The Skeleton Chief

Report Tape 2: Anonymous

Reporter: "So, [REDACTED], let me get this straight. There's an animal that tracks you down when you were, how do you phrase it, inside this other world?"
Anonymous: "That monster isn't just an ordinary animal from around here. It's a creature designed to kill anything that it targets." 
Reporter: "So did you see what it looked like?"
Anonymous: "No, I could only feel it's presence oozing from the trees when I was heading back towards the train. It seemed like it knew I wasn't supposed to be there."
Reporter: "Why would you be the target? How would it know you were the target?"
Anonymous: "It isn't just me, all humans are forbidden from entering the realm in which Serenity lies. I thought I played it off well, but it was following me. I don't know how, but it could sense I wasn't human."

Report Tape 2: End

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The sky was pitch black and there was a slight breeze grazing his body. To his right, he could see rows of endless light posts lighting the exits of the train. The train itself, he could see no end to, it must have continued for miles. In front of him, there a message board with writing on it.

"Welcome to the crossroads of Serenity! You are approximately 1 mile from the first path. You will know when you reach it because their are border agents who will confirm your entry. Once that is done, you are free to head towards Serenity!"

Mark looked to his left to see bright lights far in the distance.

"That must be the city, it's so far away," mark remarks.
"The city is massive, but we're a little ways away at the moment, so it's hard to make out any features."

Mark glances back at the message board and reads the last message on it.

"WARNING: IF YOU AREN'T OF WELCOMED STATUS, YOU WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO MAKE IT THROUGH THE CROSSROADS. LEAVE IMMEDIANTLY, OR HAVE A BORDER AGENT ASSIST YOU."

Lea notices Mark reading the warning message and nudges him in the arm. Mark jumped in his skin from surprise, but Lea could also tell he was anxious about the warning.

"It's a good thing you have me then! Anyone who is Undead will instinctively know which path the take, so as long as I'm with you, we should be good to go! So no need to stress about it, you hear?

Lea turns and starts flying down the light path. Mark turns toward the city, glances back at the warning message, then jogs to catch up to her.

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The border office was rather small. It was the only building in the area that had lights on the outside, so it was clearly visible. Right next to it was a massive gate, about 30 feet tall, surrounded by hills, around the same, size stretching as far as the eye could see.

 There were different creatures loitering at the gate. On the way there, Lea detailed a little bit about the different Undead that can be found around here.

"Let's start with Mantles, like me! Our regular bodies look like this, but we can morph into humanoid creatures as well. They don't look complete at all, but we can wear clothes and such. Our faces can change, but our bodies still look like big shadows, you'll understand when you see one." 
"What other creatures are around here?"
"Well, there's Skeletons, Ghouls, Ghosts, Demons, Guardian Beasts, et cetera. You're not going to find most of them around here though, only Skeletons, Mantles, and your occasional Ghoul that lives in the crossroads."
"So we're not going to meet any Guardian Beasts?"
"Not for a while, it will take time to hunt you down. Just don't stay here for too long."
"..."

Mark could depict the Skeletons rather easily along with the Mantles that hadn't morphed, but the one's that did were almost impossible to see with the human eye. He would start walking forward and have to catch himself from walking directly into the back of one. 

"Everyone, step toward the gate if your ready to be screened for access," an announcement rang from the border office. 

A blue scan shown from above and scanned everyone in an instant. Mark looked up and caught a glimpse of a massive eyeball at the top of the gate. He figured that was how they managed to pull off that large of a scan. 

"Everyone, you are cleared for entry! Follow your gut and you'll make it to Serenity in less than an hour. Best of luck," the speaker rang out again, and the gate began to open.

"Alright, lets get star--" 

Mark felt a cool breeze fly by, which made the hair on the back of his neck perk up. Within a moment, he could feel someone else behind him. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a giant arm, made entirely out of bone, start to wrap around his shoulder. Mark froze in his place terrified, before the Skeleton spoke to him.

"You're coming with me for a moment."
"Where are we going?" Mark asked, his voice was fluctuating.
"The border office, we need to talk."

Mark finally turned around to see a Skeleton that was about 8 feet tall, looming over him. The Skeleton was wearing a fedora that matched with a massive trench coat to shield most of his body.

"How did he move like that? " Mark wondered to himself.

Mark and Lea followed the 8 foot tall Skeleton to the offices, where they directed Mark to go into an interrogation style room, and for Lea to just wait outside. The room was dimly lit, with just 2 lamps on opposing sides of the room. He stepped over and sat down in one of the two chairs separated by a rectangular desk.

"Move, that's my chair, go sit in the other one," the Skeleton prompts.
"Rodger that," Mark concedes, with no will to fight the massive Skeleton.

The Skeleton sat down and rested his arm on the table before letting out a loud sigh. Mark finally got a good look at their face, it was just a normal skull, but it had a resemblance of eyes somewhere in the sockets.

"So, my name is Robertson, but just call me chief."
 "Okay, Chief, why am I here?"
"You tell me! You're clearly human, so how did you even get here?"
"How can you tell I'm human? What if I just have a really developed morph?"

Mark tries to play a game of cheap tricks, but since he knows that being a human is a risk, he might as well try to find out how he got noticed so easily.

"I'm not the Border Chief for nothing, your disguise is so weak I caught you immediately."

The Chief looked down, glancing at the mantle Mark was wearing, and perfectly described the clothes he was wearing underneath. 

"I like the polo, but --the pants aren't my style," the Chief states. "I can also see that you left the tag on the shirt, yet there's a hole in the back of it, so it's not like you can return it anyways."
"Is the tear really that noticeable?"
"Clear as day."

They banter back and forth to ease the mood before getting to the real matter at hand.

"So, why are you here anyways?" Chief Robertson asked.
"I'm here to find my daughter."
"You're daughter, huh? What's her name?"
"Lily Condor."

Chief Robertson stood up out of his chair and walked over to the door. He grabbed the door handle and turned back to Mark.

"Wait here a moment," Chief Robertson says as he turned and stepped out into the hallway, leaving Mark alone.

Mark stayed in his seat, twirling his thumbs and wondering what Isabella, his wife, is going to think when she sees he tore his polo. 

"Wait a minute, I got shot didn't I? What if there's blood on it?"

With his unnecessary thoughts blooming in his mind, Chief Robertson walked back into the room.

"The border office keeps records of every Being that has access to Serenity. It gets updated automatically by someone with higher power than me, but if your daughter Lily did somehow end up in Serenity, I should be able to find her record here."
"That's wonderful! Please tell me if you find it," Mark says, beaming with hope.

The Chief starts flipping through pages. The more pages he turned, the longer the book was getting.

"How many pages are in that thing?"
"More then you could ever imagine. It's a very potent magical item, so it can fit every record, of every Being, while staying the size of a college textbook.

Mark watches as the Chief flips through the book for 5 minutes before coming to a sudden stop.

"You said 'Lily Condor' correct?"
"Correct"
"Her record is in here, and amazingly enough it says she is still here! Most Beings pass through Serenity fast, but since she arrived a week ago she should still be here."
"Thank you so much Chief, I'll be on my way now."

Mark stood up and started heading towards the door. 

"Not so fast," Chief Robertson starts. "You'll die if you go into the crossroads alone."
"That's why I have Lea with me, she'll guide me there."
"But she can't guide you back."
"What do you mean?"
"The Beings are given instinctual guides there, not back. Even if there was a miracle that allowed you to make it back, the last train departs at 8pm. If you miss that train, the Guardian Beasts will find you."
"I promise I'll make it back."
"Look Mark, I can't stop you from going, but I can't stop the last train from departing either. If you make it back, I'll get you onto the train, but if you're too late, you'll have to pray you can survive the night."
"I couldn't ask for anything better."
"You're a strong man, Mark. I hope you find your daughter."
"I appreciate that."

Mark and Chief Robertson walk out of the room, find Lea, and walk to the gate.

"One last thing Mark, have this."

The Chief tosses mark a white mantle that covers him head to toe.

"This is a magic item that'll prevent any Being from discerning that you're a human. It's better than the one you're wearing right now. There's also a face mask built in if you need to hide your face. Although, none of this will mask your scent from the Guardian Beasts, so be careful."

"Thank you, I'll see you tonight."

5 am, August 20th.

15 hours until the last train home departs.