Robert sat in silence as Daniel and Katrina explained all they could about their experiences waking up.

  “So, no one remembers anything beyond the flash of light?” Daniel asked from across the fire.

  Katrina looked into the flame and shook her head, resting her chin on her knees.

  Robert took a deep breath and steadied himself. With a grunt, he stood while his knees popped. “I feel… pretty strange.” He wobbled a little. “We’ve been going over this crap for hours, and I still have a massive headache. Can we take a few minutes?”

  Daniel said nothing in response. There wasn’t much he could do now, and their best bet was to wait and see what morning brought. If there even is a morning here, he thought. Daniel turned to Katrina. “We’ve been through a lot tonight; I think you all should get some rest.”

  Katrina looked at Daniel. “You, ok?” she asked.

  “I’m fine,” he replied, then pointed to the tree beside them. “Listen, you two should get some rest. There’s no sense in everyone wasting energy.”

  Robert and Katrina glanced at each other and back to Daniel.

  “What about you?” Robert asked, though, his voice lacked any real confidence.

  “Don’t worry about me. I’m used to not getting very much sleep.” There was silence as the two waited for more of an explanation. Daniel shrugged and pushed his hands into his pockets. “I was in the Marines for a while.”

  “Really?” Katrina and Robert asked almost simultaneously.

  “Yeah. So, get some rest. I’ll keep watch. We don’t know where we could be. And seeing as how the trees look, I don’t really want to get caught by surprise by any animals.” He lifted his left hand, showing a digital watch. “So, I’ll set an alarm in a few hours. Then we can go from there. Hey, do any of you guys have your phone on you?”

  Katrina reached into her back pocket. “I’ve got mine.”

  Robert did the same, and they both produced their smartphones. However, as they pressed the buttons on the side to wake them up, they realized that both phones were dead.

  “What the hell?” Katrina said. “I just charged this thing before the convention.”

  Daniel sighed. “Shit. Well, I guess the watch will do.” He pressed some buttons on the side and realized in horror that his digital watch was also dead. “Are you kidding me? How the fuck is this even possible? These are supposed to last years.”

  “So, all of our electronics are dead,” Katrina said, hanging her head.

  “Looks that way.” Daniel turned to face Robert, who was staring blankly at his mobile phone’s blackened screen. “How are you doing, Robert?”

  Robert took several moments to reply, but he finally looked at Daniel, his eyes wild and filled with fear. “I… I guess I’m alright. I just… I can’t believe this is all happening. That we aren’t in some dream.”

  Katrina put her arm around Robert and gave him a tight hug.

  Daniel took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Any person would crumble under similar circumstances. They needed sleep; it was the only thing left to do. Whether the morning came or not, rest would prepare them for the next step. Whatever that was. “Alright, guys, you better get some sleep now. I’ll do what I can to stay awake. Also, I’ll make sure the fire doesn’t go out.”

  ~

  Although Robert felt uneasy about letting someone burden himself with all the watch for the night, he did little to dissuade Daniel from his generous offer. Katrina nestled against him as he was preparing to sleep, resting her head on his shoulder, and putting her arms around his body; her warmth spread over him like a blanket, and he felt a slight bit of calm come over him. It wasn’t much, but that little bit of familiarity brought him comfort. He looked at Daniel from across the fire, his eyes fixed on it, clearly deep in thought. Robert cleared his throat, grabbing Daniel’s attention. “Thanks, man… You know, for taking the watch for the night.”

  Daniel gave only a nod in return; with that, Robert put his head down on his forearms, resting across his knees, and tried to fall asleep. He shifted from one awkward position to the other, trying to get as comfortable as possible, but to no avail. His head was still pounding, and he was far too unnerved to relax.

  Should I even go to sleep? he thought. I heard you don’t wake up if you sleep too soon after a head injury. The idea made him lift his head with a jerk, as a sudden irrational fear crept into his mind.

  He felt a weight on his shoulder; looking down, he saw Katrina in a deep sleep, responsible for the stiffness in his neck. How can she sleep at a time like this? he thought. This whole situation is really overwhelming… Probably just passed out from sheer exhaustion.

  Robert looked again at Daniel, who sat poking the flame with one of the strange hair-like branches. Holding it into the blaze, he pulled it out only to curse at the smoldering tip. The man looked perplexed by the outcome and continued his experiments. Robert rested his head again on his arms and pressed his eyes shut. Listening to the faintly whispered curses from Daniel, he finally managed to force himself to drift to sleep.

  ~

  Robert’s eyes opened slowly, and he groaned while arching his back, which had gone stiff and knotted. However, his body and mind grew numb as he saw the strange forest. Dread bloomed in the pit of his stomach, and the foul taste of copper filled his mouth.

  “Morning,” Daniel’s gruff voice called from his perch, drawing his attention. “Yeah, it’s not a dream, and no, we’re still not in California anymore.”

  Robert attempted to stand, in the process waking Katrina from her slumber. Her reaction was similar to Robert’s but more vocal.

  “I’m still here!?” she shouted after several seconds of observation.

  A new day had come, and with it, the realization that the darkness did little to hide the nightmarish sight of the trees and vegetation surrounding them.

  Robert stood and gazed in awe at the scenery that enclosed them. The mud and vegetation on the forest floor were equally outlandish. The soil shimmered every color of the rainbow as beams of light broke through the canopy. Strange flowers stood on long stems, dancing back and forth in almost a uniform motion. Presenting their petals as if proud of them and eager to show their unnatural colors to all who would behold them.

  “Oh, God…” Robert eked, bringing his hand up to his head.

  “Now, you know,” Daniel grunted, poking the ashy remnants of the fire with his hair-like stick. “I watched as the morning came. And trust me, I looked just like you do now.”

  There was a chill in the air, and the hours spent exposed to the elements had him cold to the bone. Robert saw that Daniel might have stayed awake all night, but he’d been unsuccessful in his mission to keep the fire burning.

  Katrina massaged her arms and shoulders for warmth, mumbling disbelief to the two men. “How...? I can’t believe this is actually happening.” She turned to Daniel. “What are we going to do now? We are going to freeze or starve to death out in this weird-ass forest!” There was a fire in her eyes as confusion turned to anger.

  “Calm down, Kat,” Robert said, touching her shoulders. “We’ll figure something out, we can’t afford to lose it right now.”

  “I…” She choked on her words as they came, tears filling her eyes. “I don’t know what we’re going to do, Rob. How did we get here?” she sobbed, her emotions now flowing.

  Robert embraced her, and she buried her face in his shoulder. The act was just as much for him as it was for her. His eyes also began to tear, feeling his last grasp on sanity start to wane.

  Several minutes passed as the two gathered their emotions, while Daniel sat in silence until finally standing. “Well, either way you guys look at it, we’re alive and therefore have a chance. I don’t know what the hell’s going on here either. But crying about it isn’t going to solve anything.”

  Robert shot a glare at Daniel. “We just need a minute to get ourselves under control. This is all a bit much to take in.”

  “I get it,” Daniel said. “Still, I need you guys to tighten it up. We don’t know where we are, and there are certain pressing matters we need to attend to.”

  “Like, food,” Katrina said, lifting her face from Robert’s shoulder and looking at Daniel with red, swollen eyes. “And water.” She pulled back from Robert, wiped her face with her sleeve, and seemed to put on a mask of determination. “I’m sorry, Daniel. You’re right.” She stifled a sniff or two as she spoke, but her voice was more confident. “We’ll keep it together, alright? It might take a while to find our way out of here. But you can count on us.”

  “Bingo,” Daniel nodded in approval. “The only way we survive this, is if we keep a cool head. And, I don’t know how, but we need to find something to eat. Find some fresh water and build some sort of makeshift shelter.” Looking down at the remains of the fire, he sighed. “And figure out how to recreate fire. Who knows how it happened last time.”

  “What do you need us to do?” Katrina asked, her tone now one of eagerness.

  “I need you guys to explore the surrounding area on that side.” Daniel pointed to the opposite portion of the clearing.

  Katrina turned and gazed at the terrifying looking trees for several moments. Robert did the same, feeling the sudden fear of splitting up, and dreading it. You heard her, Rob. Keep it together, you can do this, he thought. Then, without warning, Katrina stood and began to march over to the other side of the clearing at a brisk pace. Robert jumped to his feet as well, waving back at Daniel, who sighed, and turned to presumedly explore the other side of the clearing.

  ~

  After nearly an hour, Daniel returned to see Katrina and Robert sitting beside each other right where they had been before.

  “Find anything?” Daniel asked, approaching with more hair-like sticks from the strange trees. To Daniel’s surprise, as he got closer, he saw they held several fruits and bowls of water.

  “Dan!” Katrina called, waving a fruit that looked oddly similar to an ordinary apple. The familiar object was in stark contrast to their current surroundings. “Look at what we got!”

  Daniel hurried to stand by their side. To his astonishment, he saw they had accumulated an impressive bounty of fruits and nuts, and had even apparently found bowls of water.

  “This is fantastic, guys!” Daniel exclaimed, grinning. He looked at the three large stone bowls filled to the brim with clear water, kneeling to inspect them further. The water looked completely clean and clear, but it was the bowls themselves that caught his attention. They were smooth stone, with lines carved around the rim. An indication that they were clearly created by someone or something with intelligence. Daniel picked one up, inspecting it further. “Where did you find all this stuff?”

  “We were just walking back,” Katrina said, “After a while, when it was clear we weren’t going to find anything, we turned to head back.” She paused for a moment, looking back across the clearing. “They were lined up right over there.” She pointed. “The fruit was piled next to the bowls. We didn’t know what to think about it, so we just carried everything over here and wanted to wait for you.”

  “Strange…” Daniel rubbed his chin, scanning the tree line. “Well, one thing’s for sure, we’re not alone in this place. The question is…” He looked again at the water in the bowl. “What are their intentions?”

  “Well, I think we should just go look for some fresh water from a stream or something,” Robert chimed in. “I’m not going to risk whatever this is. Could be poisoned for all we know.”

  Daniel took a deep breath and brought the bowl’s rim to his lips.

  “Seriously?” Robert asked, his face was one of disbelief. “I literally just said—"

  Daniel sipped the cool water first, letting it rest in his mouth for a moment before swallowing it. Katrina and Robert held their breath as he waited for any sign it was unsafe.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “Hmm,” Daniel grunted, satisfied that there was nothing to worry about, and started drinking earnestly.

  Katrina licked her dried lips, grabbed another bowl from the ground, and started drinking too. Not long after, Robert did the same, following some rather poignant curses. There were several minutes of quietly consuming the meal until Daniel finally stood.

  “Well, it doesn’t make much sense to me; and we’ll probably be coughing up blood or shitting ourselves in the next little while… but, there you go.” Robert sighed, standing to join him.

  “There’s no such thing as a free meal,” Daniel shook his head, his tone somewhat ominous.

  “Well, that didn’t stop you from eating or drinking it,” Katrina shot back with a smirk.

  “Priorities,” Daniel smiled back as he patted his stomach. “I was thirsty, and it didn’t look like any of us could find anything. So, I took a chance to fill my belly before we went looking for a way out of here.”

  “And, if Robert’s right, and we start dying in the next few minutes?” She cocked her head to the side mischievously.

  “Then, we’re screwed, and there isn’t a damn thing we can do about it.” Daniel chuckled. “Besides, that’s something future Dan has to deal with.”

  Robert rolled his eyes, but Katrina laughed. “So, where do we start?” she added

  “Probably best to head in the direction you guys went.” Daniel turned around, looking to the other side of the clearing.

  “So, we just pick a random direction and go? That’s it? Shouldn’t there be some other step? What if we walk into a trap or something?” Robert’s voice lacked any sort of confidence. Something that irritated Daniel to no end, but he ignored it. “How do we know that’s even the right direction?”

  Daniel sighed, doing his best to ignore the urge to chew this guy out. “Look, we don’t have any way to find direction, alright? North, South, East, and West; all that shit, we have no way of knowing which way is which. The sun is in a weird spot up there… if you can even call it ‘the’ sun. I can’t even use the stars to find direction, because there are no fucking constellations.” Daniel pointed upward, “None of what we would normally use seems to be working. So we head in whatever direction we might find something, and so far, that’s the only one.”

  Robert was silent for a few seconds, seeming a bit rattled from the rebuke.

  “Daniel’s right, Rob…” Katrina’s voice came in soft and reassuring. “And… he’s the expert on this, so let’s just do what he says, alright?”

  Robert shrugged, then stood with a grunt, putting the remains of their meal and the stone bowl to the side. “I get it, alright? Sorry… Just… Lead the way then.”

  “Great!” Katrina stood as well, taking care to stack her bowl on Robert’s in a strange attempt to tidy up. “We’re ready then. Hopefully, we run into a village or something. These bowls look like they were crafted with machinery of some kind. We could—”

  Her mouth froze, and her eyes widened. Daniel noticed she was looking just past his right shoulder into the tree line. He turned to see a strange creature perched on a low-hanging branch several yards from where they were standing. Its eyes were a brilliant yellow with a vibrant glow. The beast was easily two or even three times the size of an average person, with arms and legs and a long tail dangling below the branch. It also had large wings pressed close to its back and a monstrous face with dozens of sharp teeth exposed from its lips. The creature had short grey fur covering its body and clearly visible muscles sculpted beneath it.

  “What the hell...?” Daniel croaked, fear nearly choking him.

  Katrina whimpered slightly, but was still frozen. Daniel mustered his courage and moved in front of her, facing the creature. It remained still, studying them for several minutes until it turned its back and spread its massive wings to fly. There was a great gust of wind as it ascended through the forest’s canopy into the sky.

  “Oh my God…” Robert let out a ragged breath. “I thought…” He gagged, “I thought it was gonna rip us apart.” His eyes moved to Daniel.

  “We have to start moving, guys,” Daniel finally declared, regaining his composure. “We don’t know what that thing was, and I don’t want to stick around to find out.”

  Not that it would have taken any convincing to persuade the others that it was time to move. Daniel and his companions finished gathering what little they had left of the food and headed for their chosen direction.

  As they moved, the ‘sun’ made its way across the sky. Hours had passed, and there was no sign of any village or people of any kind. Daniel couldn’t help but think of the creature in the tree; its mere existence meant they weren’t in any place they knew. With another glance around the alien trees, he sighed. Either we’re on another planet, or we’re all dead. Or… none of this is real, and I’m in a coma or something.

  “Can we stop here and take a rest? We’ve been walking for a while, and I could use a break.” Katrina pointed down at her slip-on flats. “These weren’t made for foraging or hiking.”

  Daniel nodded and turned to rest against a tree. “Let’s take twenty.”

  Robert was further ahead and stopped when Katrina called to him. “I don’t know why, but I have so much energy now,” he was basically hopping as he approached. “I don’t understand it; I’ve never felt this alive before. Although, maybe seeing a massive demonic creature and the overwhelming fear for my life has something to do with it.” Robert sat down beside Katrina, fidgeting.

  She turned toward him, her eyes deadpan, but with a clear smirk on her face. “You must have finally done some damage to that thick skull of yours. Of course it’s because of the freakin’ monster, Rob. Your body is flooded with adrenalin or something?”

  “How does that explain both you guys being so slow?” He retorted, looking between Daniel and Katrina.

  Daniel was about to reply, but Katrina beat him to it. “Because we weren’t as scared as you were, obviously.”

  They chuckled at the jab for a bit, then were left to their own thoughts. As the truth was far more serious. They had no idea what that creature was, Daniel knew. And its very existence meant a great deal more than he could fathom at this particular time.

  After several more moments of silence, Katrina finally spoke up. “There doesn’t seem to be an end to this forest.”

  “Yeah…” Daniel agreed, “hopefully we can find some more food or water soon.” Daniel adjusted himself to a more comfortable position. As he groaned, his eyes caught a glimpse of a familiar shape hanging in the trees. The Gargoyle-like creature from earlier that morning was perched on another branch, its same stoic stare piercing the soul. Their eyes locked, and a terrible fear came over Daniel. Its eyes were small and squinted but clearly intelligent, studying them very carefully.

  Robert and Katrina were still bickering about the direction and what they would do about food. But as Daniel peered into what he feared to be a dark and evil soul, their voices faded, becoming muffled and slow, until there was silence.

  “You…” A harsh and raspy voice echoed in his mind; grating against his psyche like metal being dragged across concrete. “What are you?”

  A sharp pain flared in Daniel’s temples. He winced and put his hands over them.

  “Why have you come here?” it asked.

  Daniel glared at the creature, as this was clearly it’s doing. Fear began to turn into anger as the pain continued, but he could not look away. Some outside force kept his eyes locked with the creature until suddenly Katrina’s shriek broke the connection.

  Daniel stood immediately and grabbed Katrina by the sweater, lifting her to her feet.

  “Let’s get the hell out of here!” Robert yelled, trying to get up.

  The three scrambled to escape the imposing creature. They ran as far and fast as they could, into a part of the forest that was thicker and darker than before. Now only small streams of sunlight pierced the canopy above, and even the air had a heavy feel. They panted amid this new scenery, gasping and sucking in air.

  “What…?” Katrina croaked between breaths. “What the hell is going on here? That thing is just following us around!” She looked down at her sweater, now torn and stretched. “Great, my sweater is destroyed now.”

  “Sorry about that.” Daniel apologized, wincing as he leaned against a tree to catch his breath. “I just grabbed you and started running. Didn’t have time to think about it.”

  Robert said nothing; he only stood facing the direction they had come from, scanning the forest for any signs of the creature and shaking. They then stood silently for several minutes, the adrenaline starting to fade.

  “It… spoke to me,” Daniel finally revealed. “I heard it in my head. It asked me what I was. Like it had never seen a human being before.”

  Katrina looked at him, her face puzzled and twisted. “What does that mean?” she asked, a quiver in her voice. “What are you talking about?”

  Robert finally sat next to her with an expression of worry. “Where the hell are we, guys?”

  Daniel shook his head, again rubbing at his aching temples. “Listen, there are lots of questions we have, but I don’t think that creature is going to harm us. It didn’t sound hostile to me… just curious. We might be able to speak with it, and find out more about where we are.”

  “Well, I’m not going anywhere near that thing. You can try if you want.” Robert said.

  Daniel started standing, but stopped at a deep rumble that shook him to his core. All seemed to tremble as a booming voice shattered the chaos into silence.

  “Stop,” it said, echoing again in Daniel’s mind.

  Daniel and his companions were frozen, and again, there was a sharp pain in his head. This time based on their reaction, shared by both Robert and Katrina. He looked around to see if the creature was perched again, but it was nowhere to be seen.

  “You wish to leave my forest?” the booming voice continued, each word bringing forth another wave of agony.

  Katrina looked at Robert, then at Daniel in confusion, her head clearly in pain. “What is happening!?” she screamed.

  “Yes,” Daniel finally replied to it directly, after mustering his courage. “We mean you no harm! We only need to find food and water!” he called out to the forest, not knowing exactly who or what he was talking to.

  “Forget that!” Robert said in a panic. “Where the hell are we? And how did we get here?”

  Katrina quickly put her hand over his mouth, silencing him. “Shush, you want to piss this thing off?”

  There were several seconds of silence, each ticked by as an eternity. Daniel held his breath, continuing to scan the surrounding area. A faint rumble broke the silence; first just the sound, then the ground shook again, even more violently than the first time.

  Katrina clung to Robert and started to scream as the thrashing intensified further. Daniel braced himself against a tree as best he could, but lost his balance when it became more intense. He stumbled to the ground only to see hundreds of the strange alien trees before him uproot themselves and clear a path. Roots pulled from the soft soil like dozens of legs and relocated to the side. His eyes widened in awe and terror; he had never seen anything like this before, but the shaking ceased almost as quickly as it began.

  “This path will lead you out of this forest,” the voice boomed. “Now go.”

  It was silent again; the forest floor was still, and Daniel regained his bearings in the minutes following the strange event.

  Daniel stood slowly, keeping his eyes on his surroundings. They made their way down the cleared path and out of the forest. First, at a slow walk, then as they progressed, they started to pick up speed. Daniel soon began dashing as fast as he could, pushing the fear aside. He could see it now; the light from ahead bleeding through the opening of the trees, welcoming them.

  Daniel was the first to break through the edge of the forest. To his amazement, he saw rolling hills covered in plain grass, shining with greens, blues, and reds blending perfectly into one another. They had emerged in a small valley surrounded by mountains and patches of normal-looking trees; it was unbelievably beautiful. As Robert and Katrina left the forest, their jaws gaped with astonishment.

  “We’re out!” Katrina whooped, jumping for joy. “God, it feels so nice out here!”

  “Look at this place…” Robert spoke softly, his eyes fixed on the new scenery.

  “I don’t care.” Katrina laughed, “We’re out of that scary ass forest.”

  “But where to, now?” Daniel asked, more himself than the other two. “That creature led us out of there, but now we’re basically in the wilderness.”

  “Wilderness that doesn’t look like anywhere I’ve seen before.” Robert pointed out. Then squinted off into the distance. “It looks like the grass is a weird color the closer it is to this forest. Because it looks pretty normal over there.”

  Daniel stood next to Robert, using his hand to shield his eyes from the now intense sunlight. He scanned the horizon as well, confirming that Robert was correct. “You’re right…” He suddenly saw some movement in the direction and squinted to see a bit further. “You guys see that over there?”

  Katrina was breathing heavily as she made her way between them. All that celebrating must have tired her out. “What are you guys looking at?” She asked, her broad smile clear in her voice.

  “Looks like a herd of animals…” Robert’s tone was soft, but coiled in tension.

  The herd came into focus as they drew closer, and Daniel looked at them in astonishment. “Alien creatures…” He whispered aloud.

  “Maybe our next meal?” Katrina asked, before her voice trailed off. “They look kinda… big…”

  Daniel’s eyes widened, and he dropped his hands to his sides as astonishment turned to horror.

  The group of creatures pounded over the crest of a hill, Close enough now to see more clearly, they were large reptilian creatures, at least twice the size of an ostrich. They were hunched over with two powerful legs tearing chunks of dirt up as they hurtled toward them. The beings that sat upon them were even more alarming, bobbing up and down with each stride, billowing long crimson cloaks behind them.

  Daniel glanced back at the forest, weighing their options heavily. The steady thumping of talons on the rolling hills grew louder and louder with each passing second. His mind slowed as adrenaline pumped through his body. He needed to make a decision. “Back into the forest!” he shouted, turning back to the alien forest. However, the rumbling returned before he stepped one foot further; Daniel’s mind darkened with despair as the trees uprooted themselves again, only this time coming together like a wall and blocking their path.

  “Daniel!” Katrina cried as the giant creatures skidded to a halt behind them.

  Daniel turned to face them; now standing before them were six large and fearsome steeds. Up close, he could see the detail of the creatures’ scaled bodies. Large hind legs thick with muscles, still pulsing from the exertion. A lengthy body with muscular human-sized arms hanging from the chest, all leading to a slender neck, and bulky, muscled heads with wide and fearsome jaws. Sitting on the creatures’ backs and wearing smooth white helmets, face masks, and crimson cloaks, were riders of some kind. They each had an elaborate spear in hand and bone-like armor covering their chests.

  Moments passed painfully slow as Daniel, Robert, and Katrina stared, frozen in fear.

  What do I do? Daniel thought frantically, looking from rider to rider and at their mounts and weapons. He swallowed, and stepped forward.

  “Hello,” he managed to say. “I… uh… we are lost here in this strange land.” Daniel looked back to Robert and Katrina for support but only saw faces twisted in terror. “We need food and water. We mean you no harm.”

  The riders before him seemed unwavering, staring at him from behind their pale masks. The dreadful silence stretched out, letting fear and uncertainty take hold.

  “They don’t understand me,” Daniel concluded, stiffening his posture.

  “We need help!” Robert finally called out.

  All six of the riders’ heads looked at him in unison.

  “We woke up in this forest and have no idea where we are or how we got here!”

  Silence again fell.

  “Vudarr gue mangurath espiritos,” said one of the crimson riders, who advanced with his mount, its feet thumping the ground with each step.

  Robert and Katrina stepped back as he approached. Daniel stood where he was, not sensing hostility but curiosity in the rider’s voice.

  “Vudarr gue satomo mangurath espiritos?” he said again, slightly louder, now clearly looking straight past Daniel to Robert.

  Robert’s eyes blinked as he glanced at Daniel, “Uh, yeah… like I said, we need food and water, and beds, and, uh….”

  The rider leaned forward on his mount and looked into Robert’s eyes. “Vudarr… gue satomo mangurath espiritos?” it said again, this time with a slow and stern tone.

  Robert paused, and Daniel picked up some annoyance in the rider’s voice.

  “Uh….” Robert uttered, glancing again at Daniel and Katrina. “Yes...?”

  The riders in the back began to chuckle amongst each other, speaking in their strange language. But the one that had stepped forward still stared at Robert, only grunting as if acknowledging his words. The rider turned its body upon the creature they rode, hooking its spear into a clip on the side of its saddle, which held it in place. Then it removed its mask to reveal its alien features. Its skin was a brick red, with long pearl white hair pulled back into a ponytail. It had a stern brow and thin eyebrows that relaxed as a friendly smile crossed its face, revealing four sharp canine teeth. “Coumeck gue vieta espiritos.” The strange creature chuckled.