Chapter 14 – Running Before You Can Walk

  When Ashe’s feet sank into the wet ground, the chaos was already all around him. Ted was peeing himself, the slow trickle like rain on a tent, low and hollow. Ashe could hear the frantic rustle of Ted’s sleeves as his arm kept circling, feel the jittery tremor in his footsteps. Ted wasn’t made for this; Ashe couldn’t imagine why he wanted it.

  Amalia screamed across the chaos, her voice steady despite her heavy breathing. “Watch us. Learn from it.” A realization hit him. This was fun for them. He wanted to feel like that, but for now he was just scared and overwhelmed.

  He couldn’t really watch, but he did his best to listen.

  Flesh ripped open and groans from monsters rang out. Bones broke beneath weapons; arms slammed against something hard. All the while yells and directions came from Amalia. It was all too much. It crashed against his senses. He had liked it better before. Alone, he had been able to pinpoint the monster, able to move without worrying something was hidden by the cacophony of sound.

  Then a shriek pierced the air like glass shattering. But it came from the wrong direction. Amalia and her team were ahead, in combat. The sound came from his left. Ted stood on his left, completely frozen now.

  “Tessa, shit,” Ashe said, his breath catching as he searched for her.

  Before he knew it, his instincts had reacted. He pushed his legs against the ground and ran in the direction of the sound. He hoped his precog would work; he didn’t have time to fumble with his walking stick, not now.

  He knew he was breaking orders, but her safety was more important than whatever punishment he might get.

  “Help!” The sound came out muffled, faint even though he knew he was close. It was Tessa. He followed the movement, the rustle of feet against soil.

  “Over here.”

  He jumped forward, both arms outstretched, and slammed into something. The dull pain didn’t come.

  It wasn’t quite human. Its skin was slimy, almost silky. Instead of the hit hurting, it acted like a trampoline and he lightly bounced off it and back to the ground. He knew what this was. They were called slickers, pretty common in E-rank portals. He could use this.

  He fumbled for his knife on his belt, panic rising as the muffled voice disappeared completely. He dropped the leather hilt. Not important. He stood up, circling slowly. Then the dull pain shot forward like heat from a pan. It ran up his left arm, up his neck. He moved to the right until it vanished, then moved forward.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  He listened. He could hear movement from within, like a butterfly in a cocoon ready to burst out. Tessa was somehow trapped. He didn’t have long; she couldn’t survive without air.

  He closed the gap and wrapped one arm around the creature to steady himself, then slashed, careful not to go too deep.

  The sound of a raw gasp, like one after holding your breath too long, slammed into him. But it was quickly shoved back into silence, gone like it had never been there. He had bought her time, but only a little.

  Something went wrong. The dull pain shot out, first through his legs, then his ears. Everything burned, ached. His legs refused to move, unable to find a way to escape it.

  Someone slammed into his side and he tumbled to the floor.

  “Sorry. I need to help her. Stay back for now.” The familiar voice, slow and controlled despite the chaos. Joey had made it. The pain had been him. But he still couldn’t grasp why it had felt so different, as if his body reacted to several possible futures instead of one. He’d need to study that later.

  Ashe was learning more about the difficulties of being in a team. It was hard. He was exhausted as he lay there, despite the confrontation only lasting a few moments.

  Within moments Tessa’s breathing was audible again, her voice ragged and teary but thankful. “Thank you, Joey.”

  He didn’t say much. “Mhm.” He was like a big oak, unmoving and his emotions hidden. Ashe could hear his feet and, before he knew it, a hand wrapped around his arm.

  “You should stand. Easier to run if needed.”

  Ashe nodded as he was practically lifted to his feet like a child.

  He blinked as he let his senses expand. The chaos had vanished, the sound of combat gone. Had they finished already? The world shifted; the ground beneath his feet vanished, and the rain returned. It pelted his clothes, vibrations running down his back.

  When he had attempted one alone, he had been in it for at least an hour and had still needed to be rescued. So this was what a well-functioning team was like.

  Amalia’s voice broke through his thoughts and refocused his mind. “Well done. No one died. That’s a start. Into the bus.”

  He had begun shivering. The adrenaline was gone, exhaustion taking its place. The cold had finally seeped into his bones. He followed their voices. Inside, he had hoped for warmth; instead it was damper than he remembered, and it smelled like a dirty sock.

  But he didn’t complain. He had survived. He slipped into a seat and closed his eyes.

  Then Amalia jolted him from his planned nap. “So, unknown.” She paused for a second as if tasting the word. Panic rose inside Ashe. But she continued as if it had already been forgotten. “Well done. You created enough of a gap for Tessa to be rescued. But don’t let it go to your head, you were lucky. Any more of those and you’re likely to die.”

  He must have heard wrong; that wasn’t his name. Matter of fact, she hadn’t asked for a name, and he had never given one. The list of things he needed to find out continued to stack like Jenga.

  He sat there, eyes forward, as Amalia began speaking again. “Ted, I think we should move you to an administration team.”

  She hadn’t managed to finish her thought before Ted spoke up. “Yes please.”

  That relaxed him, and for the first time Ted’s voice seemed steady, his body relaxed. He still smelled like piss, but things were looking up for him.

  “Tessa. Do you want to continue?”

  Ashe couldn’t hear a response; she had either nodded or shaken her head, but he really didn’t care. His mind still raced. Was something wrong with his mind? Was this all just a psychological break?