The Wild Zones

The path stretched before the pair, narrow and pale beneath the climbing sun. Behind them, the settlement had already vanished beyond the folds of the land — nothing left but faint echoes of laughter carried on the wind.

They walked in silence. Only the crunch of their boots and the slow hiss of the wind filled the air.

When they reached the fork where they’d turned to find Mia, Rose’s gaze lingered on the smaller trail. where their footprints freshly marked. A quiet smile tugged at her lips — brief, almost nostalgic — before fading into a faint frown.

Kai walked ahead liked usual, bags slung across his back, shoulders steady beneath the light. When he glanced over and caught her expression, something in his eyes softened.

Without turning fully, his voice carried back to her.
“Do you want to tell me anything?”

Rose blinked. “What do you mean?”

“With Sylvia,” he said simply.

Her mouth opened, but no words came out. She closed it again, eyes falling to the ground.

Kai didn’t press. He only nodded once and faced forward again.

The afternoon sun pressed down, harsher now — hotter than the silence that hung between them.

Hours passed like that. Neither spoke. The world itself seemed to thin the farther north they went.

Trees began to twist under invisible strain, their trunks marked with faint orange veins that pulsed like infected roots. It seemed the further north they went, the lower trees bent. 

The air grew heavier, tinged with metallic dust. Fallen branches lay cracked and shriveled, as if drained of life.

When they finally reached the ridge, the world below stretched out in muted ruin — trees lay silent, twisted, dusted with orange soil that glowed faintly beneath the light.

Far behind them, a patch of blue sky painted its canvas.  Ahead, the horizon burned in shades of rust and dimming gold.

Rose knelt, pulling the rolled-up map from her pack. She held onto it, tighter than usual as her eyes scanned the faded markings. “That must be Reiner,” she murmured against the wind. “Where Sylvia was originally from.” Her eyes darting between the map and the town in the distance.

Kai leaned closer, studying the same map before nodding. “We’re close.”

He took the map from her hands, tucking it away before helping tie a cloth around her face. The air ahead shimmered faintly, a storm of dust and unseen currents waiting for them.

Rose adjusted the wrap around his neck in return, her fingers brushing briefly against his collar. They both paused — just long enough to meet each other’s eyes.

Then they nodded.

And together, they stepped forward.

The Wild Zones had arrived.

__________

The wind shifted as they descended from the ridge.
What sunlight reached this far north struggled to breathe through the thick orange haze above — fractured rays spilling through in trembling beams that faded as quickly as they appeared.

The air was colder, though it carried heat in the dust — the kind that stung the lungs and left a dry taste on the tongue.

The trees leaned in every direction, their branches twisted and heavy, as though burdened by some invisible weight. Some trunks split halfway, frozen in motion as if trying to crawl away from the corruption creeping through them.

The sound of their boots was the only rhythm left. Even the insects had vanished.

Kai led the way, cloth drawn tight around his mouth. His eyes darted forward through the haze, careful where he stepped. Behind him, Rose followed, her head low, scanning the surroundings.

Her hand rested lightly on his shoulder — a quiet tether between them as they moved.

Then, without warning, her grip shifted. She gave a small shake, enough to catch his attention.

Kai turned his head just enough for his muffled voice to carry through the wind.
“What’s wrong?”

She didn’t answer — not at first.
Then, softly, “Stop moving.”

He froze.

Rose closed her eyes for a moment, letting her senses stretch outward through the heavy air. The faint pulse of her energy rippled across the ground, invisible but deliberate.

When her eyes opened again, their faint blue shimmer had dimmed.
Her voice was quiet but firm.
“We’re surrounded.”

Kai’s brow furrowed beneath his hood. “Surrounded? By what?”

She raised a finger to her lips — a silent command.
Then, even lower, she whispered, “Hostile mana. Faint, but… many.”

He didn’t ask further. Instead, he stepped slightly in front of her, raising his hands and widening his stance. Light coated his fists with energy; his scars tinted orange. 

For a long, tense heartbeat, there was nothing.

Then the wind shifted again — and between the scattered trees, eyes began to open.

Dozens of them. Small, glinting, scattered through the shadows — beneath roots, inside hollow trunks, even low to the ground where the dust stirred.

Kai’s jaw tightened. “They’re coming!”

The first movement came from the left. Then the right.
The forest seemed to come alive, the shapes darting just enough to be seen — small, quick, deliberate.

Rose’s focus sharpened. Her hand lifted slightly, and the air warped. A sudden pulse of invisible force rippled outward — unseen but heavy. The ground erupted in a brief swirl of dust as several hidden shapes were flung backward into trees with a sickening crunch.

A shriek followed — thin and sharp, more vibration than sound.

Another burst from the opposite side. This time two of the creatures managed to slip through, their faint outlines cutting across the haze. Kai met them head-on. His first strike shattered the ground beneath one’s legs, sending its body flipping over. The second lunged low — he caught it mid-jump, driving his glowing fist through it, the impact echoing like a dull explosion.

Rose’s energy surged again. Several more attackers lifted from the ground and slammed together midair before collapsing in silence.

Then… stillness.

Dust drifted between them, glowing faintly in the sun’s dying light. The only sound was the wind — stronger now, as if the world exhaled after holding its breath.

Rose’s gaze swept the uneven treeline once more. Her voice came calm but cold.
“There are others,” she said. “But they’ve stopped. They can sense it — we’re not easy prey.”

Kai relaxed his stance, letting the light fade from his hands. “Let’s keep it that way.”

She gave a short nod, pulling her cloth tighter against her face. “We should move. The closer we get, the worse it’ll become.”

Without another word, they continued north. The wind grew harsher, the haze thicker.

And though the forest fell silent again, unseen eyes still followed from the dark — waiting, learning, preparing.

Rose’s gaze lingered on the ground they’d crossed. Fragments of cracked shell and twisted legs lay half-buried in the orange soil, faintly glinting under what little light filtered through the clouds. Her expression tightened.

Kai followed her stare. One of the broken forms was as large as his arm, its hollow eyes still faintly reflecting the light.

They didn’t speak again until the bodies were far behind them.

The wind had dulled, though the air still felt sharp against their skin. Each breath carried the faint taste of iron and dust.

“Are spiders supposed to be that big?” she murmured.

“No,” he said quietly. “But they’re definitely a byproduct of the Wild Zones.”

She looked away. “Let's hope there aren't any more surprises ahead.”

They pressed forward. The ridge sloped down into open land. The remnants of plant life, buried under dirt and old wreckage. Through the swirling dust, faint outlines started to emerge — jagged walls, collapsed towers, and the distant skeleton of what once might have been streets.

Reiner.

From a distance, the town looked almost sunken into the earth. The outer wall, once proud and carved from stone, was cracked and pitted with corrosion. Chunks had fallen inward, leaving jagged teeth along its edge.

Kai slowed his pace. “Looks worse than I thought.”

Rose adjusted the wrap around her mouth, her voice muffled. “Doesn’t matter. We can’t stay out here much longer.”

The wind had picked up again, threading through the broken terrain with a low, whistling cry. The air was growing colder by the minute, the light dimming toward dusk.

When they finally reached the wall, they stopped just short of a collapsed gate. A faint current of dust slipped through the gap, spiraling between them like breath.

Kai turned to her. “We’ll have to go in.”

Rose nodded, reluctant but certain. “We don’t have a choice. If we wait out here, the wind will strip us raw before morning.”

Without further hesitation, they stepped through.

The difference was immediate. The storm’s howl softened behind them, swallowed by the half-standing structures within. Dust still hung in the air, but it no longer stung — only drifted in lazy spirals that caught faint traces of light.

They pulled down their face cloths slightly, shaking off the layer of grime that clung to their skin. The silence that met them was heavier than the wind had been.

Buildings leaned together in tired slants, roofs half-collapsed, walls traced with faint orange lines that pulsed now and then like fading embers. Shattered signs hung crooked above doorways; whatever words they once bore were long erased.

Then they noticed it.

An open cocoon, double their combined size hung upside down against a broken wall.

Rose’s eyes swept the street around. “I hope whatever created or came out of this isn't alive.” she whispered.

Kai’s expression didn’t change. “Let’s not find out.”

They started forward again, careful to keep close. The deeper they went, the dimmer the light became.

Somewhere in the distance, an organic noise vibrated — long and drawn-out, echoing through the hollow streets.

Rose glanced upward. The sky was nearly gone now, a deep burnt hue pressing against the ruined skyline.

Her pace quickened. “We need shelter before it’s completely dark.”

Kai nodded once, his voice low. “Agreed. The first place that still has a roof — we take it.”

The sound of their footsteps faded into the whisper of the settling dust.

And as the last rays of light bent through the broken archways behind them, the town of Reiner swallowed them whole.