Beneath the Surface
The town square was quieter than it should have been. The buildings surrounding them loomed like silent sentinels, their windows dark, their streets empty except for the occasional wary glance from behind a corner. Solace could feel the eyes on them, the weight of judgment from the townspeople who watched with quiet, calculating interest. This wasn't just a place that had learned to survive. This was a place that had forgotten how to trust.
Jane led the way, her movements purposeful, but with a careful grace that made it clear she wasn't just scouting for resources—she was watching everything, listening to every footstep that echoed off the cobblestones.
Orion, ever the one to lighten the mood, made small talk with the few people brave enough to stand in the streets. But even his charm couldn't break through the wall of silence that enveloped them. No one smiled, no one approached with offers of hospitality. It was as if the town had forgotten how to be anything but wary.
Solace remained close to Lyra, though the distance between them still seemed to stretch like a yawning chasm. He could feel her presence beside him—her steady, unspoken strength—but she said nothing. Not a word. The silence between them had become suffocating, and he could feel it in the tightness of his chest, in the way his thoughts seemed to spiral when he tried to find a way to bridge the gap.
Night, resting comfortably on his shoulder, seemed to sense the tension. The dragon's tiny claws lightly dug into his collar, a soft weight that was more comforting than anything else in the world right now. Solace had come to rely on the dragon's presence in a way he hadn't anticipated. Night was the only constant, the only being who seemed unaffected by the invisible barriers between him and the others.
Lyra looked at him briefly, her gaze lingering for a fraction of a second longer than usual. Then, as quickly as it came, her eyes slid away, and she continued walking in silence.
"Do you think we'll find what we need here?" Lyra's voice was quiet, almost as if she hadn't meant to speak at all.
Solace glanced at her, his eyes narrowing slightly as he tried to read the subtle shifts in her expression. There was something in her voice—an edge, a hesitation—that caught his attention. She was asking about more than just the supplies, more than just the beasts or the town's resources.
"I don't know," he said finally, the words leaving his mouth with more weight than he had intended. "Maybe we'll find answers, or maybe we'll just find more questions."
Lyra didn't reply immediately. Instead, she walked ahead, the soft click of her boots against the stone echoing in the air. Solace felt the distance between them again, like a thick fog wrapping around them both.
They passed an old, rusted sign that marked the entrance to the town's central marketplace. The area was eerily quiet, the stalls covered with faded tarps, their wares all but forgotten. A few people moved around, but their movements were slow, deliberate, as if they too had lost the ability to rush.
"Something's wrong here," Orion murmured, falling in step beside Jane. He was usually the first to lighten the mood, but there was no humor in his voice today. "This place… it's not just isolated. It's as if they're waiting for something."
"We should stay alert," Jane replied, her voice steady but sharp. "If there's something off, we'll find it."
Solace nodded, though he wasn't sure if he believed her. There was something worse than isolation here, something far darker—a sort of quiet despair that clung to the streets like the fog outside the base. It was in the eyes of the people who stared at them, in the way they never made eye contact, in the way they pulled away from the slightest hint of a conversation.
Night stirred on his shoulder, the dragon's head lifting slightly, its obsidian eyes scanning the environment with a quiet intensity. Solace felt the creature's unease, but the dragon didn't make a sound. It simply waited, coiled tightly against his neck.
He wasn't sure what to do next. The silence was heavy, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was coming—a shift, something that would break the fragile stillness. And he wasn't sure if he was ready for it.
As they continued through the square, a figure stepped out from a nearby alley, catching their attention. It was a woman, dressed in dark, weathered clothes, her face shadowed by the brim of a worn hat. Her gaze flicked over the group with quiet curiosity, but there was no warmth in it. Just a cold, calculating look.
She paused in front of them, and for a moment, no one spoke. Then, without any introduction, she spoke in a voice that was as brittle as the air around them.
"You're not from here," she said, her tone flat, almost rehearsed. "You're looking for something."
Solace stiffened, his instincts kicking in. "What makes you say that?"
The woman shrugged, the movement slow and deliberate. "You don't look like the others. The others don't look at me like you do. You're different."
She looked past him, her gaze flickering to Lyra for a moment before turning back to Solace. Her eyes were cold, like ice—calculating, sharp.
"Maybe you're just what we need," the woman continued, her voice low, almost conspiratorial. "Maybe you'll bring it all crashing down. Or maybe you'll just leave. Either way, you should know something."
Solace took a step forward, his body tensing as he moved into a more defensive stance. "What are you talking about?"
The woman tilted her head slightly, her lips pulling into a tight smile that didn't reach her eyes. "The beasts you're hunting, they're not just out there. They're in here, too." She gestured to the town with a sweep of her hand. "The fear. The darkness. It's not just the Rift. We've all been waiting for something, but no one here knows what it is. You should go while you still can."
For a moment, Solace didn't speak. His mind was racing, trying to piece together her cryptic words. She wasn't talking about the beasts outside. She wasn't even talking about the Rift. There was something else—something darker. Something inside the town itself.
Lyra stepped forward, her voice steady but carrying a quiet edge. "What's really going on here?"
The woman's expression flickered, just for a moment, before she gave them a half-shrug. "I don't have the answers you want. But you're not the first to come looking for them. Just remember—things are always worse than they seem."
With that, she turned and disappeared into the shadows of the alley, leaving them standing there, uncertain and uneasy.
The words lingered in the air, and Solace felt the weight of them press down on his chest. The quiet despair in the town, the sense that something was festering beneath the surface… It was all starting to make sense. But they weren't ready for what might come next.
"We need to get back to the others," Jane said, her voice breaking the silence. She turned on her heel, motioning for the group to follow. "Now."
But even as they began to move back through the streets, Solace knew that they were no longer just in search of supplies. They were in search of something much darker, something they weren't sure they were ready to face.
Night shifted on his shoulder, nuzzling against his neck again, as if seeking comfort from the same fear that had begun to coil in Solace's gut.
And though he didn't know what was waiting for them, Solace could feel it deep in his bones.
Things were about to change.