Barrier Fall

Welcome to slumberland

The entire day was a slow, grinding hike. Most of the children were between seven and nine years old, with a few older ones around eleven to thirteen. They swarmed through the forest in noisy clusters.

"One hundred and three, one hundred and four, one hundred and five… argh! They got tangled up again!" Nox groaned. This was the seventh time he'd tried to count the children, and somehow he always lost track around the same number. "That's it, I give up."

Nox had fought boredom by counting the children, but now he was ready to give up.

"What's wrong with you? You've been sighing nonstop, it's getting on my nerves," Soren snapped, irritation clear in his voice.

Urgh, he sounds so entitled, Nox thought. "I've been trying to count the children, but I keep losing count at the same point. It's frustrating." He slapped his face with both palms.

"No kidding, I can tell," Soren muttered. "Anyway, there are one hundred and seventeen children—seventy girls and forty-seven boys. There. Now stop sighing; it's irritating."

Nox stared at him in disbelief. "What the hell? You just made up those random numbers, didn't you?"

Soren rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Give me one reason why I'd lie."

Nox thought for a second. "To sound smarter?" he said uncertainly.

"Sound smarter? What the hell have you been taking that made you this stupid? I am smart. As a prince, the third son of the mighty Blitz Kingdom, I was expected to be perfect. Whether I liked it or not."

"Hmm, really?" Nox said with a pitying look. "Sounds like your life was as hard as I thought."

"I see you have more than one screw loose, but I'll let it go. You look like yo had a rough life, there's no need for me to make you more miserable," Soren replied. "But seriously, why are you so dumb? Do you even know what books are?"

"W-w-what? Of course I know what books are! I was taught by someone who loved them. He's ten times smarter than you," Nox shot back, stammering slightly.

"Oh really? And who could that be?" Soren asked, amused.

"My best friend, Juro. Our village didn't have schools, but his mother loved books and taught him everything. My mom tried to teach me too, but I wasn't interested. Juro threatened to stop being my friend if I didn't learn." Nox smiled faintly. "Anyway, I can read and write. And I know plenty about the world."

"Juro, huh? Must've been pretty smart to teach a dumb kid like you," Soren teased.

Nox didn't reply. His mind drifted, back to the first night they met. "Hey, the first time we met—it was kinda like this, wasn't it?"

Soren chuckled softly. "Yeah, it was. Anyway, let's move before we fall behind."

Just then, a small boy, maybe eight years old, ran up and stopped, staring hard at them.

Soren glared back. "What?"

"Hey, calm down a bit, will you?" Nox scolded, frowning at Soren's tone.

The boy spoke, "Are you trying to steal the food? The guy with black and white hair said you would."

Nox's veins popped on his temple. "Are you calling me a thief?" he growled, louder than he meant to. Then he noticed dozens of small eyes staring at them from every direction.

"Why are they all looking at us like that?" Nox whispered.

Soren glanced around. The sun was setting; they'd been walking all day. "They're tired and hungry. And that bastard Ren told them all the food was with us."

The children started inching closer, eyes wide and bloodshot. Nox and Soren backed away, actually nervous.

CLAP!

Ren's hands echoed through the clearing. "Alright, kids! We'll camp here for tonight!"

The children collapsed to the forest floor in exhaustion. Soren and Nox dropped their bags and sank down too. But as soon as they did, a heavy aura, thick with malice, washed over the camp.

Kirian's expression hardened. Nox quickly made his way to him and Ren.

"You finally noticed the aura of the Iora that's been following us since we entered the forest," Ren said.

"Wait, how come Soren and I didn't feel it until now?" Nox asked.

"If we weren't actively looking for something that could potentially harm the children, we wouldn't either," Kirian replied.

"It was waiting for us to get deeper into the forest," Ren added, "where turning back isn't easy."

Kirian rubbed his temple. "And for nightfall. Whatever it is, it's going to act tonight. I knew this forest was going to be bad, but not this early."

"What do we do then?" Nox asked.

"Nothing yet. We'll wait and counter when it comes," Ren said, looking tired.

"Finding its source would be too risky with the kids here. We go on like nothing's wrong," Kirian decided.

"Some of the kids can sense it too," Nox said, pointing to the few trembling near the fire.

"Go back to Soren. Keep watch. Don't let anyone wander," Kirian ordered. "Something's definitely coming, whatever it is, stay alert."

They followed orders. A campfire crackled. The group ate while Ren kept the kids laughing with his antics. Nox and Soren stayed alert. Kirian stood guard, silent and ready.

Midnight came. The forest was deathly quiet, not peaceful quiet, but the kind that feels wrong.

Soren paced to stay awake. When he came back, Nox was asleep.

Unbelievable. He kicked him. "Hey, dumb boy, wake up!"

No response. He kicked harder. "Nox?" Still nothing. He shook him violently. Nothing. Everyone else was asleep too, even Ren, who stressed danger and the need to stay awake.

Something was wrong. Very wrong.

Then Soren noticed—Kirian was still awake. Relief washed over him.

As he walked toward him, Ren suddenly staggered up. The campfire lit his multicolored hair. The white side darkened until both halves were black. His red eyes glowed in the firelight. His grin was gone.

"Ren?" Kirian said softly, almost uncertain.

Ren tilted his head, silent.

Soren froze.

BOOM!

Ren launched, slamming into Kirian and driving him through the trees. The forest exploded with noise as they vanished into the darkness.

Crunch. Crunch.

Footsteps approached the camp. A young man appeared, strolling with his hands behind his back—white hair adorned with glistening beads, a long white gown, and black boots. He stopped in front of Soren, hands calmly behind his back.

"Wow. Someone actually didn't fall into the nightmare," he said softly. "And someone fell very fast." He turned his neck towards Ren and Kirian's direction.

"Wh-who are you?" Soren stammered. "What did you do to everyone?"

"Well, since you resisted dream, I suppose I owe you at least a proper introduction of myself," the man said, bowing slightly. "I am Mare. And this forest—" he spread his arms wide "—is mine. Welcome to my terrible kingdom…"

"Welcome to Slumber Land.”