1/29/2020 --:--

Ryan woke up in the middle of the night without quite knowing why. Quietly, he tiptoed to the door of Robert’s room and entered the hall. Ryan noticed the door to the room Lucy was sleeping in was opened a crack, Ryan stealthily snuck to the living room and checked the front door. Still finding it locked, Ryan crept into the kitchen.

Standing in the doorway, Ryan saw Lucy sitting with her back to him, crying. “Lu?” Ryan whispered softly.

Hearing him, Lucy straightened and turned to see him. “Oh, hey Ry. Please come and sit down.” She said quietly, her eyes wet with tears.

Ryan came to Lucy and sat down next to her. Placing his hand on her shoulder, Ryan gently asked. “Lu, what’s wrong?”

“Remember, a long time ago, when I was left in charge babysitting our sister Isabel?”

“Yeah, and when I came home, I found a police car and an ambulance parked outside our house. The police told me our dear little sister had died, but they would not tell me much else.” Ryan said with a slight waver in his voice.

“Yes, I think it is time to explain what really happened.” Lucy said sadly, tears running down her face before she wiped them away.

“Okay, go ahead.” Ryan said, grabbing her hand to let her know he was there for her.

“I was left in charge of babysitting Isabel. You, Mom, and Dad were off shopping.” Lucy began with a dull monotone voice. “Anyway, I was feeling really tired that day.

Isabel began fussing. No matter what I did, I could not get her to stop throwing a temper tantrum. It was driving me crazy, and I felt like I just had to get away. I went upstairs to get away from all the noise.

It was such a stupid, selfish decision. While I was up in my room, I decided to do some homework. I intended to go back downstairs in just a few minutes, but I fell asleep. When I woke up, an hour had passed.

I realized that the house was quiet. It was too quiet. I hurried downstairs to try to find Izzy. After searching through the house for her, I noticed the door to the backyard was cracked open.

One of us had left it unlocked, and Izzy must have opened the door and went outside. I rushed into the backyard where the pool was and there-” Lucy’s voice broke as she started crying again. Choking out the words, Lucy continued, “There fl-floating face down on the sur-hur-hurface of the water was Izzy’s body.

Sh-she must ha-have been playing by the pool and sli-hi-hipped into the pool and drowned!” Lucy heaved out. “She drowned, a-and I-I was sleeping upstairs! She-he died because I was ti-tired and choose to be an Idiot!” I do-don’t even deserve to live!” Lucy gasped out between her heavy sobs.

Angrily swiping at her tears, Lucy continued, “I should have died, not her!” Lucy said as she began beating at her face. Quickly standing up, Ryan moved behind Lucy’s chair and grabbed her wrists firmly, pulling them away from her face to keep her from hurting herself and holding them there.

Lucy broke into a new fit of sobbing. Ryan let go of Lucy’s hands, and tightly wrapped his arms around Lucy’s shoulders, hugging her from behind. “Shh, it’s ok. You are going to be okay.” He said tenderly with a slight waver in his voice as tears filled his eyes.

“Wait, I’m not finished.” said Lucy. “After Izzy died, I promised myself I would keep my last sibling safe; I vowed I would protect you. But I could not even do that, I failed and now we are both trapped here and in danger! This is all my fault, and you blamed yourself. I’m really sorry.”

“It’s okay Lucy, really. You should not blame yourself for something I did. Even if you were in some way responsible, I would forgive you in a heartbeat. You’re my sister and I love you and you love me. I could not possibly ask for more than that.”

“Okay.” Lucy said softly.

“Anyway, we should get back to bed.”

“Alright” Lucy replied as she stood up. Suddenly, she grabbed Ryan and pulled him tight into her embrace. “Thank you” she said into his shoulder. “Thank you so much.”

1/29/2020 --:--

Robert, Ryan, Emma, and Lucy arrived at Fort Stalwart’s gates just as the sun was beginning to set. Hustling inside the gate with his group, Robert waved to one of the guards in greeting. “Hey Robert, welcome back!” The guard called out.

“Hi Ian how are you, any Eviscerator activity while I have been gone?”

Ian hustled down from the wall. He was a young man around Robert’s age. Hazel eyes peered out from beneath a full head of curly black hair. “No, and that has us worried, normally we would have been attacked by now.”

“Well, keep an eye out. I have to get these people settled in.” Robert said, motioning to Lucy and Emma.

“Okay, do you want me to cover your shift again?”

“That would probably be best, do you mind?”

“Anything for you Rob.” Ian said, slapping Robert on the shoulder and running back up to the top of the wall.

“Who was that?” Ryan asked Robert.

“That was my captain Ian.” We have been best friends for a long time.

“Ah,” Ryan replied.

At the sound of the front door opening, Julia came out of the kitchen. “Hi, I’m Julia Brightling.” She said, seeing her new guests.

“I’m Emma, and this is Lucy Davis. It’s very nice to meet you.” Emma said coming up and taking Julia’s proffered hand.

“Hi” Lucy said shyly to Julia while holding her hands behind her back.

“Dinner is almost ready, so why don’t you guys all seat yourselves in the kitchen?” As Robert passed her, Julia pulled him aside. “So, how did it go?”

“It went fairly well, and as you can see, we found Ryan’s sister.”

“But who is the older woman, and why are Ryan and Lucy wounded?”

“The older woman is the person who saved Lucy, and we ran into some Eviscerator trouble on the way home, Ryan and Lucy killed one of them and Lucy is still kind of scarred by it.”

“Wow, those kids killed and Eviscerator?” Julia exclaimed. They must be made of stronger stuff then I thought mused Julia.

“I will let you ask Ryan all about it.” Robert chuckled, seeing the surprised look on Julia’s face.

“Well I suppose I should serve dinner now.” With that, Julia strode into the kitchen with Robert following her.

The dinner table was very quiet that night. Trying to start conversation, Julia said to Ryan, “I heard you and Lucy killed and Eviscerator.”

“Actually, Lucy was the one who killed it.” Ryan replied. Lucy merely coughed as she poked at her stew.

“How big was it?” Julia asked.

“I’m not sure” Ryan hesitated.

“It was about nine feet tall.” Robert interjected.

“Wow!” Julia exclaimed. “I’m very impressed and it was your first kill too!” Julia said to Lucy and Ryan.

“Ryan helped a lot.” Lucy mumbled, barely audible.

Emma, seeing Lucy wanted to change the subject, suddenly said, “When can we start Lucy and Ryan in training?”

“We could probably start tomorrow.” Robert replied.

“Can someone show me where Lucy and I will sleep?” Emma asked, seeing that Lucy was done eating.

“I will.” Said Julia as she stood up and motioned for Emma and Lucy to follow her. Leading them down the hall, she opened a door at the end of the hall on their left. “This is the guest room.” She said, showing them a room with two beds in it. “Please unpack and make yourselves comfortable.”

By the time Lucy and Emma were all settled in, they heard a knock at their door. Opening it, Emma found Julia standing there. “Hey,” Julia said, “I was just letting you know you guys might want to be getting to sleep. We are going to be getting up early in the morning to train, goodnight.” Julia closed the door behind her.

Late that night, after everyone else was asleep, Lucy finally managed to get some shut eye. Suddenly, Lucy woke up in her bed back in her home in the normal world. Everything was quiet, eerily quiet. Lucy quickly got up, and finding herself dressed in her daytime clothes and noticing it was the middle of the day, she hurried downstairs.

“Hello?” is anyone home?” Lucy asked, her voice seeming loud in the stillness. Without knowing why, Lucy decided to check the backyard. She stepped outside and what she saw made her heart stop. She saw a toddler’s body floating face down on the water of their pool, its long black hair spread around its head.

Slowly, the body floated over to her as Lucy was unable to look away. Already knowing what she would see, Lucy rolled the body over. The face seemed to stare at her out of its glazed, dead hazel eyes in a babyish face framed by long wet black hair. “Izzy!” Lucy gasped, her throat choking her as her heart beat hard, every pulse making her stomach seem to clench as tears began to fill her eyes.

“So glad you remember.” The toddler suddenly said, climbing out of the pool and fixing Lucy in her glazed, insane gaze. “Hello Lucy.” The corpse said with a malevolent grin on her face.

“It was so long ago. I forgot about the accident. It can’t bother me now.” Lucy said in a weak, scared, pleading voice.

“Oh you don’t know how long something can bother you stupid cur!” The child spat out, chuckling with sadistic glee as a crazy grin spread on her face, her hazel eyes staring through her.

“Please, I am so sorry. I just want to move on!” Lucy choked out as she heaved sobs, curling into a ball in fear and sorrow.

“YOU WILL NEVER FORGET YOU DUMB COW!!!” The child bellowed in rage, her face turning purple with the dead eyes snapping out fire as she launched a savage kick at Lucy’s exposed back.

Lucy cried out in pain and terror. “Please, please go away, just leave me alone!” Lucy moaned, tears streaming down her face. She had developed a pounding headache by now, ribbons of color streamed before her eyes making it hard to see. Her brain hurt all over the front lobe, as it felt like someone was squeezing it with a fist. Any noise or movement made the headache hurt worse. Lucy’s body was drenched in a cold sweat of pure terror.

“No, it is you who will go away. YOU WILL GO AWAY AND DIE!!!” Lucy’s tormentor screamed, shoving her into the pool.

Frantically trying to swim her way to the surface, Lucy panicked as she saw Izzy pull the pool cover over her. Lucy Struck at the pool cover, but was unable to lift it. Lucy began to wail, “Please let me out! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! Please don’t kill me! Please don’t let me drown! I’m sorry! OH GOSH PLEASE SAVE ME!! I’M SORRY!”

Lucy tried to scream, as she inhaled and choked on the water as it filled her lungs. As her banging grew weaker and weaker, Lucy sobbed out her plea one more time with the last bit of air in her lungs. “I’m sorry!” She choked as everything went black.

“I’m sorry Izzy. Please don’t kill me.” Lucy cried as she woke up drenched in cold sweat and her tears. For a while, Lucy just laid there and wept as the memories resurfaced. Finally, she got up quietly, and went out to the kitchen. Once out there, she tried to sort out her emotions, but just started sobbing again.

1/29/2020 --:--

The next morning, Robert woke up before anyone else. Walking to the edge of the lake, he watched the sun rise, painting the sky pink as mist drifted lazily off the surface of the lake in the cold winter morning. Hearing footsteps behind him, Robert turned and saw Emma striding up to him. Emma was the last person at watch duty that night.

After standing in silence a few minutes, Emma looked back towards Ryan and Lucy still sleeping with a loving expression of tenderness on her face. “Sweet things aren’t they?” She said to no one in particular.

“Ryan is a nice kid, and his sister seems solid.” Robert said. “So, what is your connection to Ryan and Lucy?”

“Well, I don’t want them to know yet, but I am their biological mother.”

“That makes sense, but why don’t you want them to know yet?”

“It’s a lot for them to take in; they just arrived in this dimension and found each other. I will know when the moment comes.”

“Okay.” Robert was then silent as he watched the sunrise. Suddenly, he became aware of a rustling sound of something in the long grass along with the breaking of twigs. Looking over at Emma, he saw she heard it too. They both drew their swords with a ringing sound, the sunrise gleaming off their blades, Robert’s heavy, powerful broadsword, and Emma’s light, swift, lethal katana.

Ryan and Lucy, who were woken up by the sound of the drawn swords, scrambled to their feet as three large Eviscerators pounced from some bushes with savage snarls. The Eviscerators made shivers go up and down Ryan’s spine. Giant, muscled creatures with heavy armor plated bodies, they were terrifying to behold. With four large arms that ended in clawed hands with three inch long claws, they could easily shred anyone.

Their figures were roughly human, but with large blades extending from arms and mouths filled with hundreds of needle-like teeth. Two of them were seven feet tall with the third one towering at nine feet. Screaming their battle cries, Emma and Robert charged towards the Eviscerators and engaged them long enough for Ryan and Lucy to equip their weapon belts, but not long enough for them to put on their armor. The two seven foot Eviscerators continued to fight Emma and Robert, as the third one charged towards Ryan and Lucy, all six limbs pounding the ground.

Hands shaking, Ryan shot at the charging Eviscerator and missed. Ryan, not having enough time to reload, drew his daggers and waited, terrified. The Eviscerator pounced the last several feet towards Ryan. Petrified with fear, Ryan was unable to move.

“Ryan!” Lucy screamed, as she knocked Ryan out of the way with her shoulder. Turning to face the Eviscerator, she was able to block two of its arms with her daggers, the blows reverberating through her arms, making them numb. The other two arms struck glancing blows on Lucy’s shoulder and side, ripping skin off and making her scream. The Eviscerator landed full force on Lucy, stunning her.

Fear for Lucy galvanized Ryan into action. Jumping onto the Eviscerator’s back, he slipped his dagger between the plates of armor on the Eviscerator’s top two shoulders slicing the tendons; rendering the arms useless. Roaring in pain, the Eviscerator threw Ryan off its back. Whirling to face him, it swung a heavy blow at Ryan’s daggers, knocking them out of his hands.

In that moment, Ryan realized that without his daggers, the next shot would be a deathblow. Leaping to grab his daggers, Ryan was snatched by the Eviscerator and finding him helpless, it began to crush the life out of him with its powerful arms, seeming to find joy in slowly killing him. Ryan cried out in pain as the small spines on the Eviscerator’s armor plates on its arms and chest pierced Ryan’s torso like hundreds of tiny thorns.

It was like being shut in an Iron Maiden, but on a smaller scale. Ryan’s vision grew blurry as he was unable to breathe. All of a sudden, Ryan was released by the Eviscerator as it began shrieking and thrashing around, clawing at its head before finally lying still. Ryan looked up and saw Lucy holding his crossbow standing above him with a pale face.

Lucy, coming to and seeing her brother engaged with the Eviscerator, ran to his crossbow and loaded it. Then she had snuck up behind the Eviscerator and fired the crossbow into the back of the Eviscerator’s head. The steel bold head shattered upon piercing its target as it was designed to, and sent many small sharp pieces of metal into the monster’s brain, killing it.

Ryan’s crossbow falling from her limp hands, Lucy fell to the ground on her knees and started crying. Ryan, seeing Emma and Robert finishing off their opponents, crouched down in front of her and gathered her into his arms. “Why does everything here have to be so violent?” She sobbed into his shoulder. “I was so scared for you, you almost died!” she cried.

“It’s okay, it’s all over now.” Ryan said softly. “I’m okay and you are okay and everything is going to be all right.”

“But why did it have to be this way? I did not want to kill anything; I just wanted to protect you. Why do we have to be here?”

“I don’t know.” Ryan replied quietly with tears in his eyes. “I don’t know.”

Emma slid her katana between two armor plates on her opponent’s right lower arm and jumped back. With only three functioning arms left, her opponent screeched and charged. Emma ran towards the incoming Eviscerator, sheathing her katana as she drew a slim knife in either hand.

At the last second, Emma slid between the legs of the Eviscerator at the last second, and as she slid underneath it, she sliced between the plates on its legs, severing the tendons beneath her opponent’s knees. The Eviscerator collapsed to the ground behind Emma. Emma quickly whirled around and threw her two knives into the back of the Eviscerator’s neck where it meets the skull, severing the spinal cord, killing it instantly.

While Emma was finishing off her Eviscerator, Robert finished a powerful slice to two of his opponent’s wrists, severing one in a black spurt of blood, and shattering the bones of the other. The Eviscerator screeched in pain as it countered with a powerful swing. Robert jumped out of the way, letting the Eviscerator’s momentum cause it to stagger as he spun with all his might, allowing his sword to gain tremendous momentum. Finishing his spin, Robert brought his sword crashing down in a vertical slice on the Eviscerator’s head.

The blow split his opponent’s head open like a ripe melon. Black blood and brains spewed everywhere from the vertical cut before disintegrating into black dust with the rest of the Eviscerator. Running over to Lucy and Ryan with Emma, Robert asked “Are you guys okay?” Lucy, wiping away her tears, nodded and stood up with Ryan.

Robert, seeing Lucy’s bloodstained shoulders and side, and Ryan’s bloody torso, took out some salve and a couple rolls of bandages from his pack. Emma took a roll and some slave from Robert and rolled up Lucy’s sleeves and shirt and applied salve and bandages to her shoulders and side. Robert and Ryan turned their backs to Lucy to provide her privacy. After Emma and Lucy were done, Robert had Ryan remove his shirt so he could clean and bandage all the small puncture wounds on Ryan’s torso.

Lucy and Ryan’s wounds taken care of, Robert said to Lucy and Ryan, “Nice work with that Eviscerator guys. I was worried for you kids. That Eviscerator was a nasty one.”

“Thanks.” Ryan replied grimly as Lucy merely shuddered in response.

“Let’s get going back to Fort Stalwart.” Robert said, hoisting his pack onto his shoulders as Emma finished packing.

1/28/2020 --:--

Lucy woke up the next morning feeling someone gently shaking her. Taking a moment to reorient herself after her dreams, she saw Emma’s kindly smiling gaze looking upon her. To Lucy the smile was strangely familiar. The feeling quickly passed as she heard Emma say “Time for us to go find your brother.”

Emma swiftly gave Lucy a packed backpack as she shouldered her own. After fastening her belt and sword in its scabbard to her waist, she handed a pair of daggers to Lucy saying, “There are some dangerous creatures out there, you may need these.” She also handed Lucy a belt equipped with sheathes for the daggers. Once fully equipped, Lucy and Emma left the cave and headed north to Fort Stalwart.

Meanwhile, Rob and Ryan had set out down to the Lake of the Lost. The pair was silent as they trekked across vast grassy fields gently rolling in the breeze. Ryan quietly contemplated whether his sister was likely to still be alive. He tried to think about living with the knowledge that she was dead, and that it was entirely his fault. I don’t think I can live with that knowledge thought Ryan. His eyes blurred with tears as he tried not to choke on the sobs rising in his throat.

Spotting the sparkle of the Lake of the Lost up ahead, Robert suddenly said “We will stop to rest and camp there.” Striding to the shore of the Lake, Robert began gathering weed to make a campfire under the spread of a tree by the lake.

Lucy and Emma arrived at the Lake of the Lost by the time it got dark. In the advancing gloom, Emma spotted the orange flicker of firelight. Emma then said quietly, “I see a fire up ahead. It could be Eviscerators, follow me quietly.” Lucy and Emma stealthily began making their way towards the fire. Heart pounding, Lucy felt the tension build in her like a coiled spring until she felt like she would burst.

“Hey Rob, who is that?” Ryan quietly asked, pointing to a couple of cloaked figures approaching their fire.

“That,” Robert said pointing at the figures with his sword, “is why we set up a decoy fire. At least they are not Eviscerators, but let’s go and see what they want. Be careful though, as we don’t know what their intentions are.”

Arriving at the edge of the firelight, Emma cautiously approached the two forms sitting by the fire. Reaching out timidly to touch them, she found they were cloaks put over packs. “A decoy!” she hissed. Hearing Emma’s exclamation, Lucy felt the cold shivers of fear skitter down her spine.

Suddenly, they both heard a low voice say, “State your business.”

Whirling around, Lucy found herself at the end of a dark figure’s sword. Squinting, she could barely see another figure deeper in the shadows pointing a crossbow at her and Emma. “We are looking for someone.” Emma said briskly. As she spoke, the two people she was addressing stepped into the circle of light cast by the fire.

Lucy saw the man with the sword was tall, with a broad chest, and sported a bright had of fiery red hair. But it was the figure holding the crossbow that caught her attention. It was Ryan, her brother. “Ryan?” Lucy gasped softly as the removed her cloak hood.

Ryan was shocked to see his sister alive and well. With an expression of total surprise on his face, he dropped his crossbow and took a couple of stumbling step forward. Lucy however, squealed in delight, and rushing forward, she threw herself against Ryan, flinging her arms around him. Ryan, still shocked into silence, leaned into Lucy’s embrace and wrapped his arms around her shoulders tightly.

Ryan’s eyes filled with warm tears of joy and content that warmed his soul and erased the cold numb of loneliness. This thawing released a flood gate of emotions as Ryan found his voice and started sobbing heavily. “I’m so sorry.” He spewed out in a torrent of shame and sorrow for bringing his sister into this world.

Ryan sank to the ground on his knees as his tears and words spilled out together. “I’m so sorry I got you into this and I-I am so sorry I just left you I was se-selfish, just so selfish, and n-now you are here and it is all my fa-fault I’m just so very sorry.” Lucy knelt down and grabbed both of Ryan’s hands.

“Ryan, please look at me.” Lucy said, gently raising Ryan’s chin with her hand to he was looking into her eyes. “It is all okay.” She said with her eyes full of compassion and tears for Ryan’s sorrow. “I wanted to find you to tell you that you have been forgiven by me even as I found your note. I would rather be in danger in a dark world then be safe and without you. I love you, and that has not, and will never change.”

Hearing these words, Ryan hugged Lucy tightly saying, “Thank you, Thank you so much.”

Emma looked on these events with tears of joy in her eyes. Even Robert, the tough warrior’s eyes filled with tears of joy. “Get a grip.” He muttered to himself while smiling at such a happy result.

1/27/2020 --:--

Lucy awoke with her face to a rock wall. Upon rolling over and sitting up, she found she was deep within a cave. Feeling warmth and seeing a bright flicker of light out of the corner of her eye, Lucy turned her head to the right. She then saw the source of the warmth.

To her right, there was a fire. Near the fire sat a figure hunched over beneath a cloak. Without a word, Lucy crawled over to the figure and the campfire. Hearing her approach, the form turned to her. “Hi, it’s good to see you are awake.” A deep yet soft woman’s voice greeted her. Large, dark, kind brown eyes peeped out from beneath the cloak at Lucy with motherly concern. “Here, drink this,” she said, handing Lucy a mug filled with a dark, hot liquid with a comforting herbal scent.

Hesitantly, Lucy accepted the mug. “What’s in it?” she inquired in a small voice.

“It is a hot tea; it will help warm you right up and aid in your recovery.”

“My recovery?” Lucy asked, bewildered.

“When I found you, you were nearly frozen to death. I picked you up and took you here, where I tried to keep you alive. You are lucky I found you, any longer and you would not have survived.”

“Thank you.” Looking down, Lucy found she had been clutching a blanket around her shoulders. “Where are my clothes?” she asked, embarrassed.

“I put them over there near the fire to dry.” The woman responded, gesturing to Lucy’s clothes on a rock. “Wearing wet clothes saps the warmth from you. They’re all dry now if you wish to put them on.”

Lucy, finished with her tea, and feeling rejuvenated, got up and walked to where her clothes were and put them on, all except the hazmat suit. She then returned and sat down next to the woman. “Thanks for saving me. My name is Lucy Davis.”

At Lucy’s name, the woman seemed startled for a second, and then replied, “You can call me Emma. What brought you here?”

“Well, the short of it is inter-dimensional travel.”

Emma’s dark eyes deepened with interest. “Go on.” She said.

Lucy then launched into her explanation of how she got to this dimension, starting from what happened to Ryan, and ending at where she passed out. “Well! Professor Davis sounds like the perfect scoundrel!” exclaimed Emma. “Imagine taking advantage of you and your poor brother like that! Why I hope he pays for whatever happens to you a thousand times over!” Emma concluded wrathfully, her dark eyes burning with pure sympathy for Lucy and Ryan and pure hatred for Mr. Davis.

“Thanks” Lucy replied shyly, wondering why a stranger would care so much about her and her brother.

“I know just what we are going to do.” Emma exclaimed suddenly, a plan beginning to gleam in her deep eyes. “Once it’s light out, we shall go to where I found you and try to find your brother. I know of a town near where I found you, maybe he ended up there. However, I should warn you, the area we will be traveling through is a favorite spot of hostile creatures which we will not want to run into. When we are traveling, you must do exactly as I say.”

“Okay.” Lucy replied, taking a deep breath.

“In the meantime, let’s get some sleep.” Emma motioned Lucy towards a mat laid out on the ground. Suddenly realizing how extremely fatigued she was, Lucy crawled onto the mat, and covering her lithe form with the blankets, she soon fell fast asleep.

Hearing Lucy’s heavy breathing and making sure she was asleep, Emma silently glided up to Lucy’s sleeping form. As Emma gazed upon Lucy’s face with maternal love and sympathy, she saw Lucy’s peaceful expression change to one of fear and Lucy trembled. Emma reached down to stroke Lucy’s cheek gently with her forefinger.

This seemed to calm Lucy, as her shivering subsided and her peaceful slumbering expression returned and Lucy unconsciously leaned her head into Emma’s soft touch. Emma smiled lovingly as she stroked Lucy’s silky black lock. She then pulled her hand away hesitantly, wishing to hold Lucy’s head in her hands longer.

Softly, Emma whispered “Goodnight my baby girl I am here now and I will make sure we find Ryan, you can be certain of that.” Lucy and Ryan’s true mom then crawled to her bedroll and fell fast asleep.

Almost immediately after Lucy fell asleep, she began dreaming. She found herself standing in the middle of a forest of twisted trees at night. Shivers coursed up and down her spine, not just from the cold, but from the hostility that crackled in the air around her. Lucy felt her heart pounding in her chest, seeming to suck all breath away.

Suddenly, she heard a feral snarl. Lucy’s stomach seized up and she felt the hair on her neck raise as her muscles tensed. Lucy frantically looked all around her, forgetting about the tree branches above her. Lucy then heard the sound of a heavy object whistling through the air.

Lucy crumpled to the ground under the weight of the monster that pounced on her. Falling face down on the forest floor, Lucy felt her ribs and her thigh bone break with a muted crack like someone popping their muscles as her left shoulder was dislocated with a muffled pop. Feeling claws slice open her back and tearing at her shoulder blades, Lucy screamed in terror and pain and blacked out.

Lucy then opened her eyes, and found herself lying on a rough mat on the floor of a house. She felt like her whole body was on fire and everything wavered before her eyes, making things blurry. Lucy heard voices, one female voice saying “We’re losing her Ryan, she’s dying.”

Lucy also heard Ryan’s sobbing voice saying “This is all my fault.”

Lucy then detected another deep, strong, but wavering voice trying to comfort Ryan. “It’s not your fault; you did not know this was going to happen.”

“But I should have loved her better; I should have cared for her so much more than I did. I should have taken care of her like she did for me. Instead, I focused on myself, taking reckless risks and now she’s paying for it!” Ryan said before his voice broke and he heaved great heavy sobs of despair.

Lucy tried to reach out to him and tell him she forgave him, but she was too weak. I can’t die now! He needs to know I love him! He needs to know that it is not all his fault. These thoughts echoed in Lucy’s head as she fell down deeper and deeper into the black abyss.

1/27/2020 --:--

Ryan climbed over the next rise; the cold, damp winter night air chilled him to the bone as he clutched himself to ward off the chill. The hazmat suit he was still wearing no longer did much to help keep him warm. Where am I? What am I doing miles from any shelter? Ryan inquired of himself.

Ryan knew from a nagging thought that he was desperately searching for someone, but he could not remember who. There was some fog shrouding his thoughts and he only needed to peer beyond it to find answers.

So…tired, must keep going. Ryan could barely move his fingers and hit feet were numb blocks of ice. Shivers convulsed his body as the water soaking his clothes sapped energy and warmth from his stumbling form.

Several hours earlier, the pod he was in had landed in a lake. Ryan had needed to take off his mask and swim to the surface of the lake where he crawled out into the freezing air and blasts of cold wind to avoid drowning. Now he faced a different danger… freezing to death.

Must… keep… moving Ryan thought desperately. So… tired, just need a few minutes his rebelling body cried out as he stumbled forward in the wind. Without warning, Ryan’s feet tripped and his knees buckled as he tumbled face first into the cold frozen ground.

Get up! Ryan’s mind screamed at his body. His limbs would not move. Who am I looking for? Ryan struggled to remember. His vision blurred and he felt his muscles relax. Why am I out here? Why am I not at Fort Stalwart? Ryan wondered.

Ryan slowly lifted his head over his shoulder. His body looked… different. His body looked almost feminine, but he could not tell because of the baggy hazmat suit that covered him. Who am I? Ryan looked forward. He saw a puddle one foot in front of him. With a monumental effort, Ryan dragged himself to the puddle and looked into it.

There was a different face that looked back at him. The face was feminine, with long black hair tied back in a bun and eyes that were bright green although they were dulled by fatigue. It was Lucy’s face. I am in my sister’s body and mind this must be a dream or a vision. Ryan realized.

“Ryan Davis, where are you? I hope you are safe.” Lucy’s voice whispered softly and she succumbed to the cold and drifted out of consciousness.

Ryan woke with a gasp, sweat drenching his body. Cold shivers ran their icy tendrils across his back. Lucy is here and in danger Ryan thought. He checked his watch for the time, but it was broken from his fight with the small Eviscerator.

“Wakey Wakey!” Robert called cheerfully. “We let you sleep in enough already.” Robert’s face suddenly became serious once he spotted Ryan’s expression. “What’s wrong? You look pale and frightened.”

“My sister is here and in trouble.”

“How do you know?”

“I had a vision last night. We need to at least try to find her to see that she’s ok.”

“Are you sure? We need to train you so you can fight effectively if you run into an Eviscerator.”

“There is no time to train. Please Robert; this is really important to me.”

“Okay, but first we need to equip ourselves.” With that, Robert led Ryan down the hall outside his room and to a door that had a descending flight of stairs behind it.

“Where does that lead?” Ryan asked.

“It leads down to my armory, come on.” Robert quickly descended the stairs, Motioning for Ryan to follow him.

Once they were down, Ryan looked at the weapons and armor hanging around him. Swords, daggers, spears, javelins, lances, and throwing knives all hung on finely carved wooden racks, their edges gleaming silver, sharp and ready. On another wall hung a few crossbows and quivers filled with the metal bolts that the crossbows shot.

On another wall there hung shields of engraved metal and shields of wood. The wood shields had designs emblazoned on them, some bold colors while others had designs with muted colors created to camouflage rather than stand out. Next to the shields there hung armor. Leggings, breastplates, boots, helmets, and gauntlets made of many different materials.

There was armor made from leather, chainmail, or metal plates. Some armor was made from a mixture of materials. It was this last kind of armor Robert selected for Ryan. It was a set of armor made from leather and chainmail with no gauntlets for better hand dexterity.

“This is a set of my sister’s armor since it is more your size. I have adjusted a few straps to make it fit your frame better. The armor is mostly leather so it is fairly light. How does it feel?” Robert asked.

“It fits fine and the weight is pretty manageable.” Ryan replied.

“Good, later we will have to fit you for your own armor, but that will work for now. Now here comes the fun part, weapons.” Robert walked to the wall with the melee weapons and took down a pair of daggers about eight inches long. “These should work for you.” Robert said, handing Ryan the daggers in their leather weapons belt.

Next, Robert strode to the wall with the crossbows and took down a small crossbow with a strap. He also took down a quiver full of metal bolts which Ryan attached to his belt next to his thigh. Robert then began equipping himself with a set of chainmail and leather armor, dual broadswords, a crossbow with quiver, and a few throwing knives which he tucked into his belt.

“Now we need to head upstairs to eat and pack food. By the way, can you describe the area Lucy was at in your vision?”

“She was near this lake… the lake looked familiar. She was also near these woods with strange, dead-looking trees. Oh! The lake was near where you saved me. I saw it and the woods outside of the building that my pod landed in.”

Hearing this, Robert stiffened and paled a little bit. “You describe the lake of the lost. It is near the twisted wood which is a hotbed for the Eviscerators. If you are right about your sister’s location, she might have more problems than cold and exposure.

Ryan felt his stomach grow still and cold. “Why is it called the lake of the lost?”

“Maybe I will tell you sometime, but not now. For now we must hurry to pack and hope that your sister is still alive.”

1/26/2020 5:05 PM

“Julia! I’m home!” Robert called out upon entering his home.

“Okay, be out in a minute!” called Julia, her voice coming from the kitchen.

“Who’s Julia?” asked Ryan.

“She’s my sister,” replied Robert. “Oh, by the way Julia, we have a guest!” Robert called out.

“Who is it, a neighbor?” Julia replied, her voice growing closer. “Who is that?” Julia asked upon seeing Ryan.

“Julia, this is Ryan. Ryan, this is Julia.” Robert said, introducing the two.

“Where is he from, and why is he so small and weak?” Julia asked.

“He is from another dimension. Apparently things are not as tough where he comes from. He is stranded here and so he is going to live with us for now.”

“Provided he lives that long. He is easy prey for the Evicerators.” Julia said with a cynical edge to her voice.

While Robert and Julia talked, Ryan took the opportunity to study Julia. She was slim but muscular, with Reddish-blond hair, blue eyes and a soft alto voice with a pleasing Irish lilt. However, her voice was the only thing soft about her.

“Granted, he may not seem like much, but I think he can learn to be quite effective at defending himself,” Robert replied, coming to Ryan’s defense.

“Alright fine, but he is your responsibility. I will not be accountable for his survival.” Julia replied.

“Fair enough,” Robert said. “Come on Ryan, let’s have dinner, it is too late to train you tonight. During your stay, you can lodge in my room.” Julia, Ryan, and Robert all trooped into the kitchen, where they sat down at a rough wood table on wooden chairs. Julia walked over to the pot hanging over the fire in the stone-brick fireplace and took it down with white hot pads.

She then walked to the table and set the pot on a stone slab in the middle of the table. Striding to the cupboards, she pulled out an extra wood bowl for Ryan. Setting it before him, she picked up the pot, and removing the lid, she ladled out the soup inside the pot. Waiting until Julia sat down to begin eating, Ryan then dug into his food with an appetite.

Ryan listened to Julia and Robert talking about how he got to this dimension while he thought of Lucy. I wonder how she is doing. Ryan thought. I hope she understands. The thought of his sister in anguish was nearly unbearable to him. Unable to control himself, Ryan felt tears seep into his eyes.

Spotting Ryan’s tears, Robert suddenly said, “Well, it’s been a long day so I think I should help Ryan get settled in my room.”

“Oh-ok” Julia stammered with surprise. “I will just start cleaning up then.” She then got busy picking up all the bowls and washing out the dishes with water from the hand pump in the kitchen sink.

“Are you ok? What’s wrong?” Robert asked once Ryan and he were in his room.

“I was just thinking about my sister. I left her behind and I will never see her again.”

“You haven’t told me much about her. Would you like to?” Robert asked gently while pulling up two wood chairs and motioning for Ryan to sit down.

After flopping into a chair, Ryan continued in a shaky voice. “She is my twin and she has black hair like mine and vibrant but soft green eyes. She was always very kind and supportive of me.” Ryan said as a few tears found their ways down his cheeks.

“She sounds wonderful.” Robert said softly. “So, why did you leave her?”

“After Michal died I just couldn’t take it. I was not satisfied with what I still had, and so when I heard that my dad found a way to time travel, I selfishly took it. I would not blame Lucy for hating me now.”

Robert was silent for a few moments before replying. “Well, if your sister is who you said she was, I think she would forgive you in a heartbeat if she could just have you back. I know she did not deserve you just leaving her, but hey, you’re human. Making mistakes is in our nature, and that does not mean you can just give up. You need to let your mistakes teach you and improve who you are.”

“Thanks”

“No problem, I hope you feel better soon. For now, just rest there while I get my room ready for you.” With that, Robert stood up and gave Ryan a friendly clap on the shoulder before walking away.

1/26/2020 11:30 AM

There is was. It was the growl from his dream. Blind, overwhelming fear welled up within Ryan, filling his being with terror. Ryan then spotted the eyes, the goopy, dried-blood red eyes.

Ryan turned to run as the creature pounced forward. Sharp claws dug into his back, slicing and tearing. The creature released a feral snarl. Ryan screamed in terror and pain as many needle-like teeth sand into his shoulder.

Suddenly, Ryan heard a shout and a sound of sliding metal. He then heard something that sounded like a shovel piercing wet clay and sand. The creature on top of him unleashed a wailing yowl of pain. Ryan felt the creature jerk off of him and felt some gooey liquid spatter on the back of his neck.

The creature fell to the ground and was silent. Ryan felt strong hands seize his upper arms and haul him to his feet. “Well, you look alive and that’s good,” said a confident, baritone voice with and Irish lilt. Ryan turned around to face his rescuer.

Ryan found himself face-to-face with a muscular male who towered over him by several inches. He had fiery red hair and bright blue eyes with a sparkle of friendliness and humor. The figure radiated power and confidence. “The name’s Robert Brightling” said Ryan’s savior, “Nice to meet you.”

Ryan, remembering his manners said numbly “Hi, I’m Ryan Davis.”

“Nice name.” Robert replied.

“Thanks.” Ryan turned to look at the creature that attacked him. However, all he found was a pile of a black ash-like substance.

“Yeah these suckers disintegrate pretty fast after you kill them. Consider yourself lucky it was just a small one and a male at that. Otherwise you would be looking at poisoned wounds. Although if it was a large one you would have been killed before I could save you.”

Ryan shuddered. If that was just a small one, what would a big one be like? Ryan thought “Thanks for saving me.” Ryan said, just remembering he had forgotten to thank Rob.

“Ah, no problem” said Robert with wave of his hand. “We can talk about how you got here after we treat your wounds.”

Ryan then felt his shoulder and back begin to sting like crazy where he had been bitten and clawed. Ryan also felt a trickle of blood down his back. He reached back to touch it.

“Don’t touch it” said Robert. He then pulled off his backpack and opened it, taking out a roll of bandages. “Please remove your shirt” he asked, unrolling some bandage. Ryan complied wordlessly.

Robert then took some salve out of his backpack and applied it to Ryan’s back wound before bandaging him. Wordlessly, Ryan put his shirt back on gingerly, since any movement caused him to wince in pain.

“It is a bit of a walk to the nearest safe-haven. Why don’t you tell me about what you were doing in that building on the way?” inquired Robert.

“Okay, what do you want to know?” replied Ryan.

“What was that pod-thing near where you were?” So Ryan launched into the explanation of what brought him to where he was starting with his birthday and Michal’s death. After hearing Ryan’s story, Robert was silent for a while. “Wow, man I am so sorry, that sounds pretty rough.”

“You mean you actually believe me?” Ryan asked.

“Hey, it checks out with everything I saw.”

“Still, I wonder why I did not time travel.”

“Well you said that your dad said the machine could provide time travel as well as inter-dimensional travel. Maybe they accidently sent you to another dimension, in other words here.”

“That would fit in with how things are so different here then what I am used to.” Ryan replied.

“Yeah… well we made it! Let’s finish our conversation inside. It’s getting pretty dark out. The Eviscerators will be out soon.”

“What are Eviscerators?”

“You know the thing you got attacked by?”

“Yeah”

“That’s one of them.” Robert led Ryan up to a metal gate attached to a stone-brick wall topped with barbed wire and torches. On top of the wall were guards armed with crossbows loaded with metal spikes.

Inside the walls were many stout buildings made from solid stone bricks. On top of the buildings were more guards with crossbows. Ryan walked with Robert through the town. Ryan gawked at the impressive fortifications.

“Welcome to Fort Stalwart Ryan. This is one of the strongest safe-havens in this continent even if it’s not the biggest or prettiest.

“Wow” said Ryan, awestruck. It all reminded him of some crazy post apocalyptic war movie. How terrible those monsters I got attacked by must be to require fortifications such as this Ryan mused.

“The outer walls here are solid stone three meters thick and fifty feet tall. There are five-hundred soldiers all extremely well trained and experienced in combat against the monsters we face. In addition to the guards, we have two-hundred citizens all of whom know how to fight well. Our children learn to fight in hand-to-hand and ranged combat from five years old. From age seven, they are trained in advanced combat strategies.” Robert bragged.

“It’s quite impressive,” said Ryan, staggered at the strength of the fortress.

“Oh, and we are home,” said Robert, leading Ryan into a stone home almost exactly like all the others.

1/26/2020 9:50 AM

Lucy and Mrs. Davis arrived at their house by 9:50AM, five minutes after Ryan left with his father to the lab. Mrs. Davis, feeling her phone buzz in her pocket, pulled it out and checked her text messages. “Hey hon,” she said to Lucy, “it turns out I am needed at work today so I gotta go.”

“Okay mom,” chimed Lucy “See you later!” Mrs. Davis drove quickly away without another word. Lucy stepped up to the door, pulled out her key and entered the house. Immediately after stepping inside, she felt something was wrong. “Ry?” she called, “where are you?”

Fearing the worst, she ran up the stairs after checking the dining room. Bursting into Ryan’s room, her fears were confirmed. Ryan was missing. What could have happened to him? Lucy thought. I know he was very upset and stressed. Did something happen to him or… the thought was almost too horrible to finish.

What could he have done to himself? Horrible, unwanted thoughts came flooding into her head. Images of Ryan’s body hanging from a tree by its neck, his head skewed at an odd angle, or images of his bloated, fish-nibbled body floating down a river or some other body of water.

Thoroughly scared now, she rushed into her room with tears in her eyes. Something white on her bed caught her attention. It was a note. With shaking hands, she lifted the not from her bed and began to unfold it.

What was it? A suicide note or a note telling her he had run away? With trembling hands, she opened his letter. After reading Ryan’s letter, she burst into tears.

She would never see Ryan again and her dad just let Ryan go? Didn’t he even care? Making a valiant effort to pull herself together, Lucy pulled her phone out of her pocket and called her mom. Mrs. Davis did not pick up.

Panicked, Lucy anxiously sought a solution. Call the police? No, they would only shut everything down and she would never find her brother. Calling the police was obviously out of the question.

Since her dad had something to do with Ryan’s disappearance, she decided she would wait for him to come home then question him. Trying to pass the time, she started to work on her homework for the weekend but found herself unable to focus. Suddenly tired, from worrying about Ryan, she fell asleep on her bed.

Lucy woke from a fitful sleep hearing the faint sound of the door downstairs opening and closing. Groggily, Lucy opened her eyes and looked at her watch. It read 2:15 PM. Why would her dad be home so early? Her mom must have come home.

Lucy trudged downstairs and was surprised to find her dad home and eating lunch with her mom. Fighting down the hostility that rose within her, Lucy casually asked “What brings you home so early?”

“I was no longer needed at work today so I came home early.”

“Oh, by the way,” Lucy asked “Do you know where Ryan went?”

“No why, is he missing?” Mrs. Davis asked, alarm creeping into her voice.

“No, I’m sure he just went for a walk or something.” Lucy input quickly, not wishing to alert her mother yet.

“Okay” her mom said, visibly calming down.

“Alright, well back to homework” Lucy said. “Hey dad, can you see me in my room upstairs to help with a math problem I have?” She inquired.

“Sure hon.” he replied smiling. “I’ll be right up.”

Lucy briskly walked up the stairs to her room. Once in her room she pulled a three inch assisted opening knife from a drawer in her desk. She also got out her phone and had 911 on speed dial just in case. Hearing her dad’s heavy footsteps thumping on the stairs, she hastily sat down at her desk and seemed to be busy with math homework.

“Hey” said Mr. Davis standing in the door. “You said you needed my help?”

“Oh, yeah” she replied, scooting her chair sideways at her desk and towards the door. As anticipated, her dad strode to her desk and came to stand beside her chair on the opposite side of the door. Perfect she thought. Springing to her feet, she leapt towards the door and quickly, but quietly shut it.

Stunned, Mr. Davis just stood there in surprise. “What are you doing?” In response, Lucy pulled her phone out of her pocket and flipped it open, poising her thumb over the dial button.

“I know you are responsible for Ryan disappearing.” She said to the professor, voice shaking. As she talked, she pulled her knife from her back pocket and flicked it open behind her back. She hoped her voice would drown out the soft click sound the knife make as it opened.

“How do you know that?” Mr. Davis asked, surprise still showing plainly on his face. In response, Lucy gestured toward the note from Ryan on her bed. Carefully lifting the note, Mr. Davis unfolded and read it. Anger and apprehension replaced the surprise on his face.

“Don’t do anything we are both going to regret” Lucy said seeing the anger on his face. “One wrong move from you and I will call the police”

“What do you want from me?” Lucy’s dad said quietly.

“I want you to send me where you sent Ryan.”

“You mean back in time one day?” The professor asked relief showing in his green eyes.

“Yes, and if you refuse, you can look forward to spending at least several years in prison for child endangerment” Lucy replied evenly.

“Okay, I will do as you ask.”

“Good, now we leave immediately.” She said motioning her dad towards the door. Together they walked down the stairs.

“Honey” Mr. Davis called to Mrs. Davis in their room down the downstairs hall, “I am needed at the lab again ok?”

“Okay, take care!” called Mrs. Davis from their room in the downstairs hall.

While in the car, Mr. Davis told Lucy he would text the lab to let them know of their coming. He then carefully pulled up Mrs. Davis’s number on the phone and said “Test subject two is en route, test number two is go.”

“I am coming to find you Ryan” Lucy breathed softly. “I hope you are still alive.”

1/26/2020 10:15 AM

Mr. Davis checked his watch. It read 10:15 AM. “Okay Mrs. Davis, you may begin instructing test subject number 1A.” Mr. Davis said to the operator in the sound-proof booth.

“Alright” she replied. Standing near his wife, Mr. Davis could hear everything that was said between Ryan and Mrs. Davis. “Ryan Davis” she said “Please proceed through the door marked Red.” Ryan obeyed quickly and followed through instructions perfectly.

He works well as a test subject thought the professor. I will be sorry to lose him into the past or lose him if this test fails, in which case he will certainly die. Mr. Davis smiled at hearing all of Ryan’s questions once he was in the capsule. He reminds me of myself Mr. Davis thought. Like him I was always very intelligent and always asking questions.

Yes, I will be very sorry to lose him, Mr. Davis continued to muse. Oh well, if he dies and the test fails I could always get his sister to follow him if she thinks he could still be alive. Ah love, it is so easy to use it to manipulate people. Besides, just think of the millions one could make off of time travel! I will make so much money that the sacrifice of my two children will be well worth it.

Mr. Davis quietly exited the soundproof room where Mrs. Davis was, and went to watch the technicians at the control panel. The Professor watched the pod through the monitors displaying what was going on in the test room. The giant turbine-nozzles began to rotate and glow as one of the techies turned a dial to increase power.

Once the turbines reached maximum speed, one of the technicians flipped a lever which activated Artificial Gravity (AG) panels lining the test room to create a “Gravity Well” or an area of lower or almost no gravity around the pod. Another technician hit a button to send a huge pulse of matter and electric energy from the turbines. When the beams collided, it created a black hole where the pod was located. The monitors went black as all available light, matter, and energy went into sustaining the black hole.

One of the techies continued to increase gravitational strength and increase energy output. Suddenly, the instruments signal broadcast from the pod was gone. The technicians immediately shut down the turbines, the black hole, unable to continue to sustain itself, collapsed. “Did it work?” Mr. Davis asked, breathless at the amazing spectacle.

“The computer info says the capsule and Ryan were likely vaporized,” Replied one of the four technicians, a man named Dax.

“Okay” said the professor. “Test one failed, on to the next test subject.”

“What happens if someone finds out about this project?”

“We will just have to eliminate them” Mr. Davis replied evenly.

“Don’t worry” one of the techies, woman named Jacky, piped in “we won’t tell a soul”

“Oh I know that” Mr. Davis said smiling like he just thought of something funny. He then pulled a revolver out of his right lab coat pocket. With the same smile, he aimed at the stunned technicians and pulled the trigger. Four shots rang out in the empty lab.

“Nice shooting” Mrs. Davis said smiling while walking up behind Mr. Davis. She looked coldly at the four bodies laying on the floor, their blood pouring from holes between their eyes to pool on the cold metal floor. “I did not know you could shoot like that, but didn’t we need the technicians?”

“You don’t know everything about me, and besides, I figured out how to control everything myself.” Mr. Davis said while turning around to face his wife and walking toward her, putting the revolver back in his pocket whilst walking forward.

“Mm, well feel free to tell me more” Mrs. Davis said before planting her lips on her husband’s as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. After a few moments, they parted. “Well we better dispose of these” Mrs. Davis said gesturing to the bodies.

“Right” replied Mr. Davis.

“By the way,” began Mr. Davis “How are you going to get another test subject?”

“Oh don’t worry, I have the perfect one all lined up” the Professor chuckled.