James said nothing more, and the only sounds that followed were the crunch of their footsteps and the wind rustling through the trees.

Jennifer’s body protested as the hours dragged on, her breathing ragged. She had to stop multiple times, leaning against ugly trees or rocks to catch her breath.

James didn’t complain, though he was visibly exhausted as well.

After six hours, they finally crested a hill and saw it.

A gate.

But not like any gate Jennifer had seen before. The usual swirling vortex was there, but it was a massive twister composed entirely of flames. It spun violently.

Jennifer’s heart went cold.

“James said, his voice filled with equal parts awe and fear. “I’ve heard of these... Fire Twisters. You must have too. But they’re rare. And—” He paused, his eyes narrowing. “How did you even know to come here?”

Jennifer didn’t answer. She didn’t *couldn't* answer.

She didn't want to get close to that twister. But she knew if she refused to go near it, the burning pain would return and consume her.

As she hesitated, the twister seemed to react. It spun faster, and suddenly, smaller twisters of flame broke off and shot toward her.

“Run!” James shouted, grabbing her arm and pulling her to the side as the fire twisters descended.

Jennifer stumbled, her mind racing. Fire twisters were supposed to be no different than normal gates. Researchers had studied them extensively and found nothing unusual. But there had to be a reason why the Key led her to it.

One of the twisters caught them.

Jennifer braced for the searing heat, but there was none. Instead, they were spun violently, the world around them dissolving into a blur of flame and motion.

When the spinning stopped, they found themselves standing in an entirely different place.

---

Jennifer blinked, her head spinning as she tried to make sense of her surroundings. She was in a building. The polished floors, fluorescent lights, and rows of lockers stood out.

The sound of screaming jolted her. Students in black and white uniforms were running through the hallways, their faces pale with fear. Some of them bumped into Jennifer and James as they fled, their panicked voices blending into a chaotic roar.

There was also ongoing emer

“What the hell is going on?” James muttered.

A teacher spotted them and froze, her expression shifting from confusion to alarm. “What are you doing in—” she started, but her voice rose to a shriek. “RUN!”

Jennifer and James exchanged a look, but before they could ask what was happening, Jennifer noticed the floor beneath her begin to glow.

Burning letters seared themselves into the tiles, forming words in front of her.

Jennifer Paall. You were secretly chosen for something great. Prevent other worlds from becoming monster wastelands.

The words burned away, leaving faint scorch marks on the tile. Jennifer stood frozen.

“Secretly chosen? Other worlds? Monster wastelands?” she muttered under her breath.

James, meanwhile, wasn’t nearly as composed. He grimaced, covering his ears as the emergency bells blared through the building.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

He growled, glancing around for the source.

Jennifer barely registered his words, her mind spinning. Why wasn’t she in a Gate realm? Why was she among people? Civilians? Students? She could see them running past in a blur, their faces pale with panic.

The better question hit her like a hammer: Why are they panicking?

She came to a quick conclusion, using the context clues of what the key just told her.

Monsters.

James’s frustrated shout snapped her out of her thoughts. “That’s it!” he yelled. A glimmer of light appeared in his hand as he summoned a silver disk. With a flick of his wrist, he sent it hurtling toward one of the speakers in the hallway. The disk sliced through the device, silencing the alarm with a sharp crack.

“Better,” he muttered, though he still looked shaken. "Jennifer tell me what the hell is going on?”

Jennifer didn’t answer. She grabbed a panicking boy who looked about sixteen. He had golden eyes, sharp elf-like ears, and eyes that flicked between terror and confusion.

“What’s going on? Where’s the source of all this panic?”

“Let go, freak!” the boy shouted, thrashing against her grip.

“Answer me so I can help you!” Jennifer snapped, shaking him slightly.

The boy’s terror only grew, and he pointed toward the distance with a trembling hand. “The school gates! Outside! It’s—it’s a bunch of weird monster things!”

Jennifer released him, and the boy bolted without looking back.

James stepped closer, his face a mask of confusion and worry. “Jennifer, what the hell is this?”

She turned to him, her expression hardening. “We’re going to have to save this world.”

James stared at her like she’d lost her mind. “Save this world?” he repeated, incredulous. “What are you even talking about? This doesn’t make any sense!”

Jennifer grabbed his arm, her voice low and urgent. “I warned you, James. Over and over, I told you there were risks. I didn’t want you to come, but you did. So now you’re here, and this is what we’re dealing with.”

James frowned, her words sinking in. “... Okay.”

They moved against the stream of students running in the opposite direction. The stairs ahead were packed with panicked kids pushing and shouting as they tried to get to higher floors. Jennifer didn’t hesitate, veering toward a nearby window instead.

She turned back to James briefly. “Follow me.”

Without waiting for a response, she jumped through the window, the glass shattering around her as she plummeted toward the ground below. Her claws spun out, catching the building’s wall as she dug in, sliding down with controlled precision.

*Holy freaking shit. I really just did that.*

James followed with a grunt of annoyance, summoning a silver disk under his feet. He lowered himself slowly, crafting additional disks beneath him as he descended. He glanced down and created one for Jennifer to leap onto, letting her spring to the ground safely.

The schoolyard sprawled before them, wide and chaotic. The smell of earth and wet dirt filled the air, along with the coppery tang of blood. Jennifer’s heart sank as she took in the scene.

About fourteen human-sized goats made entirely of mud were storming the building. Their horns stretched nearly a meter long, their bodies glistening with wet earth. Some of the creatures were climbing walls, and others charging toward the school entrance.

Jennifer’s eyes flicked to the ground. Several bodies lay still, their faces and heads covered in hardened mud.

Near the entrance, three security guards were firing at the creatures, but the bullets had little effect. The mud absorbed the shots like sponges, leaving only faint holes that quickly filled in.

Jennifer and James landed near the guards, who immediately turned their attention to the newcomers.

“What the hell?” one of them shouted, his eyes darting to Jennifer and James’s armor and weapons. “Is this some kind of cosplay day? Get out of here!”

"This isn't a time for games!"

Jennifer didn’t bother responding. She looked at the handguns in their hand. It was her first time seeing something like it.

One of the mud goats charged, its hooves slamming against the pavement as it barreled toward a guard. He tried to fire, but his gun jammed, leaving him wide open. "Shit!"

Jennifer darted forward, her hyper-movement activating in a burst of speed. In a flash, she intercepted the creature, her claws sinking into its muddy neck. The goat thrashed violently, trying to shake her off, its horns slicing through the air dangerously close to her face.

“Stay down,” she snarled, tightening her grip. The mud resisted, clinging to her claws like tar, but she kept slashing with her other hand, each strike digging deeper into its form. With a final vicious pull, the creature’s head tore free, its body collapsing into a pile of wet earth.

James watched her, momentarily stunned by the ferocity of her movements.

“You fight like a damn wild animal,” he said, stunned.

He summoned six glowing silver disks, his limit, and sent them spinning through the air toward the approaching creatures. The disks sliced through the mud goats with precision, severing limbs and horns. One of the creatures collapsed entirely, its body reduced to chunks of mud, but the others pressed forward undeterred.

Jennifer wiped mud from her gauntlet, her breathing steady despite the intensity of the fight. “James, keep them back!”

“On it!” he shouted, redirecting his disks toward the creatures climbing the walls.

She crouched low, pushing her claws to the max. It grew wider and longer surpassing six inches in length, and two inches in width.

Then she got hit with something heavy. The force sent her into a wall. She gasped in pain and then looked down. There was a massive splat of mud on her.

She looked up, and a barrage of mud balls fired at them.