Reality overload

Posting a little early today hope everyone enjoys this chapter. I had fun with it!!!╰(*´︶`*)╯♡

Reia sat at the end of the booth, small and stiff, hands folded in her lap like she was afraid to touch anything. Her shoulders were tight. Her eyes kept flicking toward the door, then back to the table, then down to her hands. She looked like she was waiting for someone to tell her she was scared.

I hated that look. I didn't want to drag her into this.

So I leaned forward, lowering my voice.

"Reia," I said gently, "you don't have to come with us."

Her head snapped up, eyes wide. "What?"

I swallowed. "I mean it. You're not on Cross's radar. You're not in danger the way we are. Riley and Charlie and I... we're already tangled in this mess. But you're not. You could stay safe. You don't have to follow us into all of this."

The table went quiet.

Even Riley stopped fidgeting.

Reia stared at me like I'd just slapped her.

Then she shook her head, tiny, trembling, but fierce.

"No," she whispered. "No, Zora. You don't understand."

Her voice wavered, but she didn't look away.

"You guys are my first friends."

Charlie's breath caught.

Reia kept going, words spilling out like she'd been holding them in for the past hour.

"I know we haven't known each other long. I know I'm awkward. And small. And I say weird things at the wrong time. And I don't always understand jokes until everyone's already laughing."

Her eyes focused. "But I won't abandon my friends."

My chest tightened.

She wasn't done.

"You didn't leave me behind when you found out what I was. You didn't treat me like I was strange or like I was... too much."

Her voice cracked. "You let me sit with you. You let me belong."

Riley's eyes softened. Nate looked away like he didn't want to be caught getting emotional. Lucas pretended to be very interested in his soda.

Reia took a shaky breath.

"So I'm staying. Not because I have to. Not because I'm in danger. But because I want to. Because you're my friends. And I won't run away from that."

Before I could even react, Charlie moved.

She didn't hesitate. She didn't overthink. She just slid out of the booth, wrapped her arms around Reia, and pulled her into a hug so tight Reia squeaked.

"You're not small," Charlie muttered into her hair. "You're perfect."

Reia froze, then melted, tension uncurling, her face lifting just a little.

Riley sniffed dramatically. "I'm not crying. You're crying."

Nate wiped his eye. "Shut up."

Lucas nodded solemnly. 

I smiled, warm, full, real.

"Reia," I said softly, "we want you with us, you're our friend too."

She looked at me over Charlie's shoulder, eyes shining.

"Then I'm coming," she whispered. "All the way."

She didn't look scared now.

She looked like she belonged.

We left the diner in a rush, the bell above the door jingling violently as Lucas shoved it open with his shoulder. Waiting for everyone to come out. The night heat slapped us in the face the moment we stepped outside, thick and heavy and smelling faintly of asphalt and fried food. Behind us, Vincent was still sitting in the booth, staring down at the seven burgers Riley had ordered "just in case," and the check the waitress had dropped off with a sympathetic pat on his shoulder.

"Wait...guys..." Vincent called after us, voice cracking. "You're leaving me with the bill?!"

Riley was the last sitting everyone else already out the door . "Think of it as compensation for working with the bad guys...accept you're fate, Vincent!"

He just sat there, staring at the untouched bill the waitress had left on the table, fingers tapping once against the paper. He looked... tired. Not physically. Just tired in the way someone gets when they've been running from something too long.

Riley pushed the door open again.

Vincent stood.

"Hold on," he said.

Riley stopped mid‑step, hand still on the door, shoulders stiff. "What."

Vincent walked toward her. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small white card. No logo. No name. Just a number written in clean handwriting.

He held it out to her.

"This is how you get ahold of me."

Riley didn't take it right away. She looked at him like she was waiting for him to say something stupid, or dangerous, or both.

Vincent didn't look away. "I'm not with Cross anymore. And I meant what I said. If anything happens, if you need backup, if he sends people after you again...call me."

Riley's jaw tightened. "Why me."

"Because you're the one who'll actually do it," Vincent said. "The others will hesitate. You won't."

Riley snorted. "You don't know me."

"I do," he said quietly. "More than you think."

She finally took the card, snatching it like she didn't want to admit she wanted it. She looked down at the number, thumb brushing the ink.

Vincent stepped back, giving her space. "I'll be close."

Riley narrowed her eyes. "Close how."

Vincent's mouth twitched...almost a smile, but not quite. "Close enough."

Riley stared at him for a long moment, weighing him, judging him, deciding whether he was lying.

He didn't look away.

She shoved the card into her pocket. "Fine. But if you try to mess with zora again, I'm hunting you down."

Vincent nodded once. "Fair."

Riley pushed the door open and stepped outside, catching up to us like nothing happened.

Vincent stood there for a moment.

"Will that be cash or card hun." Vincent sighed with resignation. And pulled out his wallet.

Charlie snorted. "He's gonna kill us."

Lucas muttered, "If Cross doesn't get him first."

Reia winced. "Too soon."

I didn't say anything. My heart was pounding too hard. The moment we stepped outside, the world felt... wrong. Like the air was vibrating. Like something was pulling at me. Like Hilguard was calling.

And I knew, deep in my bones, that we didn't have time to sit around eating burgers.

We piled into the van Nate had "borrowed" from campus. Riley took the passenger seat. Charlie climbed in beside me. Reia squeezed in next to her. Lucas and Nate took the back. The van smelled like old gym socks and stale fries.

Nate started the engine. "Where to?"

I didn't think. I just pointed.

"That way."

He didn't question it. He just drove.

The road blurred beneath us, the trees whipping past in streaks of green and shadow. The sky darkened as we left town, the sun dipping low behind the hills. My frost prickled across my cheeks, glowing faintly golden in the dim light.

Riley glanced at me. "You okay?"

"No," I said honestly. "But I know where we're going."

Charlie leaned forward. "You're sure Hilguard is this way?"

"Yes."

"How?" Reia asked softly.

I pressed a hand to my chest.

"I don't know I can just feel it."

The goddess seed inside me pulsed,warm, ancient, and somehow familiar. Like a compass pointing in the direction I needed.

We drove for nearly an hour, the road winding deeper into the woods. The air grew colder. The trees grew thicker. The world grew quieter.

And then—

The van shuddered.

The headlights flickered.

The air rippled.

And the forest opened into a clearing that shouldn't exist a path appeared out of no where. Like it had been cut with a knife one moment it was a gravel road, the next a familiar dirt path.

Hilguard stood ther, tall wooden walls cut from trees. Torches flickering along the battlements. A medieval town in the middle of the woods.

Nate slammed on the brakes.

"Holy—"

Lucas finished for him. "—shit."

Riley whispered, "crap..."

Reia's eyes glowed faintly. "That's a lot of police."

Charlie squeezed my hand. "Come on before somebody see us."

We  piled out of the van and crouched behind a fallen tree, the last stretch of woods between us and Hilguard. I could feel the magic pulling at me cold, familiar, insistent, but the police cruisers parked in a ring around the clearing were a pretty big "nope" to just walking out there.

Riley peeked over the log. "Okay, so that's... a LOOOT of cops."

Nate whispered, "Why are there so many?"

Lucas answered, "Because captain idiot there's a literal medieval town that popped up out of nowhere."

Charlie smiled and elbowed him. "Not helping."

I scanned the perimeter. The officers weren't moving in. They weren't searching. They were just... waiting. Radios clipped to their shoulders. Hands on their belts. Engines idling.

"They're waiting for someone higher up," I whispered. "We need to get past them before that happens."

Riley nodded. "So we need a distraction."

Reia perked up immediately. A creepy smile playing across her cute face, and it didn't fit at all.

"I can do that."

We all turned to her.

She said it so sweetly. So earnestly. Like she was offering to bake cookies.

"I can send a corpse."

Silence.

Then Riley's eyes widened like she'd just discovered a new superpower.

"...go on."

Reia nodded, very matter‑of‑fact. "I can make one walk out of the woods. Slowly. Toward them. Humans get very frightened when corpses walk toward them."

Nate slapped a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing. Lucas whispered, "They really do."

Charlie blinked. "Wait. Are we... are we actually considering this?"

Riley pointed at Reia like she'd just solved world hunger. "Charlie. Charlie. Listen. This is GENIUS."

Charlie stared at her. "It's a corpse."

Riley shrugged. "Yeah, but like... a strategic corpse."

Reia brightened. "I can make it limp. And groan. And reach out."

Nate wheezed. "Oh my god."

Lucas whispered, "They'll freak out so hard."

I covered my mouth because I was absolutely not supposed to find this funny, but I did. I really did.

Charlie looked at me like I was supposed to be the adult.

I was not.

"...it would work," I admitted.

Charlie threw her hands up. "Oh my god, you're all insane."

Riley clapped her hands once. "Reia, earlier zombie not withstanding. I am officially lifting your corpse probation."

Reia gasped. "Really?"

"Yes," Riley said solemnly. "Use your powers for chaos."

Reia nodded, glowing with pride. "I will make it very chaotic."

Charlie stared at her. "Define 'very chaotic....'"

Reia thought for a moment. "I will ask it chase them."

Nate fell over. Lucas had to bury his face in his sleeve. Riley was crying from laughing. I was shaking trying not to laugh out loud.

Charlie put her face in her hands. "We're going to jail."

Riley grinned. "Not if the corpse gets there first."

Reia stood up a little straighter, eyes shining with purpose. "I will begin."

And honestly?

We were absolutely terrible people.

But this was the best plan we'd had all night.

Reia knelt in the dirt like she was about to politely ask the earth for a favor. The rest of us crouched behind a thick patch of brush, Hilguard's faint torchlight flickering a quarter mile ahead.

The police perimeter was still tight, cruisers lined up, officers pacing, radios crackling. They were tense, alert, waiting for someone higher up to arrive.

Reia pressed her palm to the ground. Speaking something that sounded ancient, and I realized I understood her words. When I couldn't before. I was going to say something but then the earth started so shudder under Reia.

A hand, huge, dirt‑caked, wearing a cracked leather bracer, burst through the soil.

Riley whispered, "Oh my god!."

Nate squeaked. Lucas made a quiet "nope" sound. Charlie muttered, "We are so going to jail."

The corpse dragged itself out of the ground with slow, deliberate movements. It was massive, broad‑shouldered, braided hair matted with dirt, wearing the shredded remains of ancient armor. A rusted sword was still strapped to its back.

A Viking.

A literal Viking.

Reia stood, brushing dirt off her skirt. "Hello," she said softly. "Can you hear me?"

The Viking corpse turned its head toward her, vertebrae cracking like old wood.

It groaned.

Not a scary groan, more like a confused cow.

Reia nodded encouragingly. "Good. Very good. I need you to walk toward the men with the metal carriages. Slowly, and menacingly please."

The corpse blinked one cloudy eye.

Then it raised one giant hand and pointed at itself.

"Uuurghh?"

Riley slapped a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. "He's asking if you're talking to him..."

Reia nodded politely. "Yes. Just you."

The corpse nodded back.

A full, solemn Viking nod.

Then it took a few steps forward.

And immediately tripped over a root.

Face‑first.

The cops heard the thud.

One officer froze. "What was that?"

Another shined his flashlight. "Is someone out there?"

The Viking corpse pushed itself up, groaning like it was deeply offended by gravity.

Then it stepped into the clearing.

The cops absolutely lost their minds.

"WHAT THE— WHAT IS THAT?!"

"IS THAT A PERSON?!"

The Viking raised both arms and roared.

It sounded like a bear with bronchitis.

Riley whispered, "He's so dramatic. I love him."

Charlie whispered, "I hate this."

"I'll have to agree with Charlie on this one." Lucas chimed in."

"Don't be a big baby Lucas." I said patting his massive shoulder. I didn't see his face change color.

One cop fired his taser.

The taser hit the Viking.

The Viking paused...

...looked down at the wires...

...and shrugged.

The cops screamed.

"IT'S IMMUNE TO ELECTRICITY!"

"WHAT DO WE DO?!"

"SHOOT IT!"

"NO, DON'T SHOOT IT, WHAT IF IT GETS MAD?!"

"IT'S ALREADY MAD!"

The Viking corpse suddenly turned its head back toward Reia.

"Uuuhh?"

Reia gave a thumbs up. Whispering . "You're doing great! Keep going!"

The Viking nodded proudly.

Then he charged.

Full sprint.

The cops shrieked like they were being chased by a bear, a ghost, and their student loan debt all at once.

"IT'S RUNNING— WHY IS IT RUNNING?!"

"STOP RUNNING!"

"SOMEONE CALL THE DIRECTOR, THIS IS ABOVE MY PAY GRADE!"

Riley was crying from laughing. "Reia, you're a menace."

Reia beamed. "Thank you."

Charlie grabbed my arm. "Zora. We need to go NOW before they call the National Guard."

She was right.

The cops were so busy screaming, tripping over each other, and arguing about whether the Viking was a demon, or a very angry historical reenactor that they didn't notice us slip through the trees.

We stayed low, moving fast, the chaos behind us covering every sound we made.

Lucas whispered, "We're going to hell."

Reia looked back proudly. "He is doing very well."

Riley nodded. "He's doing AMAZING."

Charlie groaned. "We're really are all going to jail."

We broke through the last line of trees, Hilguard's walls glowing in the distance.

Behind us, a cop screamed, "IT'S CLIMBING....WHY IS IT CLIMBING?!"

Reia whispered, "Seems he elikes to climb."

Riley wheezed. "I'm gonna pass out."

And somehow, through the chaos, the screaming, the undead Viking trying to scale a police cruiser...

We slipped past the police line completely unseen.

Hilguard was only a quarter mile away.

And we were going to make it.

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