《Creeping Death》


 Miasma (1)

    Did you ever wake up in a completely unfamiliar place after a loud party drowned in alcohol? Do you remember the feeling of confusion as you sit up and let your eyes wander in search of anything that might ring any bells? Was there a hint of fear too?


    Daniel felt exactly that. The weird dream he had just before waking up certainly didn¡¯t help to relieve his uneasiness either. In that dream he was floating in a sea of vague gray, as if drifting along with a slow current, if only there was any visible current at all. While perceiving the unending grayness with his whole body, he heard a voice coming from nowhere in particular, straight into his head.


    ¡°Sorry for that. It wasn¡¯t supposed to happen.¡± The voice didn¡¯t sound apologetic, there was a hint of amusement in it though.


    The voice continued, but the tone and volume shifted; suddenly he was unable to grasp the meaning of the words, or perhaps they didn¡¯t reach him properly. Stuck in the void and unable to talk himself, he drifted and listened to the incomprehensible muttering. As the time passed, the grayness encompassing him started to fade. Before Daniel woke up, one final legible sentence registered in his mind.


    ¡°I hope you¡¯ll love this world as much as I do.¡±


    Still reminiscing that dream, he felt his senses coming back to him, an uncomfortable feeling when you¡¯re already awake. He was looking at an old fashioned room, so his eyesight was already there, and the sense of touch joined it soon. He felt hard, wooden floor under him, slightly uneven. Next second dead silence was broken by a bird chirping outside, his hearing came back as well. Just as he decided to stand up, an incredibly strong, pungent smell assaulted his nose. He recoiled and fell down on his butt. The odor was so bad he barely managed to stop himself from vomiting what little there was left in his stomach after last night. Even covering his nose tightly didn¡¯t help at all; instead he felt as if he was eating the smell with every breath. It stank of rotting meat mixed with excrement, except no meat could give a stench so powerful. There was also a hint of sweetness in it that was so out of place it made the whole thing even worse.


    He fought with his stomach desperately trying to escape through his mouth for a good few seconds before he managed to get used to the odor just enough to even move at all. At this point he was no longer pinching his nose since it seemed to do nothing at all, as if the stench somehow settled down inside his nostrils for good.


    When he finally looked up again, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. The room he saw for a few seconds before he collapsed was still there, but now covered by pink fog. The fog, quite dense, turning into deeper pink and purple shades in some areas, somehow didn¡¯t obstruct his vision at all, it was more like he was aware of its presence instead of directly seeing it. It wasn¡¯t exactly a fog either, more like a thick, floating liquid lacking any mass; he could even move it to some extent with his hands and as he took a step, it made way for him, still engulfing everything else. It was like taking two images, of the room and of the fog, and joining them into one but somehow being able to perceive them separately. It could have made him dizzy if he wasn¡¯t already sick from the everlasting stench.


    He staggered while standing up. The room was oddly furnished, as if whoever done it aimed for some restricted retro style, but Daniel didn¡¯t pay attention to it. Was it the fog that smelled so badly? Was it harmful to humans? He cast a brief glance over the window to see a few wooden houses with some trees behind them. The high viewpoint told him he was on a second or third floor. The landscape seemed to be quite varied as the fields stretching far in the distance were going up and down forming numerous hills, but the purple fog engulfed all of it. Daniel considered walking up to the window and scan the unknown surroundings, but the horrible odor got better of him. He wanted out of the room, now. There were two doors, and he chose the closer one.


    As soon as he opened them, he regretted his choice. The smell was even stronger here. The room behind the door was small, looking more like a closet. Whatever things were originally here were moved out to make way for an improvised bed, and a rotting corpse was lying on it. Daniel never saw a rotting corpse before, but he was very sure it was one. A disgusting amount of maggots crawling all over the weirdly orange and brown body and a sickly gray liquid covering the floor around it were dead giveaways. Daniel couldn¡¯t stop himself from throwing up anymore. Still bent over, he took a step back and closed the door. He wanted to take a deep breath or two, but the putrid smell was lingering around, so he run to the other door. Slamming through them, he found himself in a corridor. The fog was still here, but the smell was much more manageable.


    A torrent of questions flooded his head. Why was the body left in the building to rot for so many days? Why wasn¡¯t it burned or buried? Does it mean the building is abandoned? Or maybe it¡¯s the whole town? Does that have anything to do with the fog? And where the hell is this anyway?


    The questions remained unanswered; instead a new one flared up when Daniel realized he¡¯s not alone in the corridor. He quickly turned to his right and saw¡­ a person?


    It certainly was very person-like. The body shape was quite human, a heavy, very muscular, slightly hunched human, but still human. At least that was the first impression, until Daniel noticed the differences. First, the figure in front of him was about 8 feet tall. Second, it had a tail, rather long and very thick, like a fifth limb. Third, above the face partially concealed by shadows two small, straight horns were protruding from the forehead. The almost-person wore human clothes tailored to its size, a shirt, a vest on top of it and loose pants. Despite sporting a very masculine physique, it seemed to have breasts as well, of quite noticeable size too. It raised its tail a bit in response to Daniel¡¯s stare.


    ¡°Sara!¡± it shouted, not taking its eyes off him. Its voice was deep and raspy, but still definitely more feminine than masculine. Daniel wondered who Sara could be, its companion? Then he realized it might not even be a name ¨C the person in front of him who he still a hard time to think of as human might have not been speaking English at all.


    ¡°Mam tu jakiego? ?ywego!¡± it shouted again as if to confirm Daniel¡¯s suspicions. He didn¡¯t understand a single word.


    The giant took a step towards him. The distance between them was still fairly large, the building must have been rather spacious to have a corridor this long, but it was still close quarters and it didn¡¯t seem designed for someone 8 feet tall, or at least the doorways weren¡¯t. Daniel remembered the decomposing body hidden in the closet, connected the dots, spun on his heel and dashed as fast as he could. Not nearly fast enough, it turned out.


    The distance between them was still fairly large, was what only he thought. It was no problem for the giant; it reacted almost immediately and caught up with him within seconds. Daniel felt a huge weight on his shoulder, collapsing under it. He found himself staring at the floor, unable to move.


    ¡°Dok?d?¡± he heard a menacing growl behind his back. The giant didn¡¯t sound very friendly. He didn¡¯t get to consider his options though, as he was violently turned around face up, grabbed by the collar, effortlessly picked up high into the air and slammed into a wall. The force of impact robbed him of breath. As he gasped for air, he realized his feet didn¡¯t touch the ground anymore. Held up by his shirt, he briefly wondered how long the material will last before it rips under his weight.


    The giant leaned closer to his face, scanning him warily from head to toes. Daniel, still steadying his breathing, came to a conclusion the eight foot assailant is very likely a female ¨C her face with soft, feminine features betrayed her ridiculous physique. This realization didn¡¯t help much though, it only made him a bit uncomfortable when she closed in even further, sniffed him and winced in disgust.


    ¡°?mierdzi trupem, ale wygl?da na zdrowego.¡± she said turning her head to the side. Daniel followed her sight and realized another woman, a very much human sized one this time, was already standing there. She was looking at him curiously, then beamed a smile when she noticed his gaze. At her command Daniel was forcibly sat down on the floor.


    ¡°Wszystko tu ?mierdzi trupem, ty i ja te?,¡± she told her freakishly tall companion with a chuckle, then she turned back to him. ¡°No, ale kim ty jeste?? Tutejszy?¡± she asked, or at least it sounded like a question. He wasn''t able to make anything out of the words of the language he could not recognize at all. It certainly wasn¡¯t English and as far as he could tell, it sounded nothing like French or German either. Both women were definitely white, so maybe it was some other European language, like Russian? He doubted Russians grew horns or tails though.


    ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t understand,¡± he said after a brief consideration. He was quite certain he wouldn¡¯t be given much more time to think in silence.


    The shorter woman furrowed her brows. Apparently it was not an answer she expected, though Daniel was unable to tell if it worked to his advantage or not. Or if she understood him at all, for that matter.


    ¡°Fine,¡± she sighed. ¡°Let me introduce ourselves. I¡¯m Sara McDonahan and this is Ana, my partner. We¡¯re representing Silverfield Mediation Services. What about you?¡±


    This was definitely English, with a slight accent he could not assign to any particular place familiar to him. Daniel cheered up a bit; maybe he could find a reasonable way out of this inexplicable mess.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°I¡¯m Daniel Quaid and, uh¡­ I¡¯m not representing anyone in particular. I woke up here just a few minutes ago and honestly I have no idea where this is or what happened here. Is this still Leicester?¡±


    ¡°Lester?¡± Sara repeated. Apparently she wasn¡¯t familiar with that name, thus the probability of them being still in Leicester dropped drastically.


    Fair enough, thought Daniel, if you are a foreigner and not a football fan, you might not know Leicester, it¡¯s not London after all.


    ¡°You know, England,¡± he clarified. ¡°United Kingdom, Great Britain¡­?¡± followed as neither of the women showed any reaction.


    ¡°Ana, m¨®wi ci to co??¡± Sara turned to her companion. ¡°Ingland, Zjednoczone Kr¨®lestwo, Wielki Briton?¡±


    Ana only shook her head in response. Daniel started feeling really uneasy.


    ¡°Hey, come on, you¡¯re speaking English but you don¡¯t know about England? There¡¯s only so far you can go before a joke stops being funny,¡± he tried to laugh it off but ended up sounding rather nervous. He wasn¡¯t sure it was a joke at all. If it was only Sara, he wouldn¡¯t take her seriously, but Ana¡¯s appearance defied common sense. He heard of very tall female basketball players, but she was far above that, in a category of her own.


    Sara stared at him for a few seconds, then turned to the giant again. They started discussing something, presumably revolving around him. The tone of conversation was flat and steady, without any heated arguments that would make Daniel worry about his situation more.


    What were the possible circumstances? At first he thought Ana might be responsible for the dead body, but now, sitting on the floor before her, he realized the carcass had already decomposed quite a bit. It wouldn¡¯t make much sense for the killer to stick around the scene of crime for days. Were these two some undercover law enforcers then? The foreign language they used made that option unlikely. Salvagers or grave robbers? That sounded far more plausible. It would explain why he was apprehended on sight ¨C a competition for potential spoils wasn¡¯t welcome. In that case he might be able to talk his way out of this, maybe. Not like he could run; he was already proven escape attempts not backed with any weapons are futile.


    The main questions remained unanswered though. Where was this? The building looked really old but at the same time well maintained. No signs of extensive use, abandonment or old age were to be found on the floor, wooden stairs or walls. What killed the person in the closet? Daniel felt sick trying to remember the corpse, and he didn¡¯t take a look close enough to recall any details anyway. A decomposing body meant nobody took care of it; did residents leave the building before the poor man died? In that case¡­


    ¡°Hey,¡± Daniel interrupted the conversation between the two women. ¡°What¡¯s all this purple fog? It¡¯s not some kind of a toxic gas, right?¡± He felt silly after asking; of course it wouldn¡¯t be toxic, these two have been calmly standing in it for a good minute or two already, probably even longer considering it¡¯s been everywhere.


    ¡°What are you talking...¡± Sara started with clear annoyance in her voice, but she stopped before finishing the obvious question.


    A silence followed. The shorter woman lost herself in thoughts; it was Ana who got her out of it by shaking her shoulder. The foreign language conversation between the two that resulted out of this was short this time.


    ¡°You said your name is Daniel, right?¡± Sara spoke to him again. ¡°So, Daniel, you say you somehow found yourself in this building without any recollection of how you got yourself all the way here, is that it?¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°And you see a purple fog here?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s everywhere! Around you two too.¡±


    ¡°Was there any place you didn¡¯t see it?¡±


    Daniel had to pause for a second there. He did catch a glance of the outside through the window but he couldn¡¯t really remember much of it.


    ¡°I think there was a place free of it outside, but I didn¡¯t take a good look,¡± he answered carefully. He felt keeping this conversation up was improving his chances of getting out of this mess without too many scratches, even if this particular answer was only half true. Seeing it or not didn¡¯t matter, it¡¯s not like the gas could have spread absolutely everywhere.


    ¡°Bierz go. Idziemy na d¨®?,¡± Sara told her companion and Daniel was lifted off the ground to a standing position. Ana held him by his arm and pulled along as she went down the stairs with Sara leading the way. It looked pretty funny, with her hand covering almost his whole forearm, except he was too intimated to enjoy a good laugh, doubly so at his own expense.


    As they were passing the rooms on the first floor, Daniel once again detected the odor of death he got overwhelmed by a few minutes earlier. All the doors were closed, so he could only wonder how bad the situation must had been on the other side. He got pulled outside before the smell got unbearable.


    They were on what looked like a town square; all buildings were facing each other. The first unusual thing Daniel noticed were setts on the road circling the square, something he would expect from a tourist attraction rather than a functional element of public space. The second unusual thing were the buildings with their uniform, yet reasonably colorful brick walls and intricate designs of window frames. There were no yards or lawns to speak of whatsoever, exits from each house leading straight to the square. When Daniel looked to the side however, he noticed one of the roads leading out was a gravel one, and in the distance poorer looking wooden houses could be seen. Odd street lights were only found in the square too.


    It didn¡¯t just look like an old town, it very much seemed to be one.


    ¡°Finished gawking?¡± Sara interrupted his assessment of the area. ¡°Is that fog here too?¡±


    It was, mostly. Daniel noticed it was no longer just floating heavily in the air.


    ¡°It looks like it¡¯s moving slowly to our right,¡± he informed. The double vision was straining his senses and giving him a slight headache. ¡°The area to our left, where that gravel road leads, seems to have less of it.¡±


    ¡°Bullshit,¡± Sara replied dryly, looking in the direction Daniel pointed.


    ¡°What the hell? Are you blind or something? This damn thing is everywhere, what¡¯s even the point of us coming out here to confirm that?¡± he snapped back. The woman hissed in annoyance.


    ¡°I¡¯m going back. You can have some fun with my friend here while you¡¯re waiting for me,¡± she said without any smile. ¡°Wracam po papiery. Pilnuj, ?eby nie zwia?, a jak b?dzie pr¨®bowa?, to po?am go troszeczk?,¡± she added, clearly not to him, as she turned around and headed back to the building. Daniel looked up at the giant next to him, wondered just what kind of fun would they have and how to avoid it if push came to shove.


    And so they waited. Ana let go of his arm, instead placing her big hand on his shoulder, but it didn¡¯t make him feel any safer. She certainly didn¡¯t beat around the bush and just kept staring at him, a wary, stern guardian after a misbehaving child. He tried to stare back but couldn¡¯t keep his gaze up for long. Her face was actually quite pretty, but the difference in their sizes was intimidating enough to force his eyes off her. Daniel got reminded how he was once caught red handed stealing from a shop as a kid; the way he just couldn¡¯t look up while being scolded was irritatingly similar.


    There was no scolding, of course. In fact, he didn¡¯t sense any hostility from her current behavior yet he couldn¡¯t calm himself completely. Simply waiting for Sara¡¯s return was also quite boring, so as he took another glance at his new companion, he decided to break the silence.


    ¡°Hey, is this tail real?¡± he started with the first thing that came to his mind and looked up when he didn¡¯t hear any answer. Ana was still staring at him, her eyebrows rose a bit though. Daniel quickly recalled it was only the shorter woman who spoke English, so his question might had not been understood at all.


    ¡°Tail. Real?¡± he tried again, this time pointing his finger at the topic of the question. Ana followed and looked back over her shoulder. ¡°Yes, that. Real?¡± Daniel asked again as the tail twitched a bit.


    It was almost long enough to touch the ground when it was hanging limply, and given Ana¡¯s height, it must had spanned over some four feet. At its base it was thicker than his leg, with its top covered by long fur of the same reddish brown color as the owner¡¯s hair. The bottom side seemed to be slightly darker and rougher than the giant¡¯s skin. As he contemplated the materials it could be made of, it suddenly rose and slowly moved towards him. When it was close enough, the tip started swinging from left to right, rose a bit further and finally pat him on the head.


    Daniel looked up in disbelief with his mouth hanging half open; Ana was grinning, clearly amused. She gave one of her horns a few flicks with her free hand as if to show they won¡¯t fall off either.


    ¡°You. No see ogre?¡± she asked in broken English. Daniel assumed it was because of her insufficient knowledge of the language rather than low intelligence, after all she was speaking freely with Sara just a few minutes ago. He shook his head.


    ¡°Now you see,¡± she pointed out cheerfully. The giant certainly seemed to be much more easygoing than her partner, at least when she wasn¡¯t tackling people down and slamming them into walls.


    ¡°Ogre?¡± Daniel asked just to be sure he heard right.


    ¡°Ogre,¡± Ana confirmed with a smile as her tail retreated to a half limp position behind her.


    Ogre. He remembered they were fictional, fantasy humanoid creatures, like elves or dwarves, except evil, big and ugly. The big part certainly matched and Ana with her huge body didn¡¯t quite fit the standards of beauty either, but she looked nowhere near like dumb, fat ogres he knew from Warcraft series. He would be inclined to believe ¡°ogre¡± was just some kind of a moniker around here, but maybe it really was a different race or even different species. If that turned out to be true, then forget England, he wouldn¡¯t even be on Earth anymore.


    The party last night must had been really something else.

 Miasma (2)

    With no other living soul in sight, Daniel spent most of the next half of an hour trying to talk with the ogre, with mixed success. The language barrier turned out to be not as drastic as he thought ¨C she understood quite a few words and he made up for the rest with gestures, however the communication didn¡¯t work all that well since her extremely limited English vocabulary prevented her from expressing any complex thoughts herself. There were also some questions she refused or wasn¡¯t able to answer ¨C Daniel couldn¡¯t really tell the two apart. Those questions included the reasons of her and her partner¡¯s presence in the town as well as the purple fog he could still clearly see all around him.


    Finally Sara came back, holding a few sheets of paper filled with handwriting. She gave them to Ana, who folded them and hid in the back pocket of her pants.


    ¡°All right, let¡¯s start this over,¡± Sara said with a sigh, turning to Daniel. ¡°What¡¯s your business here?¡±


    ¡°I have no business here at all,¡± he answered. Haven¡¯t they been through this already? ¡°I¡¯m lost, I have no idea where this is nor have I ever heard of that Silverline Mediation Company of yours.¡±


    ¡°Silverfield Mediation Services,¡± she corrected him. ¡°Fine, let¡¯s go with that. You¡¯re also from some remote place I have never heard of, what was it?¡±


    ¡°Leicester.¡±


    ¡°Lester, right. Any bigger town close to it?¡±


    Daniel gave her a dubious look.


    ¡°Birmingham. London¡¯s less than 100 miles away. I doubt you¡¯ve heard of either though.¡±


    Sara groaned.


    ¡°Look, I could tell Ana to snap your arm or leg right now, it¡¯s no problem for her, trust me. I¡¯m not doing that because I¡¯m trying to be friendly with you, so work with me here, OK?¡±


    Daniel couldn¡¯t stop himself from taking a glance at Ana¡¯s huge arms. He could definitely believe that she was able to break him like a twig if she wanted to. If only he had his ID card or any other means of proving his identity... If he remembered right, it should be in his car, wherever it was now.


    Anyway, they didn¡¯t believe him. He couldn¡¯t really blame them; if just yesterday he heard some random guy saying he came from Rivendell, he¡¯d have a hard time taking him seriously too. What else was there to do? Trying to act insane? Fake amnesia? Not like he didn¡¯t have an equivalent of amnesia already, assuming it was a different, unfamiliar world.


    ¡°Straszysz go,¡± Ana said suddenly, breaking his line of thought.


    ¡°Strasz? go,¡± Sara replied with a nod, then went back to him. ¡°Let¡¯s leave breaking your limbs aside for now. You said you can see creeping death, right?¡±


    ¡°I can see what?¡± he blurted out, startled. Creeping death certainly didn¡¯t sound very healthy and was fitting disturbingly well with the ghost town and dead bodies.


    Sara rubbed her eyes with a heavy sigh, stifling a nastier comment.


    ¡°Hey, wait a second!¡± Daniel panicked as the conversation seemed to be heading towards a painful end. ¡°I¡¯m completely honest with you! I mean no harm! What am I supposed to do to make you believe me?¡±


    Silence fell for a good few seconds. The shorter woman crossed her arms again; Daniel already noticed it was a natural go-to pose for the blonde.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t really matter, does it?¡± she finally said after some consideration. ¡°I don¡¯t feel like wasting any more time here, I¡¯d prefer to wash this disgusting smell off me already. Let¡¯s forget this ever happened.¡±


    With these words she turned around and went her own way. The ogre looked confused for a second, but then waved a goodbye to Daniel with a brief smile and followed her partner. It seemed the crisis was averted.


    So he decided to renew it.


    ¡°Wait, let me come with you!¡± he shouted after them.


    Something weird happened with the fog around Sara. For a split second he saw it being pushed away from her forcibly, then whatever force did that moved to her right hand. He couldn¡¯t see it per se, the only indicator was how the fog was moving away from it. The blonde didn¡¯t give him any time to analyze the situation, as she took a heavy swing, as if holding a large ball, and threw it towards him. There was no thinking involved, he dodged it on reflex. What he did wrong though was instinctively holding his arms up to protect the face; the force grazed his left arm. Daniel howled in pain as his knees buckled under him and he fell on the hard setts covering the road in the town square.


    There was a logic behind his last request ¨C he was alone in what could be an unknown world, in a town possibly full of dead bodies. He needed a guide, there were no other candidates in sight and he already showed that he¡¯s not a threat. Why the hostility then? Daniel did not have the peace of mind to reconsider his options right now though as all he focused on was the pain.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Sara readied another attack, but did not fire it. She mumbled something under her nose and took a few steps towards the man lying on the road, then started circling him, wanting to see his face. The wound on Daniel¡¯s arm wasn¡¯t that bad; it stung a lot and bled, but after the initial shock wore off, he noticed it¡¯s only an abrasion, even if quite a big one. It seemed as if the initial impact somehow hurt more than it did damage. He managed to look up and saw Sara was already close and inspecting him.


    ¡°Trying to play chicken? Crazy bastard,¡± she spat out, rising her hand in preparation for a throw. Daniel¡¯s eyes widened; the chance he¡¯d be able to avoid anything from this position and distance was minuscule.


    ¡°Czekaj!¡± Ana shouted from a few steps away. ¡°A je?li on naprawd? nie ma aury? Zabijesz go.¡±


    Sara shrugged in response but lowered her hand.


    ¡°No to co sugerujesz? Mamy go wzi?? ze sob??¡± she asked with a sarcastic tone.


    ¡°Tak,¡± Ana replied with a straight face. A heated argument in the incomprehensible language ensued.


    Daniel could only guess it¡¯s about him and entertained a rather surreal thought ¨C the good cop and bad cop routine would work better if they switched their roles around. Nonetheless, he was glad there was any good cop at all.


    He tried to piece together what happened so far. The fog could be what Sara referred to as creeping death. It sounded like a disease, but they were walking around the town without any care, which meant that they either didn¡¯t see it, weren¡¯t affected by it or it wasn¡¯t harmful on its own. Sara seemed to be the most interested in the fact that he could see it, so maybe she herself couldn¡¯t?


    Looking at his grazed arm, still holding it firmly with the other hand, he wondered what made him call out to them. He¡¯s been around only for less than an hour, at least when conscious. No matter how bad the town looks, you¡¯d just take any road leading out and eventually reach somewhere else. Even if people out there won¡¯t speak English, interpersonal communication isn¡¯t limited to words, he¡¯d probably be fine. So why these two? And what the hell was he hit with? It obviously has been some kind of a projectile, but he never saw Sara hold any weapon. Did she really just throw something? The wound looked awfully nasty compared to what the throwing motion looked like, as if he got grazed by a large blade or a big block of concrete instead.


    Well, if they have ogres around here, they can have invisible balls of something too, why not?


    The heat of the discussion between the two women that Daniel did not want or dare to interrupt was finally dying. Reaching a conclusion, they both approached him again. Sara did the talking, but her tone was much more neutral now; she seemed pacified enough.


    ¡°My friend thinks it¡¯s fine for you to come with us and I¡¯m no longer going to object. I do have to ask though ¨C why would you want to?¡±


    Good question, thought Daniel.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already said it. I¡¯m lost and apparently I don¡¯t know nearly enough about what¡¯s going on here. Going with someone who has a better understanding of basic things would be better than wandering alone.¡±


    ¡°Why did you not defend yourself when I attacked? Do you have a death wish?¡±


    ¡°I have no idea what you did,¡± Daniel answered frankly. He was sure dodging out of the way was already a proper defense, but there might have been something more to it he didn¡¯t know about.


    ¡°Are you a hybrid?¡± she continued her interrogation.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± he asked, then cursed himself for doing that. Returning question with a question of his own seemed to irritate Sara before. She sighed heavily as if to confirm his suspicions.


    This continued for a while. Sara inquired about more and more things Daniel had no idea about. Aura, portal beacon, service assignment, other pioneers, none of that really held any special meaning to him. Sure, he understood the words, but he was certain there was more behind them than he could infer from his own common sense.


    ¡°You,¡± Ana, bored with the exchange leading nowhere, interrupted suddenly, drawing the attention of both of them to her. ¡°All¡­ no know?¡± she asked Daniel, trying to awkwardly piece a sentence together.


    He wasn¡¯t quite sure what she meant by that. Did she ask if he knew nothing? That would make the most sense given the current situation, at least. He shook his head in response.


    ¡°Head¡­ bad?¡± she continued, tapping the side of her head with her hand to complement her choice of words. Sara gave her a disapproving look, but didn¡¯t say more.


    Daniel considered that for a second, then smiled apologetically. ¡°It might as well be true, I think. It really feels like I hit my head too hard.¡±


    ¡°Widzisz?¡± Ana smirked towards her companion. ¡°Wystarczy zapyta? wprost.¡±


    ¡°Fine, fine!¡± Sara said waving her hand in a dismissing manner, then she turned to Daniel again, folding her arms. ¡°You hit your head or maybe someone else did it for you and now you don¡¯t remember anything. I¡¯ll go along with this farce, but you will help us in return.¡±


    ¡°Help? How?¡±


    ¡°With your eyes. You will tell me what you see and how you see it, that purple fog of yours. And if it turns out you¡¯re lying, I¡¯ll make a mincemeat out of you. Try to attack us and we will answer tenfold.¡± she almost hissed the last sentence.


    ¡°Fair enough,¡± Daniel blurted out, put off by the threat. It looked like things were going fine for a second, but maybe he wasn¡¯t doing that great after all.


    ¡°We¡¯ll stick around for a bit longer, I want to check the portal before we leave. After that we¡¯ll hang around nearby villages for a few days, that¡¯s where you¡¯ll help. Done with that, we¡¯ll leave for Wittermer. Is this fine?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± he answered right away. Her plan certainly sounded better than having no plan at all.


    As they shook hands, Sara gave him a smile lacking friendliness or sincerity but full of confidence.

 Miasma (3)

    The town wasn¡¯t very big from what Daniel could tell. It didn¡¯t take them ten minutes to get out of the populated area and into the fields stretching up to the horizon. The road was speckled with pools of muddy water reflecting the cloudy, gray sky. It wasn¡¯t particularly cold though; considering wheat rising on both sides of the traveling trio, it could be early autumn or late summer ¨C Daniel wasn¡¯t very knowledgeable in agriculture.


    There were no people around. Not in the houses, not on the road, not in the fields. Chirping birds, wind rustling leaves of rare trees allowed to grow between the wheat and the road and, every now and then, a splash of water as one of them stepped into a puddle were the only sounds they heard. The odd, lonely silence filled the air between them. Daniel recalled how one summer he took a long walk back home at around five in the morning. It might have been Sunday back then since there was nobody on the streets as the sun was already shining on the eerily quiet houses. He could almost believe all people suddenly left the area the night before and the buildings were now empty; what he could almost believe back then, he was supposed to take in now as truth.


    The road led straight ahead. As the terrain was uneven, it disappeared from sight for a bit to reappear further into the fields. The grass was chewing on its sides, prying ever deeper, but the two trails right next to each other were still firmly holding on, indicating a relatively regular four-wheeled vehicle usage. The path continued on and on, eventually leaving the fields behind and entering a dry needleleaf forest. Numerous slim pines were climbing high, as if trying to reach the clouds, leaving the ground bare except for large patches of moss with rare strands of grass visible here and that added some green to the otherwise brownish ground and tree trunks. The road itself was littered with dried needles, remainders from previous seasons along with black cones kicked to the sides by all the previous travelers treading the path.


    Daniel looked back, but, as expected, nobody was following them. The town was already far behind; they have walked for quite a while now.


    ¡°Where are we headed to?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I told you before, to the portal beacon. This road is supposed to be leading there,¡± Sara answered as she took a look around. ¡°Noticed anything unusual?¡±


    He did. The fog was thinner here and it looked like it would disappear if they were to continue heading down the road. As he shared his findings with her, she nodded in acknowledgment.


    ¡°Even if it¡¯s safe around the portal, we still have to seal it,¡± she explained. Sealing a portal sounded a lot like something from fantasy or medieval castle architecture and David doubted they¡¯d have much to do with the latter today.


    ¡°Does it have anything to do with all those dead people?¡±


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Sara snorted. ¡°It¡¯s a standard procedure and we are likely the only ones around who are alive enough to do it. Unless there are still living people at the beacon,¡± she added.


    There weren¡¯t.


    The outpost they reached after another few tens of minutes was completely abandoned, as they would soon find out. A T-shaped building immediately reminded Daniel of a two story home with a big garage. As they approached it, he mentally noted it looked far better than a lot of lousy looking dwellings at the outskirts of the town. It seemed well maintained too and with flowers planted just outside the entrance, one would certainly feel welcome if he would ever decide to ring a bell hanging next to the door and go inside. Well, maybe not necessarily in current circumstances.


    The garage part was where Sara and Ana were headed instead, so he followed. Sturdy wooden gate of a size allowing a carriage or a small truck to pass through didn¡¯t promise ease of entry, though neither did it pose a problem for an ogre. She smashed the edge to get a better hold on it, then opened it without much sweat. Standing on the side, Sara gave her a disapproving look and pointed to a normal sized door right next to the gate, left ajar by whoever was escaping this area last. Ana shrugged as she scanned her hands for any splinters the unusual method of lock picking might have left. Daniel glanced at the windows of the house, but there was no indication of anyone noticing the commotion outside or making commotion inside. One would undoubtedly cause the other, as tearing the gate open made quite a lot of noise.


    There was a single large room inside. Walls were cold and left without any decoration. What surprised Daniel was that there wasn¡¯t any floor, just bare ground, which made the whole thing look more like a barn than anything else. Instead of hay laying near the walls, an almost black platform rising maybe three inches above the ground level stood in the center, right before their eyes. As Sara went around it, sidestepping a large wooden dresser someone decided to drag here then knock over onto the granite dais, he noticed an average sized tablet made from the same dark material seemingly floating in the air. The blonde girl approached it, eyeing it intently. She stood still for a few seconds, then turned around and left the building, passing Daniel on her way out. Confused, he followed her without taking a better look himself. Ana was waiting for them in the yard, basking in the sun that emerged from the clouds.


    ¡°Wracamy?¡± she asked.


    Sara looked at the sky. A few hours might have already passed since noon.


    ¡°Nie dzisiaj, za p¨®?no. Sprawd? dom,¡± the blonde answered and the ogre went inside the house. This time the door was left intact as it wasn¡¯t locked in the first place. Ana groaned as she leaned down to fit in the doorway designed for average humans.


    ¡°So where¡¯s the portal?¡± Daniel inquired, feeling pretty lost. Sara looked at him in silence for good few seconds before replying.


    ¡°You already saw it inside.¡±


    Did he now? Was it that black stone thing?


    ¡°And what about sealing it or whatever?¡±


    ¡°Already done.¡±


    ¡°What? How?¡±


    Sara kicked a small stone from under her feet, grunting with irritation. She had a hard time getting used to his story and how he apparently didn¡¯t know anything.


    ¡°It¡¯s damn basics. You can¡¯t transport shit if there¡¯s something in the way,¡± she explained grudgingly, then headed towards the house, stopping him from following with an icy stare. Not having anything better to do, Daniel went back to examine what must have been the portal, the beacon or the portal beacon, one of those at least.


    He stood and wondered what could have been sealing the device for a few minutes before realizing what was obvious to Sara. Assuming the stone platform was indeed the beacon, the drawers and their contents sprawled around were what was blocking the means of transportation. That would mean that as long as any foreign object interfered with some kind of space reserved for the portal, it was as good as broken. Would removing the collapsed piece of furniture make the thing work again? Daniel was tempted to try, but reminded himself his new companions might not like the idea. Giving the dresser a light kick, he moved on to the tablet.


    His eyes were not fooling him, it was definitely floating. He tried waving his hand close to it from all sides, above and below, looking for some strings that would hold the dark block in the air, but found nothing of the sort. Upon closer inspection, there was nothing on it either, the surface perfectly flat and polished. It would be probably gleaming if any direct sunlight was reaching far enough inside. Daniel tried imitating Sara and stood in front of the tablet, hoping for some spontaneous interaction, but nothing exceptional happened, or anything at all for that matter. Remembering touch screens from the world he was in just yesterday, he placed his hand on the floating stone, to no avail. It certainly looked like it could be a control panel, so why didn¡¯t it react? Was a special action, some spell required for the activation? He struck his head with open palm. Of course it didn¡¯t work, the damn dresser was in the way.


    The platform was firm just like the material used for it would suggest, whatever exactly it was, and held Daniel¡¯s weight without the slightest problem, looking like it could easily take on ten Daniels and then some more. He looked up, but only the wooden roof of the barn-like building was above him; the beacon didn¡¯t have any ceiling of its own as far as he could tell. Hopping on top of the podium, he closed in on the dresser. A few drawers slid out on their own or with someone else¡¯s help, littering the flat surface with pieces of paper, envelopes, handkerchiefs and a few pair of white socks contrasting with black stone even in the heavy shade present in the building. He picked one of those up, wondering if he should clean up after all.


    How did the transportation work? Since it was called a portal, was it teleportation? It could definitely pass as a plausible explanation in what was probably a different world, as unreal as it sounded to him. The only other option Daniel could think of was an underground tunnel, but honestly the quite large platform looked way too heavy to be easily moved and opened without a mechanism that was nowhere near in sight, not to mention the stone itself looked embedded in the ground rather firmly, so he discarded that thought.


    Teleportation it was, then. Assuming it didn¡¯t work at the moment, would he benefit from activating it? Would he be able to operate it at all? Sara called sealing it a standard procedure, but a standard procedure of what scenario?


    Right, dead people. Daniel found it almost funny how he managed to forget for a moment about the bodies he saw in the town. Maybe the situation was too surreal for his mind to completely process. Of course if a disaster like that happens, you would want to seal the area off, prohibiting anyone unauthorized from entering or leaving before a proper investigation is carried out, and the town certainly didn¡¯t look taken care of. Was that it? Was Sara an investigator after all? But then again, didn¡¯t they already leave the town? And, more importantly, where was the person who dragged the dresser over here? Someone must had done it, disabling the portal for themselves, forced to leave on foot. Or maybe the person never left?


    By the way, weren¡¯t the other two searching the house right now?


    Daniel tossed the socks he held aside and quickly left, curious of their findings. The portal didn¡¯t look like it would run off anywhere soon, thus could wait.


    The sun hid behind the clouds again and the forest regained its uniform, brownish-green color. There was nobody in the yard waiting for him, so he took a second to look at what was the living part of the building. Two windows per floor, all of them with light curtains, one also adorned with a flowerpot, a simple way to give a room some character. The roof was quite steep, possibly concealing an attic as well. The walls were painted in a light, yet warm yellow, inviting guests and travelers alike. Stepping inside, he sighed with relief, unable to smell the horrible stench of death he woke up to not so long ago. The people living here were either still alive or long gone.


    He didn¡¯t get to inspect the interior as right away he almost bumped into Ana leaving from a room to the left of the entrance.


    ¡°Find¡­?¡± noticing him, she started with a smile that quickly turned into a frown as she couldn¡¯t remember a proper English word. She eventually gave up and reverted to the foreign language. ¡°Znalaz?e? co? ciekawego?¡±


    Tone of her voice was suggesting it was a question, but unable to understand anything more, he only shrugged. The giant took it as an answer and nodded. She patted him lightly on the back and pointed upstairs, leading the way.


    The second floor was a corridor maybe 8 yards long with a pair of rooms on both sides. One door was wide open and Sara was struggling with one of the others that didn¡¯t want to budge even an inch. She cursed as she took a key out of the hole; the change in posture revealed a whole keychain in her other hand. Trying one after another, she eventually found the right one. A soft clicking sound came from the lock and the door finally gave way. Sara took a look inside.


    ¡°Guest rooms, small, but will do¡±, she explained, apparently aware they were observing her. She closed the door and tossed the keychain to him. He caught it, noticed there were far more keys than there were doors on this floor and immediately understood Sara¡¯s frustration. He could swear he caught a glimpse of a smirk on her face when he looked up again.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°I¡¯m taking the one on the other side, you can pick whichever of the rest you like,¡± the blonde said. ¡°We¡¯re staying here for the night.¡±


    ¡°So there¡¯s nobody else around?¡± Daniel asked as he glanced at the keys in his hand once more.


    ¡°They weren¡¯t too keen to keel over, who would¡¯ve thought,¡± Sara retorted, not trying to hide the sarcasm in her voice at all.


    ¡°They ran from the same thing that killed all the townspeople?¡±


    ¡°Are we really going to do this?¡± McDonahan shook her head in disbelief. ¡°Yes, it was creeping death. We didn¡¯t really check the bodies, I hope you get why, but I bet it did most of them in. Maybe everyone, maybe not, who cares? The town¡¯s done for anyway.¡±


    He could easily believe that.


    ¡°Is this why the portal has to be sealed?¡±


    ¡°Congratulations, you got it!¡± she clapped her hands in mocking approval.


    ¡°But what is this creeping death?¡± Daniel mused before realizing he said it aloud. He didn¡¯t want to ask about it directly, at least not now, expecting only more sarcasm thrown at him in response. He wasn¡¯t far off. Sara let out a short, sinister laugh which sounded almost like a cough.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you worry, if it really concerned you, you would be well aware of it by now.¡±


    Grinning, she patted him on the shoulder as she went past him and downstairs, leaving them both. Daniel turned to Ana, who was inspecting one of the rooms near the staircase. He sighed with relief, it seemed like Sara only acted like she was locking doors back again so he didn¡¯t have to play with the keys on his own. The ogre had to once again lean down to fit in the doorway. A disappointed look on her face suggested she didn¡¯t like the inside much.


    ¡°Small beds,¡± she said half to him and half to nobody in particular and headed downstairs as well.


    All of the guest rooms turned out to be nearly identical. Same beds, same basic furniture and not much space to move around. The accommodation didn¡¯t appear designed for longer stays, which made a lot of sense. If you happened to reach the portal in the late afternoon, you could stay here, otherwise you would continue with your journey; the town probably offered a better place to stay. Daniel had to admit it looked cozy. The corridor and rooms were well lit with numerous windows while a light brown wooden floor and walls gave a warm feeling. Lying down in the evening and sliding under a soft blanket would undoubtedly feel really nice here. Surely enough, a blanket was waiting in a wardrobe standing in the corner of the room, along with a few white sheets. The owner was taking care of the house properly, until recently that is.


    Daniel took a look out of the window. The forest behind the building was very much the same as anywhere around, so something else caught his attention. In the backyard, further away from the house, at the end of a narrow, but obviously often used path, there was a hole encircled with stone blocks, covered from rain by a rather crude, wooden structure with a roof. At about chest height there was a thick, cylindrical piece of a tree trunk stripped bare and put horizontally between the pillars supporting the roof, with a chain spun around it and a handle on one side. A medium sized bucket hung just below. Unmistakably, it was a well, of a type that would be considered an obsolete relic of the past back at home, and it seemed still in use.


    Furrowing his brows, he turned away from the window and scanned the room. It didn¡¯t really occur to him before, he was so used to having it everywhere, but there were no electrical outlets anywhere on the walls, no matter how hard he searched for them. There was a lamp on the small desk next to the bed, but it looked nothing like modern ones. Daniel didn¡¯t really see any of those up close before, but strongly suspected it could be an oil lamp. It lacked any cable indicating electricity usage at the very least. Were there any power lines leading to this house? Were there any in the town? Daniel couldn¡¯t really recall. Maybe the accommodation wouldn¡¯t be as cozy as he thought.


    Having picked his room for the night, he went downstairs to join his new companions. By this time, they checked all the other rooms on the first floor and were now busy going through some clothes that they apparently pulled out from some wardrobe in the building. Ana tried to measure a few bigger looking shirts against her body and had to put away each and every one of them as none were even close to the right size. Sara picked a light blue collared shirt and a pair of black trousers that already laid aside, now reserved for her use; she nonetheless kept going through the rest of the clothes out of curiosity.


    Daniel watched the scene for a few seconds.


    ¡°Only borrowing or claiming permanently?¡± he asked with a smile.


    ¡°What, going to hold it against us?¡± Sara responded without turning around.


    He wondered about it for a second, then shrugged.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have our stuff with us,¡± she said. ¡°It was supposed to be a short trip, check things out, go back, but...¡±


    ¡°But?¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s not your business,¡± the blonde corrected herself. ¡°We stink, I want to wash it off and I have no spare clothes. Simple.¡±


    Daniel nodded. It was simple indeed.


    ¡°Do you mind if I look for something for myself as well?¡±


    ¡°Do what you want,¡± McDonahan dismissed him as she grabbed a beige vest with an intricate horizontal pattern right below the neckline.


    A brief trip around the house confirmed his fears. There was no electricity, no bath, no shower, no running water, not even a toilet. The interiors were welcoming, arranged in great taste, but lacking basic features a young adult from the 21<sup>st</sup> century was so used to, it betrayed any and all of his expectations. Daniel had no actual experience dealing with such issues, yet felt embarrassed to ask about them. It was one thing to inquire about an unfamiliar world and another to request instructions on how to wash own damn face. Confronting this grave matter, he decided to check out the well he saw in the backyard. It couldn¡¯t be too difficult to operate.


    As he went out of the building, he made a mental note to look for a toiled outside ¨C it was hard to believe potential guests were supposed to just go defecate out in the open.


    Reaching the well, Daniel realized what he first took for a hole was actually a heavy wooden cover. It made sense ¨C the roof didn¡¯t offer full protection from leaves and whatever other garbage could find its way outside with only a little help from the wind or animals. A small trapdoor in the middle of the cover allowed the bucket hanging from the chain to go inside and not much else. If someone wanted to take a dive or just clean the well, the whole wooden top would have to go first.


    It turned out to be quite difficult to not immediately grasp how to use the windlass with its crank standing out on the side like a sore thumb, so Daniel could cross out the first point on his to-do list. The well was deep and while the bucket came down easily, pulling it back up required some effort. The reward was cold water that he splashed on his face a few times. It felt refreshing. He wondered if he could drink it too, but unsure about its quality he decided against it. What was he supposed to do with the water? Pouring it back into the well after using was likely not a good idea, but he couldn¡¯t take it wit him as the bucket was stuck firmly to the chain and he had nothing else on him that could serve as a water container. With a heavy sigh, he spun around ready to head back in search for another bucket and, just like in the house some time ago, he almost bumped into Ana again. For a moment he wondered if he was so lost in thought or she was moving so quietly despite her size, but he brushed the thought aside. The ogre had a large cauldron with her that she held in both arms before her. As she put it down on the ground, he saw two buckets inside.


    ¡°Want... help?¡± she asked. He didn¡¯t know if she meant whether he wanted help or wanted to help, but it likely didn¡¯t make any difference.


    It look several trips up and down for the well bucket to fill the cauldron, but with Ana¡¯s strength it looked like nothing more than a child¡¯s play. In fact she was so fast that Daniel worried the crank will just break from the sheer force applied to it. The chain creaked loudly as it was dropped down and yanked back up, but nothing bad happened. With all containers full of water, she gave the two buckets to him and lifted the cauldron by herself. If it was him, he would probably have to drag it on the ground and given the width of the path leading back to the house, the endeavor wouldn¡¯t be a particularly enjoyable one.


    As he didn¡¯t know what the water was to be used for, he followed the ogre to the building and went after her when she took the second door on the right, barely fitting through with the huge pot still in her arms. Entering the room which he previously identified as the kitchen, he noticed two things, a small wooden tub he didn¡¯t see there during his brief inspection, and topless Sara folding her clothes. The latter wasn¡¯t there before either, doubly so not in her current undressed state.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± he blurted out on reflex. As the only response to that was the blonde girl rising her eyebrows, he slowly put down the buckets, unsure what to do. He found it difficult to not look at her small but perky breasts adorning her thin yet firm torso.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± she said calmly, apparently not minding revealing her body. ¡°I¡¯ll take a bath first, you can go next.¡±


    Daniel looked at Ana.


    ¡°Small. You¡­ go,¡± she informed him slowly, pointing at the tub. It did look a bit small for her, so maybe she decided to use something else instead.


    As ogre put the cauldron full of water on the stove over in the corner, Sara approached Daniel.


    ¡°You can speak to her normally, you know. She may not be good at speaking Union, but she understands quite a lot, so you¡¯ll be fine even if you don¡¯t understand common language. Actually it¡¯d be good if you did talk to her often, she could use some practice and it doesn¡¯t work so well if it¡¯s just us two.¡±


    He nodded in agreement, though he was already mostly aware of what she told him. His attention kept returning relentlessly to inappropriate places, so he left the room to avoid any blunder. Ana soon followed, closing the door behind her. Sara seemed to be finally in a better mood, as evidenced by the melodic humming coming from the other side.


    They went out back to fetch more water. As Ana was turning the crank, a question that was long bugging Daniel came up once more.


    ¡°What is creeping death?¡±


    The giant looked at him, puzzled.


    ¡°Creeping death, what is it?¡± he asked again, only after realizing changing the sequence without changing the words probably didn¡¯t help Ana grasp the meaning of the sentence.


    ¡°Creeping death? Ach, pom¨®r? Hmmm...¡± She apparently recognized the name but now had a hard time forming an answer. ¡°Pom¨®r to¡­ Bad¡­ all,¡± she made a gesture with her left hand that Daniel did not recognize.


    What could it be? Some kind of medical condition? Hell, maybe a fantasy creature that preyed on people? That could be very well be a possibility too for all he knew.


    ¡°Sickness? Disease?¡± he tried the first option.


    ¡°Yes, sick! All.¡±


    ¡°All sick? It affects the whole body?¡± he looked for a clearer picture, enforcing it for Ana with a gesture of his own.


    ¡°Mmm¡­ All pure-blood. Human sick. No hybrid. No ogre sick. All... humans sick.¡±


    Daniel felt a cold shiver run down his spine.


    ¡°You mean it affects everyone? Every human can contract it? And then what happens?¡±


    As his agitated voice sped up, it also became harder to understand for her. Receiving no meaningful response, he shortened his barrage of questions.


    ¡°Human sick, then what?¡±


    ¡°Human¡­¡± she started, but then crossed her hands at the chest level. The bucket was already at the bottom of the well.


    ¡°Death?¡± Daniel helped with a word he¡¯d rather not help with. It was all in accordance to what he already saw in the town and he had some time to sort his thoughts out, so it shouldn¡¯t be too shocking for him, yet it was.


    ¡°Yes. Death,¡± Ana confirmed, then quickly added as if to comfort him. ¡°You¡­ good. You see pom¨®r, you¡­ death, no.¡±


    That aligned with what he heard earlier today ¨C he could see the creeping death. Was that the nature of the fog? Invisible to most, deadly to everyone? Or almost everyone, considering they were fine. He couldn¡¯t see the damn purple thing here, so the building should be safe to stay in, yet nobody aside for them did. What was that Sara said? If it really concerned him, he would already know? The morbidness of the joke was hard to appreciate once he fully understood it.