Ruth and Maggie slumped at the back of the wall, unsure what to do at this point. Ruth noticed how Maggie hadn’t said a word or even looked at him since that incident a while back. He wondered if there was anything he could do to help her and hoped to cheer the girl up. Ruth sighed heavily and crawled into a fetal position as Maggie closed her eyes, resting on the floor, and tried to think happy thoughts.

Just then, a faint voice echoed from a distance. “Ruth, can you hear me?”

That voice, could it be? Ruth looked over and spotted a small glowing light. That light...? He shook Maggie, trying to get her to wake up from the dream, but it didn’t work. Then again, there’s no way it could be her, could it?

He got up and followed the light, temporarily leaving Maggie behind. When Ruth got closer to the sun, he pinpointed where the bright light took him and who he stood in front of.

Another Orso Looba, one that looked like Ruth, appeared before his eyes. The blurry body surrounded the light, but it didn’t light up too brightly, either.

Ruth gasped in shock. “Bertha, is that you?” The other Orso Looba, revealed to be a female, nodded in response, which made Ruth squeal in excitement. “Oh, wow, I can’t believe this! Where were you all these years? Us Orso Loobas were so worried about—”

“I’m sorry, Ruth, but I’m not here...” Bertha replied. “What matters is that you need to get out of here before the mist consumes you and corrupts your mind.”

“What? But we tried—”

“Did you check for ways out?”

Ruth shook his head sideways. “Not necessarily, but...”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Seriously, you call yourself the son of the chief?” Bertha retorted, as she let out a hefty sigh. “I’m disappointed in you.”

“W-Why?”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to make your father proud? And to get stronger?”

“Yeah, but what else am I supposed to do? And what does that have to do with—?”

“Are you giving up then?”

“Well, no, I—”

“Believe in yourself, don’t give up,” Bertha assured him with a smile. “Try to look at the surroundings from a different angle.”

Ruth looked down at the ground and sighed sadly to himself. “I don’t understand what you mean...” When he looked back up, he found Bertha to be nowhere in sight. Oh, Bertha, I wish I could’ve talked to you more. Ruth thought as he walked back to check up on Maggie and see if she’s ok.

.-.-.-.

Tommy felt like he had gotten trapped in a void of eternal darkness. He could see nothing but the blackness around the atmosphere. He floated into the dark abyss with no source of light or sound in his peak and sight.

However, a soft voice called out to him, as a bright light shined brightly in front of him. There, two figures floated before him, one a female bear-hybrid, and the other a male human, both discerning with grim expressions on their faces.

“Ah, good, you’re awake, and you can see us.” The man said.

“Huh? Where am I?” Tommy asked, rubbing his eyes. “And who are you?”

“Our names don’t matter at the moment.” The Orso Looba replied. “Please listen carefully because we only have time to say this once.”

“You and your friends need to get out of here.” The male added.

“Well, yeah, that’s a given,” Tommy muttered. His eyes widened as he then realized something. “Antonio and his ex—”

“No, that was just a trick to get you away from the others...”

“What? Why?”

“We don’t have time to explain everything.” The female bear mentioned. “Trust us; you’ll find the answers soon enough. You must visit a place called Fearsome Heights.”

“Save your friends, including Antonio.” The male human added. “And save our worlds.”

“One last thing. Make sure Ruth doesn’t get in too much trouble. And whatever you do, don’t—” The Orso Looba vanished before she could finish her sentence.

“Also, please take care of my daughter, Ma—” The man also disappeared before he could finish his sentence.

As Tommy noticed the light shining brighter, he tried to block the view from overshadowing and blocking his sight as another voice called his name, getting louder and louder. And the next thing he knew, he woke up.