November 2, 2020 - Nolan Acreage, Near Nevada, Iowa

Hadrian stood next to the sleek truck, studying its shining dark sides in the early morning light.

“What in the Halls of the Damned was she doing out here this morning?” He mused as he ran one hand over the flank of the vehicle. For a moment, he could swear he felt the smooth black metal twitch beneath him like a horse disturbing a fly that had landed on its skin. He stepped back from the truck scratching his neatly trimmed black beard.

He was standing there far longer than he realized when Rock stepped up next to him. “What was she doing?” The human asked.

Thick black brows rode low over Hadrian’s red-brown eyes as he turned to Rock. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say she was spellweaving.”

“Spellweaving?” Rock mused.

Hadrian grunted, his attention going back to the truck.

“What sort of spell could she be weaving?” Rock asked after a long moment of silence.

The orckin shook his head. “I haven’t the faintest idea. I wish there were spellweaver we could ask. Weaving spells isn’t something that can be done without training, generally speaking.”

“That’s why you said you would think she was doing it if you didn’t know better?”

He nodded, reaching out to touch the truck again. “The question is, if she was weaving, what was she weaving?”

“Well, what kinds of things are possible?” Rock asked.

Hadrian shook his head again, “Better to ask someone else, who may know. No one in this world, so far as I know, is capable of answering that question.”

“What do you think?” Jump asked, crouching down next to her commander on a hill overlooking the elven citadel.

“I think that’s one of the best defended locations I have ever seen. Do you see the weaponry on the towers and the wall?”

She nodded, but didn’t say anything.

“I don’t think they will settle for just holding the land they already have, do you?”

“They’re packed in mighty close, boss.” Miller finally spoke up from the other side of the captain.

“That’s what I’m seeing too.” Captain James lowered the binoculars from his eyes and shook his head. “We’ve got no air support.” He heaved a heavy sigh. “Everything we do have could have been used in the Civil War for fuck sake.”

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Jump rubbed at her right temple, where a headache was swiftly building, and shook her head as well. “Then what are we meant to do?”

“We’re here now, we set up a base camp and keep an eye on them. We’ll send a small group back to the end of the Null Zone to report to command and get any orders they may have for us. There aren’t nearly enough of us to end this, but maybe we can make some inroads for when we get a larger force. The survivors can guide us toward the best location for a basecamp, where we’ll be least noticeable, and we’ll get ourselves settled. There’s a lot to be done, really, so lets get to doing it. Jump, you get together a group, maybe five, to head back to report. Miller, talk to the survivors about locations. I’ll take a full stock of our supplies and see what we can forage for in the area.”

“Yes, sir.” Jump said, sliding back over the hillock and down into a ditch. Miller and James followed, just as careful to avoid breaking the horizon.

Dark storm clouds turned the night sky black. There was no hint of moon or stars in that inky blackness. She stood atop a hill, the wind pulling at the tangled curls of her hair. For the first time she understood the true primal fear that darkness brought out in humanity. Before they had ways to fight back the dark and what hid within, it was worth fearing.

A keening sound rose up, breaking the tense silence of the night. It came from nowhere and everywhere all at once. A chill raced up her spine and the hairs on her neck stood on end. It was so dark, she felt blind and desperately wished for light.

Seconds later an eye opened in the darkness. It was as large as the moon and the color of cold ashes. Surrounded by black and surrounding a pupil the shape of an eight pointed star. It blinked once and seemed to focus on her.

A tortured scream ripped through the landscape and the eye exploded into countless dark shapes that rushed through the wind toward her. As though closed in, she could feel the warm leathery touch of their wings, the sharp scrape of claws against her flesh.

She screamed.

She was on her feet, blanket pooled around them, screaming at the top of her lungs, when she became fully aware of her surroundings. Everyone rushed into the room toward her, asking questions so quickly she couldn’t understand any of them.

“It was just a dream.” She said. “I’m okay.”

Rock didn’t hesitate and wrapped her in his arms. She laid her head against his shoulder and sighed deeply. “Really, I’m okay.” She repeated.

“Since you’re okay now, what’d you do to my truck?” Rock asked, tucking his chin to look down at her.

“I untied the knot.” She frowned deeply. “I don’t know what it did.” She reached out to touch something that none of the others could see. “I need to see.”

She let go of Rock and stepped away, moving slowly and stiffly. The nap that she had had wasn’t enough to give her any actual rest. She could still feel the strange urgency and otherworldliness that had shrouded her in the night. She could see the blue-white strands all around her, writhing and moving.

It wasn’t much past noon when she stepped out into the cool breeze. The truck was much as she had left it, sitting idle and imobile. She could see the threads of light as they wove through the air, a hundred thousand connections, she could suddenly see with alarming clarity. The tangled mess that had been the truck, was now a part of that strange web.

“Do you have the keys?” She asked, holding out her hand.

“Not sure I should give ‘em to you, Jes. Look what happened to your last car.” His smile was hollow and humorless, despite his attempt at jest. He dropped the keys into her hand.

She made no comment as she walked toward the truck, climbing in behind the wheel. “There’s so many thoughts in my head, I’m not quite sure where to start.” She touched another one of the strange lines and the scent of strawberries assaulted her. “I see all these connections. If I could imagine that string theory was visible, this is a larger version of what it would be like. There was this tangle of the strings in your truck and I went through and unraveled it.” She put the key in the ignition.

There was no sound in the dooryard as a soft *beep* came from the truck.