CHAPTER 35: 35: PHOBIA

Drake sat up in the bed and looked around the small room. The other two beds were empty and already made. The smell of cooked meat floated through the room. His stomach growled in response.

Stretching his arms, Drake yawned and then pulled himself out of the comfort of the soft bed. After washing up and preparing for his day, he quickly tidied his bed and then followed the smell of seasoned meat.

"Morning!" Drake greeted, pulling out a chair.

Chad placed a plate of meat and eggs in front of him. "We couldn’t open the shutters. The bells would have woken you up."

Mike was stuffing his face with large chunks of cooked meat. Fat dripped down his face as he gulped down chunk after chunk, ignoring his eggs altogether. Chad sat between them, a cup of steaming tea in his hand, sighing deeply. If we get back home, we need to stock up on coffee, so if we end up here again, we’ll have it."

Sitting back in his chair, Mike wiped the grease off his mouth. "I think we should leave the shutters locked up. We’re only going to be sleeping in here for the night. It would save time to leave them locked. We could maybe open one of them, in case we need it, put no more than that."

Drake nodded in agreement. It was a good idea. They only needed a place to sleep at night. During the day, they would travel on the road toward the mountain. They wouldn’t need to live in it full-time.

Chad sipped his tea. He had a disgusted look on his face. He hated tea, but it was the closest he could find to coffee. "I’ll open the window by the front door. It’s probably the best choice out of all the windows in the room."

As Chad stood to open the window, Drake frowned. "Aren’t you going to eat? It’s a long road ahead of us. It’s better to eat while we can. With our luck, we will spend the entire day fighting beasts."

Chad had a wide smile on his face as he pointed to the empty plate on the small counter. "I ate while I was cooking for you two."

Drake went back to his own meal. Mike begrudgingly started eating his eggs. He didn’t particularly like them, but they added protein. He normally added raw eggs to his protein shakes, but he didn’t have the ingredients or the appliances to blend his morning shake.

Chad pulled the bells off the lock that was holding the shutters in place. The ringing echoed through the cabin as the other boys finished their breakfast.

When Chad pulled the shutters open, he gasped, slamming them shut again. Hearing their friend, Mike picked up his sword from the table, rushing up to Chad. Drake grabbed his whip, letting it fall to the floor, already preparing a spell.

"What is it?" Drake asked. His voice was tense.

Chad stuttered, unable to speak. "Uh...uh..umm." His eyes were wide and breathing in short pants as if he was having a panic attack. He stood there like that, not answering.

Mike slipped past his friend, carefully opening the shutter, just enough for him to see outside. He gasped at what he was seeing. He turned to Drake. "I think we have a problem. Unless you can portal us to the road. We’re stuck here. Then he looked at Chad. "Remember Chad’s phobia? Well, if we ever get out of here, we will have the same one."

Drake lifted one brow. "Chad’s phobia is large bodies of water, specifically oceans. We’re at the edge of a clearing. There was no water except for the rain.

Mike didn’t say anything while Chad remained breathing in short pants, his eyes wide. His face was sheet white, drained of all color. He was getting worse.

"You help Chad, I’m going outside." Drake headed to the door, removing the bells from the lock. He pulled the door slowly open.

They were surrounded by water. Lots and lots of water. As far as the eye could see, there was only water.

After stepping slowly out of the cabin, Drake closed the door, leaving him alone on the porch with his friends safely inside. He looked at his surroundings and the vast amount of water that surrounded him. ’There is no way it rained this much.’

Drake walked around the cabin, being mindful of remaining on the wood slats of the porch. He looked around him as he did. There was nothing to see. There was only water. ’Think Drake, think.’ He told himself, ’Last night, we came through trees. We only took a couple of steps into the clearing. It was just enough to place the cabin.’

He knew that there should be trees in front of the cabin. He had no idea what was on the other side of the cabin, but he knew for a fact that in front of it should be trees. He wasn’t paying attention to what was beyond where they were staying last night.

After circling the cabin and only seeing endless water, he stood at the front again, staring at the spot where the trees were supposed to be. It was the same spot they had entered.

Letting his whip fill with energy, he slashed it out toward the direction of their arrival. The ethereal green whip left its metallic counterpart and flew forward. Twelve feet away, it collided with an invisible barrier. The barrier rippled, briefly revealing the other side, where the thick forest was seen.

’Fucking barriers. What is it with this dimension and the fucking barriers?’ He grumbled to himself.

Entering the cabin, Drake looked at his friends. There was anger in his eyes.

"What is it?" Mike asked. Chad was still unable to move or speak. His phobia had completely taken over.

"When I used my whip to see if it would hit anything, I figured out that we are inside a magic barrier. It’s like the one in Draco Town. Unlike that one, we can’t see outside of it."

"Are you able to find the power source so we can destroy it?"

Leaving the cabin again, Drake turned to Mike. "I’ll do my best, but my system is acting strange. I might not be able to."

Standing on the edge of the porch, he looked at the closed door behind him. Then back at the endless water. Letting his eyes glow, he scanned the area. ’What the hell!’

What he saw was everything as it should be. There was no water, no barrier, the trees were where they should be, and there was nothing out of place. When the green glow of his eyes faded, the endless water was back.

Drake stood there, confused, not sure what to do. Pulling out his emerald sword, he stepped to the end of the porch, pressing the tip into the water. Or at least he attempted to. The tip hit the top as if hitting solid ground.

Bending down, he placed his hand on the surface of the water. To his surprise, he didn’t feel any water at all. He felt the soil from solid ground. Scooping up a handful of dirt, he lifted it.

Once his dirt-filled hand passed the watery surface, the water shimmered, revealing the dirt in his hand. Drake looked out into the endless sea. Letting his eyes glow again, he slashed his whip at the barrier again. As it hit, it went through as if it wasn’t even there. Drake smiled. After several moments, he laughed.

When he entered the cabin again, he was laughing, unable to stop. The situation was too absurd.

Mike, seeing his friend laughing while Chad was getting worse by the second, frowned, anger filling his eyes. "You’re laughing at a time like this!" he yelled. "We are stuck in the middle of endless water and you’re laughing!"

Drake held up his hand, his laughter finally subsiding. "You’ll understand once we get out of here." He held out his hand, showing the pile of dirt. "There is no water. It’s an illusion."

He was about to explain more when he remembered something. He remembered the little lamp. It was called the Lantern of Truth, suggesting that it shows the truth. The small lantern was sitting on the table where he had left it after lighting the oil lamp the previous night. The white glow had vanished, leaving it dark.

When he picked it up, the soft white glow appeared.

"Mike, take this outside and tell me what you see. Don’t let go of the lantern." He instructed as he handed the lantern to his friend.

Mike followed his instructions, anger in his eyes as he left the cabin with the lantern in his hand. When he looked around him, there was no water, and the trees were about twelve feet away. He stood there for a moment, taking in what he was seeing. "Damn magic!" he grumbled. "It is causing too many problems."

Mike reentered the cabin; his anger had vanished. "Sorry," he told his friend. Then went over to Chad, who was shaking and pale. He was still wheezing as if trying to get air.

Picking him up, Chad didn’t even respond. He proceeded to carry Chad outside. "Look, Chad, Look. No water," he pleaded, trying to get his friend to respond. Setting his friend on the porch, he held his face so that he could look into his eyes. "Chad, there is no water. Look," he said, forcing the teen to look at the space.

Chad slowly calmed down. His breathing slowed as his lungs loosened, allowing the air to flow freely. His pale face was slowly regaining its color.