Facing Fear | ✓ ONC 2023 Honorable Mention

12 | Birds, Berries, and Bullets

Mori reached the tower out of breath and shaken up in the mind. At the base, a girl clad in a beige blazer and dress pants waited for her, rose-gold hair spilling over her shoulders.

"Potato?" Mori asked, taking in the stranger's pretty, doe-like eyes and the tint of blush coloring her cheeks.

"That's me. Sorry I cut you off," Perera whispered, nibbling at her fingers where the nails were down to the stubs. "I heard Tsuna coming up the stairs, so I had to make a jump or be her captive audience until we leave."

"You jumped from there?" Mori craned her neck back to squint at the top of the tower. A crow perching on the parapet cawed at her.

"Fall damage wasn't that bad. But you wanted to know what's wrong with being one of the Fearless? I mean—not that anything's wrong, you know." Perera laughed nervously.

"I didn't mention it so Ren and the rest of you wouldn't think of me any differently than you already would as the new team member," Mori said quietly. "I didn't want you to think of somebody who'd need to be hard carried and coddled."

Perera shook her head. "That's not the reason at all, and I highly doubt anyone else suspects a thing. You'd be a recent arrival to the fifth ring in my mind too, except for the center comment." Mori's teammate bent down to the grass and plucked a dandelion, twirling the stem between her slender fingers. "Only the Fearless refer to the seventh ring as the center and talk about reaching it. The rest of us call it clearing the game."

With a small puff of breath, Perera sent the dandelion seeds floating on the wind. "Clearing the game grants the ultimate wish—freedom from FEAR. We're worried the Fearless want to rob us of that. They chose to come here. We didn't get that choice. And now they're intent on reaching their so-called center for what? To prove they can? There's only ten spots." Perera blinked several times, her eyes red-rimmed. "I want to go home, Mori."

"I'll help you get home, Potato." Mori hugged her teammate, Perera's head fitting right beneath her chin. The other girl wrapped her arms around Mori, slight sniffles shaking her compact form. 

Mori closed her eyes, trying not to think of how scared Shiori might be. How desperate. Her sister was a fighter, she knew that, but you couldn't fight the dark. She wanted to tell Perera the Fearless wouldn't steal her way out, but what would happen if word spread? FEAR might find a way to stop them.

Cynthia's voice in their ears closed the window of opportunity. "Ten minutes. Make sure your stamina bar is full before we leave."

"We'd better get moving," Perera mumbled.

Mori took the cue to let her out of the hug and followed her teammate as she led them onto a narrow dirt path. "So what can I expect in the sixth ring?"

"Birds," Perera said. Light shimmered over her cupped palms, materializing into red berries. "Want some?" 

Mori popped a few into her mouth, eyes widening at the burst of flavor. "These are really good."

"It's because I picked them fresh. Even with the whole fears coming to life thing, it's really nice to be able to travel without worrying about luggage or waking up sore from all the walking."

"Okay, but birds? That doesn't sound scary," Mori said, accepting a whole handful of fruit from Perera who poured it out from her storage.

"Giant birds. Rocs specifically. The sixth ring opens up into different passes. If you enter the wall even a few feet to the side, you might end up in a different pass and the wall locks so you can't get back out for another twenty-four hours. Not to mention the canyons flood every morning."