As we traveled through the portal, we soon landed in some kind of fleshy cave that writhed up and down.

I looked around me, “What is the meaning of this?”

Funk looked around, “It must be something from your past, Steve.”

Abby started looking around, “Have you ever been inside some kind of beast?”

I scratched my head, “If that is the case, then I cannot remember.”

Lorraine smiled at me, “It must mean something to you, perhaps, you should walk around and see if something sparks.”

I nodded and did a few steps forward as I looked at the creepy flesh walls with pumping veins, then there were the strange openings that would lead to other places inside this beast. Not to mention the sticky and slime floor.

A white slime fell out of the ceiling, right in front of me and the weird part was, it started speaking, “Hello Steve, it is good to see you, no, I am not a figment of your past, I am really here!”

Lorraine stared at me, “What is that? I have never seen something like that.”

Funk crossed his arms and nodded, “I have never seen anything like that either.”

Abby sighed, “I thought we had them with us to explain unknown things to us.”

I looked at Abby, “Be kind to them, they are doing their best to help us.” She nodded, but she seemed reluctant.

I focused on the white slime. “Do you know who Micheal is?”

The white slime rolled over to me. “Yes, I know who he is.”

“Alright, and the woman with him, and the floating thing?”

“Yes, I know what it means.”

I sighed, “Do you also want to tell me?”

“No, I am not going to tell you anything.”

“Can you at least tell me what Abby got injected with?”

The white slime rolled around me, “I know, but I am not going to tell you. You are not yet ready for any answers, Steve, There are still so many things you must undertake and learn.”

“But, you interrupted me, and that is going to cost you.”

Lorraine walked over to me, “We should just leave, this thing does not want to talk anyway.”

Funk nodded, “I have to agree.”

I drew my sword as I walked closer to the slimy, “You are just a slimy, why can’t you just give me the answers that I need?” My sword just shattered out of nowhere.

Abby looked at me, “I don’t think it likes threats.”

A portal opened up, we walked towards it and the white slime called out. “We will meet again, Steve, when the time is right. It might take a while, but when we meet, you will not be glad to meet me, and for drawing your sword, I am going to punish you.”

Lorraine took my hand, “We should leave and ignore it.”

I looked at her taking my hand, I am not sure what she meant by it, but she had a point. Abby looked at me. If only I could read her mind. She is probably thinking something like, I knew you want more of her, but why not me? Funk also stared at me, I bet he was thinking something like, oh look the human has found a fun lady to hang out with. I sighed and started walking as the others followed me.

As we came back to Brickton, Lorraine let my hand go, All of us looked around, the city lay in ruins. Abby gasped, “What happened here?”

Funk gritted his teeth, “It seems as if a bomb went off.”

Lorraine looked at me, and she started running away, on four legs even. I quickly ran after her, she was much faster though, soon we came to the place where the clothes shop used to be, but it is all in rubble now, Funk and Abby soon arrived.

Lorraine looked at me, “My mom is not here.”

After looking around for a while, I saw the train had left. I took her hands, “Look at me, Lorraine.”

“Yes?”

“The train, it left, people got evacuated, if your mom is not here, then I am confident, she got on the train.”

“Do you really think she is fine?”

“Yes, I am sure of it.”

She hugged me, “Thanks Steve.”

We saw a portal open up next to us, but it looked more like looking through a window, we looked at another reality, that of mine and Abby's, fireballs started raining down from the sky.

Abby walked over to me, “My parents, they are going to die.”

Funk looked at her, “There is nothing we can do from here. We got tricked by that slime, It must have known Brickton would explode and made sure we were alive.”

Lorraine looked at me, “Do you mean that if I had not joined up with you, I might have been dead?”

Funk sighed, “You would have most likely made it to the train.”

I hugged Abby, “It is all right, there is nothing we can do about this.” I let her go and sat down on some rubble.

Frustrated, I put my face on my hands, “Damn this shit, I had not expected this to happen when we left for this reality, I just thought this would be a fun adventure.”

Abby sat down next to me, she slowly started crying, “I am sorry Steve, I just went along with it because I was interested in seeing this new reality.”

I put my arm around her, “I know, I am sorry I roped you into this mess, but I am sure we can fix this.”

Abby nodded and wiped away some tears, “I apologize for bottling up my feelings and just going with the flow.”

Funk walked over to her, “Bottling up your feelings and going with the flow is easy, it is my go to thing to do, but I am sure Abby, you will be fine. If your parents are dead now, they did not suffer.”

Abby let out a wry smile, “Thanks Funk, when Alice showed up and all the other things happened, I just had this feeling inside of me, this pull to follow this road.”

Lorraine looked at me with a grim smile on her face, “And why did you come here, Steve?”

Stolen story; please report.

I got up, “I have several reasons for that, but mostly, I wanted to escape my reality, from the horrible things I did and just moving forward without looking back seemed like the best thing to do.”

I looked around, trying to find a way to change the subject, “There are some people in pain, I don’t think they can be saved, What is our plan?”

Funk handed me a sword, Lorraine stared at me, “Are you okay with mercy kills?”

As I ignored her and walked over to some kind of lizard, a lot of blood streamed out of many wounds, I kneeled beside him, “Can you talk?” He just gurgled some noises. I stabbed my sword through his head.

Abby looked at me, “That is wrong on so many levels.”

Lorraine looked at her, “Why? He just helped someone to pass on, that lizard was in pain.”

Abby sighed, “And what about the woman you killed in cold blood?”

Lorraine shrugged, “She was an obstacle.”

I nodded, “I agree with her.”

Funk sighed, “Jenny had darkness in her heart, I can overlook it.”

Abby hung her head, “I am just hanging around with psychos, I guess you guys are all I have left now.”

I shook my head, not wanting to answer that with any kind of actual response, and walked over to another man. “Hello there, are you in pain?” A giant boulder lay on his legs.

He nodded, “The pain is unbearable.”

“Alright, close your eyes.”

He nodded, “Thank you, I hope to see my son in the afterlife.” As he closed his eyes, I stabbed my sword through his heart.

Then someone called out, “Have you gone completely mad!?”

I looked around to see where the sound came from. Then I saw Alice, she walked over to me and I smiled and spoke up, “What do you mean, have I gone mad?”

Lorraine, Funk, and Abby immediately gathered behind me, Alice looked at Funk and Lorraine, “Who are those people?”

I smiled with glee in my eyes, “These are my new friends, Funk and Lorraine.”

Then I saw Paul walking our way, Abby and I pointed at him, and Abby spoke up, “What is he doing here?”

Paul chuckled, “I came falling from the sky.” He looked at Alice, “Is this the wolf woman who committed the murder?”

Alice nodded, “Indeed, and Steve helped her, and where did his beard go?”

I rubbed my hand over my chin, “It's so smooth, isn't it? Lorraine shaved it off, I am unsure how or why. I have learned that getting drunk can have consequences.”

Lorraine giggled, “I used my claws.”

Alice spawned a red sword and pointed it at Lorraine. I stepped in front of her. “You don’t get to threaten her.”

Alice stared at me, “Don’t tell me, you are messing around with a wolf.”

Alice let out a long deep sigh, “She shaved your beard, and that is why you protect her, or is there another reason?”

I scratched my hair, “She also cut my hair, But there is more to it Alice, she is my friend.”

I felt Lorraine come closer to me, and Funk walked in front of us and spoke up. “Why don’t we try to cool this situation down? You are Alice, right?”

She nodded. Funk smiled and continued talking, “Good, we have been looking for you, The four of us, Abby, Lorraine, and Steve are,” he sighed, “Good people. It is best if we talk about this, like decent people.”

Lorraine nodded, “Jenny was just being difficult, and it is normal in my culture to kill people that stand in your way. There are not many wolf people left, and I have a strong sense of perseverance.”

Alice sighed, “Killing people is just wrong.”

Paul nodded, “I am with her, and what are you doing with them, Abby?”

She pointed at me, “I am with Steve.”

Alice shook her head, “Even if he is choosing a wolf above you?”

I sighed, “Just be nice and call her by her name.”

Abby looked at Lorraine, then at me, then at Alice. “You know what? As long as Steve is happy, and he wants to be my best friend, then I am fine with it. If he intends to start something with Lorraine, he can go right ahead. I hope they are happy. As long as he spends some friendly attention on me.”

Alice grunted, “You are supposed to become angry.”

Paul tried to lower Alice’s sword. She did not comply, “We are outnumbered, Alice, they are with four, and we are with two, And to be quite frank, that Funk fellow is staring at me.”

Funk walked closer to him and intimidated him, “Is something the matter with me? Don’t you like an insect looking at you?”

Paul looked at the palm of his hand and spawned a dark blade, He smiled, “I am going to rip off your head and shit down your neck.” Everyone looked at him. He smiled, “I said that correctly, right?”

Funk spawned his dark blade, “Are you enticing me to a fight? Because if you’ll say shit like that, then I am game.”

I spoke up, “Alright, that is enough, no one is shitting down anyone’s neck, We are supposed to be on the same side, There is a reality that needs to be saved. Abby, you are a good friend of mine, Funk, I like to see you as my friend, And Lorraine?”

“Yes?”

I turned towards her and kissed her, “We can figure out what the fuck we are.” She smiled and blushed, she even licked her lips, yep, she enjoyed that a bit too much. Then I looked at Paul, “We have been friends for a long time,” He just nodded.

I crossed my arms and I looked at Alice, “We are probably off the same race, can we please work together?”

Alice seemed to be thinking for a moment. “Fuck you, Steve, I am going to kick your ass,” She started infusing her sword with red energy.

Funk looked at me, “Remember what I taught you.”

I looked at Abby and Lorraine, “This is my fight.”

Funk smiled, “I’ll kick his ass.”

I sighed, “Fine, if Funk needs help, kick Paul’s ass.”

Abby smiled and spawned a crossbow, and Lorraine cracked her knuckles while backing up Funk.

Alice looked at me, “That is not fair.”

I laughed, “Who said we were going to play this fairly? Just, no killing.”

Alice screamed, “Fuck that, I am going to murder the shit out of you!”