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We ran due north, leaving the hills and the forest far behind. A flat plain spread before us in every direction, the pink, milky glow of the fungus stretching for miles. There was no change in elevation, and no sign of any of the three hills. I was beginning to wonder if it was all a trick to lead us out into the middle of nowhere, which was highly possible. If crawlers appeared on this plain, there would be no outrunning them. We were completely exposed, and our only option was to continue to run.
But there came a point where we just couldn’t go anymore. I was the first to crash, and the others weren’t far behind. As I lay there, catching my breath, my legs felt like fire.
Michael was the first to stand, looking into the distance.
“There’s nothing up here. Nothing. We must have gone ten miles by now.”
Makara was the next to stand. “We have to keep moving.”
She was right, if only because we had no other choice. If we gave up now and turned back, we’d be in the same situation as before, only worse.
Ruth looked to the south. There was nothing down there, either; nothing but featureless xenofungal plain.
Our only shot was to keep moving. We had to believe it was there. We had nothing else.
Everyone now on their feet, we set off north again, this time at a walk. Every step was torture. My mouth was dry and pasty, and my breaths came out in shallow rasps. I was hesitant to drink from my diminishing water reserves. Somehow, even my arms were tired, although I hadn’t been using them.
“Remember what’s at stake,” I said, surprised at the rasp in my voice. “I know we can’t see those hills. That’s not under our control. There is one thing we can always control: putting one foot in front of the other.”
Maybe some of my words connected, because everyone seemed to pick up their pace
It was something, at least.
***
ANOTHER HOUR PASSED. Another hour with no results. Another hour closer to dawn.
Just when I was about to completely despair, a strange, bright light illuminated the horizon. At first, I thought it was the night ending, that we were too late. However, after two minutes of that light’s brightening, I knew that had to be it. It could be nothing else.
“There it is,” Samuel said, as if he didn’t believe it.
Our only response was to increase our speed. To the east, the sky was graying. Dawn would not be long in coming, and if we were to make it in time, we needed to run.
“It’s just a few more miles,” I said. “We can do it.”
So, we ran. As the minutes passed, the bright spot grew steadily brighter. After thirty minutes, I could make out the shape of two of the hills. If there was a third, it must have been hidden behind the others.
I didn’t know how I was still going. Sometimes, the only reason people keep going is because they had no choice. Stopping meant dying.
That was what would happen to us if we didn’t run.
By now we must have traveled fifteen, maybe even twenty miles total. I thought about all those men who had fought and died on the plateau. For all I knew, they were still fighting now. If I gave up, their sacrifice would be for nothing.
My throat rasped as I sucked in breath after breath. All we could do was take the next step – and the next, and the next.
It was 05:30 by the time the elevation started to change. We came to a stop at the foot of the first hill. The voice had said to find the hollow of the three hills. That probably meant the center.
I forced myself onward. The hill was steep, but manageable. The fungus made the terrain even and smooth. After ten minutes of climbing, we were halfway up the hill, and halfway across. To my surprise, the xenofungus thinned and then disappeared completely, replaced by hard rock and dirt. Even more surprising, there were some tufts of green grass, growing in the cracks of the rocks.
From our height, I could see the back hill, now, the largest of all three. These hills were oddly out of place, rising from the surrounding plain. The one we stood on was the lowest, while the second hill to the northeast was only slightly higher. The third hill, toward the north, was the tallest. In the center of the three hills was a valley. Or, I supposed, the hollow, and the sight of it was the most shocking of all.
Green forest filled it thickly, the trees earthly rather than alien. At the northern edge of the forest, at the foot of the northern hill, was a small lake, its surface dark and still in the predawn. A slight, silvery sheen cast the treetops with a subtle glow.
We hurried down the hill, making a direct line for the trees. As we neared, a sweet and foreign aroma filled the air, tickling at my nose. I didn’t know how to describe it, but I realized it was the smell of nature, of growing plants. It was something I hadn’t experienced all that often. I had no idea why these trees and plants would be here in the center of the Great Blight.
I stepped inside the first of the silvery trees. Even if I didn’t know much about trees, I could recognize some of these. Pines. Firs. Cedars. Most were evergreens, but there were others that flowered and bore fruit. And still, every plant emitted a strange, silver glow. That glow suggested this place wasn’t as earthly as it appeared.
We came upon a stand of short trees with thin fronds branching upward, their deep green leaves casting a silvery aura. Small, purple-blue fruits grew among the leaves, and many had fallen to the forest floor. I had no idea what they were, but all the same, I reached out and plucked one.
“Alex...” Makara said.
“It’s a plum,” I said. “Why are plums growing in the middle of the Great Blight?”
“That should be enough reason not to touch them.”
“I think they’re fine,” I said.
To prove my point, I took a bite.
“Alex...that was very stupid,” Makara said.
“It tastes good,” I said. “Actually...very good.”
Even though we had already eaten, it hadn’t nearly been enough. Around us was an entire forest filled with fresh fruit. The stupid thing seemed to be ignoring that fact and going without when we needed the energy.
Anna pointed toward another stand of trees, bearing white blossoms and large, red fruit.
“There’s apples, over there,” she said.
I left the plums behind and went to the closest apple tree. One of the apples was at eye-height, red with yellow spots. I pulled it off its stem, and took a giant bite. This time, Makara did not protest. The apple was sweeter and more delicious than I imagined, better than any apple I’d ever had. By the time I started my second one, everyone else had joined in, Makara included.
There weren’t just apples and plums. There were cherries, peaches, pears, apricots, oranges, and others beside. I had no idea how these trees were all growing here, but that wasn’t important right now. We were starving for calories, and they surrounded us in infinite supply. I feasted until I felt my stomach would burst.
After I couldn’t eat another bite, all I wanted was to sleep it off. It was hard to resist that temptation, but we had to continue on.
We made our way past the fruit trees and into a stand of evergreens. The forest floor was loamy and rich, covered in leaves, pine needles, and a thin dew that magnified the silver glow of the trees. The cool humidity collected on my brow and face.
Despite the calming atmosphere, I knew we couldn’t let our guard down. Maybe Makara was right, and eating from the trees was a bad call. I felt fine, but maybe that wouldn’t be the case later.
We went north through the trees. There was plenty of space to walk between them. Unlike the xenoforest, this place was airy and free rather than claustrophobic.
Through the trees in the distance, I could see the shining silver of the small lake. We made our way there, leaving the trees behind and finding ourselves standing on the water’s white shoreline. The pond was nearly circular in shape, as smooth as glass, a thin veil of fog clinging to its surface. The trees, also shrouded in mist, stretched around it. It was hard to decide whether it was a small lake or a large pond.
Whatever it was, I felt like we were wherever we were supposed to be. I reached out with my mind, trying to find the Nameless One.
I’m here, I thought. Now, answer me. How do we reach the Crater?
Nothing moved in the early morning light. It didn’t seem as if anyone had heard me. I stepped closer to the pool, inspecting it closely. The water was pure, clear, and toward the center of the pond, it went deep.
I knelt at the bank. The water was so still – if it were day, it would perfectly reflect the sky above. As I leaned over, I saw my face. Intense, brown eyes stared back at me, my hair shaggy. A bit of stubble covered my jawline. Where had that come from? The face was hardened, almost unrecognizable.
I touched the cold water, ripples spreading out from the point of contact. The ripples raced across the pond, dissipating somewhere in the center.
“Nothing,” I said.
Maybe I needed to actually step in the water.
I stood and began taking off my right boot.
“What are you doing?” Anna asked.
When both boots were off, I set them beside some moss-covered rocks.
“Going for a swim.”
I also took off my belt, which held my gun and knife. I set them beside my boots, along with my canteen and pack. I decided to keep the rest of my clothes on.
I was nervous, but knew that hesitation was the real enemy. When you’re scared to do something, it’s best to just jump in before doubt has a chance to grow. Many of the things we feel are dangerous are actually innocuous. It’s the unknown that we fear, more than anything else.
Only now, this really could be dangerous, but that feeling was the same.
Before I could even think about it, I stepped forward, letting my right foot slide into the still, cold water, followed by my left foot. The water was numbing, but I couldn’t think about that. I continued to walk into the pond, the bottom dropping steeply. It wasn’t long until it was up to my torso. I suppressed the desire to shudder, not allowing the uncomfortable feeling of cold to overcome my control.
I turned back, where everyone stood, watching me.
“Stay there,” I said. “I just want to see if there’s anything underwater.”
I paused long enough to take a deep breath, and plunged beneath the surface.
As I dove, I opened my eyes. The water was pure and clear; the only thing that made it difficult to see was the lack of light from the surface.
But deep down, another light shone. In an instant, I knew this was what I was looking for.
I returned to the surface, taking a breath and facing the shoreline.
“There’s something down there,” I called. “A light.”
“What is it?” Makara asked.
“I don’t know. Whatever it is...I feel like it’s what we’re looking for.”
“How far down?” Anna asked.
“Not far,” I said.
It wasn’t easy to judge distance in water, especially when it was dark. It was thirty, maybe even forty feet below the surface. That was a long way to dive. The pool at Bunker 108 had only been twenty feet deep, and I’d only dove down that far a few times – it was always cold, high-pressure, and dark. This would be even more so.
“Alex,” Makara said. “Be careful.”
I nodded. Before they could say anything more, I took a deep breath and dove.
The light shone from the same place as before. This time, though, I would reach it. I swam downward, feeling the cold and pressure increase as I descended. Even as the thin light from the surface dimmed, the light at the bottom grew brighter, urging me onward.
About halfway, I knew I was far beyond twenty feet. I’d never been this deep before in my life. My lungs burned for air, but I couldn’t give up; not when I was so close. The deeper I went, the more effort it took to move. The light was tantalizingly close, and was much farther than I’d first estimated. From the size of the lake, I would have never guessed it went this deep. I’d been down here almost a minute.
I knew, if I didn’t turn back now, I would drown. If I kept going down, I’d be too far down to ever make it back to the surface. If I continued, I had to believe there was something there at the end, waiting for me. With that realization came the panic.
Where are you?
No answer came. If there was an answer, it had to come from myself. Did I turn back, or keep going?
I truly believed the answer was there, with that light. I couldn’t give up. Not now.
I wasn’t turning back. The only way out was reaching the bottom.
At last, my hand touched the sandy bottom. Confusingly, the light seemed to still shine from below. I realized then that it was coming from a tunnel right next to me, leading directly down from the lake bottom. I had to enter that tunnel and swim straight down.
I didn’t have time to think about it. There was no longer any chance of my turning back; I’d never make it. So, I pushed myself down the tunnel, hemmed in from every side. I couldn’t have turned around even if I wanted to. I panicked, swimming faster, feeling my consciousness fade and blackness cloud my vision...
The light grew incredibly bright, like I was swimming into a star. I could no longer keep my eyes open. The water warmed. The burning was no longer merely in my lungs. It was on my skin. I didn’t know if this was the water getting warmer, or my losing all sense of reality.
It no longer even felt like I was in my body, but like I was floating into a dream. Suddenly, I was sucked down, as if into a vortex.
I couldn’t hold out any longer. I sucked warm water into my lungs, and it brought no relief to my oxygen-starved body. As the current pulled me along, I blacked out.