Overlord

38

Slater tried to process what she saw, the impossible sea stretching seemingly forever, but she retained enough self-awareness to keep an eye on Larsen and the others too. Larsen himself apparently verged on panic, eyes darting in every direction as he stepped randomly from foot to foot like a child in desperate need of a bathroom. Olsen and Jensen stood stoic, faces creased in frowns, waiting for something to happen, or someone to issue an order. It seemed their military mindset had locked them into a mental holding pattern. She didn’t think the inertia would last long.

Larsen turned suddenly to her and closed the distance between them in two fast strides. “Show us the way back to the green cavern! Now!”

Slater shook her head, tried to work some saliva into her dry mouth. “I can’t. I… I think I must have made a wrong turn. I got lost. Sorry, I have no idea where we are.” Her mind worked quickly, appalled with herself that she was admitting to this truth, but the sight before them had stripped her of the ability for artifice. Would he kill them now, out of fear if nothing else? She had no idea how to process any of this and every new revelation added to the insanity instead of helping to explain it.

Mist over the ocean thickened, began to creep forward as if grasping for them. Cloudy tentacles wound across the rock, growing stronger, darker, almost as if they had a physical form beyond simple vapor. Slater noticed Olsen had seen them, too. He stared in consternation then half-heartedly swung one booted foot through one questing tendril. He seemed slightly unsatisfied when it broke apart and swirled away like smoke. It seemed to behave differently to how he’d expected. And how Slater herself had expected, for that matter.

“Where are we?” Larsen shouted at her. “What the hell is happening here?” Without waiting for an answer, he turned away from her, raised questioning hands at Olsen and Jensen.

“You think I know?” Olsen said. “There is nothing natural about any of this and the sooner we get out the better.”

“I don’t know the way!” Larsen’s voice was cracked, his mind close to snapping right behind it.

Olsen gestured towards Slater. “So get back to convincing her. She’s the only one who knows. Or claims to know, at least.”

“We don’t know!” Syed said, pushing up close to Slater. “But maybe together we can find our way.” She looked Slater. “I don’t think we should stay here, at least. This place can’t be safe.”

Slater was inclined to agree with that, then something caught her eye. In the distance, waist deep in the shallows of the impossibly glittering sea, she saw a figure. He was holding aloft something that shined a brighter green than anything else around him.

“Who’s that?” she called out, pointing.

The others squinted into the distance, shielding their eyes against mist and the brightness emanating from whatever was being held up.

“Is that O’Donnell?” Larsen asked.

The mist grew thicker, obscuring the figure. Writhing closer and higher, like a thing with a conscious will. As it began to obscure anything in the distance, including the man in the water, Slater looked back the other way, towards the high ledge of rock. She startled, realized someone was dashing toward them. No, more than someone. Three people, two in front, one lagging a little behind. They seemed to be carrying spears. But a grin split her face at the first bit of good news in a long time. It was Aston and Tate in front, Jen Galicia, face set in grim determination, following doggedly behind. Her heart lurched, she raised a hand to acknowledge them, but the mist thickened more than ever and obscured them all. Surely they had seen her, they must have. They were running right towards her.

But that meant they were running right at the armed mercs too. She turned back and realized the fog had become so thick she could barely see Larsen only a few feet from her. He and the other mercs still seemed to stare off towards Digby O’Donnell, all three taking a step toward the man as the mist closed around them, hiding everything from view. She grabbed Syed by the wrist, whispered, “Come on!” and took off at a run toward Aston.