“Seriously, I still can’t believe you bought that thing.” Donovan teases, his hand not currently on his wheel snaking out to jab her on the shoulder. He was, of course, referring to her minifridge. “That thing has to weigh a hundred pounds!”

  “Ain’t that heavy!” Liv reflexively shouts, clutching it closer to her chest, a defensive flush burning across her face. Donovan’s statement, while a joke, had more truth than Liv would care to admit. While it wasn’t a hundred pounds, it was certainly in the ballpark. “‘Sides, it’ll be worth its weight!”

  “Uh huh.” Donovan snipes, a snicker peeling from his lips. Charlotte joined from the back of the Buggy, though her own teasing had been more moderate than Donovan’s.

  “I don’t know how much it’s truly going to save, Liv,” Charlotte teases. “But I’m thankful you tried to help at least. I wish you hadn’t paid so much, though.”

  Liv’s flush only grows, her arms pushing the small mini fridge closer to her chest. She knew it had a use, she just knew it. Even if they didn’t she could see what they couldn’t. She just had to prove it… Somehow.

  “I’m sure we can do something with it.” Anthony comments. “Just don’t bring it in the Strata. It’ll slow us down, and it’ll make a bunch of noise.”

  Liv turns her head, her face scrunched up in annoyance and anger. At least the scenery was nice, the beautiful Ozarks before her, a thick fog rolling over the pockets of lakes dotted across its surface. It was a nice sight, especially from her higher vantage on one of their many mountains festooned across the landscape; sadly, the annoyance with their critiques of her purchase and the worry they may be right made its voice meager.

  Eventually, the four descend one of the many mountains, parking by one of the lakes. Just beside them is a cave, moss crawling across its sides, cutting deep into the stone. Liv can faintly hear the familiar melody of Synth inside, though it’s hard to make out clearly over the croaking of frogs and rustling of trees.

  Anthony hoists his bag over his shoulder, Donovan and Charlotte following shortly after, flashlights in hand..

  “You coming, Liv?” Donovan calls back, his hands cupped across his mouth. “Get your bag and hurry!”

  Liv looks on from her seat, slowly standing, the ancient minifridge jostling in her grip as her team turns their back, descending further into the cave. She places the small fridge on her seat, staring at it as she throws her bag over her shoulder. If she could just prove it could be useful, she could really prove herself…

  A few moments after, Liv runs into the cave, her bag quite a bit heavier on her shoulder. The ceilings are unnaturally low, as if some unknown being crushed it inward like a soda can. The jutting stone creates long shadows as the light bounces off them, stretches of black cascading off into wells of darkness. The sound of water rushing tickles Liv’s inner ear, though it’s overshadowed by the growing sound of Synth ringing in her ears. It wasn’t quite loud, more like a generator humming in the winter. Compared to people, however? It was night and day.

  Eventually, Liv’s eyes lock on a long stretch of an off-grey blue light stretching across the floor, just out of sight over the bend. The ringing in her ear grows in volume, just barely outside the purview of unbearable. They round the corner, the Strata coming into view. It hums, the air getting substantially heavier anywhere within its range. Liv notes the lack of metal platform on this one.

  Donovan walks up to it, his bag casually strung over his shoulder. “Looks like we’re here! Who wants to go first?

  ”Is it not the man’s responsibility to head into danger first?” Charlotte teases, her hand resting on her blade.

  “Tsk tsk. Sexism yet again.” Donovan shoots back. “Besides, isn’t it ‘ladies first’?”

  “That applies to doors and stores, not portals to the underworld.” Charlotte responds.

  “Well what is a portal but a door?”

  “Please take this seriously.” Anthony chimes from the back, his clammy hands clutching at the camera wrapped around his neck. “We don’t know how dangerous this place is, so we need to stick together and be as careful as possible.”

  “Don’t worry, man.” Donovan comforts, patting his chest with an open palm. “We’re gonna be okay! As long as Charlotte goes first-.”

  “Again, ladies first doesn’t apply to this situation.” Charlotte snipes.

  “Lady comin’ through.” Liv calls, pushing past her team with a huff. If they were going to do this all day, she would just get it over with. She pushes her hand in as soon as she gets to the Strata, the feeling in the appendage vanishing as soon as it crests the horizon. Sucking in a final breath, she pushes herself if fully, completely vanishing from sight.

  The feeling of falling through nothingness hadn’t changed, deprived of most of her vital senses. It was almost like when she was with Bruno, in a sense; though, she at least had the ability to see in front of her when she was in that… Realm. Her senses rush back to her within a fraction of an instant, temporarily disorienting her. She manages to twist her body, her feet landing on the floor with a loud boom. They buckle, her full blown stand quickly morphing to a kneel. Jolts of pain cascade from her joints, a symphony of creaks resounding as she slowly gets back to her feet.

  The area before her resembles something of a swamp, thick trees creaking in on themselves all like distorted bodies. The floor is mud, though not the kind that sucks you in; rather, it’s the kind that’s just a bit annoying to walk on, the filth and grime already sticking to her shoes and knees. The sky roils with greyish black clouds, though most if it is obscured by the fog rolling across the floor.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “Would ya look at that.” Liv mutters to herself, a smile spreading across her face. “Didn’t even fall on my back-.”

  Liv stops as a weight slams into her shoulders, stealing her balance from her. She stumbles to the floor, landing face first in the mud. She groans, pushing both her, and the weight, up in a single motion.

  “Thanks…” Donovan mutters from atop her shoulders, his voice more a mumble than anything substantial. He sways in her grip, in far worse shape than her. Disoriented probably. With a sigh, Liv squats, Donovan dismounting in short order. While she could carry quite a bit, Donvan and his bag were heavy– as was her own.

  “Ain’t no skin off my back catchin’ ya.” She murmurs, wiping the mud from her face. “Just wonderin’ where the other two are-.”

  Her question is swiftly answered as two weight slam into her at the same time. She plummets to the floor once again, another groan escaping her mouth as pain arcs through her nerves. This time, a hand quickly helps her up, wiping her off with deft hands.

  “My apologies, Liv!” Charlotte says through chuckles, her eyes watering with the effort of composure. “I didn’t think you would be there.”

  “It’s aight.” Liv lies, the taste of dirt heavy on her tongue.

  “Who’s the heavy one now?” Donovan snipes, Charlotte’s mirthful smile tightening with the accusation.

  “I am wearing a full suit of armor, Donovan. Of course my weight is advanced in some capacity. You, on the other hand, are wearing a jacket and sweat pants.”

  “But I’m not heavy.” He responds. “Besides, you really don’t need to wear armor anyway. I’m pretty sure most demons can tear through metal pretty easily. Seems like it’d just slow you down.”

  “The greatest Initiates in the world wore armor, and I wish to be grander than them. It is only natural that I emulate their garb.” Charlotte says, her hand splaying across her heart.

  “Those were Synth Weapons.” Anthony interjects, his tone tight. His eyes flit about the swamp, sweat pouring down his obscured face. “And the founding Initiates were anomalies.”

  “Then I will simply be an anomaly as well.” Charlotte counters. Donovan gives Anthony a sideways glance, a response bubbling up on his lips. Liv interjects before he can speak, a question hot on her lips.

  “Who’re ya talkin’ bout?”

  Anthony glances at her before sighing, his hand falling to latch on to his caduceus. “We really don’t have the time to run you through a history lesson right now. When we get out, I’m sure George can fill you in.”

  Liv furrows her brows, annoyance bubbling in her gullet. She prepares to argue the point, though she freezes as a ringing fills her ears. Something was coming, something fast, and it was aiming for her. In her peripheral, she can see something shift amongst the trees. That’s the only warning she gets before a beam of pure water shoots toward her. She instinctively throws herself to the side, prepared to dodge it entirely; though, it proves an unneeded endeavor as a bolt of pink crashes into it, detonating upon contact. Liv blinks, allowing herself to glance at Anthony. His face has shifted to one of focused anger, his eyes locked on the beast deep within the forest.

  Charlotte and Donovan rip their weapons from their holsters as the beast lumbers from the forest. Unlike most of the demons Liv had seen up to this point, this creature didn’t seem to have any animalistic traits. It was simply a large amoeba made entirely of roiling liquid, its liquid skin muddy and brown with the grime on the floor. While everything Liv had seen up to this point was unnatural… This one didn’t resemble anything she’d ever seen.

  Before the demon can truly do anything else, it’s suddenly bombarded by a flurry of pink blasts, murky water sloughing off its body in large pieces. They quickly regenerate, though more are blown off in rapid succession.

  “Finish it off before more come in!” Anthony demands. Charlotte and Donovan nod, quickly rushing toward the demon. Liv takes a second to process before springing into action herself, shrugging her bag from her shoulder at the same time. The demon, far too busy fending off the relentless barrage, has no time to react as a blade plunges into its side, a dropkick following shortly after. If they affected it in any way, it didn’t show. Spikes suddenly shoot off its body, sharp enough to bite into the bark of the trees around it. Charlotte and Donovan manage to jump away with no injuries, though their useless attacks seem to have them lost in thought. Liv bounds up herself, swinging a wild blow toward the creature. It, too, does absolutely nothing, another spike coalescing on its form. Liv jumps back, though it just manages to nick her on the shoulder.

  “It’s made of liquid, Liv.” Bruno pipes up as Liv assesses the creature's form. Her teammates are yelling something at each other, though she can’t quite make it out over her state of absolute focus.

  “Duh.” Liv responds. “How do ya reckon I beat it?”

  “Well,” Bruno starts. “You cannot beat it with sheer brute force, so I would assume your explosions would do more damage. You would have to destroy it completely in one go, though.”

  Liv hums, a slow plan formulating in her brain. All she had to do was blow it up…? Yeah, she could do that. With a smirk, she slams her hands into her chest, even as Charlotte and Donovan close in. She braces herself, preparing to bound in, an orange glow resonating from her gauntlets-.

  A loud fwoosh interrupts her mind, her eyes overwhelmed by a massive flame cascading up like smoke. Said flames cascade from Donovan’s Tonfa, fed further by the constant supply of oxygen fed by Charlotte. Before Liv can even attempt to help… It’s already gone, a plume of steam the only evidence of its short existence.

  “Good work.” Anthony calls, reequipping his backpack. Charlotte and Donovan walk up in quick succession, Liv’s stunned eyes following them all the while. She had it, but they didn’t need it. A hand suddenly comes to rest on her shoulder, Anthony’s voice ringing clear in her ear.

  “Hey,” He says. “You froze.”

  Liv turns on her heel, coming to meet his gaze. Though she can't see his eyes, she can tell he’s disappointed in her. She shakes the explosion from her gauntlets, the fault lines returning to their usual dull metal color.

  “I was just thinkin’ of a plan.” She mutters. “Reckon it’d work too.”

  “While that's fine in a vacuum, please leave the planning to me.” He responds, his expression softening a tad. “I’ve got the most experience, so I know the ins and outs of these types of things. You rely on your instinct and I’ll rely on my mind.”

  Liv furrows her eyebrows. Wasn’t that… The opposite of what she was supposed to do? It was, at least, the opposite of what Faraji told her to do. She slowly nods, the confusion building up within her all the while.

  “That’s good.” He says, allowing his hand to fall to his side. Though he seems different, that affability she knows seems to leak through the corners. “Lets catch up to the others, then. Wouldn’t want to fall behind.”

  Liv nods once more, following Anthony as he bounds through the twisting swamp. Her hands fall to her pockets, her head turned to the sky. She’d have to prove herself soon… She just had to.