I croak in place of a laugh as I look around. Trees cover all sides of the lake. So alien and yet so familiar to the ones from home. Giant palm-like leaves stretch out above the one I’m sitting under, and I envisionweaving them into aroof as I stare at them.
Walking mindlessly won’t change anything now that I’ve found water. And where there’s water, there will be animals coming to drink. I need to stay in one place so I can conserve my energy and try to open a portal back home from this side.
Standing up, forcing my aching muscles to move, I start to search for a place to build my temporary home.
I’m certain it’s been years. It feels like years. My hair has grown from my waist to my ass, and the amount of time I catch it on things makes me yearn to cut it off.But it’s my only source of telling time, so Ican’t get rid of it.
Standing at the shore of the lake, my belly full of some cat-mixed-chicken thing that came to drink, I try to pull on my magic. But it stays trapped inside of me, refusing to come out. The only thing I’ve managed to do in this damn place is call on my healing light. I can’t access anything else – no spells, no wards, no summoning circles to call an eknor demon companion. Just my damn white light.
I know I should be thankful to have even that, but I’m not. I want my shadow magic. I want to be able to open a portal back to my family.
Growling, I kick a rock intothe lake. Maybe I should start moving again. Maybe there are people somewhere – poor, unfortunate people like me who got sucked into this place and are doing their best to survive.
But here I have certain water and a much better chance at finding food. It doesn’t make sense to go.
And yet I do – too desperate to stay still.
Leaving was a damn stupid idea. I’m starving again and dehydrated. The world has gone into its pitch-black cycle, so I am guiding myself with my healing light. A monster growls behind me, no doubt as hungry as I and frustrated that it can’t eat me. But I’ve grown used to the snapping of teeth and the brushing of things across my skin as monsters follow me, only to soon leave once they realize I’m no good as a meal.
But this thing doesn’t go. It just lingers right on the outskirts of my light so I can’t see what it is. All I know is that it’s big. Bigger than a giraffe sort of big. But despite its size, it doesn’t register on my other senses. I can’t hear it when it moves, its feet silent. I can’t smell it even when the wind blows from its direction. And it seems to be able to phase short distances, appearing on one side of me, then the other.
When I manage to find something to eat, I throw a bit of meat at it. It’s not a lot – probably too small for it to even bother with, but I can’t spare much when I barely have enough for myself.
The thing ignores the food entirely, just staring at me, so I walk over to the morsel and pick it up. Shoveling it into my mouth, I study the beast a bit closerand realize it’s missing a leg. I’ve seen a lot of weird creatures in this place, butnone of them have had an odd number of legs.
A lightbulb moment flashes in front of me, and I cup my hands together. Concentrating hard, I build up more light, nearly doubling my usual output. Then I sit down and wait for a different monster to get lured in by it.
It doesn’t take long.
A scaly animal with a long tail and an upturned snoutcomes up to me. It’s about the size of a car, and its mouth is full of needle-like teeth. It bares them at me as it hops around, trying to figure out how to eat me. With all of its attention on me and my light, it doesn’t notice the beast creeping up behind it.
As soon as it gets close enough, my monster pounces, attacking it with praying-mantis-knife-like legs. It stabs it through the back,and my heart races at how efficient of a killing machine this thing is even with its missing leg. With the scaly creature mostlydead, my monster starts to eat.
My mouth waters at the sight of so much food, and I inch forward.
My monster tenses, but it doesn’t stop eating.
I take another step forward.
It ignores me this time.
I’m right beside the scaly creature now. Reaching out with my sharpened rock knife, I try to cut a bit of flesh off for myself, but the scales are rock-hard and my knife can’t get through. A frustrated noise escapes me.
The monster pauses eating to look at me. Then it raises a frontpraying-mantis-blade-like leg, and I jump back, my heartracing. It slams it down into the flesh where Iwas justtryingto cut it. When it pulls its leg out, it stays watching me, like it’s expecting me to do something.
I hesitate for a moment, then stick my knife intothe nearly-dead monster’swound and scoop out a bit of meat.My monster makes a weird noise, then lowers its head to pull off more chunks for itself.
My mouth drops open as I stare at it.
Then I laughin pureenjoyment of finding a friend. Or a pet. Or just a momentary companion. Whatever it is, I’m grateful foritscompany.
I’ve been so utterly alone.
Forty-Eight
HER
DAYS DO NOT EXIST HERE