Chapter 4

Fei approached the border of the forest timidly as colorful birds squawked about the canopy and flew up into the sky. Besides the small ambient noise of the various fauna, as soon as Fei entered the confines of the thick bush he felt completely alone. He jogged at a quick, if apprehensive, pace.

Fei made his way through the Blackmoon Forest with some difficulty. The native hobs and other monstrosities of the untamed region blocked his way, and if it wasn't for his well-trained martial arts and Chi spirits he wouldn't have made it through. He could feel the spirit energy welling up inside him, pouring through his fingertips as he used the strange forces inside him to destroy the snapping teeth and cutting jaws of the creatures.

Eventually Fei found himself on what appeared to be a path out of the forest. He struggled to tear aside vast boulders, moss, and rocks to bring forward a exit. Eventually a sharp noise began to fill the air, and Fei deftly jumped aside, just barely avoided a painful death as an enormous rock sped down the hills, slick with moss, and smashed into a rotten stump just left of Fei's head. The dirt and splinters went everywhere, and Fei dusted himself off just as he heard the soft padding of footsteps behind him.

A strange noise filled the air, something extremely foreign, and Fei soon realized that someone was speaking to him. He slowly turned around to see a striking woman pointing a gun at his chest. She had long, shining red hair and deep azure eyes. Her complexion was pale and perfect, accenting the beautiful features of her face. She seemed to be wearing a sort of military uniform. The outfit was colored cream and dark blue, and she wore tight-fitting dark crimson leggings that disappeared into boots that matched the color of her uniform. Her gloved hands gripped the pistol tightly, which hadn't moved from it's position pointing at Fei's chest.

The woman glared at Fei, and he quickly realized the foreign noise was actually her language, one that he had never heard before.

"Throw down your weapon. Make one more move and I'll shoot!"

"Errh, Turn around!" commanded the woman.

Fei was silent.

"I said, I said turn around!"

Fei obeyed, quickly turning and averting his gaze toward where he had just come from, but not taking his energy away from feeling out the strange woman.

"Are you shaking?" asked Fei, sensing her fear.

"Be quiet!" She yelled. "You don't seem to be one of the Kislev soldiers who are after me..."

Fei turned around quickly, startling the woman, but she didn't pull the trigger.

"Don't move!" she said. "I have order to kill all surface dwellers, Lambs, I come into contact with. It's part of my mission. It's nothing personal."

She shrugged, sighing.

"I have a question for you, How do I get out of this forest?"

"Are you...lost?" Fei asked, his curiosity peaking every minute in the face of the woman.

"Just answer my question! How do I get out of here?"

"Sorry, but I'm looking for a way out too," said Fei.

"Oh," the woman hung her head dejectedly.

"How long are you going to stand there like that?" asked Fei. He didn't think she realized that she had dropped her posture and the handgun with it.

"If you're going to shoot me, then hurry up and do it."

"What an odd thing to say! Don't you understand the situation you are in?"

"I don't care about my situation," Fei muttered, his brow creasing as memory began to flood his mind once again. Painful voices shouted into his ears, screamed into his consciousness. "I'm just a guy whose life is worthless, there's no point to me living anyway!"

Fei took a few steps toward her, and she shouted a warning. The gun fired off a shot, bucking in the girl's hands, and kicked up dirt and rot at Fei's feet.

"What are you aiming at? Here! Shoot me! I'm here! C'mon!" Fei screamed.

"Are you mocking me? You're weird! Something's wrong with you! You should at least resist a little bit!"

The woman was taken aback as a a noise interrupted them from behind. A dark, gangly creature leapt down on her, knocking her down into the dirt and leaves.

"What, who are you?" she gasped.

The lanky creature brushed her aside, and made straight away for Fei.

"Stop, leave Elly alone!" Fei roared, jumping into the creatures. He executed a quick palm blow that crushed the jaw of the first creature, spinning it into the dirt. Then he raised his arms to parry a blow being thrown wildly by the second monster. Fei raised his leg in a reverse kick, crushing the sternum of the second monster. The forest elves lay dead at Fei's feet.

Fei turned back to Elly, the mysterious red-haired woman, without even acknowledging the fight that he was panting from.

"Are you alright? Hang in there!" he shouted.

A fire crackled noisily into the night, it's echoes being chimed lazily by the sawing legs of crickets. The forest was once again a black hole of nothingness, just a dark reflection of the scene that was illuminated by a small fire, and shared by two strangers.

"Good, you finally woke up! You didn't move for so long that I started to worry..."

The woman, Elly, said nothing.

"How are you feeling?" Fei persisted.

"Do you still intend to kill me? Then go right ahead and shoot me! But you'd better not do it while we're in this forest. Forest monsters hate loud noises, you know?"

Fei tapped the long absent-mindedly, staring at Elly through the flames. Her hair seemed alive with the same fire, and her eyes were as deep and mysterious as an ocean. She seemed to be in deep contemplation.

"Fine. Don't talk to me if you don't want to. But it wouldn't kill you to thank me for tending to your wounds. "

"Th-thanks...but you shouldn't have helped me. Don't think it will save your life though. It really doesn't change a thing," said Elly softly.

"What are you so afraid of?"

"I'm not afraid, I'm just being cautious. It's natural for me to be this cautious considering I've met such a suspicious surface dwelling Lamb."

"Hm, don't you worry, I'm not gonna do anything. Besides, you're much more suspicious than I am."

"Huh?" Elly was confused.

"So, what's your name?" Fei asked. He seemed to be unaware that her name had already bubbled forth from his subconscious, that in her time of need he had shouted it out as if he had known it intimately for years.

"I won't give my name to a surface dweller Lamb."

"What's with you and this 'Lamb' thing? We're both lost in this forest, surrounded by dangerous monsters. Shouldn't we at least be cooperating with each other until we get out of here?"

Elly remained silent, but didn't disagree.

"Good, it will be much easier for us if we can use names. Anyway, my name is Fei Fong Wong. You can call me Fei."

"I'm Elhaym, but my parents call me Elly."

"Elly huh? Somehow I already knew that. Anyway, it's too dangerous with these monsters at night. Let's wait until daybreak before we continue looking for a way out of here."

Elly regarded Fei suspiciously, feeling something strange as she glanced at him through the fire. Her mind began to play tricks on her as the flames licked the wood.

"Okay," she nodded. "I guess we have no choice then."

"Okay then Elly, how about having something to eat?"

The darkness blanketed them, and soon they were lost.

Sand dunes stretched for eternity into the dusty horizon. The silhouetted bodies of lost men marched slowly past a small, ponytailed child that sobbed quietly among the sand. He chased after the bodies, begging the shadow figures to wait, before finally falling into the sand in despair.

A shadow drew herself across him, the image of a fiery-haired woman that whispered words of encouragement to him. A cross-charm was worn at her neck.

"Fei."

"Fei?"

"Fei!"

"Are you awake?" asked Elly.