The morning sun beamed down upon the five as they traveled through the endless fields of yellow-green grass. Daimona curled her fingers around the straps of her backpack, eagerly taking in the sight of the westward reaches.

“Irina said there’s plenty of cool stuff to hunt along the way,” she said, nudging Norok with a grin. “It’ll be just like old times, don’t you think?”

Norok simply grunted in return. He had been moody and distant for almost a week now, muttering rapidly to himself after the big bootcamp meeting and barely following along in the simulated combats Will was running. Daimona interrogated him every night for the cause, but he shrugged her off each time.

“I’ve just got a lot on my mind,” he said, his eyes laser-focused on his shoes. “Bootcamp stuff and all that.”

“Since when do you care about bootcamp?” Daimona whined, smacking their bunk with frustration. But Norok quickly rolled over, his fake-snores only increasing in volume every time Daimona tried to shake him.

Norok was usually a secretive nerd, sure. Daimona was certain his poorly-hidden anxiety would tear through that cool-guy facade, and he'd come running straight to her to confess whatever newfound worry was eating at him. When they were kids, he couldn't last more than a week before he'd wind up bawling into her shoulders, crying “What if I don't survive tomorrow's test? What if I forget how to use my magic? What if Doctor hates me?”

And Daimona, the perfect sister she was, would pinch the bridge of his nose until he stopped crying and make him laugh so hard, the facilitators outside would pound on the door and tell them to knock it off. Nowadays, it was a little harder to do, given that it was significantly more difficult to control her own strength, but the idea was the same-- Norok would cry, and Daimona would make it better. That was her job, as his sister and his confidant, and as annoying as he was going to be about it, Daimona didn’t mind waiting a little longer.

What she did mind was how attached Norok suddenly was to Will. Overnight her brother had apparently abandoned all of his talk about “staying here too long” and “forgetting who we are,” and was now obsessed with playing lapdog to their egomaniac leader. “I agree with Will” and “I think we should do what Will says, guys,” seemed to be his new catchphrase, and it was really starting to get on Daimona’s nerves.

“Tiny Tadpole,” Irina had started calling him, since he wasn’t big enough to be a real frog just yet. Seeing him physically jump at the chance just to bring Will coffee, Daimona was inclined to agree.

“Norok told me you guys used to live out in the southern forests,” Kell said cheerily, shaking Daimona from her thoughts. “Is this your first time traveling into Fable?”

“Yeah,” Daimona answered, watching Norok trot up to walk alongside Will. She turned to Kell, disappointed by her brother, but eager for conversation. “Are there bears here too?”

Kell shook his head with a chuckle. “No, it’s illegal for bears to trespass within Fable grounds. Same with elk, wolves, tigers, snakes… Anything thats got true magic and a pulse has to be vetted thoroughly before coming through, since this is the human territory.”

“Do bears get their own territory?”

“They’re one of the major ones!” Kell listed them off on his fingers. “Callistus is bears, Herald’s sort of a big jungle, uh… Oh, Lupine is wolves--”

Irina barked a laugh, interrupting Kell. “Lupine isn’t real.”

“What’re you talking about? Of course it’s real, it’s on every map,” Kell replied. Irina trotted forward, linking her arm through Daimona’s. She shot Kell a condescending look.

“If only your brain could spark as much as your hands,” she quipped, sticking her nose up. “Everyone knows the wolves are gone. They died with their leader a decade ago.”

Kell furrowed his eyebrows, pouting as his cheeks began to flush with frustration. “That hasn’t been confirmed, Irina.”

“Sparkboy has a soft spot for the animal nations,” Irina said, ignoring Kell to whisper to Daimona. “That is why he pretends to know so much.”

“I don’t pretend!” Kell huffed. “I just… I do a lot of research in my free time.”

“Ask me about the wolves,” Irina said, her eyes shining with pride.

Kell uttered a noise in disbelief, but Daimona held Irina’s stare and obliged. “What do you know about them?”

“I saw her,” Irina said softly. “The Alpha.”

The title meant nothing to Daimona, but Kell’s body language shifted immediately. He glared at Irina as she continued.

“She passed through my village when I was small. This great beast with a pitch black coat and snarling jaw… Her pack followed, but not one was even half her size. Half her might. She was beautiful.”

“That could’ve been any wolf,” Kell interjected flatly. “Why would the leader of the entire wolf territory be on the move? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“The men in my village-- violent bastards-- they refused to attack her. I clung to Mama’s legs and asked her why they would not fight, and you know what she told me?”

“What?” Daimona asked with fascination.

“She said, ‘That is a legendary warrior. We honor those who pass through.’ And we did. We bowed as she passed, and we did not rise until her pack was out of sight.”

“If you believe the wolves were great, why do you think they’re dead?” Kell argued. “Don’t you think they could’ve survived the loss of one leader?”

Irina shook her head with a stern look. “I was there when they sent out the news. With the death of their most precious legend, no species could survive. No species is meant to. And that is why no one has seen wolves since.”

They walked in silence after that. Daimona mulled her thoughts over, imagining the magnificent creature Irina described. Then, she looked to Kell’s dejected expression, watching him shuffle with his jacket straps for a moment.

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She leaned over and whispered, “I think they’re still around.”

Kell’s expression brightened. “You too?”

Daimona nodded, glancing over to make sure Irina wasn’t looking. She was busying herself with tormenting Will, complaining about their route again as Norok tried to argue over her.

“I mean, why not? If they could have one strong wolf, they could have another. Right?”

Kell offered her a warm smile. “I think so too. I just don’t like the idea of a whole race of creatures just up and vanishing, you know? Just because they’re not human doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to live their lives too.”

“A lot of animals are better than humans anyways,” Daimona added.

“I agree,” Kell replied. “It’s nice to know I’m not the only one.”

As the day continued on, the trek weighed on Daimona. Walking was boring. Hours and hours of moving in the same direction, with nothing new to look except for more grass, a few trees and an afternoon sky that couldn’t even offer her a cloud to ponder. Walking was more than boring-- walking was torture.

“Where are we going again?” Daimona sighed.

“Halltown,” Will replied shortly, offering her an annoying smirk over his shoulder. “Need to rest your legs already, Private?”

Daimona puffed her cheeks, sticking her tongue out at him and blowing a curt raspberry. “Pbbbft, no! I can go on forever.”

Will chuckled. “Well, thankfully you won’t have to. It’s just over the hill.”

Daimona followed where he pointed. In the distance appeared to be a small town, sprouting from the fields below like a cluster of brown-capped mushrooms. The ant-sized silhouettes of people moved between the little buildings, some tugging animals along, others pulling children and carts. As the squad neared the entrance, a grand fenced gate with the town name painted neatly in white on the hanging signpost, Daimona felt a change in the air.

Now closer, she could see the majority of the people were migrating to the right side of the town. Families marched on, silent to their children’s frantic questions as a handful of soldiers in silver gas masks appeared to be boarding up the windows on every building.

An older woman stopped them before they could step foot inside the town. She was tall, her face wrinkled with age and littered with tiny, white scars that shone like constellations against her skin. A navy blue gas mask hung low around her neck, the goggles reflecting the grand silver-sword pinned to her breast pocket. As she cocked her head, her topaz eyes surveyed the group, moving from one face to another with a curious expression.

“Which one of you is Saint?” she asked. Despite her intimidating demeanor, her voice remained warm and light. Will stepped forward, offering his hand.

“Right here, ma’am,” he replied politely, reaching into his jacket to pull out his ID to offer her. Daimona fought the urge to mimic him mockingly, amused by the sudden humility in his tone. But something about this strange woman reminded her of the cold Sergeant Cowell. Maybe it was in her stare, or just the authority she seemed to hold, but Daimona got the distinct feeling that this woman powerful, and was the key to more food. Her stomach gurgled at the thought.

The woman looked from his ID back to him. “When Cowell said you were taking the scenic route, I assumed he meant you wouldn’t get here for another couple days. You’re not being chased, are you?”

“No, no,” Will said, letting out a charming, breathy laugh that made Daimona cringe. “We’re just ready to win.”

The woman handed Will’s ID back with a thoughtful nod. “Fair enough. I’ll have my men direct you through to the end of town. You’ll follow that route through to Linnstan.”

“Oh, uh-- We--” Will cleared his throat. “I was intending to stay here in Halltown for the night, so my squad and I could restock before our route. We’re not going to Linnstan, as I’m sure Sergeant Cowell mentioned.”

“That won’t be possible,” the woman replied. She gestured to the scene behind her. “Halltown is under an inspection for the next twenty-four hours. No one stays besides the registered citizens and my personnel.”

Will tilted his head, and Daimona could see the forced smile waning thin on his face. “Listen, ma’am, with all due respect--”

“With all due respect, Private Saint,” the woman interrupted. “It’s not ma’am. It’s Captain Wildewood. The first thing you can respect is my authority here. We’re in the middle of our operation here, and you’re impeding it.”

“But--”

“--And the next thing you can do with that respect of yours is walk it right on out of here and drop it off at the capital.” Before Will could argue, she clapped her hands, and four gas-mask wearing soldiers arrived promptly at her side. “Take these five to the North gate,” she ordered, then with a final nod to Will, she said, “And make sure they know how grateful we are for their understanding.”

“Merlin’s teeth,” Will grumbled bitterly, ignoring Irina’s snide smile as he stomped his way forward. Daimona walked wide, every step on her toes as she gawked at the moving townspeople. None of them would get within five feet of the group as the soldiers escorted them.

“Hey Kell,” she said, throwing an arm around his shoulders and pulling him into her suddenly. She whispered, “What’s an inspection?”

For the first time since they arrived, Daimona realized Kell was trembling. His face had gone stark white, his fingers clenched into such tight fists that small beads of blood were beginning to escape his palms. Through gritted teeth, he said in a low voice, “They’re looking for Blems here. It’s not an inspection… It’s a Cleansing.”

Just as Daimona was about to ask what he meant, they came to a stop in the center of the town. A cobblestone pavement expanded before them, with abandoned vegetable carts and merchant tents standing all around the sides. The soldier leading had an arm thrown out, as a shrill scream broke the air ahead.

While Kell looked down, his cap hiding his expression, Daimona moved to stand closer to Norok. She grabbed his arm as she leaned forward, looking to locate the noise.

A group of soldiers were dragging what looked to be a child out of a nearby building. As they threw the boy in the center of the square, Daimona could see a series of abnormalities in his appearance. From his head rose the quivering gray ears of a donkey, a matching tail tucked under and wrapped around his left leg. There were no whites to his eyes. Instead, they were black pearls, dribbling over with floods of tears that mingled with his snot.

A woman chased them out of the house, sobbing in a language Daimona couldn’t recognize. She appeared to be just another run-of-the-mill human, but her ragged clothing and stubby nose matched the boy’s. She grabbed the soldier’s arm and shook it desperately.

“Crila,” she wept, reaching for the boy. “Crila!”

In an instant, the soldier she was latched onto dropped the boy’s arm and whirled around to her. She was knocked to the ground, and before she could even raise her head to look up at the soldier, a bolt of fire came crashing down towards her. In a ball of hot, white light, the woman’s figure vanished, leaving the smell of burning viscera and ash in her wake. The child howled, hysterically clawing at the ash with his free hand. As he examined the meager palmful, a great ball of water formed over his head. It engulfed his face, sending him into a confused panic as he threw his hands up to his mouth only to realize he couldn’t pull them out of the sphere. As he fell lifeless to the cobble, the water bubble popped, revealing his agonized, bloated face.

The soldier in front of Will pulled their arm up once the others had begun to drag the body off. Irina and Will marched forward, with little more than a glance at the stains. Norok gave her hand a soft pat, silently signaling to her that this was something they’d have to talk about later before he moved to join the other two.

Daimona turned to Kell. She had expected to find him still frozen to the spot with the same gloomy look from before. But Kell was already looking at her, a stoic, hardened look on his face.

Quietly, she asked, “What did they do?”

Kell simply shook his head. He stalked past her, his face unreadable. Silently, the soldiers ushered them to the North gate, and Daimona gave the horizon of Halltown one final glance. Several black trails of smoke twisted from between the buildings, reaching to the sky like a final cry for help. Before Daimona could think anything more of it, her stomach churned with hunger again, and she turned to follow the rest of her squad onto the road.