Time Stops For No One

The remaining time we spent within the forest was calm, yet painful. After the first wave of screams the forest fell silent. A deathly silent. I stopped counting after about four or five, but I'm sure the number of different screams that reached us were well into the ten to twenty range, which in itself was a terrifying thought, considering there were only forty of us in total. I could only prey that Viola and Anabelle made it out ok.

That being said there was no way in hell I was goin to go check. I'm human and that's just the way I was raised, before helping others, help yourself then share what you have left. I'm also a coward. I know how to fight and I can fight, but every inch of my body refused to renter the woods. I'm also greedy. I only preyed for the safety of the ones I care about. I've accepted this though, I'm a horrible human being, but that's just who I am.

As we awaited for assistance to arrive we all did our own things. The others that made it out with us were cleaning themselves up, as we dealt with Eric. Rather morbid topic, but corpses smell awful, and that is because of a plethora of different disgusting reasons I would rather not get into, however, as Eric was now dead and decaying we had to do something. In life Eric was the picture of a 'refined gentlemen' and with how gallantly he departed from us, he didn't deserve the after effects of death. Our pride in him wouldn't allow him to be defiled in such a way. But, I don't know why I'm talking about that, it was disgusting, heart wrenching, and all around awful so the less details the better, for all of us.

Finally, help arrived after a time, and we were all brought back to the arena. It felt like an eternity since I had been back, but the match couldn't have gone on for longer than an hour at most. Ironically, I felt weaker now than I ever had in my life. I realized just how pathetic I truly was. One wrong move and I was dead, that's how the world worked, I had just been forced to confront that fact and it hurt, but what got me worse, was the thought that the same goes for everything I love too. I can control myself, but not the actions of others. This realization that the things I hold closest, the people I finally found a home in, could be gone in the blink of an eye. It hurt me to the point I could feel my heart tear and my lungs rupture, the pain was still there even now. Most of all it terrified me, I couldn't lose everything not again.

The Rest of the day passed in a blur. As we returned to the Arena I wasn't really there, the limbo between space, signified by the warping scenery had locked my mind in it's grasp as I couldn't see anything after I returned.

Faces were blank and uniform, as voices faded into background noise, some objects remained clear, as others melded together. I barely knew what was going on as my body was pulled along to where it was needed. As we were waiting to be saved a thought occurred to me, and was carried with me occupying my complete attention. Had I not lost control with Korona, would I have been able to save Eric? Did I cause his death because I couldn't handle the death of an ally? Did the brief friendship I created with a stranger lead to the demise of my own family? What could I have done differently? Could I have saved them both. I was locked into a trace, as the insidious loop continued tormenting me throughout the day. I concluded the issue was I wasn't strong enough. If I don't want to lose anyone then I would just have to make sure nothing can. Then again in a world like this, where there is always something stronger, is there really a point? Won't the danger just be replaced with something worse for them to handle on their own?

I continued the circles until I felt my eyes and lungs burning, as my head throbbed, sending deluges of pain wracking through my brain as if attempting to force myself out of my self induced trance, and drown out any thoughts I may have been thinking, preventing them from cascading out of control.

Blinking, I realize I could see again, with some difficulty. I was on a bed, I don't remember how long I have been here, or what time it was, but the darkness outside the room window suggesta I must have been out of it awhile. Even with the thick scratchy blanket I was under, I was freezing, it was a chill that ate at your bones, and hurt to move with. The oddest part was I hadn't felt cold since coming to this new world. As the fleeting thoughts of helplessness passed through my mind once more I looked down in my arms and saw Oreo, snuggled up against my chest held in place my my arms gently wrapped around him.

" You won't ever leave me right?" I squeaked, my throat dry, indicating I was probably crying at some point. Oreo twitched before snuggling closer to me. It wasn't much but it was the reassurance I hadn't realized I needed.

Closing my eyes I decided to try and get some rest. I need to figure out what I missed while asleep.

~~~~

The next morning I woke up completely out of energy. I wasn't the only one feeling this way either. The idea that Eric was gone hadn't quite sunken in yet, so Everyone in our room was a little unsure with what was going on. We were half expecting to go downstairs and see him there sitting at a table, drinking some morning tea, talking with Gram or Lyric, lecturing Julien, or trying to get to know Ethan better.

We weren't dumb enough to hope for it, especially those of us who witnessed him die, but the thought still lingered, we all were just victims to mass hysteria and everything was a messed up nightmare. But as the sky cried and the world seemed darker and more empty than ever before, we knew what the real delusion was. We all met up together and went to breakfast, but the mood was too bleak to have any fun. Everyone was silent all throughout the meal. It just felt wrong without him. That discomfort followed us everywhere up until the day we left Haven. There was no fun, or getting over it. It ruined the rest of the trip, and for the next two days we stayed there waiting to come back. Our listlessness, and boredom was filled with emptiness and sorrow.

Finally we returned home. Seeing everyone's familiar faces made us feel a little better, the warmth returned and we could smile again, although still dampened. We were given a week off to rejoin our families and spend time together. This just reminded me that I didn't really have a family. I had a home in the forest, I had friends and close companions in everyone there, I knew them and they knew me, but I was still to new to truly be family. I had just popped out of nowhere and despite the fact they welcomed me with open arms, accommodated to me with no question, I still felt disconnected, upon retuning. That may just be my own reservations, however it still felt cold. Everyone acted the same, their tone and actions if anything became softer, kinder, but I still felt like I was drifting away.

Hopefully, starting my busy days, and tired nights again will bring back the familiarity of home. That's all I could ask for, I just didn't want to be alone again. Despite this, I still started feeling a little better over the week, with seeing everyone and how they used to be. Balor had made me a beautiful halberd and I got to spend some free time with Grant, Blake, Jacklyn, and Lily. That really helped.

With the week over we returned to school to continue our education and training. As the saying goes, the show must go on, and boy I was in for a surprise.

" Welcome back everyone." Miss Himeko called out to the class in her typical chipper voice.

" I would like to welcome back the students who ventured off to Haven, I hope your journey was as pleasant as it could have been given the situation. Gloom and doom aside I have wonderful news! Our class has received a new student! Please come in and introduce yourself." Miss Himeko called.

Seeing this person my eyes went wide. I never would have expected to see her here. Also wasn't there a cutoff for signing up? I suppose that doesn't matter does it.

" Hello ... I'm, Ravi." Ravi squeaked shyly. Looking over, it seems Lyric was completely dumbstruck at the scene too, as his jaw literally hung open.

Ravi's gaze was down and you could see her desperate attempts to keep calm. Mustering the courage to look up she saw both Lyric and I giving encouraging smiles. This seemed to calm her down.

"It's nice to meet you, I hope we get along."

" Thank you Miss Ravi, please take a seat anywhere you'd like."

" Thank you ma'am." Ravi then proceeded to take the seat behind me. I was happy to see her here. She's shy so school should help her with people a bit. It also may make it worse, but we're staying positive.

" Alright children, now that your extended break is over, I would like to welcome you to your first day as Adventurers. Now of course we wouldn't be throwing you into the forest to fend for yourselves immediately, that comes next class. For now I will be dividing you into parties of four, these four people will be your group for the next week. Today, we'll be going over some basic hand signals and silent commands that are common in the field, after that we'll run some practice scenarios to ensure you all won't accidentally die. I'm going to warn you now, come tomorrow you will be put in actual danger, so long as you remember what Miss Talfa has been teaching you, and you will be fine. I'm telling you this now so you can wrap your head around it, but tomorrow at least one of you won't make it back alive. So, pay attention and prepare, you won't live to regret it otherwise." Miss Himeko's voice was deep and serious. This was unsettling in itself since she never sounds serious.

" Now, let's get into this! Remember everyone pay close attention now!" And she's back.

Class went exactly as she said, we went over some signals like how to describe the enemy, distances, and other things of that nature, as well as some commands like quite, fall back, clear, and my personal favorite, run away. This is whenever you see someone booking it in the opposite direction you don't question, you follow. We then covered some basic scenarios like 'if a team mate is hurt, what do you do', or, 'the enemy is on to you, however you not in the condition to fight, how do you get away?'. Some were easier than others, but most of the answer were simple if you followed the rule, whatever causes the least loss to the team should be taken.

Then we got into groups. I was in a group with Two people I've never met before and Ravi. She seemed pretty excited about the whole thing, and honestly so was I.

" Unfortunately, I had a little too much fun with the scenarios, so class time is now over. I recommend you get to know your team a little better before tomorrow, it may save your life! Goodbye everyone, rather everyone that's leaving." Miss Himeko waved towards the people who actually left her class. I stayed because I have magic classes with her too.

" Miss Ravi, are you staying for the next class, or do you need help finding another room?" Miss Himeko walked up to Ravi.

"N-no ma'am, I think I'm in the right place." Ravi was a bit fidgety.

" Alright dear, please do tell me of you require assistance." Miss Himeko walked back up to the front of the class, sat down behind a desk, and began reading a book she pulled out of nowhere.

" Hey Alice?" Ravi spoke. I leaned back in my chair, and bent my head back looking at Ravi.

" Wassup?" I questioned.

" I didn't mess anything up did I?" Ravi asked nervously.

"What'd you mess up on?" I asked confused. She didn't do anything to mess up on.

" The introduction." Ravi seemed irritated I didn't immediately understand.

"Pfft." I choked on a laugh, as Ravi's glare hardened. My chair then slipped and I bounced my head off the floor.

" Alice, are you ok!?" Ravi stood up out of her chair and scrambled to see if I hurt myself.

Rubbing the back of my head I say " I'm fine" before looking back at the ground to see a crack in the wooden floorboard. I began to giggle thinking about how that's not quite how it should have worked.

" Alright everyone, Class is starting, get to your seats." Miss Himeko called.

" Your fine. Don't worry about the little things ok. You doing great." Patted Ravi on the head and sat down.

Magic was up next and it passed exactly as I remembered. It was comforting to finally have something back to normal, and I've always loved learning and experimenting with magic.

Miss. Himeko was always her most animated and lively in this class. Her fascination and fanaticism over magic shone brightly, through her voice and eyes, so that just watching her teach was fun. She was an interactive teacher, so if something she tried to teach us, was able to be demonstrated, by either her or one of the students, we would have a visual example to help us understand.

We would often get complaints about using magic in the building, but she always just laughed it off saying it was for the understanding of her students. She was also really good at magic, she could find issues with casting, controlling, and manipulating Mana, and was amazing at building ideas and visualizations for the spells, for different people. She never ceased to entertain the class, yet she was also a phenomenal teacher. Her lesson for the day was over, and we started to do independent practice and progression outside. I decided to use my Void element more. As it stood I was only creating constructs with it, which is a good way to use it, as it is highly resistant to other types of magic, however I knew there was more to it. If I could have used that in a better way than I may have been able to protect everyone. I was a little nervous about trying this. To be honest it scared me. The void seems so empty and hollow, it's unnerving in its own sense because it is like a hole you can't see the bottom of, there is just nothing.

Moving a little away from the group I try to make a giant crack in the sky. A tear opened in front of me and a maw of empty darkness lingered, filling the space. Timidly approaching the hole, I begin to poke and prod it. I have always felt like the darkness could eat me, I could fall in and get lost, so I never tried to investigate what lied beyond the small window. There was only one time I experimented with it. I dropped a pen into a small breach, and I never saw it again. However, against my better judgement I pushed my hand into it, It slid in unhindered and slowly removing it I saw that my hand was completely intact. So, in a spur of the moment decision on the boundary of courage and stupidity I stick my head in the rift.

A pitch horizon met my gaze as the light was ripped from my world nothing lingering, I felt the ground vanish, and I could no longer see my body, like holding your head off the side of a cliff, I dug my hands and feet into the ground to ensure I didn't fall in, also to remind myself it was still there. I tried to look around and see what all was there but there was nothingness. As I was about to just accept there was nothing, color started to seep through, I could see a hollow outline of my surroundings as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. The ground, the rest of my body the nearby trees and decently far out buildings, everything was the same, just colored black and orange. Outlined, but not truly there.

My arm followed into the rift and pressed against the ground. It was solid, but there was nothing there holding it up. The force holding my hand up, then disappeared, and my body fell forward. I felt the ground rush up and hit my chest as my head hung below the ground. My heart was pounding as I thought I was about to fall to my death. Desperately grasping at the ground I attempted to dig my other hand and feet as far into the ground as possible as I made sure I wasn't going to fall further. Unfortunately, I had gone too far in already and I couldn't get a good hold, so I began sliding forward. My footing was lost and my upper body slid further over the edge. Alarm set in as I tried desperately to pull myself back up but in my attempts I was just raking up grass and dirt. I instinctively put my hands above my head hoping to stop myself. I felt pressure against a new ground, my eyes shooting open. The lines had returned surrounding my hands. Looking down I see my ankles cut off by the rift, which was just a bright white spot in the swirling black and Orange surroundings.

I feel a tug on my foot as I was dragged out of the void. Passing through the light reveals Miss Himeko looking a bit unsettled, and curious at the same time, as the rest of the class horded around me have mixtures of curiosity, boredom, or concern.

Rubbing the back of my head I let out a little chuckle. " Thanks for saving me."