Full chaos erupted.

Edge’s shadows morphed into inky images of herself once again,each wielding different types of weapons. Some wielded long swords and shields. Others carried spears, and more yet held long bows in their hands. Their eerie laughter echoed through the sky as they lunged towards the enemies.

The nearest skeleton shrieked, a sword thrust into its chest. It froze before dissolving into dust, particles swirling off into the wind. The other monsters advanced, raising their shields to defend from the incoming attacks.

Without hesitation, the shadows pounced.

The monsters outnumbered them twenty to one, but the shadows didn’t slow. They darted to and fro like jackrabbits, raising their shields and slashing their swords in sync. Edge didn’t even know who, where, or what she was anymore. All she knew was the blood thundering in her ears and the shadows overtaking her mind.

Every command she whispered, they followed. It was almost like the shadows were watching her every move, every thought.

A horn blew distantly, more monsters erupting from the gates. The air grew heavy with dust as hundreds more enemies crumpled to the ground. And if ever a skeleton came too close to the group, it would be dust before it took another step.

After five breathless minutes, the tide had turned. Almost every monster had been eliminated, and those still alive were retreating through the village gates. For a heartbeat, victory seemed within reach.

Then Liora’s scream split through the air.

Edge spun around, shadows disappearing into black flecks and reappearing in front of her. The first thing she noticed was the smell. A combination of smoke, mouldy things, and the dead.

Her eyes wandered up…and up and up at the towering figure—no, figures—as they started down at her. There were three, at least fifteen feet tall, with bulging muscles. Their skin was cracked like stone, and their faces were covered by obsidian helmets. The only other armour they wore was basic protection at their waists, almost daring somebody to aim there.

A tiny squeak escaped from Elias, and he scrambled backwards.

Trolls. But not even normal trolls. These ones were bigger. Their skin was thicker. And the only weapons they wielded were their bare hands.

Everyone shrank back, and Edge’s shadows flickered as her concentration weakened. The trolls stood frozen, waiting for the kids to make the first move.

“Uh, guys?” Kalmar whispered.

“What?” Edge hissed, fighting to keep herself focused. It was all too easy to lose control.

“We should probably run!”

Nobody hesitated. They all sprinted for the gate, dodging rocks and the odd monster as they went. The trolls roared and lumbered after them, each footstep rattling the earth. No matter how many times Edge’s shadows hacked at the troll’s feet or launched into what should’ve been a death blow, the trolls just threw them away effortlessly. Not even a drop of their blood was spilled on the ground as they continued to chase the group.

Kalmar glanced over his shoulder, eyes widening with terror. “They’re not stopping!”

“Why won’t your stupid shadows work?” Liora cried from a little ways behind. “Aren’t they supposed to be helping?!”

Edge didn’t have an answer.

Just as they neared the entrance, a loud rattle echoed through the air. The gate was beginning to close. Edge’s eyes snapped upward to the top of the gate, where a group of skeletal monsters strained to pull a heavy lever, forcing it shut. The gate creaked, slowly dropping downwards. Inch by inch.

They could never make it in time.

Edge skidded to a stop, the shadows completely disappearing behind her. Her lungs burned, her legs felt like jellyfish, and her head was pounding like someone was beating on it with wooden clubs. Keeping her powers in use that long must’ve drained her more than she had thought.

“Over here!” Kilah yelled, pointing towards the left. Her hand shook as she gripped onto Elias’s, pulling the tired boy with her. “There has to be a hole in the gate somewhere that we can slip through.”

As much as Edge just wanted to collapse on the ground, the trolls were gaining on them by the second. So, taking a deep, steadying breath, she willed her wobbly legs to move.

One step at a time, she thought to herself, tipping over a loose stone. Kalmar looked over, a wave of concern washing over his face. She looked away, focusing on the gloomy scene in front of her and trying not to think about what was behind.

“There!” Kilah yelped, pointing towards a small gap in the stone gate. It looked barely big enough for them to go through, one by one. But at least the trolls couldn’t follow.

Well…until they destroyed it.

Elias scrambled through first, crawling on his hands and knees to fit through the tiny hole. Then Liora. Then Kilah. By the time they had gone, the trolls were barely ten seconds away.

Without second thought, Edge shoved the frozen Kalmar into the hole. It seemed to jar him, and he shuffled through. Edge practically leaped through, the sharp, jagged stone causing blood to trickle down her arms. She had made it just in time. The troll’s foul odour now covered her like mist, and she knew their hands had been only inches away from ending her.

Catching her breath for a moment, Edge froze as the troll’s angry roars sent chills racing down her spine. Forcing herself to move, she scrambled the rest of the way out of the hole, grateful to be in the open air again.

Even if the sight was horrific.

Death surrounded Edge everywhere she looked. The team looked to be in an old marketplace, with about fifteen stalls littered around. What used to be beautiful flowers and pathways was turned into ash, firewood, and pebbles. Dead soldiers and monster dust lay sickeningly on the ground, thousands of weapons covering the bloodstained path. And that was only the dying.

For around them, hundreds more monsters and soldiers battled on. The soldiers were clad in blue and silver armour, their weapons regal and shimmering in the quickly darkening light. The monsters, on the other hand, were sickly beings. Most of them were the familiar skeletal monsters, but a few were human-sized legionaries, shrouded in black armour and blood-red masks. Just looking at them caused Edge’s skin to prickle.

A few, very different, dragons flew overhead, bravely swooping downwards to protect the soldiers from incoming attacks. Edge looked away as one of them got brutally impaled by a death blow.

What kind of a place was this?

Joining the rest of the group behind a broken-down market stall, Edge swallowed the lump in her throat. Exhaustion settled beneath her bones, and all she could do was collapse onto the freezing ground.

“Soo…” Kilah cringed at the clashing of swords and the grunting of the trolls behind the stone wall. They were probably preparing to smash through, demolishing any and everything in their path. “How long until those guys break through?”

“Not long,” Elias whispered, shivering. Weariness lined his face.

“Isn’t that like, the least of our worries now?” Liora pointed out. “All we have to do is step out, or even just stand up, and we’re in the thick of a war!”

The weight of that hung heavily on everyone’s shoulders.

“What if…what if we die?” Elias said it so softly that the words were barely audible. Knowing it or not, he had voiced what everyone was thinking.

“We won’t,” Kilah said, reaching for his hand and giving it a little squeeze.

Kalmar tried to lighten the tension. “Look, if we’re about to get trampled by trolls, at least let’s agree it counts as extreme sports. Maybe we’ll make the cover of Troll Monthly: ‘Five Kids Who Didn’t Stand a Chance!’”

That joke didn’t sit too well.

“This is all your fault!” Liora reeled on Kilah, her face stone cold. “If you hadn’t pushed us toward here in the first place, or when we were getting chased, this would have never happened! Maybe we would have found our way back home by now. But no, you had to go off and be what? The leader? Well, spoiler alert, you’re not!”

“I didn’t see any of you inputting ideas!” Kilah rushed to defend herself. “I was doing my best!”

Liora wasn’t fazed. “We would’ve figured something out if you had given us some time.”

“We have no time!”

Edge glared at the two of them. How could they be so childish? She was about to open her mouth to tell them off, when Kalmar’s hushed voice interrupted.

“Look,” he said, peering around the market stall. Everyone followed his gaze towards a lone child, no older than five or six. She was calling out for her father, but he was nowhere to be found. Instead, unknown to her, a skeletal monster lurked in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

“We can’t just leave her,” Kalmar shook his head, his fists clenching.

“But we can’t do anything!” Kilah protested. “Besides, this isn’t our world. Shouldn’t we just be focused on getting out?”

Kalmar studied her for a second, but his eyes were dead-certain. Without hesitation, he broke cover and darted towards the small girl. He smoothly leaned over to grab a jagged sword lying deserted on the ground, raising it with a battle cry towards the hovering monster.

“Kalmar!” Liora screamed desperately. She didn’t even think before rushing out after him. Elias let out a strangled yelp and scrambled after the two, limbs flailing. Kilah cursed under her breath, grabbing Edge’s wrist and yanking her along as she bolted from her hiding spot.

Heart hammering under her ribs, Edge shot off in pursuit of Kalmar’s reckless charge. The chaos of the battlefield swallowed them whole. The shouts, steel clashing against steel, and the wild screeching of monsters filled their ears. For only a moment, Edge caught a glimpse of Kalmar swinging his sword wildly, face twisted with a mix of determination and terror.

The others stumbled to catch up, weaving between fallen debris and ducking under a hail of stones. Someone, maybe Elias, nearly tripped over a discarded shield, but Kilah caught his collar and hauled him upright, never breaking stride.

Together, they plunged into the heart of the fight, fear and adrenaline propelling them after their friend, hoping somehow they’d all make it through in one piece.

But then, Edge stopped cold.

The chaos melted, and she slowly turned, barely aware that her friends were speeding on without her. The only thing she could think about was the strangled cry that filled the air. Her legs locked beneath her, eyes snapping to attention. Something irresistible about the sound pulled her, like a tether she couldn’t break.

One that promised either hope…

Or disaster.