WARNING – AETHERFALL HAS BEGUN

  The white text on the blue box lingered before his eyes. He pushed it aside, glanced at the fog-dome that fully covered the Hallowed Ground, then looked down at Clara.

  She was hugging a girl her age with teary eyes. Ava – one of her classmates. Edward awkwardly stood a few steps behind her, along with his father.

  “Glad to see you made it.” A man’s voice reached his ears. He turned his gaze to Ava’s left. A man who looked about identical to her – just a few years older – was leaning against the boulder. “Where’s your brother? Did he…?” He hesitantly asked, letting his voice fade.

  “I’m here, Charles.” Alaric spoke up.

  Charles’ expression softened with relief immediately. He forced a smile, nodded, then turned his gaze to Edward. “I don’t see Alina here-“ he stopped as soon as he noticed Carl shake his head. “I’m sorry,” he looked away. “I’m very sorry-“

  An ear piercing creak cut through all the noise, startling everyone. The child’s cry grew louder, people gasped in fear. A low rumble followed, then the sound of breaking stones echoed outside the fog dome.

  “What’s going on?” Someone asked in fear, while others huddled together around the boulder. The elderly tried to calm the youngest, poorly hiding their own fright. “What’s that noise?”

  Alaric narrowed his eyes. The sounds came from all around them – from just beyond the fog dome that veiled the rest of the world from their gazes. The two people that didn’t make it before the veil of fog descended came to his mind. Were they going to survive whatever was happening out there?

  A minute passed, then another, then a third. The sounds changed, they weren’t so deafening anymore, some were now distant and fading, while new, gentler sounds had also joined into this cacophony; the creak and crack of splintering wood, the low howl of wind and the rhythmic crash of water striking stone, and many more he didn’t even know how to describe.

  The veil of fog surrounding them seemed to grow just a little lighter and thinner as he tried to see a glimpse of what lay beyond. The cacophony soon came to an end, and the fog vanished as quickly as it appeared.

  Alaric drew a sharp breath as his gaze scoured the alien landscape. The gentle rolling hills he grew up around were no more – mountains covered the northern horizon fully, stretching as far as he could see. The hills had been replaced by a small stretch of flatlands before cliffs and steep hills made the terrain difficult to navigate.

  A forest covered the entire western side of the Hallowed Ground. The east was somewhat more familiar – long stretches of waist-high grass spread from where they were all the way to what looked like structures in the distance. Yet beyond them, the mountains jut out of the earth, piercing the very clouds.

  His gaze turned south – to where Fairford was.

  Spires jut out of a thick layer of fog where the small market town once was. Just looking in that direction filled his heart with dread. He quickly averted his gaze.

  “We’ve been abducted!” Someone screamed, shattering the stunned silence. Everyone started speaking, shouting, crying. Panic spread like a wildfire.

  Alaric looked at them, his thoughts came to a halt when he tried to think of a way to calm them down. What could he say? That it would be alright? That everything would be fine? As if that’d work. His chest tightened as people’s voices grew louder and more agitated.

  “Enough!” Charles’ voice rang out from right behind him. Startled, Alaric looked over his shoulder to see the man pull himself up on the boulder.

  Charles met his gaze with a grimace, then walked up to him and put his hand on his shoulder. “I’ll need some help,” he spoke in a low voice that only he could hear before directing his gaze to the crowd below. “This is unsightly of you – all of you. There are children and the elderly with us. Is this how you want to act? Giving in to fear and panic, trampling over the little one without a second thought?”

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  His words hushed the crowd into an ashamed silence. “Now-“

  WARNING – THE FIRST STAGE OF AETHERFALL HAS BEEN COMPLETED

  OBJECTIVE – SECURE FOOD AND WATER

  OBJECTIVE – SECURE TEMPORARY SHELTER

  OBJECTIVE – DEFEND THE HALLOWED GROUND

  11:59:59

  His brows furrowed for a moment as system windows appeared in front of everyone. He read through the short text, then cleared his throat.

  “It seems we’ve got new objectives.”

  “We’re all going to die!” A middle aged man shouted. “What are we supposed to defend this place from? We have no weapons! No-“

  “You’ll roll over and die then?” Charles’ voice snapped like a whip. “Fine. I will not. I will survive, and I will make sure every single person here has a chance to survive – as long as they try. Now – we have three new missions, and a twelve hour time limit. We will split into three groups then.” He glanced at Alaric, then shot Ava an apologetic glance. “Now, let’s all take a look at what we’ve got to work with, shall we? Empty your bags and line all the tools and weapons over there, food over here…”

  The cries and shouts came to an end. To Alaric’s surprise, people started removing their bags and emptying their pockets. Whispers and low muttering could still be heard, but it wasn’t long before everyone started following Charles’ commands.

  “How fast could you repair that church do you think?” Charles’ pointed at the ruined church behind the boulder they were standing on.

  “With no actual tools, experienced people and materials?” Alaric shook his head. “I can’t. Besides, all I’ve got is a couple years of carpentry training – I’m talking about making desks and shelves. This is way beyond me.” Even if he had the expertise, there was nothing he could do without the proper materials.

  “Well… a makeshift shelter could mean a tent I suppose.” Charles showed a wry smile. “What are the chances someone has a few tarps?”

  Alaric couldn’t help but chuckle. “I think we’ll need to be a bit more realistic. We have to use the church.” He pointed at the waist high tallgrass surrounding the Hallowed Ground. “Woven grass if we can’t find any cloth, a small fire to keep warm and boil the water. We’ll need a pot though.” He then glanced at the crowd. “And food.”

  “We’ll have to hunt.” Charles said as he watched the small pile of provisions not change much at all as the last person emptied his backpack. There were a handful of packaged snacks, a few protein bars, and six bottles of water. It wasn’t enough to feed anyone here for even a single meal.

  “Thank god for the rejuvenation.” Alaric mumbled. “At least no one is wounded or hungry now.”

  “Yes. But we’ve only got twelve hours, counting down, and it’s almost dusk.” He narrowed his eyes as he watched the sun slowly crawl towards the horizon. A quick glance at his watch made his expression darken. “It’s five o’clock. We’ve got maybe four hours before we lose all sunlight.”

  “It’s enough time to go out and get some stuff.” It certainly wasn’t enough time to hunt and do much with the ruined church though. “Charles,” Alaric hesitated before lowering his voice. “As soon as things calm down people will start breaking down. I know I will. And I know Clara’s just faking being ok.”

  “I know.” The other man closed his eyes momentarily. “Ava’s not well either. And I’m sure Mr. Carl’s calmness is just a mask too.” He opened his eyes and met Alaric’s gaze. “You can’t break down.”

  Alaric’s chest tightened.

  “Not if you want Clara to be ok eventually. And neither can I. These people are afraid – they’re terrified. Someone needs to stay here with them, and someone needs to go find what we need – lead them so they don’t scatter in panic at the first sign of danger.”

  His eyes widened. “You want me to go back out there?” He kept his voice down, though a part of him wanted to shout.

  Charles nodded. “Either you or I should.” He gestured down, towards the people. “If you’re confident you can keep them calm and working, then I’ll gladly go. But…” He let his voice fade, knowing he didn’t need to say another word.

  Alaric was no leader. He didn’t have the confidence or charm Charles had – and he was too young to be taken seriously by anyone. No one here would listen to him, but they would listen to Charles, a member of the parish council of Bibury. He was well known and loved all around these parts, and pretty much everyone here knew him personally.

  He closed his eyes. “No, you’re right.”

  “Oh!” Ava exclaimed. “A rifle!”

  A man who was probably in his early fifties put the rifle on the ground. “I’ve got one extra magazine with me. Six bullets is all we got.” He glanced at Charles, then at Alaric. “Councillor Hunt, I’ll get you the deer you need, unless you want to save the bullets for something that’s hunting us instead.”

  Charles scowled. “We can’t fight back with an empty stomach. Keep the rifle, Mr. Singer, and tomorrow morning, find us some food.”

  “Alright.” Mr. Singer grumbled as he picked the rifle back up and sat down with his back against the boulder.

  “Come on,” Charles said with a lower voice to Alaric. “Let’s go down and start planning.”