The lines between life and death seemed to blur for Rhys.
Floating through the vacuum as if he were flying down from the sky.
Crash!!
That analogy was more literal than you may have thought.
Rhys: [Aww shit… did I fall out of the sky or something]
The bewilderment on the faces that were gathering around him said it all.
He looked up and saw a crack in the sky slowly disappear.
Rhys got off the wet, dewy grass, scratched his ass, and was planning to walk right past these random civilians.
That plan had a pin put in it by some random dad with a pitchfork, a semi-white beard and raggedy clothes.
The man was most likely protecting his kids from the thing in front of them.
???: [G-get away from us!
You freak!]
Rhys was stunned at the blatant racism.
He was only a couple of shades darker, anyway.
Rhys: [w-what?
What the hell did I do?
Who even are you guys?!]
???: [we don’t want your kind in our village.
Leave!
Now!]
He was too stunned to speak.
Whether this village was racist; or something else entirely, seemed to play a part.
Rhys: [WHAT?!
Can someone please tell me what I did wrong??]
The dad with the pitchfork looked confused.
His body slowly relaxed as his weapon touched the ground.
The two kids both also came into view of Rhys, showing off their blonde, silky hair and pale skin.
???: [Okay… pops!
Lemme just take this operation over for a sec]
A blonde guy who seemed to be a few years older than Rhys stepped out from inside the crowd.
He strutted his way right into Rhys’s personal space.
Only being inches away from each other’s faces.
???: [Hey there, bud.
Why don’t I go show you over to the lake?
It’s only a 10-minute walk south.]
He put his hand on Rhys’s shoulder.
???: [Once you look into the water, it’ll make way more sense…]
Rhys: [Um, sure; I guess…]
The dad snuck up on both of them, grabbed the guy’s arm and yanked it off Rhys’ shoulder.
Dad: [What in God’s name do you think you’re doing, son?!
You have no clue what it’s capable of…]
???: [Oh, calm down, pops!
Look at it!
It’s probably more scared of you than you are of it.]
The boy’s insight was not totally wrong.
Rhys wasn’t in the best headspace at the moment.
Looking like his brain was going to fry.
???: [Look.
It’s been on the muddy grass for about an hour now.
Lemme clean it up first, just in case.]
Rhys felt the tug of the boy’s hand as he wiggled through the slowly dispersing crowd.
Their stares felt like daggers shooting through his intestines.
If only he had looked down to see that someone had been poking him with something sharp a while ago.
The empty, jittering, black eyes Rhys possessed sent shivers down the boy’s spine.
Rhys: [Where are you taking me?]
He looked around at all the medieval infrastructure around him.
The sight had amazed him somewhat.
???: [There’s a pond past our village walls and the forest.
There you can clean yourself off and check out your mug.]
Rhys: [Why were you… calling me “It” in front of that crowd?]
???: [I’ll tell you that once we get out of here]
The streets seemed to freeze around them.
As the other residents were in awe of the sight.
Rhys caught a glimpse, and anxiety immediately bulldozed straight into his stomach.
An extreme example could be seen right next to a fruit stand.
With a little kid, maybe five or six years old.
He was picking out a couple of fruits from the nice fruit vendor.
After he bagged the apples.
He looks over and makes eye contact with Rhys, getting dragged.
The kid seemed to be more and more horrified as he looked at Rhys, with him eventually crying and running behind the fruit stand out of sight.
A tear ran down Rhys’s face as he watched it happen.
Not even really knowing what he was doing wrong.
???: [Hey Mr.
Reygan!!]
Rhys violently darts his head at the boy.
Mr.
Reygan: [Hey their bud— what the fuck is that thing…?
Is that what was causing the commotion outside?!]
The boy frantically dug through his mastermind of an intellect, just to find a good enough excuse.
???: [Um… No…?]
Rhys and Mr.
Reygan both just stared at him for a second.
???: [Man, can you just open the gate for me pretty please?
I promise he’s harmless; I think…]
Mr.
Reygan took a peek at Rhys for a split second and sighed before letting them through the gate and into the outside world.
Rhys was astonished by the beauty surrounding him.
With the morning sun peeking over the mountain on the east, to the massive rolling landscape all around the surrounding area.
A dense forest also stood a little while away.
???: [C’mon, man!
Why’re you just standing there still?
Get a move on!]
Rhys snapped back and jolted forward before continuing their beautiful stroll.
The boy also stopped holding his hand, which was nice.
Rhys: [W-where are we?]
???: [What?
Mr village?
Well, this place is called Haethir.
I think.]
A couple of birds flew past them.
Almost as if they were in a hurry.
???: [I’m pretty sure this island is the southernmost point in the world.
At least that’s what my dad told me.]
Rhys: [Was your dad that guy with the pitchfork…?]
???: [Yep!
And the two girls behind him were my litter sisters.
The one with blue and green eyes is Elya.
The other one is Silvya]
Rhys: [Cool…]
An awkward silence fell on both of them as they slowly made it closer and closer to the dense forest ahead.
The closer they got.
An eerie stillness filled the air around Rhys.
???: [You tensin’ up back their man?]
Rhys: [U-uh, a little.
How did you know…?]
???: [everyone that has come down this trail has said the same thing.
It’s also because of a legend circulating around the village for a bit]
Rhys raised his left eyebrow.
Rhys: [An urban legend?]
???: [Some elders in the village say that a lanky ghostly humanoid figure lurks in the forest at night.
Ready to hunt any human it comes across.]
They finally entered the forest, just as the boy finished his speech.
A shiver ran down Rhys’s spine as he said that.
Rhys: [W-wait!
Why are we going through this pseudo death trap then?]
???: [oh don’t worry about it!
During the day, we’re fine.
Most people come out around these parts to play and wash up anyway.
So we’re fine…]
The atmosphere around the duo seemed to clear up for both of them.
Rhys’s anxiety slowly faded into the back of his subconscious.
Until this point.
Rhys has been doing what he does best.
Going with the flow.
Most of what has happened so far could’ve been a dream for all he knows.
After he’s seen the forest through.
Everything seemed to change within him.
No longer is he going to let things happen without things.
No longer is he going to let anyone else treat him like shit.
He’s taking his life; into his own hands.
Rhys: [Hey… you think you could tell me your name, man?]
The boy turned around; Rhys’s extremely shiny, rainbow-coloured eyes shocked him.
A scar also seemed to form on his forehead, leaking the same colour that his eyes were.
The boy didn’t really know what was going on, but he understood the change.
The boy chuckled.
Then he fully turned to face Rhys.
???: [The name’s Dylan.
Dylan Starless.
What’s your name?]
A big grin formed on Rhys’s face.
Rhys: [Rhys Morgan.
Cool name Dylan]