Reality overload

The lantern on our carriage swung gently as Lucas guided us down the moonlit road, the glow of Cordova flickering faintly through the trees. We were exhausted, hungry, and ready to be anywhere that wasn't the open wilderness.

Riley stretched. "I can practically smell the city."

Nate groaned. "I can practically taste dinner."

Charlie leaned forward, eyes narrowing. "I can practically sense—"

"Don't," Lucas begged.

Too late. The horses stopped.

Dead still.

Lucas blinked. "What the—?"

Riley leaned out the window. "Why'd we—"

She didn't finish.

Because someone stood in the middle of the path.

A girl.

Small, Delicate, and Barefoot.

Wearing a simple white dress that fluttered in the breeze like she'd stepped out of a painting. Her hair was pale and soft, tied with a ribbon. Her posture was shy, almost timid, hands clasped behind her back.

She looked like she should've been picking flowers.

Not blocking a road.

Not radiating death.

But the air around her felt wrong—

cold, heavy, humming with magic that made my skin crawl.

Nate whispered, "Oh, she's adorable."

Riley smacked him. "NOT the time!"

The girl lifted her head.

Her eyes were huge, bright, and innocent.

And empty.

"Hi," she said softly, voice sweet as sugar. "Are you the Ice Princess?"

The words slid through the night like a blade.

Before Charlie could grab me, before Lucas could shout, before anyone could stop me—I climbed out the window and dropped onto the path. My skirt fluttered in the night breeze.

The girl's smile widened, delighted.

"Oh! You are. I'm so happy."

"Who are you?" I asked, trying to ignore the air blowing under the skirt. My cheeks frosting a little.

She tilted her head, black ribbon swaying.

"I'm a necromancer."She said it like she was saying I like kittens.

Behind her, the bushes rustled.

Then four figures stepped out.

Not living.

Not breathing.

Not blinking.

Their skin was gray and stretched, their armor cracked and rusted, their movements stiff and puppet‑like, eyes glowing faintly with the same soft color as the girl's ribbon.

Her lackeys.

Her dead.

She clasped her hands behind her back again, rocking on her heels.

"They're my friends," she said sweetly. "I made them myself."

Riley gagged.

Nate whimpered.

Charlie whispered, "Oh gods."

The girl pulled a wicked-looking scissor blade out from behind her and pointed it at me speaking softly. " Want to play."

Lucas didn't wait. "Kris let's go!"

He snapped the reins as I hopped back up to the front bench 

The horses bolted, the carriage lurching violently as we tore down the road toward Cordova.

Riley screamed.

Nate shouted.

Charlie grabbed the bench.

Behind us, the necromancer giggled.

A soft, innocent giggle.

Then she raised her hand.

Her dead lackeys sprinted after us with unnatural speed, joints cracking, armor clattering.

And behind them—

A  carriage burst from the darkness, sleek and fast, driven by another corpse with glowing eyes. The necromancer hopped onto its roof with a little bounce, landing lightly on her toes.

She waved at me.

"Let's have some fun"

She was chasing us, as if she knew I was weak. And I realized she had no idea I was level eleven.

Frost gathered at my fingertips.

"KRIS!" Lucas yelled. "SIT DOWN!"

"No."I turned, facing the oncoming carriage.

The necromancer's eyes sparkled.

"Ohhh," she breathed. "Show me."

I raised my hand.

Frost spiraled outward, exploding into a wall of jagged ice that erupted across the road. Her undead driver swerved, the carriage skidding sideways, nearly flipping.

Her smile faltered.

Just a little.

Then she clapped her hands.

"That was pretty!"

But her undead recovered fast—too fast—and pulled up alongside us. One of them leapt, landing on our roof with a heavy thud. Another landing beside Lucas and me.

"NATE!" I shouted. "ROOF, GET UP THERE!"

Nate scrambled onto the roof, staff shaking in his hands.

The corpse tilted its head at him, jaw hanging loosely.

"You're the old guy wizard," it rasped in a voice that wasn't its own.

The necromancer's voice.

Puppeting it.

Nate squeaked. "I—I—no, I'm not OLD!"

The corpse lunged.

Nate screamed.

The fight was clumsy, chaotic, and somehow heroic. Nate blocked, dodged, rolled, and—by sheer panic and luck—blasted the corpse off the roof just as the carriage hit a bump.

It tumbled into the dirt, limbs twisting unnaturally.

Nate collapsed. "I want to go home."

The second corpse tried its hardest to get a Lucas, but I blocked it with a fist. To my disgust, my hand sank into its chest. 

"Bleeghehehe.." It grinned wickedly at me gnashing its teeth.

I shoved it off the cart my hand coming free with a wet pop. It flew into the darkness head over heels. 

I wiped my hand on Lucas's sleeve

"Aaah, Kris that's gross!!" he wailed.

"Yeah...well try being the one with your hand in its chest," I retorted "deal with it."

The necromancer watched the whole thing.

Thrilled.

Then she crouched and jumped. Her runners closing in with creepy grace leaping onto the sides of the carriage. 

She soared through the air, landing on our roof with a soft, delicate thud, knees bending just enough to absorb the impact. She straightened slowly, hands clasped behind her back again, ribbon fluttering.

"Hi again," she said sweetly. "Let's play more."

I heard Riley's scream as they fought off the attackers trying to climb in through the sides.

The necromancer lunged for Lucas, but I was faster my sword cracked with ice as I blocked her.

"Aww, Twice now...you're so nice to your boyfriend." she mused.

Claaang...'

"W.. What, H.. He's not m my boyfriend..." my cheeks were frosting over double time.

Clash...'

"Ohh, but he's so handsome, too bad.."

Crack...'

Nate scrambled out of the way.

Our duel exploding across the roof—steel against frost, sparks against ice, her innocent giggles ringing through the trees. She moved like she was skipping through a meadow, not trying to kill me.

"You're good," she said, breathless. "I haven't had fun in forever!"

I ducked under her blade and slammed a frost‑charged punch into her ribs. She staggered, eyes widening in shock.

"You have no idea, "I smirked.

Then she smiled.

A soft, delighted smile.

"Oh... you are strong."

Before I could answer, Lucas yanked the reins. And she used the momentum to slash my sword arm. It wasn't deep but it hurt like hell.

The carriage swung hard, wheels lifting off the ground. The roof tilted. We both slid.

She giggled like a child on a playground slide.

I barely caught the lantern bracket, frost anchoring my grip. Nate slid off the front landing in a heap next to Lucas.

She slammed into the far rail, caught it, and flipped upright with impossible grace.

"Again!" she chirped. "Do it again!"

Charlie pulled Nate into the carriage, and climbed onto the front bench, reaching toward me with glowing hands.

"Sorry Nate..."Charlie called to him

Nate yelped as he was pulled into the cart, only to come face to face with one of the corpses that had grabbed hold of the window 

The carriage tore through the forest, the horses screaming, wheels bouncing violently.

Charlie clung to the roof with one hand, the other glowing as she pressed it to my arm.

"Kris, stop moving—just for a second—"

"I'm literally fighting for my life!"

The necromancer girl giggled.

A soft, innocent, horrifying giggle.

She twirled her rusty scissor blade like a windmill.

"Aww, don't stop on my account~"

She lunged.

I blocked, sparks flying.

Charlie lost her footing for half a heartbeat, and the necromancer girl saw it instantly.

"Oh! Dibs."

She slammed her foot into Charlie's chest.

Charlie flew backward—

—but her hand grabbed the necromancer girl's leg.

The necromancer's eyes widened. As she lost her footing as well.

"HEY—NO FAIR—!"

Both of them went over the side.

Charlie hit the ground hard, rolling through leaves and dirt. The necromancer girl landed beside her with a startled yelp, her scissor blade skidding away into the underbrush.

For a heartbeat, neither moved.

Hey, why'd you ruin the fun? I was in the zone. Not cool man not co..."

She was cut off by a sound like reality inhaling.

Both girls snapped their heads up.

A tear ripped open in the air above the clearing, white fire splitting the night sky.

Wind sucked inward, pulling leaves, dust, and loose branches toward it.

The necromancer girl scrambled backward on her hands.

"What—what is THAT—?!"

Charlie's breath caught.

A body fell through, a man.

The same man Kris had shoved back through a tear earlier.

He hit the ground with a thud, groaning, dazed, terrified. 

Charlie whispered, "Oh my god... It's him."

The necromancer girl whipped toward her.

"Wait—what do you mean by him?"

Charlie nodded toward the man.

"That guy...my sister pushed him through one of those tears earlier."

The necromancer girl's eyes widened" Wait...? Who ?"

"My sister..."

The girl looked confused. 

" The ice princess..." Charlie deadpanned

The necromancer girl stared at her. Then stared at the man wearing jeans and a hoodie. Then stared at the empty air where the tear had been.

"Wait—wait—hold on—your sister—she's the glowing girl—" realization morphing her expression.

Charlie blinked. "What?"

"I REMEMBER HER!" the necromancer girl yelled. " How did I not notice sooner. From that video going viral! The one at the mall earlier today! The glowing girl! I thought it was fake—everyone thought it was fake—"

She pointed wildly at the sky.

"THAT WAS REAL?!"

Charlie nodded.

"Oh gods... oh gods... so this game... does that mean....?"

Charlie nodded again, slower this time.

She grabbed her own hair, pacing in frantic circles.

"Oh gods—oh gods—wait—WAIT—"

Her mind was unraveling in real time.

She pointed wildly at the air where the tear had been.

"That was— that was the OUTSIDE!"

Charlie blinked. "Outside...?"

"The REAL world!" the necromancer girl shouted, voice pitching up. "Like—not DLO!

She stopped dead. Her eyes locked onto Charlie.

Charlie took a slow breath. "Yeah..."

The necromancer girl stared at her.

Blank.

Horrified.

Awestruck.

The girl's knees buckled.

She sat down hard in the dirt.

"Oh... oh no... oh no no no no—"

Charlie stepped closer, gently.

"I know it's a lot—" she froze as a warm wind swept through the clearing.

The leaves rustled.

The air thickened.

The shadows bent.

Both girls turned.

The wind whipped past my ears, cold and sharp, carrying the smell of ozone and burning wood. The carriage bucked beneath me as the horses screamed, hooves striking sparks off the stone path.

I swung my blade at empty air.

The necromancer girl was gone.

So was Charlie.

I froze.

My heart dropped straight through my stomach.

Charlie…?

No answer.

Just the roar of the wheels and the distant echo of the forest. Behind us, the chasing zombies and the other carriage skidded to a halt, stopping in the middle of the path like they’d hit an invisible wall.

I crawled to the edge of the roof, fingers digging into the metal. I leaned over, searching the ground rushing past beneath me.

Nothing.

“CHARLIE!”

My voice cracked.

My arm burned where the necromancer girl had struck me.

My lungs felt like fire.

My magic buzzed under my skin like a live wire.

But none of that mattered.

Because suddenly—

I felt her.

A warmth.

A pulse.

A presence older than the world and softer than a mother’s hand.

Hestia.

My breath caught.

Mom…?

The word slipped out before I could stop it.

The warmth grew stronger. Charlie was with her.

I didn’t think.

I jumped.

“KRIS… WAIT—” Lucas yelled behind me, but his voice was already fading.

I launched myself off the carriage roof, wind tearing at my hair as I dropped into the forest canopy. Branches whipped past me, leaves exploding around me like green sparks.

I hit the ground in a roll, pain shooting up my shoulder, but I didn’t stop.

I sprinted.

My boots pounded the earth.

My magic flared with every step.

The forest blurred around me.

“Charlie—please be okay—”

I ran faster.

Branches snapped underfoot.

My breath came in sharp bursts.

My heart hammered against my ribs.

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