《Reality and Beyond》


 Chapter 1: Reality break

    The sky was blue and the cloud was white. Birds flew across skyscrapers as they migrated to the south to avoid winter. The city buzzed at the sound of electronics, motor vehicles and vendors calling out to sell their special treats. People were busy walking around, too occupied with what theywanted to achieve rather than enjoy what they already have. Overall, it looked like a normal city in a normal country, nothing peculiar or interesting happening.


    Rex was one of them. 17 years old, he was soon to become an adult next year. With a height as average as possible compared to others of his age, he was considered to be one of the most successful teens in overcoming the obstacle known ashighschool. He was popular, where girls would date him if there weren''t that many jockys baiting them away from him.


    He walked along the pavement, determined to reach the nearest McDonalds to meet up with a girl. Said girl had invited him to a date two days ago, though he knew it was nothing more than a way to distract and amuse herself. He had experienced various dates firsthand, with the first date going horribly wrong. He had thought the girl was serious and wanted a devoted relationship with him, thus him consulting every problem and weakness he has, but she ended up cheating and dumping him a few days later, with instagram stories commenting on how lame he was, or how he was a dork in more ways than one.


    He had admitted the fact that he was a dork to the girl during their date, with the girl casually saying, "I don''t care if you''re a dork or whatever, I just want you," and he thought her being serious about the comment. Imagine how depressed and irksome he became when entering class and being called ''dork'' or ''nerd''.


    Just as he was trying to cross a road while still deep in thought on whether he should turn back now or just go ahead and play around with his date before dumping her, a crack appeared in the middle of the zebra crossing. It was odd, considering how it just floated above the road, and he went around checking it to see whether it was a prank or trick, but found nothing holding the crack in place. As the traffic light blinked, signifying the crossing time was almost over, he walked to the opposite side of the road and observed the crack.


    Cars rushed passed the crack, ignoring it as if it wasn''t even there. The crack had gone through the cars as if it wasn''t solid at all. After that, the crack expanded, spiderwebbing across space before reaching the sky. The process stopped after the cracks reached the sky, as if something had prevented it from growing anymore. By now, it had the width of the entire zebra cross, and the height of even the tallest skyscrapper.


    Rex looked at it in awe. The cracks did not reflect light, nor let light pass through it without reducing the light''s intensity. It was somehow both transparent and opaque, creating a sense of peculiarity to any who saw it. He stood there, continuing his stare at the crack until something else happened.


    A fragment, no larger than his hands, fell out of the cracks as light started pulsing through the cracks. The shard fell onto the road, creating a distortion in space and ripping a hole in the ground. No one noticed except for Rex himself. It was as if everyone else couldn''t see nor feel the presence of the shard, continuing the task on hand without a care for the world if it meant profitting and living a comfortable life.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    The light pulsed more and more frequently as time passed. More shards -big or small- fell from the cracks, revealing a sheet of black that turned white the moment the light pulsed. The black sheet gave off a sense of discomfort, as if it was never meant to be seen, only hiding in the background of reality where nothing there was to be seen by anyone. The light kept pulsing as the cracks kept growing and the shards kept falling, faster and faster until it became a constant stream. Suddenly, the white light disappeared, dissolving slowly into nothingness as it revealed the creatures hiding behind it. Clad in substances blacker than black, deeper than the darkness Rex had ever known, the creatures stepped into the world, over the jagged edges of the shards that littered the ground. They made a ear piercing growl once their pack entered, threatening to deafen all who heard it, yet everyone around the street didn''t seem to notice them, all except for Rex.


    Fear gripped Rex''s heart. He knew the instinctive thing to do was to run, but another side of him said it was futile, opting to surrender than to try and outrun the creatures. To that side of him, it was better to die comfortably than with ragged breaths. Still, he was frozen in place, unable to move or steady his breathing. There was cold sweat dripping down his forehead, but he barely noticed. Somehow, the sight of the creatures made him abhor them, as if it was wrong of them to exist at all.


    Sensing the rude thought, the creatures roared in fury before extending several limbs to grab at him. The limbs were covered in the sticky black goo that covered their bodies, yet it showed no sign of having its movements hindered. Readying himself for death, Rex breathed in and closed his eyes as the hand-like limb reached for his neck to squeeze the life out of him. Yet, as he waited, his imminent death did not come. Feeling kind of awkward in his pose after the heat of the moment, he opened his eyes, only to see two humanoids standing beside him with futuristic guns in hands.


    As they pulled the triggers, few things happened. The gun''s hums -which he noticed not long after- grew louder and louder until it was as deafening as the creature''s roars. Then, something being propelled out of the gun barrels could be heard, even though he saw nothing come out of them. The creature in front of him gave a furious roar as it fell back while its companions charged in. They grew grosteque arms that acted as legs to propel themselves forward. Rex heard the humanoid figures beside him swear before grabbing his arms and throwing him aside, where he was saved, they were squashed by the charging creatures.


    After crushing them, the creatures turned to look around, attempting to search for him in the dusts they made. Wise enough to know what they were doing, he used the shadows of the dusts to cover his escape. All the while, he held his breath and tried to ignore the stinging sensation from his eyes. They were watery and moist. He kept sprinting in a crouched position until he rounded a corner and found an alley to hide in. He could still hear the creatures stomping around, wrecking buildings and sweeping the pedestrians around who were unaware of what was happening in order to search for him.


    He didn''t know what was so special about himself. He was just like everybody else, even though he don''t feel like it now. The dumpster he was hiding behind stank of rotten food and rubbish, and he hoped that would be enough to mask whatever scent the creatures were using to track him.

 Chapter 2: Escaping reality

    All of a sudden, a crack appeared in the wall of the alley he was in, before opening and allowing dozens of humanoid figures to pour out. Some of them held different weapons, with the variety ranging from futuristic to old style. He could see that there were at least forty armed figures walking out, and the last one had a distinct outfit that made him look like the captain. He wore no helmet, with a clean shaven face and a bald head. His fierce brown eyes looked like they could pierce any thing he locked on to, and luckily he didn''t look very angry, or else he''d look a lot scarier.


    Rex wanted to go out and seek help from the captain, but he hesitated as something told him it won''t be a good idea. The captain looked distant for a second before speaking loudly and clearly so that his troops could hear his orders.


    "Hunters and enforcers, dispose of the voids. Weavers, check and see whether the damage dealt to this reality is severe enough for a force reboot. Seekers, search for the main character," the captain''s voice didn''t exactly boom, but everyone there nodded and head to work. The captain himself sighed a little before wearing his helmet and joining the rest of his troops.


    When he was sure there was no one else with him in the alley, Rex left his hiding spot and got behind the alley''s wall to steal a peek as to what was happening. There were loud noises as both futuristic and old style guns fired alike, and many more injured or dying groans as the figures -who were assumed to be men- were flung by a flick of the voids limbs. A few were standing behind, hands holding weapons that looked more like tranquilisers.


    "They must be the Seekers..." Rex muttered to himself as he watched the continued onslaught. The sight was definitely unique to all, if they were boring to hunters and enforcers. The seekers looked as if they were able to see invisible trails, and no doubt, they would be following the trail if not for the fight obstructing their view.


    He stepped out, slowly, and headed towards one of the Seekers. His gut told him it was a good idea even though it rejected the fierce looking commander. Instincts, he thought.


    As he snuck up to one of the Seekers who seemed distracted by the fight, he tapped lightly on his hand. The Seeker jumped a little, surprised there was actually a non-ally calling out to him. He retracted his helmet which revealed his smooth, young features. His blond hair was handsomely combed, and would make him look more like a medieval noble if he wore a suit and didn''t stood beside a fight with unknown creatures.


    "Hello, do you know who I am?" The young man asked. He was polite and his tone was sweet, allowing anyone to almost instantaneously be attracted to him, if not fall in love with him first.


    "Uh, hello. Is this a... common sight?" Rex questioned rhetorically. He was just trying to strike up a conversation with the attractive young man now, forgetting his initial objective.


    "Ah, so you see the unknown?" the young man replied with a question.


    "Yes, who wouldn''t anyway, except for them, that is," Rex pointed at the pedestrians who were still casually walking by, as if it was commonplace for a fight between different space creatures to break out.


    "I guess you''re the main character then. Your name is Rex, right?"


    "Yep," Rex answered without hesitation, then continued, "can you help me by telling me what exactly is going on?"


    "Oh, it''s just an invasion. We''re," the young man cleared his throat, "I mean, they`re solving the problem now. It`ll be alright soon though, your world would be restored and your life will be back to normal."


    "Oh, okay," he wasn''t sure if his life really was going to be normal again, after seeing that.


    They watched the battle go on, with the young man telling his companions that he found Rex. They came over and basically took out a box of popcorn from nowhere before offering Rex some of it to enjoy the battle. "Want some?" "No thank you." After about half an hour, the battle finally concluded, with the black, inky substances dissolving into nothingness. Several Seekers who were eating popcorn just now stood up and put it away. The commander glared at them before telling them to seal the crack, but the crack was already as wide as a block of buildings.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    "It''s impossible to fix now. We''ll have to reboot the entire world and restore the backup version."


    "The reboot system has been compromised. The core was covered with claw marks and had a hole piercing through it already."


    "So they prepared earlier..." The commander pondered a little after hearing the reports from two Seekers. Then he steeled his face and said, "Override the core systems security manuel. Better let this world start from the beginning than let it be a weakness in our defense."


    "But...!" One of them tried arguing, but the one beside him shushed him and said, "alright," he then looked at Rex, "come with me, Rex."


    "M-me?"


    "Yes, you," he turned around, expecting Rex to follow him but Rex just stood there, immobile. "Why...?" A word left his mouth.


    "Why what?" The Seeker turned around to face him. There were tears gathering at the corner of Rex''s eyes as he understood what the commander meant. "Does that mean... I wouldn''t exist until then?" His tone was full of self pity and sorrow.


    "Yes," the Seeker''s voice was hard and stone cold. It felt like a blizzard was coming, ready to freeze Rex to death if he were to continue to fight with it.


    "No! I won''t let you!" Just as Rex tried to run away, the Seeker threw a noose over his neck and dragged him. The previous Seeker who rebeled looked down, determined to ignore Rex''s cries and struggles as his partner dragged Rex down. The commander looked down at him, no mercy showing at all. Not long after, the noose tightened around his neck and choked the air out of him, with his consciousness leaving as well as his hope.


    ...


    Rex woke up in a metallic room, with the lights blinking non stop and providing no proper vision at all. In fact, darkness would''ve served better to allow his view to cover more. There was a man sitting on a chair, and he realised who that man was when the lights blinked on all of a sudden, if for a moment.


    "Y-you!" Rex tried pointing at the Seeker, but his hands were tied to his back, disallowing any excess movements.


    "You shouldn''t. I''ll answer a few crucial questions before letting you go," the Seeker said.


    "You were the reason as to why I''m here now!" Rex struggled more but to no avail. The Seeker sighed exasperately before speaking more.


    "My name is Arton, Seeker of division 5. The reboot will reset everything in this realm before restoring the backuped version, but since the core which holds the backups," he pointed over to a door, "was destroyed, this world is going to have to undergo it''s previous evolution all over again, and your soul will be recycled into the earliest version before evolving into someone like you know. And now, I offer you the alternate choice of surviving but becoming a fugitive of the Organization, so just take it and ask survival related questions before you depart."


    Conflicted, Rex looked confused and agitated at the same time. The Seeker continued, "you''ll need to head into other realities if you want to live without getting caught. But beware, the immortality you have while in your own realm will be nulled since you''re trespassing on other''s branches."


    "So... How can I find the other realms?" Rex had finally calmed enough to form a sensible question, to which the Seeker replied with delight. "There''s a crack in the core room. You can head out there, but beware of the Guardians. If they catch you, your soul is forever no more. So, head out and will yourself to remember someone you know. You''ll see their realm and be able to pass through the barrier since we''ll think you''re still in your own realm." Rex shivered at the thought of losing his soul forever. It was basically the same as dying forever.Does that mean I''m never able to die in while in my own realm? he mused.


    "Is-is it possible to regain my own realm?" Rex looked at the Seeker with a little hope. The Seeker sighed and said, "you can, but once you do, you can never exit it again, that''s unless if there''s a crack for you to slip through."


    "Oh... Well then, I guess this is goodbye?"


    "After I untie you, yes," the Seeker went over and untied Rex''s hands. There was already some swelling at where his hands were tied for too long.


    After that, Rex stood up and dusted himself a little. He offered a handshake, whch to his delight, was shakened by the Seeker.


    "Hope we''ll never meet again, MC," the Seeker turned away, ready to leave.


    "That''s a grimy thing to say," to that, the both of them laughed before the Seeker replied.


    "Seriously though, the next time I see you, I''m killing you on sight," His tone held a special kind of chill to it, and it ran down Rex''s now shivering spine.


    "Ugh, alright alright," Rex waved him off and the Seeker took a turn before disappearing.


    "Alright... Now, to step foot into a new world beyond my knowledge!" He cheered himself on, heading towards the door to the core room. He secretly wondered whether this was a dream, but the pulsing pain from his swollen hands prove, no doubt, he was awake and experiencingreality. He grunted, before chuckling at the thought.


    "Who am I kidding... I''m reality-jumping," just as he swung open the door, a dark hole greeted him. It was no larger than a fridge, and Rex had to crouch and squeeze himself a little before being able to go through it. Releasing his grip on the smooth sides of the crack, he slipped into the endless darkness that tasted like air on a mountain, eyes closed and mouth shut to keep hiimself from screaming like a girl.

 Chapter 3: Rescue

    Coolness like never before seeped into Rex''s body as he fell into the space between reality branches. But truth to be told, the feeling was more akin to frostbite than anything, yet his skin did not freeze nor feel cold to the touch, there was only warmth when he touched it. And using the word ''fell'' wasn''t exactly it either, he was just entering the gaps between realities, but the effects felt more like freefalling.


    Gasping for air as he floated in space, he felt like suffocating under a pillow, only to find that he didn''t actually need to breathe afterwards. There was practically no air there, which contributed to him feeling like he did. As he opened his eyes and looked around, there was nothing at all, only inky darkness that threatened to assimilate anything that it could wrap itself around. He felt a little claustrophobic at that, but endured the feeling as he remembered what the Seeker had said.


    "Will yourself to remember someone you know" was what he said. Rex tried thinking of someone he knows, but his memories of his friends were faint. It was as if his memories of his former life was already fading. Heck, he couldn''t even remember the name of his parents and siblings. Now, he wasn''t even sure if he ever had a sister. I need to get to another reality! the thought of forgetting everything in his world motivated him to try remembering at least the ones closest to him, but he still failed. In the end, the only person who he remembered was a boy about his age, yet the caricatured image forced him into a dead end.


    He sighed, wondering if he would float around here forever until a Guardian passed by and destroyed him. Secretly, he was begging to return back to his old, peaceful life, but he knew it was gone forever since gaining knowledge about the Seekers and its division. There was a tiny bit of light at the farthest corner of his vision, and he looked at it, only to find a humanoid figure clad in black with a scythe on its back racing towards him. The figure saw him, he realised. Quickly, he tried to swim away from the figure which he supposed was a Guardian, but his efforts were in vain as it propelled him no farther than a metre away from the incoming Guardian. By now, the Guardian already had its scythe drawn and ready to slice. On a better look, it was actually a skeleton, and the eerie feeling that crept onto him was only amplified by his surroundings that was devoid of any natural warmth or light.


    Rex accepted his fate and closed his eyes, but opened them the moment he felt a tug pulling at him. At the moment, the Guardian was near him, with its scythe readied to slice and dice. The second it swung the scythe, Rex was pulled backwards, effectively dodging the killing blow. The Guardian was a little confused before it finally realised its prey was being escaping, and so it pursued.


    There was a grappling hook attached to Rex''s back, and the coolness of the metal did not ease his fears at all. He was now aware of being dragged through space by somebody at the front, but he wasn''t able to get a good look at the man. That person was wearing a cloak, covering himself from head to toe, and he was standing on a piece of plastic that looked and functioned like a hoverboard. Behind it, tied to a metal hook was the other end of the grappling hook''s string. The both of them were flying through space with at least as much speed as a bullet train could muster, but the Guardian did not fail to keep up. It was determined to catch them and slice them up, but the man in the front was capable enough to avoid such a fate, even rescuing Rex in the process as well.


    They flew a few more minutes before suddenly halting. The Guardian was unable to stop immediately and ended up passing them in the process of braking. The man yelled at the top of his lungs, "Let it rip!" and a pretty light show lit his and Rex''s surroundings. At first, Rex thought those were just fireworks or flares, but as the projectiles got closer and passed him then hit the Guardian, he noticed the projectiles were actually filled with explosives. The second the fuse was burnt, the Guardian screeched before exploding into a brilliant batch of firework.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    "Nice one guys, and I''ve managed to secure the load," the man pulled Rex over with the string. There was nothing Rex could do except to hope that fate has better things installed for him.


    "Kid, chill. We''re not gonna slice you up or torture you," he looked at the cloaked figure who was flying over, "are we?"


    "We''re keeping him alive, that''s for sure," the cloaked figure''s voice was that of a woman''s. She uncloaked herself and revealed to be a red-haired girl who looked no older than 7 years old. A child, Rex thought.


    "Wow now, don''t go thinking Lisandra is a kid. She''ll burn you up if you ever let her hear you call her ''kid''," the man advised, and it was fortunate that Rex hadn''t gone and call Lisandra ''kid'' out loud yet.


    "I believe he won''t, Citrix. Not everyone''s like you, you know," the man, Citrix, responded with a chuckle before laughing out loud. He still held onto Rex''s string, which made Rex a tad bit uncomfortable.


    "Oh, sorry. I''ll release you now," Citrix retracted the grapple hook. When Rex stretched his hand to his back to check for any marks left by the hook, Citrix just reassured him "the hook doesn''t leave a mark!" with a laugh.


    Rex floated in the space he was left in. The two other strangers had hoverboards to move around on, but he didn''t have one so he couldn''t exactly move around freely like them. "Grab the hook, I''ll toll you back to our base," Citrix had told him when he asked how he was going to move around.


    The three of them flew off in the direction Lisandra had come from. She was silent on the journey and Citrix flew just beside her. Occasionally, Rex would catch sight of Citrix patting Lisandra''s head like a child, and she would throw a playful tantrum to return the favor of annoying him. They had done this a few times on the journey, completely forgetting Rex''s presence until they were near a round, red planet that looked like Mars.


    "This isn''t the Mars you know, it''s the failed prototype of the one normies know of," Citrix said when Rex protested of entering the red planet without breathing equipment.


    "There''s a lot you won''t understand now, Rex. But bear with us, we''ll explain after we entered base," Lisandra continued. They were flying through the atmosphere, but no heat was felt at all as they entered orbit. The strange thing was, no one seemed to have difficulty breathing, and the even stranger thing was he could feel gravity pulling him downwards, but it didn''t feel like the compulsory kind of gravity. It was more of a ''you''ll be affected by me if you want to'' kind of gravity rather than the ''you will obey my attraction without choice'' kind of gravity which he was used to. It was strange having to constantly think of not wanting to get affected by gravity in order to float and get dragged by Citrix, but the two veterans seemed to not notice the effects.


    Maybe they''re natives, he thought. But he shook his head to clear the thought when he remembered the Seeker''s words of wisdom, which were "once you return to your realm, you can''t exit the realm anymore, unless there''s a crack."


    "I know what you''re thinking about," Citrix said when Rex thought more about it, "but we''re not the main characters of this reality. We''re..."


    "Hunters," Lisandra finished his sentence. Immediately, Rex let go of his hands and floated upwards again, heading back towards the space he came from. Citrix shouted "Wait!" at the sight of him floating upwards while Lisandra just sighed and muttered "they always do this whenever we tell them huh..."


    He was rising now, and dust clouds were starting to obstruct his view from them. He thought about what to do when he got back into the space, and the only thing he thought of was nothing, because he could literally do nothing there. He sighed, thinkng there was no actual way to survive properly. He stared down, imagining Citrix and Lisandra panicking, but the movements of the dust cloud told him they weren''t panicking at all. Citrix bursted out moments later, and he flew towards the still rising Rex. Rex tried struggling a little, but was immediately knocked unconscious by Citrix. The last thing he heard before unconsciousness took him was, "this is the only way, I guess," muttered by Citrix with an exasperated sigh.

 Chapter 4: Busted

    As Rex woke up, he saw blurry images, or more specifically, two blurry images moving around. He had a headache that felt like a train crashing into him, and his vision did not, in the slightest, help at all. If anyone were to ask him how he was doing, he''d either be really sarcastic or straight out burst.


    "Are you okay?" Lisandra shone a torch in his eyes. It irritated him to squint, so he brushed her torch away and tried standing up straight, despite still feeling nauseous.


    "I''m fine. Fine!" He threw both his hands up. Originally, he intended to let everything out in one fell swoop, but seeing as Lisandra wore a worried expression, his heart immediately softened and the heat rushing through his head subsided. "I''m fine..." he muttered through an unsteady wobble.


    "Gargh, you should''ve just listened to me just now, and I wouldn''t have had to knock you out then!" Citrix spat on the ground, which immediately swallowed whatever moisture it could get its sand on.


    "And you should''ve knocked him out lightly, not with the strength equal to an elephant''s stomp!" Lisandra argued, "you could''ve put him in some serious damage with that stunt."


    A look of surprise dawned on Citrix''s face before being replaced by one with playful anger. "And you should''ve just brought your taser. It would''ve been a whole lot easier if not for your forgetfulness!" There was a hint of mockery in his final wording.


    With that, the both of them officially got serious into arguing with each other. Caught up in the arguments, Rex felt like it was better to leave the two to settle it before actually having them to answer his questions that suddenly came in waves. Besides, the content of their arguements were getting more and more personal the more they progressed. It made him feel like a third wheel, even violating the bro code that he was so fond of. Awkward now, he tried slipping past them, but to no avail.


    "Well, your ti- Hold on, where ''ya going?" Citrix, who looked like he was having loads of fun from the arguments just now, had his gaze locked onto Rex. By now, his head was clear enough to move without falling, though this meant his fear had been restored as well. The look he received -from eyebrows to nose and mouth- was one of the fiercer ones he had ever seen in his life, if not the fiercest. He had no doubt it could even tame a lion or tiger.


    Stuck, he swallowed his saliva in hopes of lessening his nervousness, but the act was caught red handed by Citrix, who narrowed his eyes, emitting a piercing gaze that was sure to bore a hole through a boulder. Lisandra, finally noticing the distress he was in, intercepted and tried rescuing him. "Citrix... Calm..." She went over to Citrix, who clutched at her protectively before relaxing his gaze and hugging Lisandra fully. Then, he started crying.


    "I..." Citrix sobbed as he hugged Lisandra tighter, but Rex doubted whether Lisandra felt Citrix''s grip at all, for she continued patting his back while whispering calming words even though she was almost half of Citrix''s height. "There there... Everything''s alright..." Lisandra shooed Rex away, which he was happy to do seeing as it was the only way to get out of the awkward situation.


    There was only a single door to his right, and a table, with two chairs tucked in, was positioned against a wall, just opposite the bed''s side, which he was standing at. Rex went over to the door as silently as he could so not to disturb the pair, but after seeing his first few steps echoing crunching noises and not even disrupting the mood the two had created, he just went on walking normally.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    As he went out into a dark landscape, he heard the few dialogues that managed to enter his ears before being shut out by the door.


    "I can''t do this anymore... I''m being consumed by it."


    "You can do it. Fight it, like you always do with things you don''t like."


    "You don''t understand, it''s... it''s...alive in me..."


    "Trust me, you can do it. I believe in you, and we''ll always be together to face it..."


    "Promise...?"


    "Promise."


    Then their conversation was out of reach, only unrecognizable murmurs passing through, amounting to nothing worth listening to. Rex looked at the supposed sky that was devoid of all stars on one side, but filled like glitter on the other. It was like a border was made to filter all the stars to one side, while the other was left empty, nothing to house or hold, only cold, dark spaces devoid of all that feels warm.


    He thought about what he heard as he decided to take a walk. The consuming part intrigued him, but it also made him fear...unknowingly. There was no logical reason as to why he should fear thethingthey mentioned, but it just existed. Different from the usual not knowing, this feeling feltalive somehow, waiting to be manifested in a single, solid form, waiting for the day where it could escape it''s unreal prison instead of just watching from the boundaries. He felt cold just thinking about the feeling, and that was when he made the decision that the feeling wasbad, not just ordinary bad, butvery bad.


    As he walked on, unconsciously putting his hands into his pockets, he heard something coming from above. Looking up, he saw nothing but the border between nothingness and stars, yet theboom!sound still reached his ears. His gut twisted as he listened, once... twice... thrice... and when the forth round came, he could hear it even louder and scarier than before.


    With nothing else that could be done but to disturb and report about it to Lisandra and Citrix, Rex went back to where he came from. As he opened the door, both individuals had already ended their private session and instead, started arming themselves with futuristic guns and grenades which were stocked under the bed and in the wall by the table. Lisandra wore a modernistic belt that had nothing but uniformly spaced strips on it while Citrix looked more soldier-like, with a futuristic shotgun and assault rifle strapped to his back and grenade launchers hung casually to both sides of his belt. There were several white and black grenades, which made him look both futuristic and old styled.


    "What''s happening?" Of course, since this was the first time Rex had ever experienced such an event, that''s the first question he would ask.


    "Found,"


    "War,"


    Lisandra and Citrix looked each other before breaking into a grin each. "Can''t help it, my favourite adopted daughter is just too cute in terms of sugar coating this kind of truth," Citrix reloaded his guns before searching for something else under the bed.


    "I thought I told you never to speak of that to anyone!" Lisandra flushed. Her face was red like a poppy when Citrix smiled widely and shouted ''found it!''. He pulled out a pair of glove and shoes before wearing them, and after satisfied with how tightly they were strapped against him, he stood and walked out the door. Now that nobody was speaking, Rex noticed the strange tranquility that befell them.


    "You noticed it too, huh?" Citrix asked no one in particular as he narrowed his eyes and walked out farther to take a look at the sky. As Rex, too, looked up, he was surprised to see nothing in the sky. The stars he saw just now was covered with darkness, and as if it never existed, the border, too, was gone.


    Suddenly, Citrix cackled madly, before announcing his final words and marching into the dark plain.


    "We''ve been busted, Lisandra. Victor''s here to get us home."

 Chapter 5: Escape (1)

    "We''ve been busted, Lisandra. Victor''s here to get us home," Citrix spoke as he marched out the door, as if this was his last time doing such thing.


    "Just kidding," He turned and grinned at both LIsandra and Rex, before sprinting back into the base. Lisandra beckoned Rex to enter before she shut the door, and it was a good thing Rex didn''t try to argue because the second he left the spot he was at, a sandstorm erupted, shooting tiny, stinging particles that would probably leave tons of scratch marks on the victim''s body. Just the sight of the sandstorm gathering was enough to cow Rex into a sense of disorder, which made him easy to be manipulated around by the two veterans.


    Citrix touched around the wall at Rex''s 12 o''clock, and when he was done, the wall retracted to reveal a solid metal divider, which gradually rose and reveal a dark tunnel behind it. Meanwhile, Lisandra was gathering whatever ammo they needed the most from the weapon stash. Both their actions seemed rehearsed, but Rex knew it was more likely because they were often forced to repeat it rather than them practicing the movements over and over again. The swift motion of their hands gathered everything they needed in the blink of an eye, yet somehow, there was something that nagged at him. The feeling was confirmed when Lisandra ''tsk''ed and swore under her breath.


    "The trap''s beem jammed. Someone''s been here before we even got back," Lisandra looked more angry than worried. Citrix went over and kissed her forehead, before patting her head and replying.


    "Let them, as long as we''re together, nothing can harm us, ain''t that right?" The reply he got from Lisandra was a slight pout and a pink face, followed by a nod. Taking her nod as a yes, he turned to Rex.


    "Grab a weapon, you''re gonna need it," without waiting for a reply, he was already walking down the tunnel. There were emergency lights fixed onto the edge of where the walls met the ceiling, but they didn''t come on even though the motion sensors were triggered. Lisandra just followed him, and seeing as Rex was still a little stunned, she pointed at the stash and then to her belt, to which Rex understood as ''grab a weapon'', and he obeyed without fault.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    .


    ..


    ...


    The three of them walked through the tunnel completely blind, though technically, it was only Rex who was blind, since Citrix could tune his eyes to see better and Lisandra had lens implants. The door behind them had shut the moment Rex entered, leaving him in a state devoid of his sense of sight. He could still hear and speak, though that didn''t come to him as a good idea when he started hearing silent whispers, water dripping and rushed movements that sounded like something heavy getting dragged over the floor. "Night Crawlers," Lisandra had whispered, like the Night Crawlers did. "Spooky creatures that are half void, half matter, but all the more deadly when provoked," Lisandra''s voice had drew in more silent whispers and water dripping, allowing Rex to clarify.


    "Water d-dripping s-s-sounds?" Rex had asked with his shaky voice that drew in even more Night Crawlers.


    "You mean saliva dripping," Lisandra replied with an indifferent tone. The reply made Rex shiver.


    "Can you two stop talking? There''s like, a million crawlers in our way, and reaching out to tell them to get out of our way is hard enough to do simultaneously for hundreds, let alone millions," Citrix hissed. His voice carried a frustrated kind of tone, and it was enought to silence all the other crawlers around them and give them a wide berth to walk through.


    "Well, that was easy," Rex whistled as he walked a little relax now. The whistling sound echoed through the entire tunnel, and all the Night Crawlers turned their heads toward the group.


    "You just had to do that," Citrix spoke loudly as he continued, "run to the exit before tear you to shreds!" As if to prove his point, the Night Crawlers began gathering into a crowd around them, and claws against metal could be heard.


    Rex felt a cold hand brush his leg followed by a pair of claws that were as cool as metal. Immediately, he screamed at the top of his lungs. The enclosed tunnel rebounded his voice, and since it was made of metal, the intensity of the scream was almost conserved perfectly as it came into contact with everyone and everything''s eardrums. The scream, toppled with the silence that made everyone''s ears more sensitive, made both Lisandra and Citrix glare at Rex without him knowing. Their glare didn''t last long as a single screech followed by dozens more started resonating, instilling fear into even the bravest of people.

 Chapter 6: Escape (2)

    *SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH*


    "I''m starting to regret rescuing you," Citrix yelled as the screeching came to a halt and was replaced by claws swiping through air. The weakest of currents were enough to form a small tornadoes, but they were mostly swept away by other swipes that held more speed and power.


    "We need to get out of here!" Lisandra yelled. Although she didn''t intend on sounding rude, it still came out as insulting as a noble''s words. The reason that forced her to do this was due to the Night Crawler''s rampage. The sound of their claws on metal was the most prominent of all while the second was the sound of flesh being pounded.


    Rex heard and heed Lisandra''s command, trying to run blindly through the darkness. He had tripped over dozens of Crawlers, and that had earned him a snarl, no more than that because of what Citrix was doing.


    "I''M HERE A-HOLES! EITHER CALM DOWN OR GET TORN."


    His yells were inviting enough to pull the attention of the Crawlers Rex had invited away from him. Thus, he was not only being surrounded constantly, but also buried alive in a pile of Crawlers. Rex had thought Citrix died when Citrix''s yells did not echo through the tunnel anymore, only to find himself genuinely surprised when he heard a choked voice announcing his position once again. "SIT OR DIE!" Citrix had yelled hostilely.


    As Rex gained more and more ground into the part of the tunnel that held not as many Night Crawlers as the previous parts, the adrenaline that pushed him forward gradually dissipated. He was suddenly very aware of how silent the tunnel was without the Night Crawler''s whispers and shenanigans. There was also the part of him that held concern for Citrix''s safety, but his mind told him if that person was able to survive being constantly buried and surrounded by nightmare-like creatures, he sure as hell would have as much chance to save himself after drawing that much attention as well.


    Just as he thought he was unable to continue running anymore, he took a wall into his face, turning his originally okay-looking nose into one as swollen as a buffalo as it started bleeding too. He could hear Lisandra''s chuckle, and that made him wonder whether she found it funny or she was just straight out sadistic. "What''s so funny ''bout me hitting a wall?" He asked while holding his nose with one hand. Lisandra giggled a few more times before clearing her throat.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    "It''s not a wall; it''s a door."


    "Then what''re we waitin'' for? Why aren''t you opening it yet?" Rex had a multitude of questions, but this one struck him as the oddest.


    "Can''t," He could picture her shrugging her shoulders as she answered with a mocking tone.


    "Can''t, or won''t?" He narrowed his eyes at where Lisandra''s voice came. He could see shadows, since his eyes had adapted to the darkness, and Lisandra looked as short as she had been.


    "Really, I can''t!" She started giggling again. "Funny thing, our only ''key'' seems to have been our ''bait'' as well."


    "Wait, what!?" Rex could feel his head heating up like a volcano ready to erupt. Not only was the ''bait'', Citrix, left behind, now he''s turned out to be the ''key'' to unlocking the door that separated them from freedom and a claustrophobic death. Please be alright!, Rex prayed to whatever god existed.


    "Ironic, isn''t it?" Lisandra muttered, interrupting Rex''s thoughts, "Not only is he the key to unlocking this door, but he''s also the saviour of our kind..."


    Now, Rex was intrigued beyond belief. Previously, his surpressed curiousity was overflowing already, yet adding what Lisandra recently just said, his curiousity was unable to get surppressed any longer, "What do you mean exactly?"


    He could see her shadow turn, meaning she was now facing him. Or she could be facing the wall... "He''s unlike us. Unique, different and, even more powerful."


    "He''s the kind of person a princess looks to for saving, the kind of person people look to for slaying, and also the kind of person we look to for turning the tides of war," Lisandra continued, "he once told me, ''never be afraid, for I''ll be by your side to protect you, until you are gone from this world,'', yet, I could never do what he did for me," she sighed, and continued.


    "He''s-" Before she finished her sentence, Rex could feel Citrix near him. There was a kind of aura that was wrapped only around humans, and then there was the kind of aura that''s only wrapped around Citrix. He couldn''t ask Lisandra to finish her sentence now, since it would kind of be considered rude. To top that off, the topic was mainly about Citrix, who was beginning to inflict a kind of mysterious impression in Rex''s mind. Lisandra''s words had dug the trench even deeper, however, instead of filling it.


    "Ready?" Citrix sounded like he was in a bright mood. There was a strange smelling stink coming from him, though it couldn''t be exactly known as ''stink'' since it was technically odourless.


    Without waiting for an answer, he was already walking pass them. Once he was just milimeters away from the door, he breathed out a puff of air that hit the door. As if on cue, the gears that drove the door clanked and spun, and after a few moments, the door was retracting upwards already. A bright light shone through, blinding Rex, and only Rex alone. Both Citrix and Lisandra seemed unaffected as they walked into the light.