She wasn't there. Just Matt and I, alone in this strange wilderness.
We walked aimlessly, brushing aside vines and branches, trying to make sense of the last few hours—or however long it had been.
"Are you sure you didn't see her when you woke up?" I asked, stepping over a root.
"The only face I saw was yours," Matt muttered. "And let me tell you, it wasn't exactly a comforting sight. No El. No angelic beauty. Just you and your ugly face."
"Do you think… she woke up somewhere else?"
I already had a nagging suspicion. One I didn't want to voice. Maybe she had woken up earlier and left us.
"I hope not," Matt replied.
We pressed on in silence until a sudden rustling snapped us to attention.
Something was moving in the bushes.
It wasn't the wind. It was too quick. Too deliberate.
We grabbed the nearest sticks and rocks we could find, hearts pounding, breaths shallow.
The noise came closer. Closer.
Then—BAM!—a blur of white fur leapt from the brush, and we screamed like terrified toddlers, throwing everything we were holding.
We cracked open our eyes, bracing for doom… only to see a rabbit?
Or what looked like a rabbit.
It had oversized ears—almost like wings. Definitely not your ordinary woodland creature.
"What the heck is that?" Matt asked, voice shaking.
But before we could process the odd little thing, more rustling came. Heavier. Bigger.
The rabbit—if you could still call it that—wasn't charging us. It was running from something.
It skidded to a stop, wide-eyed and twitching as it stared at us.
Then, without warning, a hand shot out from behind and snatched it by its wing-like ears.
"El?" Matt and I said in unison, still crouched in fear.
She stood there casually, bunny dangling from one hand, a kitchen knife in the other.
"Oh good, you're awake," she said, as if we were just in her backyard and not in some mystical forest. "Who's hungry?"
After that event...
We camped where El had found us. She gutted the bunny expertly, her hands moving with strange precision.
she explained. "Tried waking you guys up, but neither of you budged. So, I went out to explore. Found this little thing and had to chase it all over. Got lucky—it ran back toward you and stumbled. That's when I caught it."
Matt sighed in relief. "Honestly, I thought you might have woken up somewhere else."
El didn't look up as she worked. "I was gonna come back once I caught it. Turns out, luck's on our side—you both woke up right on time."
I glanced at Matt, who looked at her with stars in his eyes like she was some survivalist goddess.
Yeah, right. I wasn't buying it. Not fully.
The sun was setting, casting golden hues across the forest. Matt gathered firewood while I set up the fire, silently thanking every Boy Scout skill I'd ever mocked.
The roasted bunny turned out to be… surprisingly good. Savory. Tender. Still didn't make sense.
We tried to piece together what happened. No answers. Matt only remembered following El—then nothing.
But I remembered.
I remembered the reality cracking open, like a mirror breaking… something dragging us through.
Did El remember?
I had to find out.
That night...
They slept. Or, well, Matt definitely did—he muttered something about "ladies" and "strength" in his dreams.
Me? I kept watch. Eyes closed, ears open. Something told me not to trust El—not fully.
Then I felt it.
She moved. Silent, but not invisible.
She slipped into the woods, thinking we were asleep.
I counted to ten, then followed.
The sound of rushing water met my ears. A stream. Maybe even a waterfall.
Moonlight shimmered over a pool of crystal-clear water. And there she was, bathing under the moon like something out of a fantasy tale.
I turned to leave—fast—but stopped dead as two glowing eyes met mine from the bushes.
I stumbled backward in terror. El heard the noise.
"Who's there?" she shouted.
It was just another weird winged bunny… staring at me.
I tried to shoo it, but by the time I turned around, El was already there—not fully dressed in a long shirt that covered down to her mid thigh, kitchen knife in hand.
"You pervert!" she shouted, eyes blazing. "I never thought you of all people—"
"No! I wasn't— I just followed you—"
"To spy on me bathing?!"
"No, I thought—you were going to leave us—" I stammered.
She didn't wait. The knife flew and stabbed the ground right between my legs.
I paled. Future me, my children, my grandchildren—they all flashed before my eyes.
"Talk," she said, calm now. Too calm. "Maybe I'll spare you."
"I will… but…"
"But what?"
"Can you—put on your pants first?"
I stared at the ground, beet red. Her shirt covered a lot, but from this angle...
She looked down, realized, then shrieked and ducked, curling up and pulling her clothes tight.
And then she slapped me in the face.
Back at the tree, once she'd returned—fully dressed and still armed—she finally asked me to explain.
So I did tell her. Everything. My suspicion that she had planned to abandon us.
Well I should have lied, I know, but the thing is there are two reasons why I told her the truth.
First, nothing will happen if I didn't direct her and I need to know if she knows something
Second, because I can't lie. I have a reason for that. Let's just say that it's my weakness.
She looked at me, eyes eyebrows up
"Really?" she said quietly. "You thought I'd leave you and Matt?"
She sighed. "We're stuck here—wherever here is. You really think I'd try to survive this godforsaken place alone?"
"I have reasons why" I said
"What then? What could possibly be the reason I'll abandon you both?" she replied sarcastically
"First, the reason why we're here because of you-"
"Uh, first of all I didn't drag you here, you both followed me here on your own" she but in
"Touche" i replied
"Clearly you know something, you are the reason why that—whatever that thing that sucked us in. And by the way, how come you have a knife? It is clearly a kitchen knife which you clearly planned on going here in advance and you know what might you face coming here?"
I paused and she just looked at me menacing
"I do, and?..." she replied
"Uh... That's it? You're not going to explain where we are, why are you eager to go here and since you know how to get here surely you know how to get out of here?" I said kinda irritated
She just sighs, still holding the knife playfully. She clicked her tongue and said
"Fine. First of all I don't know exactly where we are but I know we're not on a place you called earth, second I'm here because this is where I am from... Happy?" she replied
"Wha—what do you mean we're not on earth?" I asked
"Ugh, question, after question. Have you ever looked at what's around you? What did you eat? We're not on earth" She said annoyed
So impatient
"Do you know where is this" I again asked
"No, again I don't—"
"I mean if this is not earth then what does this place called" I but in
"Antares" she replied
And she added "Can we go rest now? Look, I'll explain everything tomorrow. I don't like repeating myself if Matthew asks me these questions again."
I sigh thinking and nod.
I want to ask more but she's right. We need a lot of energy for tomorrow, answers can wait.
We got back to the camp and Matt was still sleeping like a baby. Nothing disturbed him, not even the insects that crawled on his face.
-At morning-
"WHAAAT??" Matt exclaimed load that even birds on the trees flew away
Both El and I close our ears as he shout in surprise
"we're not on earth? That explains why the trees are larger than usual and not to mention the delicious rabbit we ate yesterday that looks like it has a wings"
"At least you're smarter than this guy for noticing that" El said sarcastically while pointing her thumb on me
Of course I noticed it. I'm just more focus on getting the broader answers hmph
"Then since you're the reason why we're stuck here—" he coughs as he notices El's serious face "I mean since you know the way in then you know the way out right?" matt asked
El take out the silver necklace that hanging on her neck inside her outfit
"This is called gatein; it's an emergency gate way on earth and here in Antares. They said there's only six of these. Four have already been used before and I have two, the other one has already been used getting on earth and this. It's basically useless now because it can only be used once" she said holding the necklace
"But you see, the reason why only 6 was created because it is hard to find the natural source of gate" she added
"What do you mean" I asked
"Basically there is good news and bad news. Good news is that there is a way of getting out of here without gatein, but the bad news is that the natural source of gate randomly pops out around the world every month. And let me tell you it is unpredictable, and no one can tell where it will pop up next." she said
Both matt and I looked at each other utterly hopeless but then she added
"But..." she paused thinking as if she's contemplating to say what she's thinking
"There is a way" she said "I know a place where probably might give us an answer"
"And where is it" Matt asked
"At Livero. At the center of it there's a huge public library that contains all the knowledge... I think. But first we need to know where are we" she said