2-Two steps Forward

  -Two weeks later, July 26th at 9PM

  “Daegon, plxmcxmc z hwjrq mqh nqzmxmc dj rjszr bzdljmzcq." A man’s voice said behind a counter. The shrouded shop-keep spoke mostly in growls. “Special request for special delivery.”

  Despite it being quite some time since my last visit, the shop seemed exactly the same as before. Pristine, not a singular item out of stock, or misplaced. “Going to rest more, don’t worry I’ll keep you in the back of my thoughts little Daegon.”. Though, it feels a bit different now. Walking over to the counter, the shop-keep slid a package wrapped in leathers with weird symbols. Touching the package, those same symbols glowed in a symphony of colors, before fading.

  “All is set now, your partner awaits.” The shop-keep spoke. He raised a finger behind me, pointing towards the door as a light ringing sound filled the room. Turning about, a hulking figure shadowed my presence. “Fight or Flight”. I panicked, and instantly ended up with my back on the counter, pushing the package away as I tried to grasp what exactly was in front of me. A massive hand quickly made its way by me as it stopped the package from falling off.

  “Honestly human, you have to be more careful with that.” The massive creature before me chuckled in a deep voice. Twice my size, covered in deep blue scales with some brown fur with a bearlike head, and an oddly well-fitting blue uniform, I was at a loss for words. Picking up the package, it seemed almost comically small compared to the vicious obsidian claws on his paws. He quickly stuffed it into his uniform before turning his attention back to me. “Call me Jaskrim.”

  “P-pleasure. I’m Daegon.” I fumbled. Despite studying and being introduced to multiple new beings over the last week or two since the incident, the anxiety of my newfound situation hasn’t faded in the least. Jaskrim smiled, a grim, face covering smile.

  “Gjnq mjh, hq wzfq nkgw hjle dj tj!" He growled happily. Eager it seems, to get going.

  “He does not understand such tongues.” The shop-keep cooed behind the counter.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. First time I’m talking with a human. You must be like, the first human in—” Jaskrim was in the middle of speaking when the store door flew open, accompanied by the familiar chime of the bell. A female Faun rushed in, her human upper body contrasting sharply with the goat legs and horns. She glanced around anxiously before locking eyes with me, her gaze flitting nervously between Jaskrim and me.

  “Excuse me, hello! Sorry for the intrusion.” she exclaimed hurriedly, “I-I'm not here for your flesh or ears, I assure you. Your children are safe. It's just a package delivery.” With a swift motion, she handed me a small package, barely pausing to wait for my response. “There you go. Just sign, yup and then, yup yup! Okay bye!” And with that, she was out the door as quickly as she had arrived. The entire interaction felt frantic and rushed, with barely enough time to follow the procedure of accepting the package, reading an acceptance form, and attempting to sign it before watching it poof into flames.

  “What th—” Before I could even finish my train of thought, or get a proper sentence out, Jaskrim picked up the package from my hands and opened it with razor-sharp precision. His giddy expression suggested he already knew what was in it. With a quick flap, he delicately held a blue uniform between his claws: pants in one hand, a long-sleeved shirt in the other.

  “Look! It matches mine, human! Now you too can be protected from others!” Jaskrim spoke as he dragged his massive claws along the shirt, not even a single fiber moved. He quickly held them out in front of me to take, avoiding his claws making contact with me. “Quick, quick, try them on!”

  Emerging from the back, the shirt and pants fit perfectly. What's more, it felt like my temperature was being regulated.

  “The sigils inscribed into the fabric can take a great deal of damage. In most instances, we’ve retrieved the uniforms more than the carriers.” Jaskrim states as he pokes me in the chest with a singular claw. True to his word, the shirt didn’t budge. I did, though, as he lightly pressed me against the wall. “See? Not a scratch!”

  “So, don’t get hit by big objects, gotcha.” I stated. Despite virtually everything about Jaskrim’s physical appearance, he really seemed like a kind hearted kid. If, the kid was a ten-foot-tall man-eating armored bear with claws that could cut through solid steel like butter, that was also probably several hundred years old.

  “Alright, so let’s get going! We’re heading near my home, so it should be a rather quick trip.” Jaskrim spoke, as he turned around and pulled something out of his pocket and headed to an old doorframe hung up on the wall. “Hey Mox Baku, can we borrow this?”

  “Of course, a courier’s job isn’t to waste time.” The shop-keep spoke. I found it odd that these beings, who appeared wholly different from humanity, had names. However, now didn’t seem the time to ask about that. In fact, over the last few weeks, many of the creatures I encountered had various honorifics and names, reminiscent of human society.

  Jaskrim held something over the doorframe, and a light breeze emanated from it. “Hope you’re fine with a bit of cold, I know you humans can be quite delicate.”

  The doorframe sprung to life, and an old wooden door appeared with a rusted knob. Jaskrim turned to me and handed over a rather peculiar looking long flat stone with runes carved into it, almost like a keycard. It even had a hole you could put something through to tie it with. “This one’s yours. Be sure to keep it safe, otherwise you can’t come back if I’m not here.” “What is it?” I asked as he opened the door. A slow cold crept out, as he slowly ducked through. I was hesitant, but he waved me on from the other side.

  “You didn’t read about it in the handbook? It’s a Transporters Rune. Fairly rare, and probably the second most valuable piece of equipment you own! They come down really hard if you lose it. That’s why mine is bound to my necklace. I’ve lost so many…” Jaskrim said, ending in a whisper I could barely hear. Walking through the once empty doorframe led to a decrepit log cabin. I glanced back, seeing the interior of the store we just left, just before the door closed itself with a solid ‘thunk’. “No worries human, we can go back that way any time with these runestones.”

  “W-where are we?” I asked, seeing heavy snow piles outside a nearby window. This was nothing like the calm and mostly warm climate of the Bastion of Eerie’s Respite. Despite the feeling the cabin had long-since been abandoned, it felt well-traveled. Fresh candles were lit over in one corner, and the door Jaskrim was opening seemed in good condition.

  “It’s the humans’ Lands Ice! Home of scrumptious fish! The locals are really nice compared to lots of places. Just stick close to me and you shouldn’t have a problem.” Jaskrim spoke happily opening the door. A rush of even colder weather swept in, as fresh snow just started falling again. “Quickly, let’s not disturb the Residents more than we have to.”

  The Residents? Either way, I quickly made it out and closed the door behind me as a small ‘thud’ came from the other side of the door. Jaskrim had already started strolling through the foot deep snow and biting cold, clearing a massive path for me into an endless plateau of whiteness. It might be a casual stroll for Jaskrim, but between his massive strides and new terrain I definitely struggled with nearly every step. Hoping to distract him, I elected to ask questions to keep his attention focused on my pace and maybe slow down a little. “Can you fill me in about this job more?”

  “Mox Baku didn’t fill you in? That’s strange of them not to do that. They must be wanting to see how you do on your first job.” Jaskrim spoke looking back. He seemed to realize the difference between us and slowed his stride. “We’re dropping off a package to Mox Ydzlxmc Tqzdw, definitely a friendly one. We’ll head to where they normally frequent.”

  “Are they related to Mox Baku by any chance?” I asked, pondering the inhuman name Jaskrim spoke. It sounded ominous. Jaskrim lifted his head up and gave his head a few scritches, as if pondering the question.

  “Probably not, I’m pretty sure they’re both from different regions entirely. Mox Baku is from a much more populated island, and I think Mox Staring Death is much more inland. They moved a while back though when they heard about all the food they have here, and low human influence. I was happy I could give them some good tips.” Jaskrim spoke happily. It seemed Mox was a form of title they called each other, probably something I should remember for the future. “Mmm, think of it like calling someone Sir or Lady as a show of respect. Or how you refer to me, little Daegon.” A cold shiver ran up my spine at the thought. There was a lot I didn’t know despite living for over thirty years in this world, and it seemed like I would never even begin to scratch the surface.

  We continued to walk for close to half an hour with the snow letting up half way through. Ending up on what could assumedly be a hiking path, the scenery around us instantly changed. It was, spring time? Flowers blossomed, and a wave of heat flushed over us. Jaskrim seemed to notice how I reacted to the spontaneous change.

  “Don’t remove your uniform, and stay close human. We’ve entered the first area of one of the Dominions.” Jaskrim said as he continued walking forward, but began to glance back now and then to keep an eye on me. “It doesn’t see much use now, but this is one of the many feeding grounds. It might trick your senses, but it’s still winter and you will succumb to the cold here.”

  “This is otherworldly…” I said quietly, looking about. Forest animals could be seen frolicking in the distance, paying no heed to either of us as we continued our walk. Despite what Jaskrim said, it definitely felt much easier to walk now. “I-, well, we’re not at risk of being attacked here?”

  “Sure we are human, we’re visitors just like anyone else. But, how does your kind say it about death and messages?” Jaskrim asked, still glancing back from time to time.

  “Death and messages?” I said aloud, pondering. Without realizing it a tired voice sprung from out of me, “Don’t shoot the messenger.”

  “Yeah, that human! Don’t shoot the messenger. So long as we stick to minding our own business, and don’t interfere with our clients, they will normally leave us alone. That doesn’t stop most from propositioning us though, so be very careful. The CDS won’t send anyone for us if we did it to ourselves.” Jaskrim stated as he quickly made a left. A large wrought iron gate appeared before him, as he glanced over it before turning back to me. “I’m going to need you to walk next to me during this next part.”

  “O-ohkay.” I spoke, sensing a bit more of a concerned tone in his voice. He nodded and reached into his uniform pulling out a necklace. It began to glow for a moment before the gates opened. Quickly making my way up next to him, I looked about to see if anything was amiss. It seemed all those forest animals in the distance were watching us now. Just far away enough to not warrant suspicion, but enough to make me feel very uneasy. I looked up at Jaskrim, “How did you know to turn where you did?”

  “Oh, Dominions have a lot of tells. I grew up around this one when there was more prey. The birds stopped chirping and were flying in this direction, so I knew we were close. No matter how many times this area changes, it seems like the tell is always the same. Outsiders easily get lost in these, making them easy targets. Especially if they stumble into the wrong area.” Jaskrim spoke, it felt he was trying hard to keep his speech simple. Or, maybe, in a language I understood. “This room in particular is really tame, unless you’re… human…”

  Jaskrim’s words faded quickly as he glanced over at me. His eyes were a striking blue, with bits of green. He looked me over skeptically, ensuring I hadn't lost an appendage or was about to burst into flames. “Don’t stare too much at the others. If they know you can see them, they’re more likely to act. Even if they make sounds keep your eyes on me or the road.”

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  “The road?” I asked looking down, realizing the path turned into one of those stone block roads. The chatter of things around us grew stronger, and sounded very human. Jaskrim’s advice bore into my mind, and I kept my sight glued down mostly. A haze began to fill the back of my mind, and it seemed like my senses began to sharpen.

  “Don’t worry human, we’re nearly there. If it helps, you could always think back on good memories. I find it helps sometimes in these deeper sections to focus on something you really like, like fish, or the ways you can cook them. You can even talk out loud about it.” Jaskrim stated, as he carefully placed a massive paw on my back. The roar of the street became louder, and louder.

  “Why do you like fish so much Jaskrim? If you talk maybe I can focus on that a bit easier.” I shouted, trying to voice over the anarchy around me. I began to hear the very rustling of our clothes, the fibers of my muscles with every step, and the chatter around us became a blazing uproar.

  “Sure human! Why they’re so sweet and delicious. They fight and wiggle, and there’s so many ways to cook them. Every bit of a fish has a use, and it’s so tender. You can eat it raw, or you can cook it! They have just enough crunch to keep it interesting. Plus, there’s so many! Its like a better human, and they also come in so many shapes and sizes and I don’t get in trouble for eating lots…” Despite Jaskrim’s unique sound in a world of hypersensitivity, I felt it quickly became drowned out by static blur of everything around me. The world became me, and I became the world. Every fabric of reality became blistering aware in my senses, as I felt gravity on an unspeakable level. I could feel my nerves fire off as I shut my eyes, the squeezing and releasing of my muscles as I covered my ears. A million-billion hairs brushed up against me, and the gale of a hurricane rushed over my body in a never-ending skin rupturing orchestra, before falling to the ground on a tirade of microscopic scalpels scraping on my skin, eternity passed.

  Silence… Peace… Serenity…

  “I’m sorry human, normally I’m through that room much quicker so it doesn’t build up so much. I kind of tossed you through, are you okay?” I heard Jaskrim’s voice in a much quieter tone. Slowly opening my eyes, a massive paw covered most of my body, as though trying to protect me from anything else. I felt tense, sore, as though I had just endured the workout of a lifetime.

  “Y-yeah… I should be fine…” I sat up slowly, both hands on my head still. A ringing held true, but I was returning to normal.

  “If you need time, we can wait a moment. The client will be considerate enough if we’re only a little late.” Jaskrim said, as he slowly sat down next to me. That’s right, we’re on the job. I’m here to complete a delivery. He kept his paw close to me, as if I was going to fly into it at any second.

  “N-no, we’re requested. I-I can move. Let’s get going.” I said, taking a knee. My entire body felt heavy after that ordeal. Regardless, I pushed off my knee and rose up, Jaskrim still taller than me despite sitting. “W-we can get going. Not much further now, right?”

  “True, just that last room right there.” Jaskrim said pointing in front of me. He reached into his uniform and pulled out the package, showing the runes slowly pulsating. “You hold onto this. It’ll make the situation a bit clearer as well for the client.”

  “S-speaking of…” I began, taking the package and holding it under my arms. “Do you know why this was a special request?”

  “Oh, sure. Some clients have preferred delivery carriers. Mox probably requested me since I suggested them moving in here.” Jaskrim said standing up. “Oh, try not to stare too long at the Mox’s eyes. I think that’s how they used to capture humans. It’s not a voluntary thing, humans just can’t understand what they’re looking at and freeze up.” Jaskrim stated. It seemed he was still a bit worried about me, but no longer kept his full attention focused on it.

  “N-noted.” I said as we began to walk again, quicker than I originally had. The road and our surroundings had vanished, swallowed by an obscuring void. Despite that, both of us had an eerie illumination that enveloped us just enough to keep the darkness from being disorienting. Jaskrim filled me in that each area is roughly ten minutes of walking if you’re on the right path, though we were closer to twenty with me here. He also informed me how these Dominions changed over time. New denizens in Dominions seem to give it more characteristics, and how many creatures called it home means they generally constantly shift and meld themselves into new areas. Ironically, they felt like apartments for the supernatural.

  “Here we are!” Jaskrim stated in a giddy tone, pushing on a blank wall with his necklace again. The area that unfolded before us was that of a moonlit graveyard. It was, quite beautiful. Not one of those Zombies and Ghouls or Vampire-stalked graveyards, with the feel of desiccation and despair. But, a beautiful garden of dark respectable flowers, hedges, low-caste stone walls with a quaint hut overlooking it all.

  A well-swept stone path guided us up around the graves and to the hut. Names and dates I can’t remember despite looking at them moments ago decorated the graves. Gifts, neatly arranged, laid on each. There were even people visiting some of them, or so I thought. Just like the graves, the thoughts of any being near them faded away as a solemn memory. As we made it up to the hut’s door, Jaskrim lightly knocked with two of his claws. After a moment, the door vanished, and several blazing eyes looked at us. My head began to swirl, but Jaskrim covered my face with a giant paw preventing the worst of it. I elected to close my eyes despite his quick-thinking actions.

  “Qogkyq nq Njo Ydzlxmc Tqzdw, nq zmt dwxy wknzm wqlq wzfq z ybqgxzr tqrxfqls vjl sjk. Gzm hq wzfq z njnqmd jv sjkl dxnq?”Jaskrim spoke in what seemed to be a different incomprehensible language than before.

  “Wknzm? Tqrxfqls? Sjk wzfq dwq pqyd jv ajeqy, Yeqrazyelxnyrx.” Sharp, vibrating chatter erupted from the doorframe.

  “No jokes, Mox, a human has your delivery.” Jaskrim stated, I could tell he moved his hand out from in front of me.

  “A-apologies for the delay, Sir, uh, sorry, Mox. May we get a signature for this package of yours?” I stuttered, holding out the package. It felt warm in my hands, and I could tell the runes were pulsating quicker. I was never a good people person to start with, adding supernatural killing machines on top of the mix only felt natural to completely fail at speaking.

  “Ooooh, no joke indee-eeeeed.” The thing in the door chattered. I felt a whirl of wind suck both Jaskrim and I forward before the sound of a door closing was heard behind us. “Tell me hu-uuman, what is your name?”

  The sound of fire crackling to life filled the air around me as I peeked an eye open. A wooden table with stools were set before me. A figure of sorts was drinking from a pristine white tea cup. I avoided any semblance of what might be their eyes or face.

  “Oh, this one is Days gone. Oh, uh, Da… Uh, Dae-gon. Yeah. Daegon. He was just hired and is my partner today.” Jaskrim stepped in and sat at the table. “Mox is being very polite and limited their own sight for you Daegon, you can come and sit down with us.”

  I slowly opened my other eye; it was a rather nice small and comforting place that surrounded us. Turning my attention back to the matter at hand, I looked over at Jaskrim and the stool he nodded to. The stools, comedically small even for a human, were undoubtably unfit for a creature of my companion's size. Yet, Jaskrim sat there just fine. So I quickly sat down next to him placing the package on the table. As I did, blue flames erupted from above it as a floating paper appeared facing the strange creature before me.

  “Have you liked your move?” Jaskrim asked as the paper flew over and landed in front of the creature. The two of them seemed to happily chatter, but my nerves began to grow. Despite my apprehension I tried to focus on the being before me. The creature was covered in feathers and clutching its cup with pitch-black talons. It was rather hard to make out the amorphous form that seemed to feel like that of a Raven… And, a skull? As if learning the secret of a magic trick, the curtain of mystery dissipated from the creature, revealing its massive size. While not as massive as Jaskrim, it dwarfed any human I could think of. The midnight feathers reminiscent of darkest nights cloaked the body, keeping safe unsuspecting gazes that might find what’s below. Atop the creature's form, a perfect avian-like skull embellished a shadowy abyss in place of its head, oozing from the crevices and gently enshrouding the skull. It seemed Jaskrim and Mox’s pleasant conversation was in full swing as my mind fixated on something in the skull. An old, deep red eye hid itself inside. Its gaze shifting between Jaskrim and the paper.

  “If only given an instant, one could confuse you for a sleepless dragon…” I said involuntarily. Confused, perplexed, I shook my head and looked over at Jaskrim who stared back with their mouth slightly open. A chitter, a chatter, that sound of a flatter, erupted into a melodious laughter.

  “Human indee-eed! Hack! You must bring this one ba-ack. If their mind is one such as this.” The creature spoke between their chatter of approval. It calmed down after a few seconds. “Please advert your gaze, human. You shouldn’t lose yourself in one such as I.”

  “S-sorry!” I spoke lowering my head and closing my eyes again. Unknown customs and dangers within every creature, I need to be much more careful. “Much, much more careful. Let a girl have her beauty sleep.” A massive paw hit me on the back causing me to straighten up and be pushed into the table.

  “Don’t worry human, they’re probably the best starter client for you.” Jaskrim said with a light-laugh as well. Both Jaskrim and the creature let out a bit more laughter as I opened my eyes again. The creature gave a light wave with a talon, though I tried to keep my gaze away from their face.

  “A-apologies Mox.” I said with a nervous chuckle. Despite the entirety of the situation, it really felt this was a group of friends catching up after a long time apart. “M-may I ask your name?”

  The creature froze, it seemed. Was my question out of line?

  “Na-aame? Ooh, human tongued, human meaning. Help! Save me! Beast! Demon! Called mostly. Maybe, you help? Ooh. Allow to look, yes. Only for moment, save your mind. You can give name. Think on it.” The creature spoke, chattering about. It caught me a bit off guard, but it seemed the creature struggled with articulation when it came to longer thought processes. That didn’t stop my concern with what it was implying though as I looked over to Jaskrim with concern.

  “It’s your choice. It’ll be like when you spoke earlier, I think. Mox couldn’t lie to you, so you can choose.” Jaskrim said, as he hooked a comically small teacup on the very edge of his claw and up to his mouth. I think I began to sweat, so many thoughts racing through my mind. “Fight or flight.” I sighed, looking down at the table. I could hear the creature and its light chatter and ruffling of feathers.

  “Alri…” Before I could even finish, as I glanced up, I was met with the gaze of – Dwjkyzmty jv kmlqrqmdxmc qsqy, czuxmc pqsjmt dwq nxmt, pjts, zmt yjkr. Gqmdklxqy jv djlnqmd rqvd dxlqt zm xmdqrrxcqmd pqxmc sqzlmxmc vjl yxnbrql dxnqy. Sqzlmxmc, txlqgd, gjmmqgdxjm, ikxqd, rxvq. Bzldmql...

  “Death, not despair. Staring into the countless, uneasy, but not uncommon. Calming… Stare upon the Calmness of Death. Deaths Gaze. Staring Death…” I spoke, as a heavy blackness clouded my vision, and head. Before I knew it, the world around me popped back into frame. The thing before was sipping its drink from the teacup again.

  “Many tho-ooughts, human. Death prominent, ye-ees? Staring deaths, for many eyes. Mox Staring Deaths acceptable.” Mox Staring Death chattered in applause. Jaskrim gave light claps of approval.

  “You’re going to be very popular human, I can tell. Many of us struggle with finding names we like, no matter how many times we think of things ourselves. Centuries even, we’ll go without such, or change often, so often we just go back to what humans call us. There’s been a new thing going about where some of us are distinguishing ourselves, so you might make a few good deals for that talent.” Jaskrim said ecstatically.

  It wasn’t much longer until Jaskrim and Staring Death finished up their conversation, filled out the remaining paperwork, and we all stood up for final farewells. Much to my blissful surprise, Staring Death had a doorway for us to use to get back quicker. With their final goodbyes, we were whisked through back to the cold outdoors. Jaskrim and I began our trek back through the snow to the cabin. Thankfully, we quickly found our old path and made our way back down it. Jaskrim was a bit quiet while we walked, as if something was bothering him.

  “Human, I want to apologize.” He spoke, with a bit heavy of a voice.

  “What for, big guy? You saved my life earlier.” I said, wondering what he could have done to feel this way.

  “It was a few things honestly. I shouldn’t have made reference to you and fish. Same with going down that path through the Dominion, we could have taken a slightly longer route that would have been safer for you. Or that Mox couldn’t offer you anything to drink. I just forgot you were human is all.” Jaskrim spoke with a somber tone. He slowed his stride slightly.

  “Hey, don’t worry. You did save me in there anyways. I couldn’t have done that alone, you know. If anything, I should be apologizing for you. I slowed you down and made this a lot harder, didn’t I?” I said quickly, catching up to his side and patting his arm.

  “No human, you did great! We always have partners in these situations, so at least one of us can survive. Besides, you said you wanted me to talk more. Most partners don’t like me talking so much. I was so happy, I forgot you were struggling to get through.” Jaskrim had a certain fervor in his voice. I could tell that arguing over this point would prove futile.

  “Alright, alright. How about this, I’ll think of something you can do and we can call it even in the future, nothing too big okay? is that fair?” Honestly, my plan was to forget that entirely. I don’t know how I could handle holding something I didn’t feel I was owed over a co-worker’s head.

  “Alright, deal! I’m sure to make it up to you then!” Jaskrim said proudly holding his head high. He really was a good guy. Though I was curious about what he meant by the fish comment, or the drinks…

  “Jobs done!” Jaskrim said busting through the door, as the sound echoed throughout the shop. A cold breeze followed us in as I closed the door behind us. I blinked and the door vanished as if never existing in the first place. I was exhausted, both physically and mentally, more than I ever thought possible. I honestly didn’t know if I had the strength to make it home. “I’ll be on my way now, be safe Mox Daegon!” Jaskrim said as he headed for the front door.

  “One job, and respect? Impressive Rjszr Bzdljm, or should I say, Mox Daegon.” Baku cooed, with what I assumed to be a laugh in the roughest of growls.

  “D-do I need to do anything else? I’m quite exhausted.” I asked as a wave of lethargy rushed over me.

  “No more. Do come again soon though.” Baku stated with a hand waving me off. I turned to say something to Jaskrim, but the front door just closed and he was… Gone?

  “Where did he…?” I was about to ask before Baku let out a lower growl.

  “Home, like you’re about to. Talisman onto the socket next to door. Don’t use it outside of normal means, we will know human.” Baku stated pointing to a small hole I never noticed before. It seemed to have a purple glow. I was honestly too tired to ask more questions and followed his instructions. As I put my rune to the hole, a vibrating pulse shot through me and I looked back. “Go now, more clients wait.”

  Home. It was definitely my house. The door behind me closed, and all the metal bars were already closed. I let out a rather heavy sigh and reached for my phone. Looking at the lock screen, I swore it must have been some type of sick joke. From the time I walked into that shop, only an hour had passed. Stuffing it back in my pocket, I flicked on the light switch and looked to my right.

  “I gotta patch that up eventually…” I thought, looking at the me-sized hole on the wall and dried blood stains that led to today. Despite the visceral fear and anguish, it honestly felt like a dream. It felt… Unreal… Even as my hand touched it, it’s like my mind wouldn’t allow me to grasp the reality.

  “But it was very much real, Daegon.”

  Never had such a kid’s voice caused such an adverse reaction in me. An unshakable truth did in fact happen that day. “This observer has returned. Guess you can’t ignore this new reality anymore, now can you little Daegon?”

  “But that’s one of the reasons I’m here. Perhaps you can fill me in on your first day?”

  I looked over to see a teenage boy, laying on my couch with my phone that should have been in my pocket. His white hair glistened with the lights from the game he was playing.

  really make a Warcraft reference? Why a delivery service? Honestly, I wish I could go back in time and ask myself those questions... Well, except the last one. Out of a lot of short stories I was reading at the time involving horror, I really needed something that'd give our OC a wide-range of movement in a world with little to no medium or long range transportation. Without going into spoiler territory, this world is much larger than the small glimpses we've seen so far. There was this story, sadly I can't remember what, that was somewhat similar. I believe they were a courier of sorts that helped them integrate more into that society. That said, it helped me integrate the more mystical system (we've seen Contracts, and the Traveler's Rune so far) into the LORE...