"Decoda!" My dad yelled through the house before I could even close my bedroom door. I sighed and headed into the kitchen to see him examining the contents of the small cauldron he'd been making dinner in.

"What do you need?" My reply seemed to shake him out of a kind of trance.

"Could you please grab a book from the library for me? Beneath Walkers and their Home, I think it was called." He explained, only to receive a scoff from me and a look from my mom.

"Oh, so you're allowed to read about The Beneath, but I'm not? Double standards..." I breathed, "Love you both!"

That's when I headed out. A pang in my chest forced me to open the door again. I snatched my jacket from the hook before marching through the streets. I looked towards the grove and remembered the mysterious man who appeared in Nefeli years ago. The bright yellow glow of his Osrocan eyes still lingered in my mind even years after his disappearance.

I bumped into a short, hunch-backed, hooded figure, muttered a quick and sincere apology, and stepped into the grand library.

After picking out the book dad wanted and borrowing a few others, I got to work reading and examining the maps of Gaia and lost myself to the parchment.

The quiet serenity of the library was suddenly broken by a shrill scream from the librarian.

"Fire! There's a fire!" She had yelled and ducked under her cluttered, messy desk. I glanced out the window to see a man in a deep maroon suit standing in the plaza surrounded by fire.

His piercing silver eyes stared right into mine. Panic rose, and my first instinct was to stuff as much of my stuff in my bag as I possibly could. I swept an arm across the table and dumped everything into the bag. Then everyone else started to scream. Some began to run. I joined one of the first groups to leave the building. Half the town was already in ruins. What seemed like thick smoke to others was like a fine fog for me. Everything was so abnormally clear that I didn't understand it. My mind wandered to the familiar man again.

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The rumbling sound was right above me when I ran through a clear alley towards a friend of my father's; then everything crashed, and I leapt from the clutches of debris. I got up and saw my father's friend. Half his body had been completely encased within the rubble. I have no idea why I did it, but in my panic, I pressed my back against the wall.

My heart raced as the screams around me got louder and louder. I held my breath and stared at the strangely clear flames lapping at me.

"Decoda! Run! Get out of here!" A shriek pierced the pounding in my ears. Ripping myself from the safety of the wall, I ran. That voice rang in my ears. I sprinted through the blazing ruins of my village and spotted a stable. I looked over my shoulder in horror to see my home collapsing, and a scream echoed.

"No!" I yelled out, reaching to the swirling embers above the debris. Tears welled up, but I turned and ran towards the stables. I glanced haphazardly at the sign above the gate.

"Moondust."

I hopped onto him, and he galloped off. I choked out a few nonsensical words, muttering barely audible pleads to myself as tears started to pour down my cheeks. I sputtered out ugly sobs when the horse leapt out of the gates.

He galloped on for a few long minutes before I could partially gather myself. Before I even realized it, I started muttering again.

"I can't go back... I can't go back..." I caught myself lamenting.

Hours passed, and the sun had already set. I gritted my teeth and wrapped myself in the red jacket that hung from my shoulders. I was glad to have brought it to the library when I left home that afternoon. I had a feeling I would need it. I squinted into the darkness as my horse trotted along. I had to get to another civilization. I had to get away. I knew that I didn't have the strength to go back. I never thought I would ever find that strength.

Then I noticed something in my peripheral vision. I glanced over to see something crawling toward me. I gasped, and my eyes widened. Out of instinct, I slapped Moondust's reins, and he galloped off, leaving the creature to be swallowed within a cloud of dust. He whinnied nervously and started dodging more and more creatures that began to creep out of the shadows.

I held on tightly, was suddenly jerked to one side, and nearly flew off the horse. My yelp alerted him, and he slowed just long enough for me to regain my grip.

Before I knew it, the clouds in the sky shifted hues, and purple bloomed in the sky. The stars began to fade away, and the horizon started to bleed into the sunrise. The beams of light stretched into the clouds from the top of a canopy.

"That's a forest! Perfect! I can get resources from there. Could be enough to keep me alive for at least a few days." I thought to myself as my horse testily navigated the underbrush. I took a deep breath, relieved for my horse to be entering a clearing. I felt him tense up underneath me. He prodded the ground.

"Hey, hey. It's ok, Moondust." I shushed him.

I heard the rustling of leaves, the snap of a branch above me and a thump in my ear before I could blink as everything went dark.