I beheld the large, red letters above the gate. "WELCOME TO THE GAME" certainly sounded ominous.

"I'm not sure this is a good idea," I told Hei. "When you get transported to another world, and they make you play a game…I don't know. Maybe I'm just being pessimistic, but…"

I stopped halfway through my sentence. Where else was there to go? We could stray off the path and go inside the misty forests, but that hardly seemed any wiser.

"Do you think this is a trap?" Hei articulated my thoughts for me.

I peered into the city. Past the gates, the dirt path broadened into a wide cobblestone road. It continued straight ahead, with lush grassland and beautiful groves of trees bordering its sides. Far in the distance, I could make out the rough shapes of tall towers with artful architecture, more like spires of a palace than forts for battle. The place seemed serene, like it was somewhere I'd be happy to live in. But still, I dreaded entering, as one feared the unknown.

"We'll probably need to go in the city if we want answers," Hei said. "We might be able to survive outside, but not much beyond that. We could live on the mountains for some time if we find water."

"You want to head in?" I ventured.

"I think it's the only way forward. We'll find out what's happening. And we'll find a way back home."

Home. Our families. Our friends. The city we lived in. We might have just lost everything. And the weight of that hadn't fully hit me, until now.

"This isn't fair," I said. And for the first time, I let myself cry.

Hei took a step toward me, and I leaned into him. I felt bad that he was helping shoulder my emotions when we were both in the same situation. I squeezed him in a hug, perhaps to repay his gesture, or perhaps because I was scared.

"Let's go back," I muttered.

Hei sighed. "Alright." He turned around and began to backtrack the path, to return to the mountains we came from.

"I mean," I stuttered, "let's go back home. Let's go beat whatever game there is, get it over with, and find the way back home. What, you scared to go in there?" I pointed my thumb over my shoulder, at the gate. You know, the way badass anime gangsters point when they want to show people how badass they are. I cocked my head and put on a brave smirk, for good measure. I mean, I was still kind of sobbing, but at least give me credit for trying.

We entered the gates into the city. To be fair, I had no idea whether there was a way back home at all. But it didn't hurt to have some hope. Or at least, have some cope.

We scouted forward on the cobblestone road. I had my crossbow drawn, half-expecting to run into an ambush. But no sign of danger showed up. This place truly seemed empty, except for the occasional bird or dragonfly that darted across our path. We also caught sight of one rabbit scampering in the grass. And though the animals were creatures familiar to us, the plant life seemed alien and otherworldly upon closer inspection. The grass here shimmered in shades of green, gold, and teal blue, all subtly glowing with a gentle, living radiance. The shrubs grew in neat patches, as though trimmed, but I couldn't find any signs of sheared branches. There were trees that looked like pines, but bore sweet-smelling melons in place of pinecones. There were patches of dandelion tufts, all of them fuzzy and baby blue.

I harvested a pine-melon and one of those blue dandelion tufts, just in case they were useful for food or medicine. The melon was slightly larger than my fist, and though I worried it might've been poisonous, its aroma and pristine jade-like rind made me want to try a bite. But I resisted the temptation. Instead, when noon came, we simply rested at the side of the road and ate the granola bars we had brought on the hike with us.

As we were about to continue down the road, we heard footsteps. They came from behind us. Did someone else enter the city after we did? Hei and I retreated behind a bush and quieted down, in case anyone hostile was heading our way. We saw the approaching figures as vaguely humanoid outlines; their steps were loud like a soldier's march, so we heard them before we could see them properly. When they got closer, we peered above our hiding-bush, and I saw them for what they were. These were not people, but rather moving, human-shaped automatons made of stone. Golems?

There were five of them, marching in a straight-line formation. Each reached the height of my chest. The first three bore round, wooden shields. The two at the back carried crossbows. Their limbs were thick and stubby, and their walk was more of a waddle. Each one had a green orb embedded in its chest. The crossbow-golem at the very back paused briefly in its march. It turned toward us and made eye contact with its stone-carved eyeholes. Crap.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

I readied a Frost Missile behind my back. But the golem only gave us a friendly wave, then jogged away to rejoin its comrades in their formation. I exhaled in relief and relaxed, and my Frost Missile crumbled into loose ice slivers.

"What were those?" I asked Hei.

"Might they be our allies?"

I shrugged. "That's pretty optimistic."

Though the golems had been friendly, it still unnerved me to see combat units on the road. In the afternoon, we decided to explore the woods to the left of the road instead. The woods here weren't foreboding like the misty forests outside the walls. These parts seemed more like well-tended orchards. They still had a certain wildness to them, but in a way that felt humanly designed. By the edge of the road, the trees were sparse among the grass, except for thicker groves here and there. Farther away, they grew more densely, and resembled the scenery you'd expect at a national park. Maybe something like the Pacific redwood forests of Yosemite.

After some exploration deeper into the woods, we found a cave of stone. Shelter was still a real issue for us, but a strange smell at the cave deterred us from wandering closer. It was a musky odor, like that of wild animals. Neither of us was keen on risking another encounter with wolves just yet. But who knew, maybe we'd have to come back later, hunt the wolves for food, then take over as the new residents of their cave.

Night soon fell. The weather was mild, and the stars shone dimly. I checked my phone again for any sort of wireless signal, but found none. I changed its settings to battery-saver mode; I might not get a chance to charge it ever again. We agreed to rest, then continue down the road the next morning. Hei took the first shift on guard duty and allowed me to sleep. He chopped down large, leafy branches with his spear's edge, and he leaned them against a boulder to make us shelter. It scarcely sufficed to shield our faces from the night breeze. As I settled into my bedroll to sleep, I wondered how long we'd be able to survive like this.

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

We passed the night without incident. At daybreak, I gently poked Hei awake. Neither of us got enough sleep, but adrenaline kept us sober enough. We ate a light breakfast from the charcuterie-bag we got as loot. Our rations would last us two or three more days at most.

And I gave Hei his shirt back. By now all my wounds were healed, though a couple scabs remained. I probably got granted accelerated regeneration, on top of my magic.

We began our trek back toward the cobblestone road. But halfway there, I heard something in the forest.

"Hei," I said. "Can you hear it too?"

"What?"

"It sounds like running water."

Thrilled by our discovery, we jogged through the grasslands toward the sound of waters. We soon arrived at the edge of the woods. Beyond the woods was a treeless, grassy clearing. And not far beyond that strip of grassland was a river, burbling and sparkling in the morning light.

There were already people there by the riverside. Two of them. One, a young girl in a hoodie and skirt. She looked like an elementary school kid. The other was a middle-aged man, clad in heavy-looking plate armor. Instead of a helmet, he wore a…cowboy hat? I saw a glimpse of his face. He had a thick, dark mustache. The man spoke to the girl. Hiding among the trees, I strained my ears to listen in.

"Now when I get the fish out of the water," he said, "I want you to hit its head with your rock. I want you to look it in the eyes as you do it. The fish is the peasant of the meat kingdom. But it still deserves dignity in death."

"What the crap?" I whispered. Somehow, above the din of the water, the kid heard me. She turned my way, pointed, and the mustache-man looked at me as well.

"Oh, uh, hi!" I greeted. I stepped out of the woods, on to the grassland. "I was looking for water. How are you two doing?"

The man stared me down. He picked up a massive battle-axe that had been resting in the grass. It was double-bladed, and almost my height. With a single hand, he hoisted it up and pointed it at me.

"I come in peace!" I assured. "Please." I even raised my hands up in surrender. Heck, my crossbow was still in my backpack. Did he need to be so hostile?

"Get on the ground," the man commanded. "Hands on your head. Now."

Should I follow his orders? I wanted to calm him down if I could. But what if this "game" was actually a death game, and he wanted to kill me? In that case, getting prone on the floor was practically a guaranteed end to my life.

"Sir!" I shouted. "I swear, I'm just here for water!"

"You heard me," the man said. "Get on the floor. Hands on your head. Now."

This was just great. Maybe I could try to get the little girl on my side, and somehow convince this cowboy-knight I really was innocent. But before I could do anything, Hei followed me out of the trees, with his spear at the ready.

"Drop your weapon," Hei ordered the man. Hei swung his spear through the air in menacing arcs, before pointing the spear-tip forward at the knight's throat. "I won't ask a second time."

"You!" the little girl shouted at Hei. She brandished a longbow, aimed it at him, and nocked five arrows. Five whole arrows.

"What did you just say?!" the girl yelled. "I'll have you know, Mr. Atlas graduated top of his class in the Navy SEALs, and he's –"

"You stay out of this!" the armored man ordered. With his axe still raised, he began to approach Hei and me. I saw Hei tense up visibly. His knuckles grew white as he tightened his grip on the spear. The armored man responded by raising his free hand at Hei. There was a metal pipe of sorts built onto his gauntlet, its length running along the back of his forearm. It looked like an arm cannon. The tip of a metal spike could be seen loaded inside the barrel, its point directly aimed at Hei's chest.

"Now son," the man said to Hei, "you as well. Get on the floor, hands on –"

And that was enough of a spark to light the metaphorical fire. Hei lunged forward into battle, spear raised to strike.