Crunch! Julie crashed into the boys with devastating force. They had only been partially successful in their plan to roll with her momentum, resulting in the limp arm hanging at Noah’s left side. The boys had walked away from the incident relatively unscathed, and Julie had gotten by with some deep bruising across her shoulders–the primary point of impact.


    “Ugh.” Noah groaned as Julie manipulated his arm.


    “Try to relax it. I need to see where the break is.” She responded. He clenched his teeth but did his best to follow her instructions.


    “Found it!” She said before jerking his arm in a precise motion.


    “Agh!” Noah yelled, staring at her incredulously. She smiled.


    “I had to set the bone. It should help it heal faster. Now stay still.” Noah nodded reluctantly, still feeling betrayed. Julie wrapped her hands around his arm and began to sing. The words were strange to Noah, it was as if he knew what they meant but couldn’t recognize them. While she sang a warmth permeated his arm, gentle and soothing. He watched in fascination as the bruising began to fade followed by a soft ‘click’. She finished her song and Noah found that is arm looked and felt normal, perhaps even better than before the catch.


    “Thanks!” He said enthusiastically as he tested out his arm.


    “Thank you!” She replied, having to catch her breath. With that taken care of, they ate what little they had left and finished off the water they had managed to carry.


    “Let’s get out of this forest,” Noah said as they began their journey north.


    They made good time, breaking less frequently and pushing the pace. None of them were eager to spend another night in the trees and every monster that attacked them served as another dose of adrenaline to help them push forward. As the day went on and the miles passed, Julie began to lag behind. Noah stopped and knelt in front of her.


    “Get on.” He instructed. After the previous night, any reservations about such an offer were remedied and she quickly complied. They continued, and Noah was impressed at the boys’ perseverance. With beasts literally nipping at their heels, lesser men would have succumbed to the stress long ago, but they continued to press forward, even cracking jokes when they stopped for breath. At some point, Julie had nodded off and her soft snoring now filled his ears. He smiled. The afternoon came and went and the cool air of the evening settled into the forest. They would have to call it soon.


    Ahead Kyle began shouting and Julie stirred as Noah readied for a fight. He set her down and ran to meet Kyle, grabbing Shark Club from Matt on his way.


    “We made it!” Kyle shouted, finally forming recognizable words. Noah came up alongside and saw the edge of the forest just a few dozen yards away.


    “Come on!” He shouted, running toward the open space. He stepped into direct sunlight for the first time in nearly two weeks and frowned. He glanced up at the sun and then down at his hands. In place of the familiar orange he was accustomed to, there was a white-blue orb in the sky, and its light felt more akin to the light of the moon albeit much brighter. The rest of them stepped out of the forest gasping in joy before having a similar revelation. It reinforced an uncomfortable truth; they weren’t on Earth anymore.


    As thankful as he was to leave the forest behind, he was unsure of what to make of the scene ahead. Before them, as far as he could see, was an expanse of black earth that seemed to gradually climb into the sky. There was no greenery in sight. It looked like a volcano sometime after an eruption had cleared the landscape but too early for the wildlife to retake ground.


    “We did it.” Julie said, high-fiving the teenagers. Noah smiled and joined in.


    “We did!” He agreed.


    “Now what?” Kyle asked, unwilling to let us just have the moment.


    “Indeed,” Noah responded. The four of them scanned the expanse, searching for a landmark to make for. In the distance, Noah could make out grey stone jutting from the mountainside. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    “That looks promising.” He said, pointing in their direction. “Let’s gather some wood and head that way.” While the forest floor was nowhere near as littered with twigs and leaves as its earthen counterpart would have been, the trees had begun to shed branches over the last couple of weeks. Their steel had long since deteriorated, but Noah was hopeful that they could find another way.


    With their packs full they began to ascend the dark terrain. The stream they had followed appeared to originate somewhere on the mountain, ensuring the resource would be close at hand if they could figure out their fire situation. They had just arrived at the stone outcropping when the sun sank behind the horizon, revealing a beautiful array of foreign stars.


    “Wow.” Julie whispered. He felt inclined to agree. There was no moon visible in the sky but the stars still illuminated the night, casting the foreboding landscape in a dreamlike glow. Living in the city, Noah wasn’t accustomed to such a sight. The closest experience he had was when his family had vacationed in Alaska to see the aurora. That view still failed to live up to the tapestry of colors that he was currently taking in. The System had brought tragedy and vile creatures, but it had also introduced wonders beyond earthly expectation.


    The group settled into the hollow space between the rocky pillars, thankful for the semblance of shelter after their exposed nights. Perhaps it was that comfort or the building weariness that caused the group to fall asleep without a second thought.


    Noah had a restless dream of the woman from his vision. She had changed though, no longer the agent of Earth’s destruction. Instead, she called out to Noah personally as if she cared for his well-being. She looked at him with deep blue eyes.


    “You’re moving too slow, Noah.” Her voice was like the wind. “Stop getting distracted. You must get to Bronze.” She said, her eyes focused and intense.


    Noah started awake, welcomed by the warm glow of dawn. As much as he wanted to berate himself for the impromptu slumber, he chose instead to be thankful for the rest. He looked at Matt and Kyle, sleeping soundly against the rock wall, then at Julie curled up a few feet away. Are they the distraction? He wondered, reflecting on his dream. It had been a dream just like this one that had led him to give up his life and prepare for the end. Could he ignore this one? He shook his head. One way or another, it was time to tell Julie about his premonition and his plan to save their people.


    Quietly, he dug through the packs finding the fire starter kit that Matt had experimented with. It was a puck of animal fat he had poured over wood shavings and charcoal, needing only an ember or spark to get it going. That final piece, of course, was the crux of the matter. He gathered several pieces of timber and sat just outside the outcropping. The view was stunning, a sea of green stretching out as far as he could see. The treetops glistened as the white light of the sun reflected off the swaying leaves. He breathed in deeply, appreciating the chilled morning air. Then he set about his task.


    If he could carry Julie 30 feet up a tree, then he could start a fire. It was with the memory of that superhuman feat that he began rubbing two sticks together with vigorous force. When Julie woke maybe an hour later he finally gave up. The sticks had gotten warm but stubbornly refused to combust. He set them to the side with a sigh.


    “Good morning,” She said, coming to sit out on the slope by him.


    “Good morning.” He replied, glad for the company.


    “Did you sleep through the night?” She asked. He bit his tongue and considered a white lie.


    “I did.” He said, deciding it wasn’t worth it. She nodded.


    “Well, I’m just glad to be be alive.” She said after mulling over their near encounter with a quiet death. Noah laughed heartily.


    “Me too.” He agreed. It was quiet for several heartbeats and Noah started to sweat as his nerves got to him.


    “Julie,” He ventured, immediately questioning his decision. She looked at him.


    “What’s up?” She asked, her eyebrows slightly furrowed.


    “I need to tell you a story.” Noah began, “It started seven months ago at a New Year''s party…” He laid it all out for her, sharing the highs and lows of his life after the vision. He described his training and his family’s rejection, he shared his experience with the first gate and the subsequent jailing, and finally, he shared his dream from the night before. As he shared her face reflected several emotions: curiosity, confusion, and concern chief among them. She listened intently, letting him get all of it off his chest. He eventually ran out of words and they returned to the quiet stillness of the morning. She took a deep breath.


    “Noah, what are you getting to?” She asked.


    “I–” Noah hesitated, “I believe that our world needs saving and that I’m its only hope.” He looked at Julie, trying to find a hint of her thoughts. Her eyebrows creased and she felt away as he waited for her response.


    “Noah, it''s not that I don’t believe you–I do, but don’t you think that sounds a little crazy?” She said, searching his face. Noah’s heart sank. Her frown deepened.


    “You’re not being serious are you?” A quiver in her voice.


    A loud voice rang through their minds, preventing him from responding.


    [Phase two of tutorial completed. Completion rate: 64%. Satisfactory for tutorial end.]


    There was a moment of silence as the message settled in.


    [Safeguards lifted. Countdown to multiverse initiation began. 1,095 days remaining.]


    Another pause in the System’s dialogue.


    [Upon initiation, planets with a Bronze ruler will maintain sovereignty. All other planets will be open to outside harvesting.]