead of him, but it was nearly impossible to see anything. Along with that, every step sent a sharp pain through his leg where he had been impaled, and his head throbbed.

Luckily, the woman slowed to make sure he kept up when he would start to fall behind. He didn't question her intent; all he wanted at that time was to survive. He didn't understand why she was leading him or to where, but she seemed determined. Weaving through trees and bushes, Spero struggled to follow. Every few seconds the woman disappeared behind shrubbery or tree trunks before reappearing as Spero caught up.

This run Spero was undergoing felt never-ending. The forest, the rain, and everything else seemed to repeat infinitely. The only change was his fatigue and a steady increase in pain throughout his body. He made little attempt to keep his body in shape while locked in the dank shack, and that was biting him. His throat was hoarse with every breath followed by a wheeze.

Spero didn't dare look behind him to see if Clas was following, as even taking his eyes off of the woman for a second could lead to her fading into darkness. His eyes were locked on her outline. The woman, with Spero following behind, weaved and weaved through all of the natural obstacles that laid ahead. Spero couldn't keep up. He was too tired. Every step was hurting.

"Stop!" Spero called out to the woman. He had to take a breather. His back planted against a nearby tree trunk, and his hands grasped his knees. He tried to calm his wheezing breath to no avail. The fatigue wasn't leaving. The woman's footsteps proceeded closer to Spero as he tried to regain his composure.

"We can't stop! Every second we're not running is a second for them to catch up! Come on!" The woman approached Spero and grabbed his arm once again. Spero pulled his arm away and took a step away from her.

"Just... ehgg... hold on!" He didn't think he'd stay conscious much longer if he kept up. He needed a rest. He needed a rest. Spero could see the woman fidgeting, clearly uncomfortable. She seemed to be in distress.

She's the one who decided to help me, so she should accommodate my needs.

"Okay... just... in through the nose and out through the mouth. Deep breaths, not shallow. You got it." Spero followed her advise as she lowered her tone to a calm, understanding demeanor. He breathed in... and breathed out. In... and out.

"Foo-- okay. Okay. I think I'm good."

"Okay, then let's go!" The woman started back into her sprint, and Spero went alongside her. This time, he tried to stay close to avoid being split. Eventually, Spero could hear the woman's breath more clearly, showing that she was also capable of running out of breath. It gave him some comfort, at least. What felt like another eternity of running passed. The scenery hadn't changed. The rain hadn't stopped. Spero and the unknown woman running into darkness was all there was.

...

Thirty minutes of running had passed. Both of them were exhausted beyond understanding, and Spero's pain had reached numbness. His mind was blank. The only way he could continue was to disassociate from the situation completely. He let his autopilot take over for the time being.

"Ghuh-- ughh-- let's.. stop here..." The woman slowed to a stop and spoke out to Spero. "There's a cave... nearby.. ghuhh--." The woman could barely form a single sentence. Spero doubted he could form even a word. The two walked a short distance to a small hill surrounded by woods. At the base of the hill, a small hole extruded from the land. "In here," the woman said. They crawled through the hole and into a large stone cave, blocking them from the downpour of rain outside. Spero collapsed as soon as he entered and fell unconscious.

Spero opened his eyes to the morning glow glimmering through the entrance to the cave, along with chirping from an unknown animal. His body was covered by some sort of blanket, and his head laid on a rough, dirty pillow. Spero didn't bother to sit up. Waking in that cave wasn't something that Spero was especially wanting. He expected to awake in his bed, in the cube. He would have made himself plain toast, and he would meet with Green before heading off to work.

He didn't know if he missed it. Unsure of his feelings, Spero let out a defeated sigh as he stared at the dull, moist ceiling above him. He didn't know anything anymore. He didn't feel anything anymore... or did he feel too much? That was yet another thing he didn't know.

"Morning!"

A woman's voice bounced to Spero's ears. Immediately realizing his situation from the night prior, he sat up and looked towards the woman. She sat on top of another blanked at the other side of the small cave. Spero felt uncomfortable. He released himself from the warm embrace of the blanket and pushed his back to the cave wall.

The woman spoke again, saying, "You don't need to be scared! Or maybe you do... and that's okay!" She loosened her posture and slowly stood to her feet. Spero didn't look at her. "Before anything though, we need to move. I doubt this cave is far enough from Astinn to consider ourselves escaped. This was just a temporary holdout."

Spero had a million questions, but couldn't bring himself to ask them. The woman asked for urgency.

"I don't wanna leave the bedrolls here... but I doubt I could carry them while protecting you. We'll just have to hope that they never find this cave. ...Are you coming?"

"Uh... yeah..." Spero used the excess strength that he didn't know he was holding to stand himself up. Doing so brought pain; it was pain that he should have been used to by that point. He had endured physical injuries for the past week. Even still, everything hurt.

"Here's how we're gonna do this." The woman planted her feet at the entrance of the crawl space. "I'll lead and you follow directly behind me. I would have you in front so I could watch you, but I'm the only one who knows where to go. Keep your instincts sharp. There will absolutely be patrols looking for you. Do you know how to climb trees by any chance?"

Climb... trees?

Spero didn't have any experience with climbing. He understood the importance of such a skill in that scenario, though. The trees were tall and had many thick, branching limbs. If he had climbing skills and good coordination, they could make their way through the forest while jumping from tree to tree. The towering plants seemed sturdy enough. But...

"No. I've never tried it and I doubt I'd be able to in my state anyways."

The woman sighed, "Didn't hurt to ask. Anyways, I'm sure you're really confused, so I'm sorry. But we have to go now. Don't talk when we're out there unless you spot something I don't." She bent down to her hands and knees before crawling her way through the cave entrance. Spero wobbled to the same position and followed closely behind her.

His eyes burned as they did when he first arrived in the Sphere. It was bright. The woman kept low to the ground and scouted for anyone around. After finding that they were clear, she motioned for Spero. He made sure to follow her directions exactly. Every step hurt. His head was throbbing; his vision was blurry. Would he ever recover?

Stop!

He was too focused on his pain. The woman had told him to keep his instincts sharp. To him, that meant to keep a lookout. Even though his vision was stunted, he tried his best. The woman lead Spero with a light jog. They both scanned back and forth. So far, nothing was out there but the two of them. Spero knew that could change at any moment. What would they do if someone saw them?

I can't fight, but this girl can...I have no idea what she did to Clas, but maybe she could do it again. Please-- no one spot us.

Every crack of a branch and crunch of a leaf rung out louder than a shockwave. Spero tried to avoid stepping on anything, but it was impossible. The grass wasn't too tall, but it concealed the sticks and leaves.

The two continued. Spero's whole world was spinning. He was tired. Everything was wrong. He had to take his mind off of his body. With that in mind, Spero recalled into his mind. Nothing in there was much better than enduring physical pain, but it served this specific scenario.

I wonder what this girl's deal is. She came to my rescue, but wont tell me what her motive is. I haven't asked... but still. I haven't gotten a good look at her face. I wonder if she looks similar to the people in the town we're escaping from. A bit darker skin was the main thing there. Are they a different race? There's obviously a few different races in the City, but haven't seen much diversity in skin tones here... Although some were lighter than others.

"You're doing good!" The woman looked back and threw encouraging words to Spero.

Ah-- it hurts! W- Why are there even people living here? If anyone were to be here, wouldn't it just be criminals from the City? These people seem like they have deep cultures and history! Not that I know anything about that... My leg... hurts...

Spero scrunched his face in pain and let out an unattractive noise from deep within his throat. He was doing fine keeping up, but he didn't know how much more willpower he possessed. It seemed like this new life that Spero had chosen involved nothing but running away. From the moment he cast his old life aside, that's all he's been doing. Why couldn't he get a rest?

"Hey, stop," The woman whispered. She lead Spero behind a large tree and peeked over the side. "There's a patrol over there. We're gonna sit here until they're far enough away. I can't tell if they're coming closer or going away from us..."

Spero leaned over the side of the tree to spot the people in the distance. There seemed to be four. He couldn't tell their walking direction either. If they were to get closer, what would this woman do? She seemed capable-- but how did she injure Clas? Spero took his eyes off of the distant searchers and scanned the woman for the first time.

She was wearing some sort of uniform. It had patches on the shoulders and hip that depicted some sort of shape unknown to Spero. There could have been more in the front, but she was facing away. The outfit seemed to be made of a sturdy material, but it was very dirty. Across her hip was a belt with a multitude of tools clipped on. Spero saw a few things he didn't recognize, but he didn't see anything that looked like a weapon. She also had a string necklace around her neck, but whatever item or pendant that was at the tip was hidden behind the top of her shirt.

The woman whispered to Spero, "They're getting closer! Stay behind this tree! Move around it quietly to avoid any visual!" Spero noticed a tinge of fear in her voice. Why was she doing this if it scared her? What reason did she have to lead him? Was she helping, or did she have some sort of hidden motive? Would Spero have rather been killed by a blade that previous night? A drip of sweat slid down his moist, dirty cheek.

For now... I have no choice but to follow.

Spero and the woman kept their backs locked to the tree behind them, Neither looked over the side. As the four searchers drew closer, their footsteps became clear. None of them were conversing. They had a goal and Spero knew that they intended to follow through. Why couldn't they let him escape? What threat did he pose to that town? He was just a clueless kid...

The footsteps were now directly opposite of the tree trunk. The woman motioned Spero to slide around the tree as the people walked past. He was unsure if he'd be able to stay quiet with branches and leaves strewn about. Using the tips of his toes, he slid his feet to the side. He shuffled his left foot around. His other foot followed. The woman to his side did the same. The footsteps stayed opposite of the trunk as the two sneaked around the tree. Spero held his breath. He could feel his heart beating. Would they be able to hear that as he did?

... The footsteps passed and began to draw distant. It seemed that Spero and the woman succeeded. After checking that they were indeed moving away, the woman whispered, "okay," before leading Spero through the forest once again. Spero felt pain. For a bit he had forgotten his physical turmoil. It was nice despite the dreadful situation.

The trees began to seem more sparse as they continued, and the ground was becoming hilly. Now that he thought about it, Spero hadn't seen much bumpiness in the terrain since arriving. The only exceptions were the steep hill that he fell down while being chased by the black creatures, and the cliff. It was all flat beyond that. The city was full of small hills, but there was nothing major. He had heard of mountains-- would they be here? He always wanted to climb one someday.

"Up this hill. It isn't that steep, but can you climb it?" The woman stopped at the base of a large, grassy cliff and asked Spero about his physical capabilities. Normally he would be fine, but he could barely walk.

"Can... can we go around it?"

"Don't think so. This is a really wide hill. If we go too far to the right it'll take us way too close to the edge of this forest. We can't afford to be in the open. And the group that passed us went to our left. We could try and find a less steep incline... but I don't care to stall!--"

"Gah!" Spero let out a surprised yelp as the woman picked him right off of his feet and over her shoulder. She was much stronger than him.

"Lean forward as much as possible! And wrap your legs around my waist!" Spero did as he was told. While she was clearly very strong, her muscles were struggling to keep his slender body up. Despite her shaking and grunting, she started up the hill using her hands and feet to crawl. Their progress was very slow. Spero, leaning forward as she asked, looked to the top of the hill. It was far.. would she be able to make it, Spero wondered?

"Hu- hu- hu-" The woman timed her breaths to her movement. Her strength was extraordinary. Spero felt entirely useless. She crawled and crawled. Her muscles were rapidly vibrating. Spero could barely keep balanced on her shoulder.

"Wait! I'll--" Spero's words were cut off by a whizzing noise passing his right ear. It was the same noise as the spikes thrown by the black monsters. Spero looked to see an arrow; it was the same kind as the one that pierced his calf a week prior.

"They found us!" The woman tried to crawl faster but slipped down the hill a ways. She grabbed the protruding arrow, but her and Spero's weight were too much. The arrow released from the earth. Spero slid back and grabbed at the woman's neck to keep himself on her. Wait-- why would he want to be on her at this point?!

Spero let go and tumbled down the hill and landed on his back. The woman soon followed-- landing directly on his stomach-- knocking the wind out of him. Spero heard what sounded like metal rubbing against metal, so he looked up to the woman who had already stood to her feet. In her hand was a shiny silver knife with engravings along the blade. It looked much fancier than the ones in the City or even in the town he escaped from, and was curved from the handle to the tip.

Her breaths were heavy as the held the knife out in front of her, flaunting it's sharpness to the opponents. There were five this time. One held a bow with an arrow at the ready, while the other four held swords of different sizes and thickness. What would the reason be to have such variety in swords?

The Arrowman placed his thick, grimy fingers in his mouth and let out a high pitched whistle. Was that to signal to the others out in the forest?

We're dead...

The woman looked down at the young man who had already succumb to his supposed demise. "What's your name?" She asked him a question with a comforting voice.

"... Spero."

"Spero," she repeated. "That's a badass name! When we get out of this, you gotta tell me where it comes from!"

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

Huh?

Spero couldn't imagine that this woman, armed or not, could defeat five men at once. Was she just putting on a front to make him more comfortable? Why did she want to know his name? Spero usually asked for names in his classes to close the distance... was that her goal? What good would that do now? Even still-- no one had ever complimented his name before.

The woman lunged for the Bowman. The man drew said bow and let the arrow fire. She dodged down, placing her hand on the grass for a brief moment before standing back up. She didn't lose any of her speed. Swinging her knife, the man attempted to dodge.

"AGAHH!"

Four fingers flew up in the air, sending blood scattered over the two of them. The woman spun the knife in her hands and swing the blunt end of the knife into the Bowman's head. He crumpled instantly. As the swordsmen had time to react to the attack, they surrounded the woman. With precise, autonomous movements, they seemed to have trained for a situation such as this.

The four armed men inched closer to the woman who stood her ground proudly. Blood splotched her worn face and her breathing was heavy. Spero once again asked himself why this stranger was aiding him in surviving. No matter how he looked at it, it didn't make sense. She was about to die out of a desire to help him. She would die in vain with regret in her heart.

Spero watched as the woman became closed in further and further. Had she given up? She wasn't making any moves to escape, nor was she fighting.

That's the right move. When you know you're cornered it's best to put down your hopes.

The woman smiled a tooth filled, cheek to cheek grin. A glimmer of white hit Spero's eyes. She was smiling. Why? She was about to die.

As the men readied their swings, the woman dropped her knife. What was perhaps a strategy to have the men rethink action didn't work. They continued with the goal of killing Spero and the woman. That is what Spero thought... but--

A crunch rang out from the woman's mouth. It was as if she had just finished chewing the last of her food. Following that crunch, everything went black. Spero assumed his senses were dulling as a result of fatigue. Sounds of confusion and panic could be heard around Spero. Could they have lost their vision as well? What happened?

Spero lifted off of the ground. It was the same as when the woman lifted him to scale the hill. Was she trying again? How did she escape the search party that had surrounded her? Following his instruction from last time, Spero leaned forward and wrapped his legs around whoever was carrying her.

Spero still saw nothing, but he could feel that whoever carried him was trying to scale the hill. She was indeed trying again. What did she do to make everyone lose their vision? Did it have to do with that crunch sound he heard beforehand? He'd have to ask her if they escaped.

"Seass, are you there?!"

"Yeah! What's going on?!"

"I can't see!"

"Me neither!"

The combatants yelled out to each other in a panic. The woman was taking advantage of that. She crawled. Spero hung tightly. Every step brought them closer to the sky.

"The spies are gone!"

"Shit!"

"They probably pushed up the hill! Kestin, you stay with Areavi and tend to his hand! Piil and Bougin with me up the hill! I don't care that we're blind, find them!"

Spero could hear the woman's breathing and feel her heart. She was wheezing. Her heart beats alone would crack rocks. Spero's head spun. His leg felt like it was being pulled apart from the inside out. He felt useless. This woman was making a fool of him. She would never make it up the hill anyways.

Spero pushed himself off of the woman's back. She said nothing, but her mouth let out a relieved sigh. Spero had to focus. He had to scale this hill. If he couldn't even do that what future did he have? Push. He had to push beyond what he knew. With strength that he didn't possess, Spero used his hands and feet to crawl. He could hear the woman beside him doing the same.

"Isn't that steep" my ass!

Push. He had to push. If he slipped, it would be over. Everything rode on his meager abilities. He didn't worry about the woman. He knew she was fine. Push. Push. Push. Spero was reminded of scaling the infinite stairs in the pyramids. An upside to his current situation-- he wouldn't have to teach a class full of people after this. Or maybe he would; he couldn't predict what would happen anymore. He missed sameness.

Footsteps and clanging of metals could be heard not far behind. If he didn't hurry, they would catch up. Spero felt a tug on his sleeve pulling him to the left. She was directing him to the side to avoid the swordsmen. He assumed they would hear, but it couldn't hurt to try.

Push. Push. Push. It was becoming easier. He could make it. He would make it. He would survive. That's all there is. Living and dying. It seemed "content" didn't exist inside the sphere. One leg after the other. Right hand up, then the left. It was becoming a dance.

Suddenly, Spero could see. Light blinded his eyes. The shock of seeing made him yelp.

"Over there!"

Spero looked behind him. Thick, black smoke filled the air. That would have been what blinded all of them. It didn't seem like it was dissipating. How long would it linger? Was it toxic?

"Spero, keep going. I'll push them back," the woman whispered to Spero. He looked over. She had switched to face her back to the hill with her legs spread. What was she planning? Spero nodded and kept pushing up. Strangely, his restored sight made it more difficult to climb. He lost his rhythm.

Spero heard a commotion below him. The woman had just kicked the black cloud. No-- she kicked a swordsman. Did she wait until one emerged from the smoke and kick him down the hill? It was reckless. She could fall as well. Spero didn't have time to worry about her. He was getting close to the top.

He needed one last push. With pure will, he pushed to the top. With heavy wheezes, Spero rolled onto his back. The woman was still planted where she was left. Her foot silently waited for another swordsman to pop his head before kicking them down.

At the top of the hill, Spero saw a never-ending field of short, green grass. Trees sparingly spanned the calm landscape, Hills rose and drew as far as the eye could see. Should he have kept running? Spero looked down at the woman. When did she plan on catching up? Did she want Spero to continue ahead? He doubted he could survive without her. He would wait it out.

The woman kicked another head, but they didn't fall. A hand grabbed her ankle and pulled. She slid but dug her fingers into the hill and grabbed at grass. With a grunt and a final kick, the man slipped back into the black gas. Looking up at Spero, a look of relief crossed her face.

The woman started to the top of the hill. Spero took the opportunity to rest until she made it to the top. Seemingly instantly she had caught up. Her hand signaled to follow once again, and Spero obliged. They broke into a sprint into the hilly fields before them. Spero was dehydrated and hungry. He was in pain. He was tired. It seemed like this test of willpower would never end. How long did he have to run?

Luckily for Spero, none of the hills ahead were steep, but they still caused slight anguish. Even though the woman didn't want them running to their right because they'd end up in the open, they were now in the open. Spero looked behind him repeatedly to see if anyone was following. He had to assume they were, but the woman's kicks set them back enough to get a head start.

Spero heard some sort of chirping once again. He looked at the woman to gauge her reaction, but she showed no response to the noise. It must not have been any danger to them. The two kept running at full speed. Spero, despite a limp, was getting better at running. His stamina was already much better than his run on the bridge to the sphere. Though at that time he was hindered by thin air.

"What's the plan here?" Spero finally asked the woman a question of her intentions. He was tired of running.

"There's a giant lake somewhere ahead! I left a boat at the shore! We'll sail to the other side and meet my friends!" Spero was satisfied with her answer. His only experience with a lake to that point was the one he fell into from the tall cliff's edge. He hoped this upcoming experience wouldn't be so exciting.

Spero and the woman scaled one final hill to be greeted with the sight of the lake. As she said, it was giant. He couldn't see the other side. Was she sure this wasn't an ocean? It reminded him of the edge of the city... but much more beautiful. The sky was a pale blue and thin clouds slithered across, The still water reflected the sun's vibrant light. A smell unknown to Spero entered his nose. It wasn't pleasant, but he had smelled worse.

"Boat's down there. Let's ride, Spero!" The woman lead Spero down the hill and to a boat. Spero had heard of a boat, but this boat was much different than how it was described to him. Unlike the boats he had heard of with large hulls and cloths for using the wind, this boat was very small.

"You sit up front. We don't want them hitting you with arrows!"

Both ends of the small boat ended in tips. Two wooden planks jetted out from the sides, seemingly to be used as seats. It was poorly made, but this woman seemed sure that it would function. Spero stepped into the boat and sat on the far plank. His head went limp as he finally had a chance to rest.

"What's this?" Spero pointed at a wooden stick with wide, flat ends. It sat at the ground of the boat and spanned it's entire length.

"That, Spero," the woman happily responded, "is an 'oar'! I'll use that to get to the other side of the lake. Lift your leg for a second!" Spero lifted his leg as the woman pulled the oar up to her hands and pushed off of the shore. She held the stick with both hands and swung the flat ends into the water over and over.

"They're... ghuh... in the lake!"

"Shit! We don't have arrows!"

Two men stood at the shore and yelled at each other in a panic. Spero looked over the woman's shoulder to see them stepping further into the water before stopping at waist level.

"CYA BOYS! LEARN HOW TO USE A SWORD NEXT TIME!" The woman, without turning around to face them, yelled out to the men. After, she sighed and let out a little giggle. Spero locked his eyes to the floor of the wooden boat. A bit of water sloshed back and forth inside as the woman rowed, but it wasn't enough to sink them.

"Go back and tell everyone to surround the lake," Spero heard one man say to the other. Spero wondered how fast they would execute that command. Would they have enough time?

"Will we have enough time to make it to the other side?" Spero, with the quietest voice possible, looked up at the woman who's whole body faced him.

"Oh yeah, ha, they don't stand a chance against us. I'm... quick."

"That sounded oddly menacing," Spero responded. The woman looked at him and smirked. Immediately feeling a pressure in his chest and forehead, Spero snapped his eyes back to the floor. For some reason he had decided to face the woman instead of out ahead of them. He could switch positions then, but it would make him seem rude. Why did he do this to himself, he wondered.

Still, his current position beat out running by a mile. He would take absolute advantage of this opportunity to catch his breath and rest his weary muscles. The woman rowed consistently. Spero was in awe of her stamina. It didn't seem easy to use the oar.

"That was pretty damn cool back there, huh?" The woman cheerfully asked Spero a very leading question. She clearly wanted him to praise her for something.

"I'm catching my breath."

"Oh yeah, yeah. Sorry." The woman made a 'pfffff' sound with her lips and continued rowing.

...

"I bet you're wondering what that black smoke was right?"

"... Hold on. I need a break." Spero shook his head and rubbed his palms. This woman seemed awfully cheery for someone who almost just died protecting a stranger. She wasn't irritating him, but he wasn't lying when he said he needed to catch his breath.

"I know, it's just... GAHH!" The woman shrieked, scaring Spero's soul out of his body.

"What??"

"Sorry, I'm just excited!" Spero looked back down. Maybe she was starting to irritate him. "I never thought I'd meet someone from Domum Quattuor! Tell me everything!" Spero rubbed his hands to his temple with his elbows placed on his knees. He couldn't bring himself to look at her.

Spero sighed and responded with a quick, "I'm tired," before putting his palms over his eyes. The longer he sat still in the boat the more apparent his pain became. His head throbbed. His muscles burned.

"Okay! Hmhmhmmm." With the woman's little hum, Spero questioned her sanity. How was she so chipper in such dire circumstances? It's true that they escaped from the search party, but everything seemed so daunting. Was it that she was just used to this life? Or was getting Spero that inspiring for her?

And what in the hell is 'Domum Quattuor'? I'm from the City, not... that.

"I'm from the City, not whatever you just said." Spero kept his eyes glued to the floor, but decided he was rested enough to converse with the woman.

"Wait, what?" she responded with uncertainty. Would the woman cast Spero aside once she knew he wasn't who she'd hoped? "You don't know the name of your own city?"

Spero furrowed his brows. "Huh?"

"Dude, your city is called Domum Quattuor! That's its name! Are... are you sure you'll be able to teach my about it if you don't even know its name?"

"I never said I'd teach you anything," Spero emphasized. "The City is just called 'The City'. Always has been."

The woman clapped her hands in joy. "I'm learning so much already! Oh man this is so cool!"

"Hm. Glad I could help"

"Yeah! So... um..." The woman cleared her throat and took on a serious tone. "What'd you do to get thrown here? You aren't wearing the normal gear that people like you get dropped with..."

Dropped?

"I didn't do anything! I came here on my own. I didn't do anything."

"I believe you, no need to say it twice!" The woman giggled.

"You believe me, huh?" Spero put his hands on his lap and locked his fingers together.

"Of course! You don't seem like a liar!" The woman placed her hand on Spero's shoulder and gave him a little shake. Still, he couldn't look at her.

"You... don't know me." Spero tightened his grip as he spoke with reserve in his voice.

"No, but I can read people pretty well. You're badass, Spero! After I dragged you into those fields and went back for the other one, you made your way through one of the most dangerous forests on the surface! Oh man, and you fell like a gajillion feet into water! And you're still alive! You gotta be some kinda superhuman!"

Spero felt whiplash from the information she just spilled. "Wait... what?"

The woman took her hand off of Spero's shoulder and continued. "Oh, I got ahead of myself, ha. When you and the other person fell down into the Tectone Sector, I saw you! When you didn't have the usual armor as everyone else that fell, I knew I needed to act. So I sneaked over and pulled you on my back! I mean, eventually I got tired and started dragging you by the feet, but you know. And then I went back for the other one... but those pricks already found him."

Finally Spero had one of his questions answered. Although, more questions popped up from them. Even still, he now knew who had dragged him through the plains. This woman did. But who was the other person? And...

"What do you mean by 'fell down'? I entered from the side." The woman sat silently rowing in confusion.

"But... you fell from the Limit of The Sky... like everyone else does,"

"I fell from the sky?" Spero looked up at the field of blue above him. She had to explain. None of what she said made sense.

"Wait... what do you mean by 'side'? There's no side, man. Cunabula is a sphere." The woman responded with a question for Spero. Now he was even more confused.

"What the hell are you talking about?? If you mean The Sphere, then I know it's a sphere! But I came in from the side!" Spero couldn't contain his confusion.

"And I'm telling you that doesn't make sense!"

"Neither does what you're saying! How would I fall from the sky?"

"Because that's what everyone does when they enter! They fall! From the sky!"

"And I'm telling you that doesn't make sense!"

"Wherever you entered from, if it was the outside of Cunabula, then you would fall from the sky! There's no damn side!"

"Then I guess I wasn't outside of Kuna Buna! I was outside of The Spere! And I walked in from the side! Are you sure you didn't pull me to the top like you did through the field??"

"Oh man, you're just asking to get smacked, boy!"

"Try me, girl!"

"You're real full of energy now, huh? Were you just faking exhaustion to get sympathy, huh?"

"Oh, so now I am a liar, huh? Guess you better reconsider your 'reading' abilities, HUH?!"

"... Pff" The woman, enjoying what she considered good banter, burst out into laughter. She wouldn't stop. Was she laughing at him? Or...

Spero had always considered himself anti-social. He had no skills when it came to communication. Green was his only avenue for expression, but even conversations with him fell short of skilled. He had never been able to make good connections with people.

Spero looked up at the woman as she finished her laughing fit. Tears lined the bottoms of her eyes and her face was flushed. For the first time, he saw her face in full.

Oh...

"Your eyes are pretty!"

"Your eyes are pretty..."

Spero and the woman spoke the same sentence in unison. Immediately realizing what he just said. Spero covered his mouth with both hands and looked back down at his feet. Not only did he just say something out of line, but she said the same to him. No one had ever said anything about his eyes like she just did. He was ashamed of his eyes. Both were a different color. It was unnatural. It wasn't right.

But her eyes... they were beautiful. Her eyes shined bright, reflecting the morning sun. They were many shades of blue streaked from the pupil outwards. There were blues as light as the sky, and blues as dark as the ocean. They reflected everything pure in the world. They were beautiful. He had never seen eyes like hers.

The woman laughed once again. "Thank you, Spero!" Still, Spero kept his hands on his mouth. He didn't want to say another word. He had ruined his first good conversation with a stranger out of impulse. "Oh, shit! I haven't even told you my name yet!"

Spero looked up to the woman.

"It's Flosa! Just Flosa!"