A faint tingling ran across Uda’s skin as the black rain fell from the distant heavens and began to wash away the blood that had covered her. She dragged Nia along, and suddenly a burning pain shot through her body as the dark water started to evaporate on her skin. Crackling lights danced over her as she crossed the barrier Nia had spoken of.
Then the pain vanished.
Uda pulled Nia through the protective wall as well and collapsed, exhausted, onto the hard earth beside her. The dark, ominous aura that had just moments ago surrounded Nia dissipated as they reached what was hopefully a safe area.
Yet still, shrieking shapes tumbled from the sky, writhing on the ground before finally succumbing to their wounds as the flesh-eating rain came to a halt.
Bitterly, Uda looked back at the remains of the slaughter that had just taken place. The carcasses of the worm-like creatures that had devoured Locu, Dal, and Tonu were now nothing more than melted heaps of flesh, bone, and dark blood. The black grass had also been reduced to a muddy, shapeless sludge covering the hillsides.
Shit!
Uda was furious with herself: She hadn't anticipated an attack from the ground. She should have known that danger could come from any direction. Now three people were dead, and Nia lay destroyed and trembling with sobs on the ground.
Gently, Uda placed a hand on Nia’s head, though she doubted the weeping young woman even noticed.
Shit! Fucking shit! How could all this have happened?
It felt like only moments ago that she had awoken alone in a rundown, windowless room. For a brief instant, a feeling of both familiarity and harrowing terror had flickered through her mind, but pain had quickly snuffed it out. Every movement had hurt, and she had to force herself to stand up. But the wet slapping sounds and the screams nearby made her ignore the pounding in her body.
Screams meant other people - but also danger. Possibly deadly danger.
Nothing had been more important than finding a weapon.
Uda had scanned the room with her eyes. Unfortunately, it had been completely useless in that regard: dusty shelves, a broken bed, several rotting books, and a few cleaning and household tools. Slowly, ignoring the stabbing pain that only gradually began to ease, she had staggered toward the door.
Not long after, she had crept through crumbling corridors, down decaying staircases, and through rotting rooms. At some point, she had found a metal rod jutting out from a wall, and it hadn’t been difficult to wrench it free. The stone had been more brittle than she expected. But she had been grateful to finally have a weapon in hand.
The screams that had driven her forward had continually warned her of the danger lurking invisibly behind walls and ceilings.
Eventually, she had found Tonu and Dal in a large hall.
And she had found a monstrosity.
The two men had pressed themselves against the far wall of the room, desperately trying to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the creature.
Uda had hesitated. Should she try to help them? Or run away and hope the creature would stay busy with them, buying her a little more time...?
Fight or flight?
When her eyes had met those of Tonu and Dal, she had known the answer.
The creature had its back turned to her, so Uda had moved as quickly as she could. Walking had surprisingly become much easier by then, and she was almost behind the monster when it slowly began to turn its head in her direction.
There had been no time to hesitate, no space for second thoughts about how reckless her actions were.
She had leapt at the gaunt-looking monstrosity, raising the metal rod high above her head.
Uda hadn’t intended to put that much strength into the jump, but somehow she had propelled herself higher than planned. Suddenly, she was above the creature. Without thinking, she brought the rod down on its head with all her might.
She hadn’t been sure if she could even hurt it, but to her surprise, the weapon had shattered its skull instantly.
Blood, bone, and chunks of flesh had splattered across her linen clothes.
The momentum of her leap had carried her forward, and she had crashed onto the ground beside the two men. The brittle stone had cracked beneath her, tearing open and filling the area with a thick cloud of dust.
Of course, the two men had followed her after that, and eventually, they had made it to the garden...
In the end, I still couldn't protect them...
Uda looked back at the ruins in the distance.
The moon bathed them in a ghostly light.
Towers and battlements, massive buildings, terraces with crumbling railings—half-collapsed by the passage of time.
Who built them? For what purpose?
And where had their builders gone?
For the first time, Uda could catch her breath a little and think.
She had awakened in those decaying ruins without any memories.
She could still name some things, but not the monsters.
Twice she had fought against them... and she had survived.
She had tried to save four people, but she had failed.
In the end, I only saved half a person, she thought bitterly, glancing at Nia, who was still convulsing and sobbing uncontrollably.
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Shit! Fuck!
What was she supposed to do now?
There was some kind of barrier, she knew that much now.
But exactly how it worked and how far it stretched was unclear.
The painful sparks that had crackled around them when they crossed might have come from the monster blood that had coated them and now evaporated.
So hopefully, they were truly safe. For now.
"And... that’s the last one," she said quietly to Nia, as the last flickering, stinking shadow finally succumbed to its injuries on the ground beyond the barrier.
The field was now as still as a grave, a thought that unsettled Uda far more than it should have.
"A-are we... safe?" Nia whimpered suddenly.
"Yeah. You messed them up badly. Drowned and burned them at the same time, I’d say," Uda replied, wiping the sweat-soaked strands from her face.
Slowly, Nia began to come back to herself.
She was small, but pretty, with dark brown, almost black, disheveled hair and a dark red mark on the left side of her neck, something Uda hadn’t noticed before amidst all the chaos.
Nia’s bright crimson eyes were filled with black tears, her pale face wet and smeared with snot and sweat.
"Was the rain real? I thought... it was just in my head," she whispered.
"At least real enough to kill those flying things. See all that slime over there? That’s what’s left of them. Good work, I guess, though I would’ve liked to know beforehand that you could just vaporize them. Then again, there’s no guarantee we would’ve fared any better against your little trick than those creatures did. I only got hit for a moment, and my clothes are full of holes. Yours too, by the way."
Uda looked down at her shredded linen shirt.
"I didn’t know I could do that... It only happened when... you know. It was like... I wanted to drown everything in sorrow and pain..."
Nia clearly tried not to think about Locu, but Uda could see that her efforts were in vain: Dark tears began streaming down her face again.
"Hey, Nia, calm down. Please? At least try! I know you’re feeling awful, I am too, but you have to pull yourself together!"
Nia just stared blankly into space at first, and Uda had to wait patiently until words finally tumbled from her lips.
"Those other two, Dal and Tonu... who were they to you?" Nia finally asked.
"I barely knew them. They were already together when I found them, and they seemed to get along... But no, I can’t say I really knew them. Did you know Locu? Do you remember him from before? The way you’re acting now... I can’t imagine you reacting like this for someone you only just met."
Nia let out another sob.
Very tactful, great job, Uda! she cursed herself inwardly.
"That’s not what I meant! Nia, it’s just because..."
"You’re right, I had just met him, but he felt... like he was meant for me. Like he was home. A safe harbor in this shitty, dark, godforsaken place! SHIT! FUCKING SHIT!"
Like someone possessed, Nia started clawing at her own face.
Uda reacted instantly, grabbing her wrists and yanking them away from her cheeks and forehead, where red drops were already beginning to seep out.
Nia flinched and tried to pull free, but Uda barely felt her desperate movements and held her easily.
"Stop... Nia, calm down—"
"YOU’RE HURTING ME! UDA, STOP!"
Startled, Uda let go.
What is she talking about?
Then she saw it: To her horror, red marks were blooming on Nia’s wrists, exactly where she had grabbed her.
"Oh, Nia, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to—"
"Thank you."
Nia’s words hung flatly in the air, a hollow whisper without any shred of life.
She looked up at Uda, her eyes still full of dark tears.
"Nia, I’m really sorry, I didn’t want to hurt you!"
"It’s okay. What you did is nothing compared to my bleeding mind. It even distracted me a little... from the rotten horror festering in my heart..."
She gave a weak smile, which only made Uda more uncomfortable.
"What do we do now?" Nia finally asked.
"You need medical attention, I think. It looks like even though we died, we have mortal bodies."
Uda looked toward the dark forest at the edge of the field.
"Bodies... Tell me, Uda, did I just imagine it, or did you really throw that metal rod at the monster? How were you so strong? I can barely remember anything from before, but it feels strange."
Uda glanced down at herself and suddenly realized she didn’t even have a single bruise.
"I don’t know. It feels weird, like my body is already used to it. Isn’t it the same for you?"
"No." Nia turned her face away and ran her fingers over the bleeding scratches she had given herself. "No, I’m pretty fragile. The others... were too... And now... they’re just gone... He’s gone, gone. What am I supposed to do?"
Uda looked at her but didn’t know what to say.
So she settled for a general, encouraging answer.
"Mourn, but don’t let it consume you."
Still, it was strange. Why was Nia acting as if she had known Locu forever?
So much didn’t make sense in this new world.
Uda knew she should stay silent, but she simply didn’t understand Nia and her intense reactions.
"He might be gone, but you hadn’t known him for that long, right? Why does he mean so much to you if you only met him recently?" she asked as carefully as she could.
"That's... I don’t know why. But I know that it’s true. I cared about him. He is... was... the person I was meant to be with!"
Nia stared almost longingly at the spot where Locu had disappeared not so long ago.
"Obviously not, Nia."
The words slipped out before Uda could stop herself—and before she could apologize, Nia exploded into a geyser of tears.
"FUCK YOU! Fuck you and your condescending sarcasm! I didn’t ask you to drag me here. You should have left me out there and let the rain devour and wash away what was left of me. What gives you the right to decide that I should keep existing when my other half is gone?"
Uda swallowed but remained calm. Somehow.
"I didn’t decide anything for you. I saved you because you were in danger. But which path you take now, that’s entirely up to you."
Slowly, she stood up and looked down at Nia, who was now trembling dangerously. Another scream echoed from the ruins. A sudden sadness weighed on Uda’s mind as she realized that people were still dying among the crumbling towers.
"So... what are you going to do?" Uda asked, trying to keep her expression unreadable.
"None of your fucking business."
"Fine."
With that, Uda turned and began walking back toward the ruins. There was no point in arguing with Nia. She was safe, while others weren’t.
She felt strange.
Why did she even want to help? She didn’t know these people. Why should she risk her own safety for them?
But there were no answers in her heart, only determination.
"Hey, where are you going?" Nia suddenly called after her, her voice now trembling.
"There are still people out there. I’m going to save them. Or die trying," Uda answered matter-of-factly.
"Saving people again? Why do you care so much? Why do you think their lives are more important than your own? Are you out of your mind?"
Uda couldn’t explain it to her.
"I feel like I owe them," she said after a moment of thought.
Nia raised her voice again, her crimson eyes flashing.
"Nonsense! Why? Why should you feel that?"
"Why do you feel that Locu belonged to you?"
Nia’s face turned pale. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.
"See? Whatever it is, it pulls me back. Nia, this is where our paths part. I’m sorry I couldn’t save the person who meant the world to you. I did my best, but I failed. I couldn’t save Tonu or Dal either. But I won’t abandon the people still trapped in those rotting, stinking ruins."
With that, Uda stepped through the invisible wall, and sparks prickled against her skin.
But she didn’t care.
She was back, back on the graveyard that she and Nia had created. The stench of decay and death stung her eyes with tears.
"WAIT!"
Nia jumped up, trying to run after Uda.
"I’m coming with you! I’ll go with you and—!"
"No."
Uda stopped and turned to face the young woman.
"You’re safe now. The only one I was able to protect from these monsters. Locu gave up his second chance for you. Do you really think it would be wise to throw it all away now? To toss away your new life?"
Suddenly, Nia flinched, and her expression lit up. She gave a mischievous smile.
"You just said my path is mine alone."
Without hesitation, she stepped through the barrier. Sparks danced around her again, and she gasped in pain, but soon it was over.
"What was that?" she asked, rubbing her arms and neck.
"The barrier. It reacted the same way as last time when we crossed it. But you probably don’t remember that. You were…"
Nia nodded hesitantly. She looked around, turning her head left and right, her eyes darting across the ruined landscape.
"What is it?"
"The barrier… I can’t see it anymore. Did we destroy it?"
What would you have done in Uda's place?
