I slammed another Potion of Invigorate like my life depended on it. It wasn’t my life on the line though, it was Stella’s. I knew deep down that Kendrick would never actually hurt her but there had been a darkness in him that I’d never seen before. A darkness that made me wonder if he and Orion were linked in more ways than just being Forerunners of the game.

The potion gave me a little more energy but it did nothing to boost the regeneration of my lowered health and magicka resources. As I ran through the dense damp shrubbery with the mud sucking at my boots and slowing me down I thank the heavens that I hadn’t needed to waste my paralysis potions on the damn bugs. I fished one from my inventory and dumped it over the bolt loaded in my crossbow.

The mud grew thicker, creeping up past my ankles and gripping my legs with every jerking movement, threatening to yank apart my joints. Cursing under my breath I gripped the trunk of a dumpy-looking tree. A trumpet vine hanging over the topmost branches allowed me to swing to a taller tree. I continued like that for quite some time; long enough that I considered changing my name to George. When my shoulders began to ache I channeled my Fatigue, using the power to fuel my movements and carry me even further away.

When I was sure I’d put some distance between me and the others I climbed to the topmost branch of a high tree and used my Blindsense to scan the swamp. Auras burst out at me, some green and others red. Most of them clustered near the center of the swamp, where I was sure Cassie’s clearing was. There were many brilliantly green auras, two far duller ones, and oddly enough, one red. I couldn’t tell who was who but assumed Jitta and Kendrick’s sudden dislike of me had altered their auras. I was proven wrong when two of the brighter glows charged into the swamp in my direction. I swallowed, knowing I only had a short time before they reached me.

I expanded my search, looking for anything that might indicate Sasye and Stella. I’d used Blindsense many times before but never with this much desperate need. That need seemed to change the way the skill behaved. Knowledge of the vast array of crafting ingredients surrounding me came flooding in. None of it was as detailed as my Identify skill. It was more like a general hunch that if I went left I would find ingredients attuned to poisons. Right on the other hand seemed the place for plants that enhanced attack power.

I sucked in a breath at the intensity of the skill growth, trying to mentally push back the sheer volume of information to focus again on auras alone. It was a difficult thing to do. It seemed once you’d opened the floodgates they were unwilling to close back up.

There, over near the edge of the swamp where Nora and Gabby stood frozen were a pair of lonely auras; one so green it was nearly blinding and the other dull and almost brown. A smirk turned my lip at finding them already.

“Found you!”

I yelped as my Evasion skill took hold of my body, sending me into a violent backward bend. Jitta sailed past me, the tip of her blade grazing my shoulder. She cursed as she crashed into the tree beside me before shapeshifting back into her willie wagtail form. I blanched as I watched the bird rise. In my haste, I had forgotten about her power. She swooped again and I stepped back, letting gravity take hold of me as I plummeted.

The damage from the fall was negligible, especially with another use of my Trumpet Vine and Blink combo.

“You can’t escape me, Joe,” Jitta sang. “ I’m more experienced than you.”

I let my sword grate against its sheath just so she’d hear me pull it free. “Then come and get me Little Birdie.”

I waited until I heard the rustle of the leaves overhead to finger my amulet and activate the power that would drain the small amount of magicka I had recuperated. She burst into view and faltered, hovering in a quick circle as she looked for me. I Blinked and yanked my arm up, firing my bolt at her.

It struck, bringing up her health bar. The bar itself dropped a large enough amount that it was noticeable but not enough that she, or even I if I were in her position, would care about.

My magicka drained again the amulet went dark and my invisibility was gone as swiftly as it had come. Jitta dropped from the sky, turning back into herself and facing me with a dagger drawn.

“Is that all you’ve got, Cowboy?” She asked.

I smiled and sheathed my sword. The action made her lift a brow and that is how she froze. Her eyes bulged as the realization of what I’d done struck her. I stepped forward, catching her as she fell, stiff as a board into my arms.

“Don’t worry,” I said in a quiet voice right beside her ear. “I won’t tell Kendrick.”

I leaned her back against a tree. It might seem harsh to leave her there like a forgotten plank of wood but it was the best I could do when her knees and back wouldn’t bend. Molten rage burned in her eyes but it only made me more giddy. I had won, and no matter how small of a victory it was, I would savor it.

If Jitta was here then Kendrick wouldn’t be far behind. That thought lit a fire under my ass like nothing else could. I started running for the pair of auras that I’d seen but swept my head back to look for Kendrick’s.

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Screee!

I yelped and spun back around at Boopzy’s cry, grateful for my Evasion skill that kept me from being brained on a low-hanging branch as thick around as my thigh. My breath came in hurried little puffs as I adjusted my stride and found a more open path to dash down.

“Thank you Boopzy,” I said.

The Tentarat slipped from my shoulder and clambered atop my head wrapping his tentacles all around until I must have looked like I was wearing one strange hat. He reached out with one suckered limb, poking at a bird frozen in flight between trees. It wasn’t the only creature stuck that way. If I’d had more time on my hands I might have stopped to sketch the creatures, some of which were as fascinating as Boopzy himself. Time was not my friend however even in this strange frozen state. It wasn’t because Kendrick had suddenly decided to hunt me like I was an antelope and he a hungry lion, no it was because the Guardians would be fixing this glitch any moment. When they did the world would be crashing back into the steady dribble of sand through an hourglass. That would either end with us finding the Sentinel or with Orion breaking the seals he was so interested in.

I don’t know why I bothered fighting the trickle of time. Either way, my world was gone. Sure, maybe I could pretend everything was fine and somehow become one of those Forerunners to be dragged to a new world and watch it die like mine had. Would it be worth it?

I cursed and swung around a bend, flashing up my Blindsense to orientate myself in the darkened shadows of the swamp. The brownish aura and the brilliant green one beside it were right ahead. I turned my head, upsetting Boopzy as I searched for Kendrick. The move had my brows dropping and a deep crease forming between them. His aura was gone.

I skidded to a halt, my boots sinking deep in the thick and fragrant mud. I spun in a circle, forcing as much of my energy into my Blindsense skill as I could. Jitta’s was there, frozen in place. Even the clusters in the center of the swamp were visible even if they were a little weak and faded by distance. So where was Kendrick?

Fear descended on me like a sudden downpour. My chest grew tight with the thunderous pounding within and my breath came in short sharp blasts. He was going to get me and when he did, Stella would be outside my grasp.

No, no I couldn’t let it happen. My girl deserved better than that. It was somehow my fault that she’d been cast into this nightmare. Now it was my job to get her out of it.

Kendrick was much stronger than Jitta, that much I was sure. Enough that my paralysis potions might not have much of an effect on him. I swallowed hard as I dug out one of my more potent poisons. My fingers lingered over the possibility of drawing out the Potent Ruin Elixer. I couldn’t do it though. I couldn’t waste my most valuable potion on Kendrick, a man that despite all the crap he pulled I didn’t want to see dead.

The poison I chose dripped from the end of the bolt in my crossbow, coating the barbed end a foul greenish hue. If nothing else, the concoction would slow him down. I reached up with my free hand and patted the bulbous Boopzy.

“Be ready to hit him with that magic in your belly. If I can’t hit him, it is up to you.”

Screee!

Taking that as an affirmation of my request I drew my sword and started running. It was awkward running with the blade in hand. Misses Langard’s words from when I was a tyke ran through my head, ‘Don’t run with scissors!’. I wonder how she would feel about a sword.

I turned a bend. The fear that had fuelled my steps was quickly replaced by victory. Sasye and Stella were right ahead. Their auras practically pulsed with their life energy. I huffed for air as I fed some of my limited Fatigue into my steps, forcing myself to go even faster. I reached for a branch, shoving it out of the way right as a twang sounded nearby.

My howl would have sent the mutated birds screeching and whirling into the air if they were not frozen in place. A bolt pinned my hand to the branch I’d shoved aside. My health bar flashed and drained a small amount. I dropped to a knee, trying desperately to work the hand loose without tearing it apart.

Sasye looked at me with those same intelligent eyes. I know she’s a fox but I could have sworn she smiled at me. She trotted forward, her bushy tail sticking up behind her until she could place a dainty little paw atop Stella’s belly. The enormous cattle dog slept on, unfazed by everything that happened around her. Then they were gone. Disappearing in a puff of smoke as they had before.

I howled and pounded the ground.

“So close, and yet so far,” Kendrick said as he materialized from the shadows. “I’d say I was impressed but what kind of thief stumbles into such an obvious trap?”

There was a ringing in my ears that distorted his words. A ringing that had no source but wouldn’t stop. I yanked my hand with all my force, screaming as the bolt traveled through my flesh and out the other side. Blood dripped into the mud and leaf litter at my feet. My health bar dropped again, about the same amount as before.

Kendrick hissed through his teeth. “Now, that’s just nasty.”

I aimed my sword at him. “Back off.”

Kendrick beamed, that same darkness flickering in the depths of his eyes as he stepped closer. A thin beam of sunlight that broke through the leaves up above fell over the crossbow now strapped to his wrist. There was no mistaking that thing. Gabby and I wore one just like it.

“I expected more from you, Joe,” Kendrick said. “It’s like you keep the best parts of yourself buried deep within. Are you afraid to access them or just too stupid?”

I heard the crackling before I felt the burn. The ringing in my ears was replaced by a resounding boom. Kendrick dove to the side as a powerful bolt of lightning struck the tree right beside where he had been. The weight of Boopzy lessened atop my head.

My feet were moving before I could even think to command them to. Wet leaves slapped my face and mud sucked at my boots but I ran anyway, fueling my steps with all the Fatigue I had left. Behind me, carried by the wind that seemed unaffected by the worldwide freeze came Kendrick’s cruel laughter.

“Run little mouse, I’ll have you in my claws soon enough.”