Castle Dimitrescu – January 18th, 2021

The hour was late. Most of the candles inside the castle had been blown out, bringing forth A great darkness throughout the large halls. They were only hours away from being re-lit, but the nightly routine was to be followed. No exceptions to the rule.

Sorina laid down on her bed inside the small room that she and Luana shared. The servants' quarters were minimal at best, barely fit for any form of comfortable living. It did not matter, as the maids hardly spent any time there at all. The rooms served only as a place to sleep and get dressed before the entirety of the day was spent attending to the castle itself.

Sleep was a gift, but tonight, a moment to think was more desired.

The young girl had not been able to shut her eyes since she got back to her room an hour ago. She could not stop thinking about what had happened inside that kitchen. She wanted to stay and help, but Luana's orders were clear. There was no use in arguing with them.

They only had about six hours left before it would be time to get back to work, and Sorina began to worry that Luana would enter the new day deprived of sleep, on top of the physical anguish she had already endured. Curled up in the thin blankets that Alcina had tossed to them upon their 'employment,' the fear that had been left in the wake of Bela's tirade kept her nerves on high alert. She was too far too frightened to simply ease up and drift away.

The door slowly opened and for a second, Sorina's heart leaped out of her chest. She jolted up, terrified that Bela had decided to inflict further abuse – this time, on her.

Shrouded in the shadows, the white gown that Luana wore shined through the void. It was not Bela or any of the other daughters, and that brought a short sigh of relief. Still, the arrival of her closest friend did not bring any joyous feelings.

"Luana?" Sorina carefully whispered, still remembering the pained and sorrowful look the girl had on her face when they last spoke.

"Why are you not sleeping?" She sounded so contained in the way she talked. There was the sense that Luana was holding much of herself back and that the only way she could speak was to deprive her sentences of any form of emotion.

"I was…waiting for you. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It's late." Luana shuffled over to the bed on Sorina's right. The gaps between the bed and the closet nearby were no more than two feet in width, which added to the claustrophobia. She breathed a sigh as she removed her gowns and stowed them away, preparing tomorrow's attire in the process.

Sorina turned around to see what Luana was doing. "I would have stayed to help."

She could see Luana hang her head down, still clutching the side of her ribs where Bela had kicked her. The maid said nothing as she shut the closet door and crawled into her bed. Sorina took the lack of response as a sign that it was best to not mention the incident any further.

Luana had often elected to take the brunt of the punishment so that she would not have to suffer. However, Sorina knew that there was only so much a girl could take. Her friend was strong, but not invincible.

"Goodnight, Luana."

Another pause. "Goodnight, Sorina."

Both women would remain awake for another hour – or at least Sorina thought so. She would eventually reach the point where physical exhaustion overrode mental trauma. Yet, she had stayed awake just long enough to where Luana may have believed that her friend had finally fallen asleep.

A break in the silence where the beaten woman allowed the signs of how she truly felt to come out for air.

A sniffle and a low wail that lasted as long as a breath.

Serpenmoor

Ethan and Kyia's voices were as blurry as her vision. Bela could faintly see the wall ahead of her, but it wasn't until the man's calls drew closer to her ear that she opened her eyes completely. When his hand touched her shoulder, her consciousness rapidly re-formed.

"Hey! Wake up!" Ethan said.

She nearly tripped as she rose from her chair, angry as a cat. "Don't touch me!"

Kyia spared her a glance of frustration; likely born from the way she had responded. Ethan merely bit his lip and shook his head. The man looked like he had no time to argue. "Sorry. Look, never mind that. It's finally daylight and this is our chance to make some progress."

What? Daylight already? How?

"How long was I asleep for?" Bela asked.

Ethan shrugged his shoulder. "I don't know, an hour? Less? It doesn't matter. We can't afford to waste this time." He turned to Kyia in a hurry. "How much time did you say daylight lasts in this world?"

The brunette did not seem too sure. She reached down to pick up a piece of paper that she had kept nearby, reading each line written on it with the utmost diligence. "I've charted these times as best I could. There is no average for the hours. Sometimes it's as long as seven or eight. Sometimes, as short as two. Vikcia might be getting better at doing what she does. Don't expect a long period of light."

"Damn it." Ethan paced around as he tried to consider the possibility that his plan would crumble.

Bela had gathered the last bits of her alertness following the abrupt departure from her rest. She stared at Ethan as she continued to move about. Her patience was about to wear thin, as she hated being left out of the process. "Instead of circling that table, man-thing, how about you tell me what you're thinking?"

He stopped his pacing and glared at her. There was so much on his mind that the man couldn't think straight, so he turned to the shorter, thinner woman to his side to explain. "Kyia, can you please…"

The odd woman did not waste a second. "Okay, listen: when Vikcia manipulates the sky, it happens very quickly. Within minutes, the darkness comes back and she will be out there, looking for you. Ethan just checked outside when he saw the light, so we don't know how long it has been out there. The presence of those orbs in the sky hinders those monsters, so they retreat. Most run into the buildings around them, while the bigger ones find other places to hide."

Bigger ones?

Bela could not stop herself from questioning the arrangement. Daylight was a break from the nightmare they had been dropped into, yes, but the sense of danger had not faded. It sounded like they were likely walking into a death trap if there was not a solid plan. While Ethan did appear to be considering all avenues of approach, she did not trust in his judgment.

Her life was not his to gamble with, in her opinion, regardless of whether he had saved her before.

The blonde shook her head and sat back in her chair. "No. I'm not taking part in this until I feel confident about it." She turned her eyes to Kyia. "If you and that foolish man want to go running around this city, by all means, be my guest."

Kyia parted her lips and squinted her eyelids slightly. She was hardly amused with Bela's comment, more or less her demeanor in general. The woman had been a constant source of antagonism ever since she set foot down here. "I'm not coming with you."

"Oh!" Bela feigned a smile. "How shocking."

Kyia got a little defensive, though she did not want to press a big argument between the two of them. "I'm not going to risk compromising everything I've built here. If I go, then these resources, which you so graciously put to waste, will be susceptible to scavengers."

"So, you'll just fight them off all by your little self?"

Ethan stepped in. "Bela, listen: I already told Kyia to stay here. You and I can handle those things by ourselves. There is no sense in risking any more lives."

He could not take his eyes off the devilish woman who sat across from him. The way her amber glare shined against the lantern light nearby spoke of the very definition of 'risk' itself. She was a threat before she got here, and he still held his doubts about any of that changing.

She did not seem to care whether those around her lived or died. Kyia would be nothing more than cannon fodder to the sadistic witch and he had already witnessed too much death prior to meeting the eldest daughter of House Dimitrescu.

He still could not forgive himself for letting Elena perish in the flames of Luiza's house. It had been a thought that trailed along the back of his mind as he trudged through all the trials and tribulations that these horrors presented him with. Too many innocents had shed their blood while he lived to remember them. Things could have been done differently, but that hadn't.

He should have reached out further. No. He should have held her before she went to her father.

It was all so avoidable…

Ethan continued explaining the situation, "It isn't just that. Kyia needs to be here to let us back in. This door only unlocks from the inside. Our supplies are safe. We don't want anything finding its way in here, either." He sighed as he closed his eyes. "And, there is one more thing…"

Bela groaned as she rolled her head back. "What now?"

Kyia clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Daylight keeps those things off the streets, but they have to go somewhere. Stay away from the buildings around you. Only go in if absolutely necessary. I promise the entire time you are walking, you will be watched. The reason I took shelter here is that this area is completely out of view and those things wouldn't know where to look once nighttime comes. Believe me, they will wait for the darkness and come running out to where they last saw you. Do not lead them here, understand?"

This sounds too risky.

"So…" Bela got up from her seat and eyed both Ethan and Kyia, visually cutting them apart as she sought a purpose in this disastrous endeavor. "What is the point? What do we achieve by marking ourselves in front of the entire city?"

"Supplies," Ethan said. "Supplies, knowledge of the area, and a better plan. We've spent this entire time running. Now, it is our chance to make a move. That clock tower might hold the key to us getting out of this realm. If Vikcia took refuge there –"

Bela cut him off. "You're going to chase after her? Are you stupid?"

"I'll explain everything while we're outside. Right now, we don't have time to –"

She stopped him again. "Yes, we do! Think about it, stupid: she could care less if you shoot her. She will wrap her claws around your handsome little face, and she will pull it apart. If that clock tower is where she is staying – avoid it."

Ethan couldn't help but scoff at her remark. "Thanks for the compliment."

"Shut up." Bela turned around to leave the conversation, but Kyia chimed in yet again. This time, however, her words reached the blonde – to great effect.

"I have a theory on why she is here," the brunette stated as she held up her book. "Why both her and you two are here. That clock tower houses artifacts. One, in particular, is a collection of metal shards. People who have been cut with them have seen visions of what they believe to be other worlds from realms outside of their own. I believe those visions are of your world in your universe."

Wait…realms? Is she implying that…

"Wait…" Bela turned her head only enough to leave her nose and jaw visible to the others. "We're not even in the same universe?"

Ethan spoke calmly as he reinforced Kyia's statement, "Yeah…this isn't just somewhere else far from your castle. Kyia and I talked a bit, and it all makes sense. She's been studying this her entire life."

The blonde turned her head back and away. She had been aware that this was not the same world, but an entirely different universe? "Well, isn't that just convenient? I guess her life finally has a purpose now that we're here."

Kyia shook her head, unwilling to talk to her anymore as their interactions only continued to anger her. She spared Ethan a glance before she walked over to her bed. He could tell how much she hated Bela's attitude, having a natural weakness for condescending comments, it seemed. She'd rather save herself the stress and remain quiet.

As he watched her sit down, Ethan picked up his shotgun and slung it over his shoulder. "Look, Kyia believes those metals are linked to our world, somehow. Believe me, the circumstances are too close. We're not the only ones, because that demon-bitch entered this place too. Whatever the case is, if we can obtain those metals, then we can hopefully find the best chance we got at getting out of here."

"Good plan," Bela said with obvious sarcasm, still refusing to look at him. "We just run up to that clock tower and grab those metals before night happens, and then we hold them up to the sky and we go home?"

"Why do I even bother with you?"

Who does he think he is?

"Look, man-thing…" Bela got up from her chair slowly, debating if it was worth it to throw the furniture at him. "What happens when the suns go down and Vikcia comes out to have her meal? Hmm? Where do we go?"

"We might not get to the clock tower today, but we need to know what's around us. This is our chance. We won't go too far to where we can't get back here, but we can establish another saferoom in the meantime as a checkpoint. If all else fails, we can ride out our time until the next sunlight, gather supplies, and kill that monster."

Such determination…I like it. You're still foolish as ever but…not bad.

She lowered her eyes and rolled her lips to the right side of her face. Bela cherished her pride to the highest degree, but she could not lie to herself about how decent the plan was. It wasn't perfect, but he was right. Not just that – but she hated to imagine having to spend another day or more confined to such a small space with these two.

She needed a breath of fresh air.

Bela picked up her gun from the ground and took hold of her sickle soon after. "Which tools do you prefer?"

Serpenmoor seemed to be an entirely different place when the three suns – or Sheer Orbs, as Kyia referred to them – were out. The stars, obscured by a mostly cloudy sky, managed to shine some orange rays of light onto the dreary ground below. The city had not been ridden of its menacing atmosphere, but the addition of daylight helped take away the image of a dark killing field.

Minus the corpses on the ground.

Walking on the streets that she had previously fought on, Bela recognized some of the dead as the infected that she had personally dispatched. The presence of the sunlight had caused severe burns to appear on the skin of the deceased, which still smoked following the exposure. It was how they had been killed that had tipped her off that these were her doing.

Smashed heads and lacerated throats.

The fallen crocodile-woman was an easy one to pick out. Even her body had not been safe from the crippling effects of the Sheer Orbs. It presented an opportunity to formulate a plan that would help combat Vikcia and her spawn. If they burned in the daytime, then their weaknesses had to extend beyond the stars themselves.

Would have saved me trouble if daylight happened just a little sooner…

Ethan grimaced at the sight of the dead. To him, it was almost better to not know what was lurking around during the night. Corpses of several survivors that they had not seen were now visible against the edges of the buildings and along the roads themselves. While they had not burned in the sunlight, they had been devoured by the beasts that prowled the nightly streets.

Rotted flesh, dried from prolonged time in the air. The onset of decay darkened the festering meat that was no longer fresh. What remained was either bloated or sunken in. Skin wrinkled as the frame it stretched over had fallen below form. Dead was dead, no matter what shape they were in.

The smell was overbearing. How had he not noticed it before?

Bela said not a word as she moved along, glancing down at the bodies occasionally with no mark of emotion to be seen on her face. Death was nothing new to the woman, as she had killed her fair share of people over the years. These ones looked like they had been torn apart by wild animals. That was nothing compared to the elegant ways she and her sisters would bring human life to its conclusion.

She did not find glee in her past as she walked these streets. Something like that would be reserved for the more comfortable setting of her castle. In Serpenmoor, the blonde was in survival mode. It required a clear mind; one that could think straight. Inspecting the bodies only made her want to better understand what she was up against – as they could be her at any moment.

Ethan gagged as the stench of death grew too strong, which prompted him to move away from the sidewalks and closer to the center of the cobblestone pathways. "Ugh! It smells so horrible!"

"Are you going to complain the entire time we're out here?"

He turned around to look at her, his hand still covering his mouth, which muffled his words. "Coming from the woman whose castle has dead bodies in front of it like scarecrows."

The blonde hummed a tiny laugh. "It keeps the crows away from our garden."

"I bet you're really proud of that, aren't you?"

Bela was only a few feet away, following him behind on his left. Upon hearing his annoying voice, she allowed that distance to stretch a couple more feet. "You really want to fight with me, don't you?" She sighed, cracking a sly grin. "You just can't get enough of it."

Despite what she had said, the only thing that Ethan could think about was his daughter, Rose. While the ravenous blonde witch was asleep, he and Kyia had taken to discussing the realms some more. The brunette was so enthused by the subject, asking him so many questions and jotting down notes as she did so.

The biggest thing that stuck with him was her answer to his question about time. According to Kyia, time did not move at the same pace between realms. Some realms were accelerated by a matter of years, evidenced by how the images of his world that her book described seemed to have taken place a century before he stepped foot in Castle Dimitrescu. Given that there was such a drastic difference in when those visions were seen in this new world, it stood to rationalize that a day in Serpenmoor was likely a fraction of a day in his universe.

Possibly even a fraction of an hour.

If that was true, then he could find some comfort in that Rose would not be long gone when he returned. It was all theory, but Kyia seemed to be sure of it. However, it was her reassuring voice and her commitment to helping him that allowed his soul to soothe just a little bit.

Solace in being afforded an ample amount of time would not take his mind away from how his child had been ripped away from his arms, nor undo the loss of his wife, Mia. He still had to rescue his daughter and make Chris Redfield pay for what he did. Believing that she wasn't at greater risk while he went about his journey here was enough to allow him to breathe.

He kept his shotgun at the ready as he walked ahead, the soft steps of his uneasy companion still echoing in the corner of his ear. She offered a small giggle to taunt him.

"My family has a penchant for art."

Ethan wanted to spit. "You know something? Not only did I risk my ass to come out and save you, but I also avoided telling Kyia about the real you."

"You don't know the real me, man-thing."

His head turned ever-so-slightly. The way she said that left room to believe that maybe there was more to her than he had previously believed. If that was true, then she certainly did a great job at hiding it, as she seemed to want to imply that she could be way worse than she had been thus far. The blonde woman was the first thing he saw once he entered that horrid castle. The way she planted her sickle into his leg while carrying that gleeful smile was enough to cement the idea that she was anything else but good.

He tried to bait her. "What else is there besides the fact that you drink blood and act like you're above the world?"

"Hmm…many things," she said almost invitingly, negating the truth that she was still being sarcastic and not friendly at all. "But, I guess you'll never know."

"My loss."

She treaded on the edge of his nerves. "Loss is a powerful thing, is it not?"

He was about to stop walking. He wanted to. The way she said what she said could only mean one thing: she was mocking his daughter's abduction. He had everything in his will to just turn around and strike her with the stock of his shotgun. Hell, part of him even crossed the idea of shooting her.

She was a soulless killer, he thought. Why should she get away with anything that she did?

Instead, he kept his cool, for now. He knew that she wanted to rattle his emotions and today, she was not going to get what she wanted. Ethan funneled his anger from his head down to his hands, which gripped the weapon tightly. Before she could take notice of it, he re-directed his contempt back into his chest, simmering it down with a slow and steady breath.

"What have you lost, Bela?"

She said nothing – just like he had hoped.

The conversation would end for the time being. It was another half-hour before one of them would even make mention of the surrounding area, commenting on any of the sights to be seen. Until that point, it was two adults who were too angry with each other to talk. Ethan couldn't get over how fast life had taken him. In less than twenty-four hours, he had lost his family and been inexplicably transported into a new world with a vile woman who had tried to kill him.

One world of horrors in exchange for the other.

He didn't know Bela at all and in such short of a time, she had made the prospect of being allies almost impossible. Those thirty-or-so minutes between them had been the closest they had come to stability. As long as neither of them talked to the other, they could somewhat get along.

Nonetheless, Ethan was the one to break the silence, "Have you ever seen a place like this before?"

His question had caught the woman by surprise. Her eyes came off the various decayed buildings and went straight back to him. "What?"

Ethan still would not turn around, choosing to scan the area ahead. The long road had turned into a large market area. Given that it was out in the open, the risk of having to venture into a building for food was not applicable. "Have you ever been to a city before?"

Her gaze lifted to the tops of the tall buildings, morphed slightly by the presence of the shadow woman. Regardless of what had infected this place, the sprawling gothic metropolis was unlike anything she had ever witnessed. It brought her back to how she felt when she stepped out of that cathedral – enthralled.

I yearn to see what a city could really be like, Ethan.

"What do you think?" She answered with aggression, hoping he would resume his silence.

Ethan paused before he addressed her again. "I'm guessing your family never took summer trips out of the area."

He needs to stop talking…

"What did I say about you talking about my family?"

He caught his words too little too late. Seeking to avoid another confrontation, Ethan decided to try and lower his guard around her. She may get angry, but part of him still wanted to see if she was a complete monster, or if there was still some humanity left.

His lips rolled and he stopped walking, which allowed her to get just a little closer before she stopped as well. "Alright, I'm sorry. I did not mean it like that." Ethan faced her, slinging his shotgun over his shoulder as he did.

What is he doing?

Her eyes narrowed in on him as he stood there, trying to decipher what his next action was going to be, given how unexpected this display was. "Quit your games. Let's keep moving."

"Wait. Just a moment, okay?" He persisted, much to her growing annoyance.

A subtle growl rumbled from deep within her throat. Her eyebrows lowered and pinched together. The blonde's curved lower eyelids lifted up high, scrutinizing him to the last atom of his being. She did not trust him.

"For what? What am I waiting for?" She removed her left hand from her gun and waved it in the air.

"We need to talk. You and I. Kyia is not here, so let's figure this out."

Argh! This man is so insufferable! There is no time for this!

Bela huffed her loudest groan yet as she steadily approached him, stopping only a foot in front of his face. The invasion of his personal space was intentional, as she sought to drive home the point that he was treading on dangerous territory. Ethan's expression did not change, nor did his body budge. He could feel her breath square against his skin, as she nearly stood at the same height as him. If she still had her high heels, the extra inch or two that was awarded would have helped her even more.

As fierce as she looked, Bela did not shout. However, the way she spoke to him was so foreboding that it sent a chill down his spine. That slow, methodical draw, with a splash of rage mixed in to paint the image of the minefield he was dancing on. "Then talk. Now."

"Why do you go out of your way to find an issue with everything? Are you really that mad all the time?"

What? That's a stupid question to ask. Why does he care?

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to entertain this."

Ethan would not give up. "I want to know if you're honestly that miserable all the time. I get it; we're not friends. You're unhappy to be here too. That's not my problem."

"You're making it my problem…"

"Your problem is that when someone goes out of their way to help you, you stick your pretty little nose up at them and act like it doesn't matter."

She lifted her head, angling her nose up in an obnoxious manner. "Thanks for the compliment," she used his quote against him. Her eyes widened with a spiteful glare as she wrapped up her sentence, mocking his attempt to find some common ground with her.

"Is that really who you are?" Ethan looked her dead in the eyes, which forced Bela to lower her head back down. The two spent the next few seconds locked in a staring contest, where the man watched as those amber irises burrowed through his own. She was wrathful and she was vicious.

As animalistic as she was – she was also too human to be ignored.

Bela's lips pursed as her eyelids squinted once more. "I want to go home."

"You don't think I want to?"

"Ugh…I'm done with this." She went to move past him, but he got in her way, which drew her ire. "Get away from me…now!"

"I saved your life, you know?" Ethan remarked.

"And I saved yours, so we're even!"

"And you did, but why? If you want to kill me so badly, then why didn't you just let me die when we got here? You could have made an escape from that cathedral, but you came right back to save me from that woman's jaws, so explain that to me?"

Still face to face, Bela leaned in to give him one final warning. "Stop."

Ethan closed his eyes and turned away, leaving her where she stood. "Keep an eye on the skies. At the first sign of sunset, we have to start turning back. If anything doesn't look right, let me know."

She kept quiet as she watched him walk along. The impact of their conversation had been so great, that by the time she realized that she had not even moved, Ethan was already two dozen feet away. With a sigh, Bela continued to follow along – her mind still swirling on what he had just said.

He's going to keep using that against me. Why did I save him? I should have just left him there. Ugh…I know why. Damn it. What's the point?

"Hey," she called out to him, causing him to stop and crane his neck at her. "I'm not stupid. Do you think I don't know that I'm up against some dangerous things? I need all the help I can get."

"Gee," Ethan muttered. "Thanks."

"What? I'm being honest, man-thing. Isn't that what you wanted from me?"

"Will you stop calling me that?" Ethan turned around again. "My name is Ethan, you know? I don't call you blonde bug-bitch, do I?"

Bela continued walking; her face glimmered with a hint of amusement. "If you prefer to have no air escaping from your throat on its way out your mouth, you would refrain from that." She breathed a quick tsk as she trotted along, careful not to get too far ahead of him. "Stupid man-thing."

Ethan raised his shoulders and lowered them as he let out a sigh. "At least she was honest, for once," he muttered so quietly. The man unslung his shotgun and slowed his pace so that she could catch up with him. His eyes glanced at the strange firearm in her possession as soon as she approached him from his right side.

"Hey." Ethan gestured toward the gun. "Where did you get that from, anyway?"

The eldest daughter peered down at the combination gun that she carried, casually shrugging her shoulder as she looked ahead. "Vikcia wasn't too fond of being shot with it, so she tore apart the original owner."

"Jesus…"

"You're enjoying my honesty, aren't you?"

"Better than nothing," Ethan replied. "You know how to use that thing?"

She cracked the action open, revealing the shotgun and rifle cartridge in their respective chambers before slamming it shut. "Easy enough." The blonde peeked at the man as they entered the marketplace, noting his proximity.

Why are you so close? Get away.

She veered off to the right, heading toward the displays of food that littered the various tables and stands. Unfortunately, Vikcia's arrival into this realm was nowhere near recent, as all the sustenance was rotted beyond all measure. Large patches of mold coated the skin of most of the fruits, while the meat was worse off than the infected corpses that littered the streets. If there had been anything worth eating, survivors had to have scooped it up during the first or second day.

After that, there was nothing.

Bela felt disappointed in the lack of edible food that should have been discovered in a place like this. It held so much promise, but the circumstances spoke for themselves. They were two months too late.

This area serves no purpose. There's nothing to eat here. All the food is moldy and…ugh! The only thing this marketplace could feed now is those creatures. I'm sure they must love watching foolish survivors coming here to –

As soon as she had that thought, Bela realized the gravity of their situation. Her eyes darted up toward the windows of the surrounding buildings. She remembered Kyia's warnings of the infected.

"Ethan…"

The man was beginning to search through some discarded boxes when his head turned toward her. "What did you find?" His alert kicked into high gear once he saw the concerned look on her face. Following her eyes, he found his focus centered on the many windows that overlooked the marketplace.

Sure enough, true to Kyia's word, all of the windows were occupied by the deformed and maggot-infested citizens. Altogether, there had to have been at least a couple dozen between the four buildings. There may have been more, Ethan was sure of it, but that was all his eyesight could spot.

They were all packed inside those rooms, staring intently at the two of them. Though the inside of the dwellings was dark and dim, some of the creatures nearly had their faces pressed up against the glass. Those whose eyes were not riddled with larvae bore an expression of extreme anger. It was like they were just itching for the moment when they could break out onto the street and tear them limb from limb.

The only thing that held them back was the Sheer Orbs that still stayed in the sky. When Vikcia managed to bring them back down, then all hell was set to break loose.

Some of these people were even more deformed than anything Ethan remembered encountering. The shapes of some of their heads were far too grotesque to identify clearly. Some of them were quite large, while others' faces appeared horrifically misshapen. One silhouette in particle appeared to have a set of wings that sprouted out of its head – if it even had a head anymore at all.

So many nightmares and they were all waiting to kill them.

Ethan brought his shotgun to his shoulder, cautiously taking a shooting stance in case something was to happen. His voice grew shaky as his eyes shifted in all directions, desperate to ensure that nothing was about to get the drop on him. "We need to get out of here."

"Okay." Bela brought the butt of her gun up to her shoulder, though she did not seem as confident with it as he did. She glanced down at the gun, double-checking to see that her fingers were on the triggers. The weapon made no sense, as she was not sure which trigger corresponded to which barrel. The sights were large and circular, almost akin to aircraft sights on a machine gun.

She had no idea how to use them.

This isn't good…

As the duo made their way out of the marketplace, they could see the denizens' eyes and heads following them. The populace stood still, only moving when they needed to angle their heads to get one last good view before their prey disappeared out of sight.

For Bela and Ethan, it was a nerve-wracking experience. They could only guess just how many creatures had been watching them ever since they departed Kyia's shelter. It put into perspective that the two of them were up against the unimaginable.

The blonde could feel her breathing picking up as she walked further up the road. The man who was just slightly ahead also seemed just as worried. His eyes would not come off the surrounding buildings that bordered the street. The occasional sight of even more infected people watching them from above caused him to have tunnel vision. It got so bad that he did not see some of the debris that was in front of him.

Bela extended her hand to try and warn him in time, but it was too late. Ethan tripped over the piles of wood and scrap that had been lying about. He dropped his gun and caught himself with his palms, narrowly avoiding a painful meeting with the collections of round stones they walked on.

"Damn it!" He yelled in anger.

"Hey!" Bela tried to get him to focus. "Calm down. Watch where you're walking. They can't come out yet."

"Yeah…" Ethan gritted his teeth as he stood up. "Not yet."

Bela chuckled as she picked up a small stone off the ground and made eye contact with one of the maggot people that stood on the second floor of what seemed to be a barbershop. The parting of the clouds allowed for a suitable amount of light to pass through. As soon as it did, she hurled the stone through the window, which granted the occupants some extra illumination.

As soon as the glass shattered, the shrieks and howls of those inside were like music to her ears. The blonde giggled as she indulged in the misery of those that hunted her. It was a small reprieve from the constant tension of running from them. Fitting that for once, she had the upper hand.

This isn't going to last forever.

Ethan looked on as the hordes of infected citizens shuffled away from the rays of light. "I guess I should have bought that flash grenade from the Duke when I had the chance. Would have come in handy."

Bela's head snapped in his direction. "What? What do you mean? He was selling stuff to you?!"

The man raised an eyebrow at how frantic she had gotten at his statement. "Relax, okay? I just met the big guy on my way to your castle. He offered to sell me some things, big deal. I guess in times like that, some people still need to make some money."

Bela scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Greedy little bastard…"

"I take it you two aren't the best of friends."

Her amber eyes shut as her head swayed around slowly. She flicked her eyebrows upward, recalling all the times that unsightly being had popped up inside her castle unexpectedly. "He knows my mother, somehow. She deals with him. He just leaves a mess wherever he goes…and then I have to clean it up."

He gave her a nod coupled with a brief smile. "Sounds tragic."

"The real tragedy is his laugh…" Bela glanced up at the windows that held back the bloodthirsty people, deciding that it was best to move away. Her eyes shifted to the clock tower in the far distance. Vikcia had to be there. The blonde could only imagine what that heartless woman was up to right now. "We're not going to make it across this city if we keep walking. There has to be some form of transport."

Ethan looked around the road, eyeing the remnants of what seemed to have been horse carriages. "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Even if we map out the city well enough, it will still be too far of a trek from Kyia's room to there. With those things watching us, we can't just bunker down and wait for daylight again. Not unless we can shake them and find another place out of view."

"We could brave another night," Bela added. "Assuming Vikcia or any of her minions don't kill us, we can gain some ground and not be in all their crosshairs. With them spread out across the city, we can pick some of them off and slip by the rest."

Ethan lifted his eyebrows and nodded as he thought it through. "With some more supplies, we could probably manage that if it absolutely came down to it," he said to her. "Personally, I'd prefer to stay out of fighting these things, but you're right: they won't all be watching us. Not a bad plan."

She paused as she stared at him, seeing his approval to be somewhat unexpected. "Of course it isn't."

Ethan pointed the muzzle of his shotgun ahead. "Let's keep moving."

Another hour had gone by and the sky still seemed to be in the same shape it was when they first ventured out. It held promise that the world would remain stable for the time being, though both Bela and Ethan were wary of what could transpire at any given moment.

Serpenmoor was an infected city that had been twisted beyond all measure. Already placed in a world that neither of them understood – it was a recipe for death.

The streets of this forsaken place did not make a single sound as the duo journeyed forward toward whatever lay ahead of them. No birds to sing in the air. No chattering of locals. Not a single bark of a dog or the meowing of a cat, assuming either of those animals existed here.

For Ethan, this place was so much like the world he once knew, but also, it wasn't. The distortion of reality did not take away the peculiarities of this realm. There were still three suns in the sky, which was natural for this place. The shape of the gun in Bela's hands was another example of the strange styles that this world had, as it fully embraced the aesthetic of its time. It was almost fantasy in nature, but as Kyia had told him – it seemed that each realm had its own design.

Vikcia was a prime example of such a concept. She was a woman that hailed from a world of death and rot, and it was fitting that her appearance mirrored such qualities. She was a walking demon whose dark clouds of dust plagued the bodies of those it entered. She could change the shape of this place with said darkness, which only made her a greater manifestation of the place from where she came.

Bela continued to take in the sights and wonders of this new realm, though she kept her shock and amazement strictly to herself. There was no excitement to be found in a world where she was the prey, but the opportunity to venture around such a place did not escape her interest. She thought back to Ethan's question about whether or not she had ever been in a city before.

At the time, it was a dumb thing to ask, as the man likely already knew the answer. Nevertheless, it got her thinking about the world that she never thought much about. What exactly lay outside of that snowy, mountainous region that she had spent all those decades in?

She understood textbooks and knew a lot about science and history. It was no secret that there was an entire world out there that she had never explored. Foreigners would occasionally enter the village, much to their own peril. She recalled some of the men she had killed over the years that told tales of their homelands. It was so exotic and she could help but wonder what it would have been like to experience such things herself.

A fleeting thought it was, as none of that would have ever overridden her desire to take care of Castle Dimitrescu. It was her mother's birthright to reside in such a place, and as her loyal daughter – it was also hers.

She could never leave.

Ethan stopped in his tracks as soon as he spotted something on the ground nearby. It was something so familiar that he could not help but approach it. Bela eyed him as he deviated from the road, wondering what he could be that he was moving toward. Her eyes turned to the windows above, noticing that there were still more of the creatures up above, peering down at them relentlessly.

"What is it?" She asked as she approached him from behind.

"It's…a newspaper," he said.

What? Huh…I guess I should have expected that.

Bela leaned forward to get a better look at the weathered old article. It was only two pages, as the rest seemed to be been destroyed upon exposure to the elements.

She remembered when the Duke would occasionally sell some to the daughters. Alcina had strictly forbidden them, but it was Daniela's curiosity that got the better of her. While the blonde was normally inclined to follow the rules of the house, she made an exception when it came to the outside world's news. There were some interesting things to be learned. The daughters would gather around one another and read them together.

Cassandra would often lose interest unless there was news of a disaster or conflict on the front page, while the redhead would find herself more captivated by the pictures. Indeed, the pictures were captivating. To see snippets of the outside world grabbed the eldest daughter's interest, as she held a small curiosity about what she could do there.

A photo of a lab that had made the front-page years ago got her thinking about what scientific tools were available to toy around with. She loved experimenting and learning more about biology in her free time. It brought a giggle to think about what said tools could do to the human body when used maliciously, but the prospect of creativity was never lost on her.

The most fascinating newspaper of them all contained an image that looked eerily familiar. At first, she was astounded to think that the four houses had somehow made a worldwide impact, only to be dismayed when she read that the logo was only from some pharmaceutical company.

Disappointment at its finest.

The newspaper that Ethan held in his hands was different in its composition compared to the ones she had seen back at home. There were no photographs to be seen, only drawings. The title was in a large format, while the articles below it were slim and straightforward. Different, but relative to the period in time that this world resembled.

The Serpenmoor Journal

Twenty-seventh day of the Seventh Moon

The drawing that occupied the cover depicted a group of people surrounded by the figure of what appeared to be a young lady with her arms up in the air. It was hard to discern many details, due to the quality of the artwork and the condition that the paper itself was in.

Ethan angled the paper toward Bela so that she could get a better view. The blonde glanced at the article, noting that it was mostly obscured with smeared ink. "This is pretty much useless."

"I can read some of it," Ethan remarked.

"Woman from Another World?

In what could be the greatest discovery of our time, researchers and professors alike are flocking to the Onolask Clock Tower in the hopes of learning more about what caused an ordinary young lady to suddenly appear in front of crowds of onlookers at the city square.

Arriving distraught and confused, the woman initially ran when she saw the massive crowd, only to be apprehended by the local constables not far from where she had appeared. Peak bishops and other members of the church have been involved in the investigations. From what has been learned so far is that this young lady claims that she has arrived from another world – only to turn back on her claims when further questioning was given.

Such claims would have put any citizen in psychiatric confinement, but there is no dispute about what happened at the city square. With multiple church, law enforcement, and city official members having witnessed the event, it is confirmed that on that sunny evening three days ago – a strange woman did in fact materialize out of nowhere.

What this holds for the future of scientific study has yet to be determined. For now, the investigation –"

From that point on, the rest of the newspaper was handed the paper over to Bela, who took it and gave it one more glance before she tossed it aside.

She turned her attention back to the clock tower, noting how odd the article was. It made Vikcia sound normal, as hard as that was to imagine. If the shadow woman had arrived in this world without any powers, then it made sense as to why the same thing happened to her as well.

There was only one question left in Bela's mind.

How did Vikcia get her powers back?

NOTES:

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! So, Bela and Ethan finally get to spend some quality alone time together. A nice walk in a not-so-sunny city may be the best way to ease some tensions, perhaps? Metaphorically and literally, these two have a long road ahead of them, but some ground has been gained.

Looks like the sunlight really does have an effect on these creatures, but in a way, it only makes our duo's situation ten times worse. When those suns go down, they better run.

There is still plenty of mystery left to be uncovered as these two face this nightmarish world together, but a lot of detail was revealed in this chapter. The pieces are all there.

So, when can we expect the next chapter? Well, in twenty-four hours! Fragmented Flies got the same treatment last week, so it is fitting that this story should too. Expect some new artwork as well with the next chapter!

I'll keep this note brief but look forward to some more Bela/Ethan bonding (of sorts) and more monsters in the next installment.

Hope you all are enjoying your weekend so far. I appreciate all the support that you have given me and will always continue to do so. Just wanted to remind you of how awesome you are and why this fan-base is so great! Thanks again for everything and I hope that this story continues to give you what you enjoy! Stay safe and see you very soon! 😊