Leeane Crept into Reigme's room as the moon hit its high point. "Reigme…Wake up…I don't know what you're intending to do but you've brought Hell to this town."

Reigme's eyes fluttered open. "W-what? What are you talking about?"

Leeane frowned. "you were away all evening, and now Jessica has turned up missing, and now Terri's here like asking about her…Reigme, I know you care for her…but this was a bad mistake and…she can't just come here and stay."

Reigme sat up, now wide awake and completely confused.

"Mom, I-I really don't know where she is." He slipped out of bed to dress. "But I was with her and she didn't say anything about…oh no…" His eyes were wide as the gears in his mind began to turn. Leeane cocked her head. "What?"

Reigme grabbed his pants…"She said she was tired of the way she lived…and just before she went home she asked me not to be mad at her…She may have run away…I have to find her...Mom I have to find her. He jammed a leg into his pants and paused as Terri appeared in the door way with Jerry behind her.

"Do you know where my daughter is?" Reigme opened his mouth but couldn't bring himself to tell her.

"No, but he has an idea." Leeane butted in. "Now, let me go start some tea for us. Is your husband here?"

Terri shook her head. "I thought it would be better if he didn't come so I told him she was probably in the field somewhere. I really hope she isn't though…if he finds her, I don't know that anyone could save her."

Reigme quickly finished dressing and left the room before Terri could say anything else. Jerry looked up from his rocker as Reigme stepped outside.

"Reigme, I don't know where you're going or even if you're at fault for this…but none of that matters now, does it?"

Reigme stared up into the stars and slowly shook his head. Jerry sighed.

"Just promise me that you will bring her home safely, no matter what happens, don't let her get away."

Reigme looked at Jerry with confusion and opened his mouth to speak. Jerry cut him off with a wink. "Now get out of here and go find her before she gets away."

Reigme smiled and trotted off the old wooden porch and around the side of the house into the middle of the road.

Reigme glanced around. He knew she wouldn't be here. He stared down the road in the direction of her house. He felt his heart strain and tug at his conscious. When he did not move it continued to grow stronger, and pull harder stealing his breath. It refused to let up at all until he began to walk in the same direction. The lessoning pain brought his mind to believe he was going the right way, pushing him into jog which quickly became a dead sprint. The pain quickly subsided but wouldn't quite go away. By the time he had reached her house, sweat was running down his back. Day was far from breaking, and yet the heat seemed to go on without end. After several minutes, the heat had sapped away every ounce of energy he could put out.

He trudged along watching the road closely for snakes, and dodging Kamikaze insects. He became so absorbed in his scanning and dodging that when he finally looked up, what he saw chilled him to his bones.

The peaceful forest full of trees that would barley sway and the gentle breeze that drifted endlessly, had become a gusty chilling wind, but worst was the forest. The trees whipped around fiercely, groaning as if angered, and screamed as they were ripped from the ground or branches broke off and crashed to the ground. The willows rocked so hard their vines would crack like a whip. What Reigme saw terrified him like nothing else he thought ever could. He and the rest of the town had been raised knowing that their little town was perfect and peaceful and knew no anger unless…He gasped. "Unless someone leaves…"

He broke into a sprint fueled with his emotions "What are you thinking?" He whispered into the wind. He didn't slow as he reached the cornfield, but ran through it slowing only when he reached the spot where he had run from her. He knelt down scanning the ground with his hand until he found what he was hoping he wouldn't find. He quickly stood, his stomach churned as he looked in the direction of the footprints. "Please no…"

"Jessica is that you?!"

Reigme looked up in surprise.

"Jessica if that's you, you'd better stay where you are! When I find you, you're going to wish you were dead because when I get through with you, you'll be pretty damn near it!"

Reigme wanted to find him and beat some sense into the old man, but he had to keep going. He followed the tracks for only a few minutes but soon enough found himself at the break between the crops and the woods line.

All farmers who live near the woods sacrificed almost 20 yards to keep away from them. They didn't know what was in them, but that the Gods kept them in the town for a reason, and for that, most were grateful.

Reigme continued forward and swallowed hard. He was about to help her undo 200 years of peaceful living. He stepped into the forest and the wind began to pick up as if in warning. He stepped again and the trees swayed harder, his clothes whipped fiercely in the wind and the dust of the farms was pulled into the air, diving around him. Reigme reached out and touched the tree beside him. It seemed to scream in anger as a blue glow grew from his fingers. "What the hell…" He pulled his hand back but the glow stayed and played across his tingling fingers. As he stared, fixated on his hand, a branch fell from the same tree he had touched and whacked him over the head, bringing him out of his focus causing the blue light to vanish.

"Jess!" He screamed. The hard soil could no longer guide him to her. "Jess where are you?" He slowly made his way through the woods following overturned leaves and flattened grass. "PLEASE JESS, WHERE ARE YOU?" He screamed into the wind.

The wind slowed as he continued forward and the trees did not sway, but stood anxious and softly groaning. Soft, plush grass guarded his sore bare feet from the hard ground. "JESSICA!" He screamed again. His voice echoed against the dense tall trees. He pushed his way through dense brush and broken branches long fallen, rotting, and overgrown with moss teeming with life. Thorn bushes and trees grew together freely in thick, painful masses with thorns longer than his fingers and just as thick. The hill sides were crested with boulder sized platforms filled with holes and caves, while some hills dropped off into 2 story sandstone bluffs riddled with shallow caves.

The morning dew began to glisten in the moons light. Reigme continued to wander throughout the forest, unsure of whether she was even there. He sighed as he stood on a ledge overlooking most of the forest floor. On his left and right, the grassy hill continued downward ending at a creek that seemed more of a border for the outskirts of the village. The side nearest to him was lined with stones about half his size that lined the creek for as far as he could see, but the other side of the creek held not stones, but a welcoming mossy bank, and much wilder forest, riddled with vines and mysteries. "And monstrous creatures as well…"

A strong reflection of light caught his eye, and sitting on a rock directly below him in front of the creek sat Jessica with a rapier in her lap, a bow and several arrows across her back staring across the creek into the forest beyond. Reigme sighed and crept down the hill and onto the rock intending to be unnoticed until he sat beside her.

"What do you want?" she grumbled. "If you think I'm going back, you're wrong" She folded her arms but gripped the hilt of her sword tightly. He desperately wanted to back away, but stayed where he was. "What is it you intend to accomplish here? What good will your death bring?" Jessica growled. "I do not intend to die! But it is in the fact that you do not believe I can survive on my own that makes me want to go even more. You of all people should know how I feel! I have dreamt of this my whole life, and if its too much for you to understand, well it doesn't matter anyways, I don't have the patients to sit here and explain myself to you because if you don't understand by now, you never will, so just…just go home."

Reigme nearly fell over. "What are you talking about?…Jess please…what's going on?"

She sucked in a breath and pushed herself off of the rock and into the creek. Her right hand gripped the sword tightly and began to glow red the way his had glowed blue. "I am not asking you to understand, but to accept that I can no longer stand the way of life we live, slaving day after day with no reason to live, nothing to look forward to…"The creek began to move faster, rushing around her, opening for her to step on the dried rocky bottom as if making a path. "I care not if you hate me for this, but tell me so that I can forget this wretched town and the misunderstanding and horrible people in it.

With each step backward she took the water would open up around her foot keeping her dry. "Please…"Reigme leapt off the rock after her. At first the water pushed against him, but when he took a step forward, it parted the way it had for Jessica.

His looked down at his hand. The strange blue light played across his fingertips. "If you really must go, nothing could be worse than traveling through a strange world by yourself…I'll come with you if you want…" Jessica looked away. "You say that because you know it's too late to turn back and because you know your life can never be the same…you want to come because there is nothing for you here…you long for the life I'm about to create. If you think you can handle…no, if you think you can survive, then c'mon, let's see if this forest has another side."

She turned and waited for Reigme to stand beside her then made the final steps across the creek both stepped out onto the shore at the exact moment. Jessica whirled around as the creek wavered then disappeared completely. "I hope you didn't forget anything…"

Reigme turned and stared in awe. "I…I don't believe this…" They stared a moment longer then Jessica turned and squeezed Reigme's shoulder.

"No turning back now…or maybe the town never actually existed…c'mon lets go." She held her sword at her side ready for anything. Reigme shook his head. "Wait I want to see if it shows up again." He jogged past where they had entered then back to Jessica's side. "Its-"

"Completely gone?" Jessica and Reigme whirled around as a half human female stepped out from behind a huge tree. Her lower half was of a golden lion, but had the torso of a human similar to a centaur. Her hair had grown in like a mane. She had a circular tattoo around hare eye that drifted to her jaw line, and a second on her right hand which held a wooden spear, finely sharpened. "I haven't seen your kind in 200 years. Her voice was soft but she spoke with confidence and a slight purr. Her long white fangs lay over her full lips and her tail flicked back and forth as she spoke. "Why have you left the perfect home the Gods had created for what is left of your kind? Why have you ventured into a world of suffering and evil? Was it not good enough for you to play in? You do realize what you've done don't you? Or maybe you don't because you weren't told the truth…or at least the complete truth or even any explanations."

Jessica and Reigme exchanged glances. The creature shrugged her strong shoulders and blew back a lock of her stray golden mane. "Well first of all, you should know that you can trust me not to harm you, and though I am not worried of you harming me, because obviously you have no training in wielding a weapon of any sort…I am not taking any chances. This story is long and well, there is no point in wasting your strength because of stubbornness…" she glanced at the ground. "I have learned that the hard way…Now look, all I ask is that you sit with me, but keep your sword in its sheath so that by the time you have it drawn, I can be on my feet before you try anything stupid."

Jessica grit her teeth at the last statement. Reigme shook his head frantically at the creature. The woman smiled slightly and nodded. "Do you know what my kind is called, or any-other race for that matter?"

Jessica looked away. "They told us to forget about life outside of the village and be happy where we were and grateful. They kept us dumb to the outside world."

The woman smirked. "There are two types in my species. I am a Torek, because I have 4 legs. We are the warriors. The Reyuke have only 2 legs and are the hunters and village keepers…most of them are whores…and my name is Kentara. And you are?"

Jessica glanced at Reigme. "I am Jessica and he is Reigme." She jabbed a thumb in his direction.

Kentara frowned. "Can he not speak for himself?"

Reigme scowled. "I speak fine thank you, but I'm beginning to think there's no point for it."

Jessica folded her arms over her stomach after sheathing her sword. "Go crawl under a rock."

Reigme folded his arms as well and looked away. "Why should I? You're the one with all the problems."

Jessica roared as if she were the lion, startling not only Reigme but Kentara as well then ran at him. Kentara leapt over Jessica's head and held up a hand to her face.

"STOP THIS NONSENSE NOW!" She roared as she spoke. "THERE IS NOTHING MORE FOOLISH THEN TURNING YOUR LOVERED ONES TO ENEMIES DURING A WAR AS GREAT AS THIS." She paused. "Now, Jessica. Tell me what you just did."

Jessica glared into Kentara's sharp cat like green eyes, seeing that the pupils were not circles, but slits. She stared a few moments longer then sighed. "I-I don't know…he just"

"No," Kentara growled. "I mean the thing, or did you even notice, or did I just imagine it?"

Jessica frowned then gasped. "I roared didn't I? Damn…I'm sorry. I've been able to do it for as long as I can remember, but I've kept it secret for just as long…I can also imitate a mule."

Kentara stared in confusion. "What's a meoole?"

Reigme smirked. "Yeah right, prove it."

Jessica blushed. "This is embarrassing…" She took 3 deep breaths then let it rip. "HAW-EEE-HAW-EE-HAW!"

Kentara gasped and leapt backwards, her spear raised. "What madness is this? You are calling a Kaarion! STOP IT!"

Reigme laughed hysterically until he saw the panic in Kentara's eyes. Jessica frowned. "What could be so horrible that sounds like that?"

Kentara seemed completely in battle mode, her senses running wild. "You must understand that in reality, everything grew to survive in this chaotic world, and your meoole may be a fat lazy grazer, but ours is a giant lizard, with several rows of teeth, and claws longer than my height."

Jessica shuddered. "Do they live near here?"

Kentara shrugged. "They roam as they please, we usually see them coming because they are much taller than most of these trees."

Jessica and Reigme both felt the need to collapse onto the ground. Kentara sighed. "That thing you did before, can you do it again?"

Jessica nodded. "Yeah its easy to do, why?"

Kentara frowned. "Right now I should tell you what you need to know about your world."

Jessica and Reigme sat apart from each other while Kentara stretched out on her side in the grass.

"In the beginning your kind greatly outnumbered us. Because of this you found yourself superior to us and made many enemies. Men began to find themselves better than women and began taking land and calling it their own. They enslaved whatever crossed their path then built castles and strong armies, but ultimately technology... They kept the women to clean their castle and have their children. They became arrogant and careless, which ultimately led to their downfall. At this point, humans had become stupid pigs, full of empty threats. So the forests creatures drew together for the first and possibly last time in all of history and brought them to their knees. The gods knew this day would come and saw genocide if something was not done, so seeing they were so helpless they created a barrier to keep all other creatures out, but it could only work one way which was the same way the barrier could be broken. You must understand that when you crossed that barrier, you not only undid their 200 year lifestyle, you began the unraveling of the barrier. Soon the barrier will disappear completely and your kind will be open to everyone and anything. Nothing will be the same. You have nowhere to go so you will travel. A select few will sense you and follow bringing town after town to its destruction."

Jessica swallowed hard. "Is that the war you were talking about earlier?"

Kentara sighed sadly. "I could only wish." Jessica frowned but Kentara continued.

"It is much worse than that. On the east side of the forest, which is where you stand, trade is very necessary. Our fields are dry and our only supply of food comes from trade and much luck with hunting. The South is no more than a desert, the West has much water and prey, but the hunters are pathetic. But the north…The north holds a dense forest filled with much life and no order. The war is over who should be ruler of the 4 directions. Most territories refuse to play fair so we need someone who will even it all out, you see?"

They sat in silence for only a few minutes. "So you're saying," Reigme started. "The war is because everyone wants to be the king?"

Kentara sighed. "Do you realize how much more chaotic that would be? That doesn't really even make sense. That would be a war of every man for himself which would bring down the entire world. You are looking too closely at the problem. I mean of course everyone wants to rule, but who would support them?"

Jessica nodded. "So you're saying each race believes one of their own kind should lead?"

Kentara nodded. "But it is much deeper than that. There are uncountable races, and each have their own religion that is tied with a prophecy with its own story telling that the strongest of their race will lead the four directions to peace."

Kentara stood. "Come, you can walk and talk at the same time can you not?"

Reigme and Jessica slowly stood and followed, one in each side of her. "At first you seemed like an evil race, but now you seem so peaceful…are all of you like this?" Jessica questioned as she took in the details of Kentara's face.

Kentara grimaced. "I am sorry I gave you the wrong impression then. The Torek and Reyuke are very harsh and impatient. We are only kind when we are in a peaceful place. Like mine for instance is in the woods alone, where I am able to think. If we cannot get away to our spots, we become monstrous and evil. Reigme and Jessica stared at the ground.

"So how will we be treated?" Reigme whispered.

"I do not know, but we will find out soon enough, and try not to bump into anyone, and if they look annoyed look away, and do not look them in the eyes. You will end up on the ground, most likely dead, and that is allowed unlike in your world." She paused as they came to the gate. "Just try not to draw attention to yourself."

Jessica looked up into the starry night sky. "So what happened to the last ruler?"

Kentara sneered. "You have it all wrong. When my people first came, there was an outbreak. It had nothing to do with where they were going, you see we migrated into a suitable habitat for ourselves, and make no mistake, there was plenty of room…but after a while when the supplies the land gave us began to dwindle from the mass amounts of us, we became selfish, and for good reason…or so we thought." She pushed back a limb from her path then continued.

"My people became lazy and forgot how to hunt successfully…eventually; many starved, or died of sickness…or suicide." She whispered. She shook the thoughts or maybe even memories from her mind. When she continued her voice was once again strong.

"There seemed to be no hope for life here, and when life began to dwindle for us…a mass meeting was called. There were creatures as far as the eye could see all around…There were few of my people and those from the East were of few and starving. Those from the south were not affected anymore than usual. From the West…They were pathetic…All of them were overfed…fat, slow and stupid. They brought food for themselves that they refused to share and wolfed it down in front of us…laughing as our mouths hung open drooling uncontrollably…But worse then that was the few that came from the North. As far as I could tell they were doing well…but something about them…Though there were few…I do not believe it is because of hunger…The ones that came were strong and cunning…they would walk on those smaller then them…they were not good, that much I know…I remember as one walked past he looked me in the eyes…They were cold and harsh, his right eye glowed red as if he were under a spell." She shivered.

"But it was decided that we would trade what we had much of. It was slow at first…but it got better for a while then dwindled to nothing. You see there was never a king…just us."

As she finished they arrived at the gate. Kentara sighed.

"Alright, past this gate forgive my actions towards you…Are we ready?" Jessica frowned

"Wait what does that mean?"

The gates slowly crept open. Kentara's eyes flashed as they fell over the thousands of Reyuke.

She growled and reluctantly moved forward into the crowed.