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“We need to carry on,” I shoot back gruffly. “I need to know what the hell you did.”
“I did nothing.” She throws her hands in the air in frustration. “I don’t know what I did. I don’t know what it is you’re so keen to see, are you kidding me? I tried to tell you as much. I know Lars got all excited and carried away, trying to make out that I was some kind of hero, but that isn’t the case at all. I just… acted in the heat of the moment.”
“But you made the monsters retreat into the Rift. That’s something we have never seen before. I don’t think you quite understand how much this means. You could save us all.”
She rolls her eyes, completely dismissing me. “I get that, I really do, but I don’t think that we need to deal with this right now. You’re always so impatient.”
I narrow my eyes suspiciously at her. “Are we talking about your college work again?”
She shrugs helplessly. “Honestly, I don’t know. I’m not sure about anything. I just feel like I’ve been thrown into the middle of this mess and I don’t know what to do about it. I don’t know how to handle it. Earlier on, I was in my normal life. I was arguing with you in college, I was having a hard time with Lars in the coffee shop, I was trying my hardest not to think about Vaughn and Kit anymore because I thought they were figures from my past, and now…”
Guilt gnaws at my conscience as we continue to traverse the dense forest. The weight of my decision to essentially kidnap Mahalia and involve her in this mission without her consent presses heavily on my mind. Maybe, just maybe, this wasn’t the best idea.
I should have followed the path the wolf elders had laid out for me. They wanted me to approach the person I chose from this mission, to explain the situation, and to seek her willing participation in this endeavor. But I allowed my own feelings to cloud my judgment, believing that I knew what was best for her and for the mission.
“Yeah, sorry about that.” I hang my head low. “I think I messed up…”
“You think?” She rolls her eyes. “Seriously, I’m certain you did. My God, Maddox…”
“Mmm, I know. I wish I’d…” I halt in my tracks. What was that noise? I whip around quickly, to see where that strange sound came from. It’s a noise unlike anything that I have ever heard before, and it chills me to the bone. I don’t quite know how to wrap my head around this.
“Did you hear that?” Mahalia is by my side in a heartbeat, clinging onto my arm like I’m not the enemy anymore, but her savior instead. “What was that?”
“Was that the sound you heard when the Rift opened before?”
She shrugs once more. “I don’t know. It all happened so quickly. I wasn’t really paying any attention to anything going on around me.”
It feels like there are shadows all around, creeping through me, affecting every inch of me. I don’t know what’s happening to me, but it’s almost like all the blood has been zapped out of my body completely. I know I need to protect Mahalia, but I honestly I don’t know what I’m capable of. I don’t know what I can do. I don’t know if I can protect anyone…
“Is it coming closer? What is that?” Mahalia whispers. At least she’s still able to talk. I don’t know if I have the ability to do anything. “Fuck, I don’t like this. I don’t like it one bit.”
I wish I could enjoy the sensation of her body pressed up against me or be annoyed by her like I’m used to. Anything but this. I don’t like this at all. I swallow hard, but it still feels like there’s an intense thick lump in my throat, blocking everything.
With Mahalia clinging tightly to me, I whirl around, my senses on high alert, searching for the source of the unsettling feeling that has gripped us. The forest around us remains eerily silent, and for a moment, I wonder if my instincts have deceived me.
The presence I felt was unmistakably that of a Rift monster. They’re known for their ability to manipulate emotions, and I can’t shake the feeling that one of them is lurking nearby. But no matter how hard I look, I can’t spot any sign of the creature.
Mahalia’s grip on me tightens, her eyes darting nervously from one shadow to the next. The tension in the air is palpable, and it’s clear that she’s feeling the same unease that I am.
“I don’t see anything,” I mutter under my breath, frustration and anxiety building within me. The thought of a hidden Rift monster, capable of sowing discord and chaos, sends shivers down my spine. I don’t like it one bit.
Mahalia’s voice trembles as she speaks, her fear evident. “Can they go... invisible or something? Because I can definitely feel something around me…”
I consider her question carefully. Rift monsters are known for their elusive nature, but outright invisibility would be a new development. “I’m not sure,” I admit. “They have a way of concealing themselves, but I’ve never encountered one that’s completely invisible. It’s possible they’ve adapted. Especially with the other teams not succeeding in closing the Rift.”
What seemed like a simple enough mission when I first agreed to join it, or more when I was talked into it, is starting to become something harder to deal with.
An invisible force slams into me with incredible force, sending me sprawling to the forest floor. My breath is knocked out of me, and pain shoots through my body as I crash against the ground. Mahalia’s scream pierces the air, echoing my own shock and fear.
Dazed and disoriented, I attempt to push myself up, my senses reeling from the unexpected attack. My eyes scan the surrounding area, searching desperately for any sign of the unseen assailant, but there’s nothing. It’s as if the very air around us has become our enemy.
“Mahalia!” I gasp, my voice strained as I try to call out to her. “Stay close! Don’t let it—”
Before I can finish my warning, another invisible force slams into me, this time from a different direction. I’m sent tumbling once more, the impact feeling like a freight train crashing into me. Pain shoots through my limbs as I hit the ground hard.
Mahalia whirls around, her terror-filled eyes scanning the forest in all directions. She’s trying to locate the source of the fear that’s overcoming us both, but neither of us can find it. It’s maddening, this invisible menace that’s attacking us with relentless ferocity.
“We need to stick together!” I manage to shout, my voice strained but determined. I reach out for Mahalia, my hand brushing against her arm, and she clings to me tightly.
