CHAPTER 474: A FEVER DREAM

Kellen stood in front of the thing that had caused all of these problems and felt an insurmountable swell of rage inside of his chest.

He tightened his grip he had on the straps of his backpack, where it dug into his shoulders and felt like he was going to start shaking with how violent his emotions were. He didn’t blame anyone. He’d had no one to blame for the unfair situation his family found themselves in.

Not until he saw it in person.

He’d never felt such violence towards something that didn’t have a body.

He couldn’t even fight the thing that was making his gut churn with emotion. He couldn’t even throw a punch, or throw violent words towards it because it was a gate. It wouldn’t understand. Kellen wondered how many other people had stood before gates like he was currently, that sick, all consuming rage in his gut as something so unfair and cruel was committed against his family.

He stared up, trying to make sure he didn’t fog up his mask as he stared up at the sick, pulsing purple colour that made up the gate. It was massive, having only grown bigger since the last explosion. The area, which had been an old world tower of some kind, had been completely swallowed up by the gate.

It wasn’t normal. There was no way this gate could be normal.

The area around that gate had been so severely altered since he’d last seen photos it didn’t feel real. The gate was pouring out into their world, and honestly, it was only a matter of time till it exploded for real. Kellen could feel it, and he hated that reality.

The thick, green, vines clung to crumbling cement, and Kellen could see how certain areas of the new area were cordoned off for safety reasons. Almost everyone who moved around this area had rope tied around their waist, in case the worst case scenario happened again.

They were their suits, big, giant flood lights illuminating the space as they shuffled around. Kellen didn’t ask why they were working. They were probably filled with guilt, unable to stop working. Several Espers stood nearby, acting as guards. Stern, serious expressions that only hardened when they laid eyes on Kellen.

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They all knew why he was here.

The gate was giant. A pulsing, acidic purple bruise tainting the dark night sky. Kellen hated the sight of it. Puddles, almost small ponds of a similar, pinkish-purple liquid, damaged more of the area around them.

When Kellen tossed a glance in Hill’s direction, he could see how severe her expression was through the protective mask she was also wearing.

Taylor had stayed behind, as had Pamela. Just Hill accompanied him to this part of the front lines. She was his final send off. The last person he was going to see. Kellen wasn’t sure what to say to her.

"Kellen." She said after they had been standing before the gate for a long moment. Kellen turned, looking at her again as she remained staring forward. "I’m sorry I wasn’t able to protect her in the first place, and I’m sorry that you have to go in now." Hill told him, and Kellen felt his eyes widen.

"Hill, what could you have done?" Kellen asked and watched as her jaw tightened.

"It doesn’t matter. I just wanted to let you know I’m sorry. So, you better come back so that we can drink again. I’ll even drink those sweet ciders that Rhys gets for you." Hill told him, finally looking at him and raising her hand and pressing her fist gently against his shoulder. "See you around." She told him, and Kellen felt his throat tighten.

Some of the anger faded, being replaced with a heavy emotion that felt like it was choking him.

"See you around, Hill, and I’ll hold you to that. Make sure your lines connect to the city properly. I don’t want him to be under longer than he needs to be." Kellen told her, trying to sound confident even as he stared down the beast that had swallowed his sister and some of his students whole. Hill nodded.

"Understood, Field Guide Woods." She said, and Kellen’s heart squeezed. The respect she was showing him, the consideration was a lot. Nodding, Kellen turned and adjusted the suit he was wearing over his clothes.

It was thin, lightweight, and clung and molded to his body like a second skin. Kellen had to undress once he got to the front lines, after he and Taylor had their talk, to put it on. He wore the mask over it, along with his more clothes. There were zippers in certain parts of the suit which Kellen appreciated, but otherwise it was skin tight, and felt a bit like a membrane.

Kellen didn’t really want to know how Carlos came up with this, since it was nothing like the suits everyone else was wearing, but he just took it as it was.

He walked towards the gate, Hill staying a reasonable distance behind him. She had sunk her feet into the ground without Kellen noticing, as if she was bracing herself for a particular reaction. Kellen just took a deep breath in, held it, then exhaled before stepping into the mouth of the beast.

~

Kellen almost expected that something strange was going to happen as soon as he stepped into the gate. He braced himself for it, ready to move, to jump, to hold his breath. They had no information on the interior of the gate so he had no idea what to expect.

What he wasn’t expecting was how beautiful such a deadly place would be.

It was breathtaking, but not in the way he was expecting, not with the mask on.

The place inside the gate was mimicking the day and night cycles of the world it was encroaching on, like most of the gates that showed up on their front lines. Like it had said outside of the gate, the twisting trees, thick vines, and colourful ponds showed that this world was a shimmering, beautiful oasis of colour.

A very deadly oasis, but still something that Kellen had to take a moment to absorb.

The sky, even at night, wasn’t dark like it was in his world. It was tinged with a slightly fluorescent hue, more of a dark base with a bluey-green hue placed on top of it. The trees weren’t like any he’d ever seen before either. They were huge, bending and twisting. Each leaf was outlined with a shimmery purple hue, the trunks glowing in the same way.

A river ran nearby, Kellen able to pick out the sound and from where he was standing, the flat surface of the gate at his back, he could see the pinkish liquid in the distance. Even the dirt wasn’t a simple brown. It was a green shade that Kellen had only seen in dye before now.

Kellen’s skin crawled as he realised that he was basically in a fever dream. This place had to be so poisonous that you’d either die immediately breathing in the air here, or you’d start hallucinating.

That was only confirmed when Kellen began to see the mini mushrooms, so pretty and tantalizing that Kellen felt his lips turn down into a frown. He could hear the shifting of plants, a slow dragging noise that told Kellen that there was no way these trees were as innocent and pretty as they looked.

It was a damn miracle that trees outside of the gate weren’t behaving like he was sure he was about to encounter.

Kellen’s heart pounded in his chest as he looked around the area of the gate entrance. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Like when a gate showed up in their world and leaked into their world, the opposite happened on the other side of the gate. It was usually an indication of how strong the gate was when one considered how much of it spilled out into the other world.

Kellen had a very decent chunk of earth gathered around him, a few of the trees being converted into earth trees. Kellen could see the footsteps on the dirt, could see how many people had been here.

He also saw someone’s empty bag. His heart sank. That was not a good sign to see right away.

Then Kellen heard something. It didn’t sound like the trees, instead sounding like something more mammal-like, more human. Kellen crouched down, grabbing onto his gun immediately as he turned in the direction of the noise.

"Hello?" It was a soft call. The voice warbled. Kellen was immediately on high alert. Was that...something mimicking a human voice? What the fuck? It didn’t really sound like one of his people, but then again there were a few Espers who had been sucked in that Kellen hadn’t met before. That didn’t mean that Kellen trusted it an inch. However, his gut told him he should check on it, and given what he’d gotten from his gut so far, Kellen snuck forward carefully.

Hiding in some bushes that were from earth, Kellen found the mangled body of a human. They wore an Esper uniform, their protective suit torn, but they were still breathing. An arm was twisted in the wrong direction, and they held a knife in their hand tightly.

Clearly, they had been fighting for their life on their own, but they were getting near the end. Their bloodshot, almost blind eyes told him so. They couldn’t see Kellen, their breathing labored, and Kellen didn’t want to get stabbed like this.

"State your name." Kellen said firmly, wanting to make sure, wanting to confirm.

The swollen, dried lips of the man before him trembled, shaking as they took in a deep exhale.

"I-Is that another human?" They asked, hopeful, but Kellen was harsh, cruel.

"State your name." Kellen repeated, unrelenting and watched as the other man began to tear up.

"Esper Reeve Winters, reporting for duty. Are you the rescue team? Are there more with you?" Reeve had to be a new Esper, probably one of Gwen’s year group. Kellen softened only slightly. Kellen didn’t let him know anything. It wasn’t a smart plan, not until he could actually get him out.

"I am part of the rescue team." Kellen told him, not telling him anymore information. "But like you are aware, the gate closed up behind us. The team has to get to the core before we can all escape. I have a new mask, Esper Winters, that should help. Do you require more assistance?" Kellen asked and Reeve let out a sarcastic laugh that ended with him coughing.

"Just a bit of food and water, please. I haven’t eaten anything, not since my bag was stolen but a tree." Kellen noted that information, something he had a feeling they would attempt to do to him as well.

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Kellen nodded, approaching the downed man carefully. Nothing seemed amiss, and no alarms went off. Kellen was able to feed him food and water without much concern, fitting his face with one of the new masks and the man let out a relieved breath.

"I feel like I can finally breathe." He admitted, and Kellen felt his lips turn up slightly.

"Esper Winters, when we get to the core, you’re going to notice a slight shift in the air around you. Get to the gate after that. Crawl out, fight if you have to. If you get even a toe or hand through the gate, others will be on the other side to pull you out. Okay?" Kellen told the injured man and he nodded, licking his lips.

"Okay. I can do that." He promised, and Kellen felt his lips turn up. He hoped the young man was able to make it, but honestly, this was the best place he could leave him.

Kellen turned, and headed deeper into the forest. He pulled out his compass. He would go west to get back here, back to the gate. For now, he went east. Onwards, to find the rest of his people.

1 person down, 11 more to go.