Antipodal Antagonism (1)

"Thank god you two made it back!" Travis runs up to us with tears pouring down his face.

"Yeah, is everyone okay?"

"…" Travis doesn't respond but he starts crying even harder.

"That's not good," I mumble as I look around at the people gathered by the North gate. It seems like most if not all of the students are here but Yuki is noticeably missing.

I mention her absence but Travis just drops his head.

My heart falls from my chest. I may not have known her that well but it's clear she means a lot to the people around her.

"I'm sorry." I just say the first thing that comes to my mind is to break the tense air.

"That idiot, I told her to take care of herself. I should have known she was going to do something like that."

Both Sam and the archer are looking down as well.

"When she wakes up I'm going to knock her out again!" The large bald man jumps up with fury in his eyes.

"Wait, I thought she was dead?"

"She might as well be; she lost an arm trying to save me!"

"So then everyone's alive right?"

The goes still again at my question.

"Well, there is one kid missing." Travis grimaces.

"We left with thirteen children and only twelve have made it back." Sam explains.

"What happened?"

"I don't know."

"Shouldn't we go looking for them?"

Sam shakes her head.

"The forest is difficult to traverse during the day, at night it's near impossible. We'll just lose more people if we go looking for them now."

"I'll put together a rescue team in the morning." A sharp voice cuts in. The bright blue-haired Guild Master is standing confidently at the gate. "If they're still alive then we should be able to find them."

"I'll join the search." Travis immediately volunteers.

"I think you've screwed this up enough already. I'll handle the team personally."

Travis drops his shoulders and slumps back into town. Everyone else quickly follows suit but I stay behind to talk to Jezabel.

"Do you think it's best to leave Travis behind? He's certainly capable."

"Ha, what do you know?" She scoffs.

"I'm just worried about the kid that was left behind."

"Don't give me that."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"You're really trying to suck up to me right now?"

This isn't going anywhere, I need to try something else.

My chest hurts when I think about what that lost kid must be going through so I can't just sit back and do nothing. As a member of the expedition, I feel partially responsible.

My brother always beat the 'no man left behind' motto into me while I was growing up so the archer's words really struck a chord.

I stare up at her while trying to think of what to say.

"Relax, he's going to be part of the rescue team as well. We'll need as many people as possible for the search team."

"So can I join?"

"You're relentless aren't you?"

"…"

"Fine, like I care anyway." Jezabel rolls her eyes and wanders back into town.

As I watch her leave I notice my team still standing by the gate. Josh looks concerned but Sakura just seems bored.

"Oh hey, Josh, I got you something." I present the sword to him with it laid across my hands. Even in the fading evening light, the steel blade shines. His eyes go wide when he sees the weapon.

"Here, try it out. It didn't come with a scabbard, sorry."

He cautiously grabs the sword and inspects it. I've never seen him concentrate so hard on anything since we've met.

"I like it."

"Good, I'm glad." I pat him on the shoulder and follow everyone into town. Behind me, Sakura fauns over Josh, talking about how cool he looks with his new sword.

The next day started early. We were all at the guild before dawn.

"Alright, this is how it's going to go." Jezabel stands at the head of the room with her arms crossed like a general commanding her troops. "Everyone will split into groups of two. One person will have a rope tied around their waist and the other will hold the end while standing outside the treeline. Any questions?"

Nobody raised their hand. Not that people didn't have questions, everyone was just too afraid to ask while the Guild Master was glaring at us.

"Good, then let's move out."

The movement to the forest was equally militant. We reached the forest in silence and divvied ourselves up based on her instructions. I raised my hand to ask a question but another adventurer advised against it.

"Put your hand down, dude." He yells at me in a whisper.

"I have a question. What's she going to do, kick my ass?"

"I swear to all that is holy, Nick! Put your hand down or I will walk over there and kick your ass!"

I yank my arm down and hide it behind my back. The other adventurer glares at me for even pulling her attention in his direction.

"Is everyone ready? On my mark I want you to walk in a straight line until you run out of rope and then come right back. You will call out Nathan's name while you walk. If you find him you are to immediately come back to the tree line. Go!"

I begin making my way into the fugal layer of the forest with a rope tied around my waist. It's surreal. I feel like I'm being dropped into a psychedelic sea like a laced tea bag. I try to maintain a straight line but I keep running into the people on either side. We're only a few meters apart which gives me some comfort.

"Nathan!" I call into the abyss. Nothing.

Suddenly, my rope goes slack. I turn around and see a glowing red orb.

"Hello," It says like it's talking to a pet.

Then the world goes black.