The Outskirts (ITZY Shin Ryujin)

22

At this point the Outskirts were nothing but a radioactive wasteland. It seemed abandoned. House had collapsed to the ground along with all the other buildings that once stood. High winds made the air dusty and almost impossible to see through.

The four explorers wore their heavy, khaki suits that seemed to make them camouflaged against the sandy ruins. Large packs hugged their backs, each filled with food, water and other equipment they found necessary. Who knew how long it would be until they returned to the temporary safety of the cellar?

"I know of a shop that sells all the weaponry you can dream of. It's not that far from here but judging by the winds, we might not get there in time," Yeji mentioned before eying the rest. "We might have to camp out here, get shelter or something."

Chaeryeong glanced around.

"No hope. There's nothing but rubble and the broken remains of what was inside these fallen buildings. We need to go there as quickly as we can and get back even quicker."

"We don't know what lies behind these clouds of dust. Tinsel could be waiting behind them for all we know. We mustn't do things hastily. We have to do them proper and carefully. We need to go slow."

"Going slow takes too much time and time is a luxury we do not have," Ryujin turned to them. "If Tinsel is behind all this dust or not, we need to take our chances. We must hurry, get those stupid weapons and return before the sun sets, got it?"

"It's risky-" Yeji tried arguing.

"Look around, Yeji," the latter commanded. "Which part of all of this -- anything we are doing -- is not a risk? Every step we take away from the cellar is a risk, every whiff of this polluted air is a risk, even just looking at this view is a risk! We've already risked this much, it wouldn't hurt to take a few more."

And so they set off for the main village in search for the weaponry shop Yeji had spoke about. The wind slammed against them, pushing them back a couple of steps. The small sand particles crashed against their exposed faces and the threatening cries of thunder screamed in their ears. Nothing ahead was visible. They could be walking on circles for all they knew. Each hour seemed just as the past and identical to the next. The freezing winds bit harshly against their faces and the fatigue of travelling so far in such bitter conditions was hastily catching up with them.

"Let's rest," Chaeryeong called out, plopping down on the ground and panting heavily. Sweat cascaded down her face, causing some of her hair so stick to her forehead in the process. Several areas on her suit was wet with the salty liquid. She shivered miserably when the wind blew in their direction, carrying along a paper. Yeji quickly grabbed it and studied the words written on it.

"It's a leaflet," she uttered. "From a shop in the village. We must be close."

"Then we'll track on," Ryujin screamed over the wind. "We'll rest there, maybe stay the night, I don't know. We just need to get there."

"So..." Chaeryeong glanced up at her. "I can't take a break here?"

"No, Chae. We must be quick. We'll rest there, promise."

Hours stretched on as the four trudged through thick sand and heavy winds. The area seemed to be nothing but an empty desert. Above them, the sky grew darker, colder as they didn't just bring the regular showers over the Outskirts. The clouds were weary from their weight and ready to explode, flooding the whole of Ferne. The sound of the nearby sea also grew. The crashing waves and fierce currents. A storm was approaching quickly and it was to end all of Ferne.

In this point in time it was hard as could be to maintain strength and the will to continue but Luke fought every bit of him that told him to give up. They were so close to the village yet, due to the wind, so far away. None of them had a sense of direction. For all they knew, they could be walking in the opposite direction. Times like this were when logic was never a reliable choice. All they could do was have faith.

Faith in their direction.

Faith in their sense of time.

Faith in their positive thoughts.

But most importantly, they needed faith in each other.

"Hey guys," Ryujin yelled from ahead of them all. "I think I see something... The village! We found the village!"

In utter excitement, Ryujin sprinting in the direction she had seen it, leaving the trio that were too exhausted to run. Even as much as taking a step took too much energy.

The siren didn't get far, however, she paused right before the village, eyes darting around the remains of civilisation. With a hand covering her mouth, she shook her head and took a couple of steps back, only to fall into Luke's arms as he stared at the village before them.

Dried blood painted the pavement and random piles of rubble. Several bodies lay on the ground, eyes open wide in their final expression: terror. Dead. All of them were. There was no hope searching.

"I knew these people," Chaeryeong mumbled. "People I'd always wave to. Some I have bought goods off of..." She bent down in front of the body of a little girl who couldn't have been more than seven years old. Her once blond hair was dyed red and a stream of blood split out of her nose and mouth. Bruises covered the entirety of the frail body and it was clear her spine was hopelessly snapped along with a few ribs. She was beaten to death. A tear escaped Chaeryeong's eyes. "And some I even played with... How one could be so evil, I'll never know... If only I could get my hands on him. I'll snap his neck and I'll-"

Yeji placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Let's get the weapons. We'll worry about Tinsel later."

It took a while but soon everyone was convinced to head to the weaponry shop and although the whole building had collapsed, they had no problems finding and equipping themselves with whatever they could find.

While the girls bickered over which gun was best, Luke strolled over to an area with armour. It was quite a distance away from them and due to the dusty air, none of the girls could see him. But at the time, no one cared. He picked up what he assumed was a steel chestplate and thrashed a sword against it. The piece of armour received minimal damage, much to his delight.

Grabbing it and a bunch of other weaponry, Luke prepared to return to the girls until he noticed something in his peripheral vision move. He glanced in the direction and instantly felt terror envelope him. His eyes widened like never before and he felt himself tremble.

There, not too far from him and hidden between two tall pillars of rubble, stood the lizard lady he had seen in one of the many dreams Tinsel had given him. He took a deep breath and pinched himself, hoping it was a dream or he was hallucinating somehow but he wasn't. He watched as she approached him slowly, a sly smirk stitched to her face. However, his feet failed to budge. His whole body was frozen in fright while his mind screamed at part of his body to do something, anything.

She was mere metres away when a hand pulled Luke back from behind. He soon meet Ryujin's eyes that were filled with horror, a look he had never seen before. Tears threatened to slip out of her eyes as she uttered her next three words.

"Tinsel is here."